Monday was a lovely relaxing and spoiling day for me. After tai chi, Dad and I went for lunch at 'Open House' - our new 'go-to' cafe in HB. I had the nachos and Dad had the lasagna and salad - and, as has been the case each time I have been before, the food was yummy! Dad agreed with me that this is the best food we have tasted in the Bay and we will definitely return.
Dad with his lunch - lasagne and salad - at 'Open House'
After that, I went for an hour long hot stone massage with aromatherapy with Helen. It was so delightful and relaxing. I told my friends, Diana and Robyn about her and both of them went this week for the same - and both of them loved it. I also had my usual 'standing' facial on Tuesday - again, it was heavenly. I am going to miss having these for the next while.
On Wednesday, I had morning tea with a couple of teacher friends, Luise and Hazel. It was nice as always to get together with them and it was nice to have a small group for a change - it is easier to get to know people better that way. After that, it was off to get my hair cut. Christa is great at cutting my hair, but likes to put 'gunk' in it before she blow dries it. I let her cuz I don't want to hurt her feelings - she seems to like using it and it really doesn't make any difference to me. I always brush it out when I get home. :-)
Dad and I had lunch with Robyn on Friday - we knew it would be ages before we saw each other again, so we thought it would be nice to have a lunch out at 'Open House'. Dad had the nachos this time and I had the chicken wrap. Yummy again! Dad and I also shared an iced chocolate - I am going to miss those while I am in Canada. :-)
On Friday night, we had our friends, Bill and Faye, over for dinner. They had just arrived back from Brisbane (Bill was teaching there) and I knew we wouldn't be seeing them for quite a while, so this day was the best time for all of us to get together. It was nice catching up with them since last we saw them. We are off to Canada and then Perth and Melbourne and they will be coming back to Brisbane and then heading off to Hawaii. The next time we will meet up with them will be in December.
Yesterday, Dad and I had an opportunity to vote in our federal election. This was Dad's second time voting, but the first time he has voted in person - last time, he did a postal vote when he was teaching in Canada. The government here is pretty much the same as it is in Canada - it's hard to know who to vote for. And we have had six leaders in the last ten years (one of them got in twice) and three times there has been an overthrow of the Prime Minister. It's been quite frustrating for the people of Australia - and it's even more frustrating now as there are so many races which have been too close to call - they are saying right now that it could be up to two weeks before we know who the Prime Minister is.
Today we drove to Brisbane and are now settled into our serviced apartment at the Quest. The Quest is across the road from the Chermside Mall which is huge. The one bedroom unit we are staying in is very nice and the bed is super comfortable. The local swimming pool is a five minute walk from the Quest and I can take aquafit classes there three times a week which I am looking forward to.
