11 October 2020 Absentee ballots sent!

We were able to send our absentee ballots in a week ago and are hoping they reach the U.S. in time.  We sent a birthday card to our granddaughter in March only to have it returned to us here in Australia 6 months later!  So who knows?  At least we've done what we could.

All around us and in our garden we see bottlebrush shrubs and trees.  Native to Australia it's easy to see how they got their name with the shape of the blooming flowers.  We have some small bushes outside our house and then one can see rows of trees also where the blooms are even larger.  

Then, there are the kookaburras also.  All around us on our morning walks several wait to be seen. Beautiful flowers and delightful birds make life here so enjoyable in spite of the Covid virus.  

Last weekend we decided to have a girls day.  Elise is back in Cowra, so it was just Nina, Theresa, and myself starting the day early to head into Sydney.  We had no agenda for the day.  We wandered through some familiar areas around Circular Quay and The Rocks.  We spent some time on Pitt Street where there is a Pedestrian mall and visited the Strand Arcade shopping area and ended in the QVB, Queen Victoria Building.  I picked up a few Christmas presents since I want to get them sent this month.  Like our ballots, who knows when or if they will arrive on time for the holidays.  So I'm thinking ahead. 

Waiting for the Express Bus into the city. 

Up close and personal

Eating at the Fortune of War, we found this  sign outside which we thought was great.  Shout out to my nephew Stephen who's former company was the originator of the Vegas slogan!  I think he'd really like this. Around the Quay was literally Dog Day for owners and their favorite canines.  Yoga with the dogs was entertaining and then lots of booths with specialty items for the dogs surrounded the area.  We stopped by the Police Museum for a quick photo op after eating and shopping the markets in The Rocks-one of the oldest neighborhoods of Sydney. 

The Queen Victoria Building is getting into the holiday spirit already.  The three story tree has been decorated and more lights added since Don and I were there a few weeks ago. Lots of shops to window shop and food courts in the lower levels and above.  It was a fun day to be relaxing with friends.   

This Saturday, Don and I decided we could use a visit to another one of the other northern beaches.  We went to Dee Why.  The water is still pretty cold but lots of swimmers were out.  The day was warm, but no waves to entice surfers.  We loved just sitting on the beach, wading in the water, listening to the surf, and watching all the other beach goers. We walked along the beach around to the ocean pools where the little ones can swim in a more protected environment with parents nearby.  

It would be great to have a house like these on the hill with a view of the ocean  as far as you can see.

One of the Aldi carts that didn't get returned for the quarter.

We headed back into the city to attend Church with the young single adults on Sunday and found this sign at the bus stop.  I hadn't thought about this before, but I'm sure it's true of us!