Dear Diary

I should be keeping a diary or a daily blog because so much has been happening the past few weeks that I can't remember everything. Here is the recap of last week:

Saturday - made thanksgiving dinner. pretty much took the whole day

Sunday - went to the city with daughters to do some shopping. Christmas decorations were up in the shops but we didn't find much of what we needed.

Monday - cleaned house, met a friend at Bondi and went for a 2 hour hike along the cliffs from beach to beach ending at Coogee where I cooled off with a swim. Stared up at the puffy clouds while I floated on my back, and saw three amazing green crabs with purple claws skittering along the rocks on my way out.

Tuesday - David came home from 13 days away in the UK. He brought us sweet treats, gifts, letters and surprises from our dear friends there, and trashy magazines full of royal gossip (Hello!). We all did a lot of catching up with the highs and the lows.

W-F - worked, wrote letters, enrolled in a one year stitchery expertise course with the Embroiderer's Guild, helped Mira sew 4 dresses for costumes for Valerie's school dance performance, rode my bike, gave myself a pedicure, and made a delicious stir-fry.

Saturday - Went to The Finders Keepers Market at the Carriage Works. 4-5 huge rooms filled with beautiful, fun, creative, bits and bobs. We rode our bikes and enjoyed beautiful weather. The crowd was lively. There was food and music, stylish people and adorable children. The sellers were from all over Australia and we got to see some of our favorites such as Able and Game, and the folks from Frankie Magazine. There was even a room just for Zines and they had a screen printing demonstration/workshop going on at 2 oclock which was after we left :(. There were women selling handmade, high waisted swimsuits and retro 60s swimcaps. They were adorable modeling them, not at all trashy because they were full coverage. I can't remember when I have had so much fun shopping. I am very happy with the kookaburra broach that I got, made out of wood and vintage wallpaper.

Later, at home, I did Zumba and skyped with my friend in Arizona who just had an emergency appendectomy! After dinner I indulged in my guilty pleasure of British t.v. (Doc Martin, and Miss Marple).

Sunday - Went to another artists faire! Not as big as the first but all local and loads of creative and unusual items. One woman makes custom shoes that I lust over. There was a man who makes beautiful but functional and basic porcelain cups and bowls. There were tons of cute baby items which I luckily have no use for right now. We were not as lucky with the weather this time and the Southerly winds (which are the cold ones down here) blew in a thunder storm that we got caught in. Nothing an nice cup of tea and fruit buns wouldn't cure.

Now I am off to decorate our underdog of a fake christmas tree. I think it should be just like in Charlie Brown's Christmas. We have so many ornaments you won't even be able to see the tree.

The photos are, from the top: me on my bike heading out to the market, Christmas banners that are all over downtown, the window of David Jones (the Aussie equivalent of Nordstrom), two of the dresses that Mira made, the view of the ocean from the Coogee women's pool, tidbits and gifts from David's trip, the Frankie table, super cool screen printing, the zine room, and the main floor of Finders Keepers.