The Perfect Winter Day

If didn't know that we were halfway through the month of July and right smack in the middle of winter, I could have been fooled into thinking that spring had arrived. The past few days have been nothing but blue blue skies made perfect by the glow of the sun warming the air and everything around us to perfection.

This sort of weather inspires outdoor activities. So to the outdoors we went :) After church on Sunday we decided to have an impromptu BBQ. Aussie style. Unlike Malaysia where a BBQ involves the use of charcoal and assembling a barbeque pit, an Aussie BBQ means bringing food to one of the outdoor BBQ spots provided for by the goverment in public parks where all the food is cooked on a metal hot plate run by gas. Its so very convenient and no bookings are necessary! Of course the use of such places requires much civic conciousness (cleaning after yourself and maintaining the usability of the place for others) to which I must say is one of the best qualities of the Western culture.

We bought our supplies from the shops and only needed a quick run back home to pick up some extra items to aid with the preparation process. We then headed to Canberra-Nara Park aka Lennox Park located right by Lake Burley Griffin just around the corner from the Embassy row.

Perfect blue skies - See the water spout in the picture? Thats Captain Cook's Memorial Jet.

Oh the lovely sun on my face.....

Gleefully chopping up zucchini. A little dressed up for a BBQ I must say. We did come straight from church!


Typical that the men watch while the women are hard at work

The wonderful smells attracted the fowl.

Brie n cracker - Sorry sun was too bright. I could not see the image on the camera so the shot is blurry.

Our yummy fry up - Zucchinis, Mushrooms, Onions, Haloumi and Beef Rissoles

Apart from the fry up, we had a Greek Salad, Caesar Salad, multigrain buns, bread, french onion spread, Doritos and iced coffee for our meal. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Funny how when people shop or prepare for a barbeque, nothing seems to be enough. Yet when all is cooked and ready, there are always leftovers. Have you ever had a barbeque with NO leftovers? My point exactly....

We took a nice stroll around the lake after the meal.

Alex and I

The back entrance to Canberra-Nara Park. It is Japanese inspired because Nara in the name stands for Nara, Japan - Canberra's sister city.

I also learnt something new on Sunday. When in Australia and walking in parks such as the one we were at, you got to watch out for 'Itchy Bombs'. They are these interesting looking spiky balls hanging on trees (which are obviously seed pods) and if placed in contact with skin will cause a fiery red outbreak accompanied by a stinging, prickly sensation topped off with a maddening itch. Not a good end to nice stroll so I took care to avoid stepping on any on the ground to avoid from bringing these home with me under my shoe.

Itchy Bomb

It was a nice way to spend a Sunday and here is hoping the weather remains this nice for the rest of the week. Nothing beats having a blue skies to chase winter blues away :)

cheryl