We had another fun and busy week.  I think Heidi made it her goal to distract me from thinking about my dad and took us out to eat a bunch.  I appreciate the distraction and have been getting daily updates from my mom. He is still not doing the greatest; he is still in the hospital.  Please keep the good thoughts and prayers headed their way.  Here is what we have been up to this week.

I have really tried to catch up in Game of Thrones (GOT) but am not going to make it.  I have been loosing too much sleep and everyone around me is getting colds, so I am going to rest instead.  I made it to season 5 (out of the 6 I need to see) in the last three weeks, so nearly there.  I will not be watching it tomorrow at our Season 7 Premiere Party Jax is hosting.  Bummer, but I will catch up in the next few weeks.  Since I have so much time watching TV, I finished knitting Brandon’s slippers and started another scarf.  The slippers I winged without a pattern, so I feel they turned out pretty good.  Scarves are my comfort zone, so I will stick to that.

Monday and Wednesday nights we relaxed at home.  Tuesday, I finished work early and took the train to get our mail.  I am used to the buses, but clearly not the trains.  I got all turned around at both Town Hall and Central Stations.  Eventually I made it to the mailbox, but was 1 min late to get into the post office to pick up a package.  Bummer, but Brandon got it the next day.  It was a care package from Lindsay!!  Candy, slippers, and a pretty, warm scarf.  🙂 So fun to get things in the mail.  For supper, Heidi and Jax’s brother Ray, Brandon, and I went out to Radio Cairo, in interesting restaurant that had a mix of African and South American food.  I love BYO! Makes it way cheaper to drink wine with dinner!  We got a bunch of different dishes and split it.  Some was a bit spicy Cajun, but I handled it ok.

Thursday night, the other three nurses at work and I went to a vegan Italian restaurant in Newtown.  They had delicious pizza and amazing cocktails.  It was interesting eating vegan; no meat and all dairy free cheese.  I was afraid it would be bland or feel like something was missing.  Not at all.  We split a few different kinds and got dessert too.  So good and such good company.  I have been so blessed with all my coworkers at the jobs I have had.  🙂 I am excited to get to know these girls better too.  We don’t have a lot of time to socialize at work, we are spread out and either helping the doctors, in surgery, or on the phone.  It is nice to be able to get together outside of work and relax.  I took the train, then a bus home from Newtown; managing the train stations ok.  Newtown only had 2 platforms, and I had already gotten lost and then found in Wynard.

Friday night we met up with Jax and Heidi and some of their friends in Surry Hills at a restaurant called Dead Ringer.  We did a preset courses meal and it was pretty good food.  They took their time between eat course; I think to get you to drink more.  We arrived at 7 and did not get out of there until after 10:30p.  It was still fun to hang out and meet new people.  Jax drove us all home, so I didn’t have to brave the trains again.

The weather has still been cool and sunny.  During the day it is probably in the high 60s in the sun and 40s at night in the city.  Still light coat and scarf weather; a perfect temperature for winter.  In the mountains and further along the coast and in the country, it does get much cooler.  Some people even get frost. Ooohhh! 😉

Saturday, I got my hair cut in the morning, then Heidi and I explored Kirribilli.  We had lunch, then checked out the views.  They are so amazing of the Bridge and Opera House and the water.  So peaceful and irrefutably Sydney.  We had a relaxing night at home and Brandon made burritos.  Sunday, I had a flower arranging/wine and cheese class at a wine store in Surry Hills.  They do all sorts of classes there; a really cool atmosphere.  It was on the Japanese way of flower arranging (Ikebana) and really cool to learn.  It is suppose to be very relaxing for you and therapeutic.  I am sure the wine and cheese helped that along.  I have still be struggling to find fruity, sweeter wines for myself.  I tried both of their Rieslings and they were too dry.  Of course I like the Moscato, so I had that instead.  We did two different arrangements with different flowers.  The secret to making the flowers stand up and look good was this spiky disk in the bottom of the vase (kenzan).  All the stems just stick into it and stay there.  I ended up buying one so I can do it at home.  The florist that taught us bring them from Japan when she goes home to sell and use at her shop.  I can’t wait to do more arrangements and have flowers around the house.  It may not be official Ikebana, but it is fun and pretty.  I am excited to see what other classes and opportunities are around the city.  There is so much to see and do, but everything is also expensive.  It is a balance of getting out and exploring, yet not overstretching the fun allowance.  Brandon and I are pretty good at that.  This week, going out so much got a bit messy, but thankfully we have stable income, we are healthy, and we take leftovers for lunch every day to save.  After the class, I headed to the Paddy’s Markets and wandered through Chinatown before taking the bus home.

Well, I have to wrap this up.  We still have to get to church tonight since I was out bumming this morning.