Moonrise

   While we've seen numerous gorgeous sunrises, last week the moon rising over the Pacific stopped us all for a few minutes.  The moon was huge!  It almost didn't look real and the photos don't really do it justice. 

   In other news -

   We spent some time at Freshwater beach, another of Sydney's northern beaches. 



   The dog is apparently part rodent and gets himself into some amusing positions when burrowing into the pillows.

    Sam won the 9 yr old boys 50 meter freestyle at the Zone swim carnival (14 schools) and got to advance to the Regional meet (150+ schools) at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre (SOPAC).  He was thrilled to advance and loved swimming in two events (relay team as well) at such a great venue.  After finishing 6th in the finals, he was a bit bummed not to move on to the state meet, but he had great swims and might even be motivated to start practicing again. 

    There was a sun halo a few days ago which was kinda wild to see.  While walking the dog, a guy pointed it out to me.  He was very nervous and seemed to think it was "getting really bad."  It's actually harmless and caused by ice crystals and clouds reflecting light. 





   The Queen Mary 2, one of the largest ships in the world, was in town and Chris headed off to watch her depart.  Huge ship!





     Nippers ended this weekend with an award ceremony and sausage sizzle.  Sausage sizzles are essentially cookouts in which sausages, usually wrapped in a slice of white bread, are sold or given away after sporting events.  



Both kids received individual medals, Sam's for having the Spirit of Nippers, and Mia's for finishing in the top ten girls and boys in the 10 and 11 year old group. 

   The amazing sunrises continue....

    A sweet one to end on -

Early

    Sydney gets up early.  The garbage truck often comes up the street before 6 AM.  It is not uncommon for packages to get delivered at 7 AM.  Landscape crews turn on their machines at 7:30.  It's an early bird kinda place. 

    Over this year, after experimenting with all kinds of noise machines, we have cursed the lousy windows and acclimated somewhat.  There really is no other choice.  We sleep through some of it when we can but if I'm up, I'm off to the beach because the mornings are amazing.  There's a lot going on but it's still really quiet and really pretty.





  The sunrises are fiery and gorgeous this time of year.

Love this place.

Harbor

   We don't really know how we'll like life without the Harbor.  It's just gorgeous and there's always something interesting to watch.  Even when it rains, we love watching the water, wind, light, boats and wildlife.  Whenever we can, we go exploring.  Some recent photos -

The Mosman ferry on Mosman Bay.  It's about a 10 minute ride across the Harbor to Circular Quay (central ferry hub in the city).

There are yacht clubs all around the harbor and it's common to see these little "flotillas."  It's amazing how young some of the kids are out racing by themselves.

 Hermit Bay, a great spot to moor for lunch and swimming.

 This little guy just moved from France (his dad works with Chris) and loves to play with the big kids.  Mia and Sam are picking up bits of French from him.

Rock fishing has to be the most dangerous pasttime in Australia.  Unfortunately, you hear about these guys dying whenever the surf gets rough.

The type of boat is called a moth.  Sam wants one.  No surprise there.

These are fun to watch.  The people sailing have to be very athletic to hang on the sides and then run across the boat to tack.

Great spinnaker

Sydney Harbour Regatta underway

It's always fun to get a water view of "home."

    We're always thinking about the water when we contemplate going home.  We've amused ourselves lately by trying to think of a place in CH where we can dine with a water view.  Funny, sad little game to amuse ourselves.  At least it's funny now....

Goodbye Summer?

   When in Oz, the seasons change on the first of the month.  So, it's now Autumn (Fall gets met with confused looks).  We've mentioned it before, but it really was an extraordinary summer in Sydney.  Extraordinary in that it rarely felt like summer.  There were only two days (two!) when the temperature got over 30 degrees Celsius (86 Farenheit)!!  We never knew a summer in Australia could be so cool.  Most days weren't out of the 70's and it rained more than half the days.  Cool temps may sound appealing but not when you want to play in the water and not when they are accompanied by rain and wind.  Locals have been shocked.  Chris spent a good deal of time in Melbourne, where the summer was hot and sunny.  These are some of the headlines we saw.

    There is no lack of things to do in Sydney, even if we'd prefer to be outdoors.

 Mia and I had afternoon tea in an great old building downtown.  We loved the treats and Mia loved her fancy chair!

The Musee Nationale de Picasso in Paris is closed for renovations so the collection has gone on tour.  Mia and I really enjoyed the exhibit - 10 rooms of paintings and sculpture.

   The good news is that one sunny day in Sydney makes up for a lot of ugly ones.  We made the best of the pretty days - along with the rest of Sydney.

Sailing past the Opera House with fellow CH expats.

The pool eventually warmed up enough for some backyard fun.

Lots of this on rainy days.

 International surfing comeptition at nearby Manly Beach was great to see. 

Are we really leaving this and going home?