Just wanted to check in to tell you where I've been. Since it's a long weekend here (Queen's Birthday) and I can now stay with dear MIL, I went to Sydney for 2 days. We had our usual fun time, eating Chinese food, watching animation DVDs (The Incredibles and Shrek) and I went to see the Bear's final resting place in the cemetery. It was my first chance to see the plaque I had ordered. I also took the opportunity of using the maps I downloaded for my US GPS device to find my way around Sydney. I never drove in Sydney when the Bear was alive because he knew (or believed he knew) all the back roads to get around. I sometimes had a hard time convincing him that they might have built new roads since he last lived there (like the Eastern Distributor). But now I have a GPS device named Mandy who can direct me to where I want to go. She doesn't always use the most direct roads but she does get you there. She got J and I to Kensington and she got MIL and I to Watsons Bay. And why Watsons Bay? Anybody knows that one: Doyle's. I've eaten there many times since 1986 when X2 and I managed to get from Kings Cross to Watsons Bay to eat at this fabled restaurant. It hasn't changed in all the years, except the prices have gone very far up. Having said that, I had the most perfect (and huge) piece of barramundi and their awesome chips, and didn't begrudge the total. To the right is our view of Sydney CBD from the beach and you can see what a gorgeous day we had, even if it was a bit windy. Above to the left is a view of the Heads from the top of the hill going down to the Bay.

MIL and I are already planning another trip, maybe going into the city so I can stock up at David Jones food hall, or even go to Galaxy bookstore, as if I needed more sci-fi to read. I have to keep kicking myself repeatedly to remind myself that I am trying to reduce the number of books in this house no matter how Amazon or other places try to entice me.

I am almost finished with Deceiver, which is the latest in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series and is so engrossing that you could easily just sit down and read in one sitting. But then I'll have to wait a long time for the next one. I'm operating under the rule of reading big books first, so I will tackle hardbacks before paperbacks. My BBBB is now The Great Game, and it progresses a bit faster than I'd like in a BBBB, but it is fat. It's about the battle between Britain and Russia over the routes in Central Asia where the two empires came into contact, with Russia flexing it's muscles and Britain defending India. Of course, all a precursor to events of today, or even yesterday when Russia invaded Afghanistan leaving a mess behind.

Home again and housework calls, things like laundry and cleaning the kitchen floor. And weeding the book stock as well.