Maroubra Beach - clean small surf on a beautiful winter Sunday

Maroubra Beach is the last city beach located in Sydney south side.  It feels very country like so chilled out.  I *love* this atmosphere.

Beautiful Japan---Wagashi

Japan has a distinctive four seasons.   This is what I miss ( though physically I dislike the winter coldness ), I mean the sense sharing with the nature , which a Japanese has been having in their genes.

I could be an influence of Zen.  But I think we are based on our belief ( not a religion, I believe ) called Shintoism and it awakes our consciousness being touched with the mother nature.

Yummy nibblies

Looking for the best bakery!  There are several home made kind of  bake shops near-by, I like them
because they are not franchised.  For me the definition of the very good bakery is if they can bake
the good quality croissant or not.  Of course I buy sourdough ( not so sour) breads, spelt or kamut breads and other types of non sweet breads.

Organic Artisan Bakery does their job!
I bought a plain croissant and a rye sourdough.  I am not into strong flavour sourdough but their bread has nice texture and taste.  After coming back to my flat I made chopped avocados with olive oil on the top of the slice.
Croissant ?  yes  that is a real one.

The muffin is from another cafe near by

Will this be a magic carpet?

YEAH~~~~~, I am so excited!
My new surfboard is ready for a virgin voyage.
Haydenshapes surfboards Hypto Krypto--5'3" , 19 1/2",  2 3/16"

  Thank you BLM.

Refreshed wet day

After a long period of sunny days, the shower finally came around.
Surf is small and ordinary so I went outside to say hello to the trees.
Fresh and chilly wind stroke my cheeks.

Trees look happy and relaxed as if they are stretching their long arms in the air.

What am I going to do when there is no surf

The answer is COOKING !
I felt like having a snacky dessert sort of food,  so I made a home made ricotta cheese cinnamon cream.
In Japan I heard that ricotta cheese is very expensive but in Australia it is not inexpensive to buy.
It would cost more for a home made.

The good thing about home made is to be able to select good ingredients.
I am not sure if the organic milk gave a good flavour but it was so tasty and yummy,  and what's more
it tasted so fresh.

This cream has been my favourite!!

This is not Japanese mochi (rice cake )

Mid winter in Katoomba

A cold wind blowing from the valley hit my cheeks and head as I walking to Katoomba.
Katoomba ( Kedumba) is an aboriginal word means " water tumbling over hill ".  We see several similarity in the culture  to Ainu, which is the indigenous in Hokkaido,Japan and as was common at the indigenous habitant, they introduced  the indigenous naming into each places.

I see lots of  the original style of houses ( English colonial era ), and it suits to the area because
it made of woods and most of the houses are one storey so every houses stand  kind of hidden in their gardens.

I spotted very unusual plant.  It was like a combination of Australian native bottle brush and fern.
First I thought that they were tangled together but it wasn't.  Amazingly they flower in a middle of the winter.

could be the oldest house exist in the town??

Mid winter in Leura

A beautiful blue sky sunny day.  I checked the surf condition online but it didn't look good at all.

Umhhh, ok, let's go to Blue Mountains!!  The decision was made without hesitation. So I quickly got

ready and checked a train time table and hit the road.   I wanted to take 9:09am train.  

But you know what time I left home?  It was 8:30am, ummmmh  I tired not to worry myself                            

and kept telling myself that I could make it.     Nick in time, I got on the train 3 seconds before

departure!!

Whenever I go to Blue Mountains, I have to get off  at Leura.  The reason is to have a pumpkin lentil

fetta pie at Bakehouse.  They make cheek dropping pies.  So good.. and I started stroll the village...

Winter mode 

all year Christmas shop

At a vintage shop

THE・WINTER Seasonal scenery

     After a long period of rainy days we finally had a blue sky and the sun!
Though the wave has gone smaller and the ocean temperature dropped down, it was a beautiful winter day.   Enjoy the winter... Love the warm coat, seasonal fruits and vegetables, hot water bottle, hot soups,  and how about someone to make my cold foot! ?

mandarins   every morning I pick up one mandarin after surfing for Vitamin C 

Bronte surfing 22 Jun.2013 13C゜

It has been nearly a week since the  cold weather and the solid swell hit Sydney's coast.

It is Saturday but Bronte park is deserted because of the rain and a chilly air.
I can't stand this cold... Yeah some good sets are coming...but not inviting......go home and get hot bath!

Bronte Beach 8Jun a long weekends started

No wonder there were not so may people around ,  a long weekends started today.   But because it doesn't apply to me, I even don't know what is the monday's public holiday for...
( wait a moment..I get my diary and ..oh yeah.. It is Queens' birthday except WA & QLD )

Sydney eastern sub. people might have escaped to the north coasts.  Good thing here is less surfers in the ocean.   Though the surf is average,  I prefer quality ( uncrowded ) to quantity ( numbers of surfers )

VIVID SYDNEY 2013

2 JUNE 2013, Sunday , the weather is scattering shower, cold and windy.

I was with a friend to check out this year's VIVID SYDNEY.  Until getting there we didn't expect this crowd under this uneasy weather for the event.  But Where are they come from~~?

Sydney's city view was pretty with non eye sore lighting.  Specially we liked the custom house performing with a series of the funky music.  

CUSTOM HOUSE

Dancing girl at Opera House

This is where the projector is set up , above the pink lighting

Sri Lanka Rice and Curry vol.1

Sri Lankans love a home cooking,  and everyone cooks their home traditional Rice and Curry.

Everyday I was thinking of what I eat for a dinner.." I had Rice and Curry last night so I try something

different tonight."  Then I found out myself ordering Rice and Curry.  Each night I went to different

restaurants..why not?

At local eating places they make a curry very very hot and spicy which is nice but almost can make fire in a mouth.

By the end of my stay in Sri Lanka, I had my favourite curry shop and not only a curry but their Kottu roti  was so yummy and I sometimes miss it!.

Local curry place, very hot

 Chook curry and Kottu Roti

Lentil curry at a private cooking class

This was very delicious at The View hotel in Ella

yum yum home made curry 

My Sri Lanka Trip

There are fruits trees and vegetables growing in their gardens.  When it is ready, you just pick them up.

I think this is rich.  They live with what they need basically and feel happy about it.

The average earning is maybe the one fifth of our earning , so it is not easy for them to go abroad and

travel around.. Electricity has risen up to 50 to 60%, this is very expensive for them.  It is very hot most
of the time, so the tourists use the air conditioner if they live in a house, that is expensive.

The concrete house absorb the hot air from outside, and this is what they use for a house material these days.  The mud box( bricks) is cheaper and cooler. I don't understand why more people use concrete to build the house.  Not only Sri Lankans but we all need to learn sustainable life style.

the sun set in Ella

One of the best home cooking curry, I visit this guest house everytime I come to Sri Lanka

Vege. market in Ella

I need 100mouths and stomaches ...Kuala Lumpur

This year 2013 I spend more time in Sri Lanka and Malaysia than in Australia.
I just came back from there and  my friend in KL searches the restaurants and cafes whenever she has a time,  so we cruised into " Purple Cane Tea Restaurants" one of the best I have ever dinned.

The green stuff is not a green tea, I don't know what is called but the flavour  spread into your mouth softly.  The taste is not bitter at all.

We made a excellent choice of the foods here.

Oyster mushroom

Tofu  , this is sooo good