Saving Salamanders

While I was doing laundry in our garage the other day I was a bit surprised when I happened to look into the wash basin next to our washing machine and see a green salamander chilling out in the sink. I was a bit relieved, as at first glance he looked to be the world's largest spider, but thankfully he's on the slightly more evolved side of Earth's organisms. Knowing that wildlife in Australia is better off left alone, I just let him be and thought he'd be on his merry way shortly thereafter.

Well, I did a bit more laundry the next day and that sneaky guy was back in there! Or had he ever left? Hard to say, since I don't exactly have salamander security systems to track their comings and goings, but still I erred on the side of caution and let him be. He's from Queensland, after all. He probably knows what he's doing.

So I kind of forgot my little Salmander buddy over the weekend, but I happened to go into the garage again today and he was in there again! Now it's obvious to me that despite his sticky feet, he must have got caught in the basin and was unable to right his current situation. So I found a little stick in our garage and put it in the basin, hoping he would get the hint, crawl up the stick, and get back to eating bugs and running in the bushes. Apparently this guy was as cautious of me as I was of him, and he decided better to just stick it out in the basin and ignore this olive branch from the crafty human. My next bright idea was to give him a bit of water. That might make him a bit more trusting and then he might shimmy up the stick to freedom. Well his little tongue was just flicking at the sight of that water and he drank up all I could pour and even had a little bath, the poor guy. But he still wasn't having any of that stick.

Bright idea number three: I went into Errik's sailboat, which is currently moored in our garage, and found a little bucket, coerced the little devil into the bucket, and set him free in the wet grass outside the garage. Well he must have been pleased as punch to be out amongst his friends again in the grass, and I hope that we can still be buddies, me and the Salamander.

So, today is the day I saved the salamander. Is that part of the 12 days of Christmas? Maybe it is down under. Who can understand these Aussies when they talk, let alone sing! :)

Thunderstorms

Just a friendly reminder to everyone out there. If you know there are going to be thunderstorms and you will be out and about, remember to close your windows. Both Chris and I forgot to close our windows. Our carpet is now very wet. Good thing we have fans.

Kangaroo

I like kangaroos. They are super cute (as long as you don't get too close and they box you) and are a very interesting animal. They are also quite tasty. Chris has been the chef at our house lately, and he is very adventurous with cooking, which I really enjoy. The other day he picked up some kangaroo roast from the grocery store. It was marinated in herbs and spices, so all you had to do was stick it in the oven to cook. It was the first time for me eating kangaroo (Chris had a kangaroo burger in the first days we were here), and I was quite impressed. It was super lean, very mild tasting, and full of vitamins and iron. It is also a very cheap meat to buy, so you feel like you're having a gourmet meal without the cost of a gourmet meal.

The heat is on

It's starting to really heat up. Summer is here! It's still a bit of an adjustment for us getting used to the humidity and intense sun, but we're doing okay. We're very lucky that we have an apartment with lots of windows that allow for a lovely breeze to blow through, which helps to keep us cool.

I saw a picture in the Edmonton Journal online edition of a snow covered Whyte Ave. It wasn't just that it was a snowy picture, but it seemed to be taken on one of those days where the ground and the sky are the same colour. I'm not a big fan of those winter days as they seem a bit depressing. So in an effort to bring a little sunshine and colour into the lives of those reading this post, here are some pictures of the lovely Poinciana trees that have started blooming, and some pics of some of our favourite flowers. Enjoy!

Poinciana Tree

Poinciana Tree

The Natural Bridge

G'day, mates!

This weekend we decided to hire a car, yet again, and try to hit both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts for some 'much deserved' R and R. My driving capability has progressed rapidly to the point where I can confidently drive in city, highway, day and night conditions. Not too sure about cyclone rain, but then again no one should probably be driving through that!

Saturday on the Sunshine Coast was really nice. The wind was quite strong so the breaks were perfect for surfing and body boarding. So I took out the old boogie board and tried my luck in the waves. When we first got here, Uncle Errik took us to the beach basically the first day and we were shocked at how strong the current is in the ocean. Now it's not as big of a deal for me, but Andrea is still concerned she'll be swept out to sea. Between us, I'm pretty sure she's more concerned that she'll lose her swimsuit top or bottom in the current, but I digress.

Sunday we ventured down to Coolangatta for some beach time, which was terrific despite the clouds, and afterwards we took a short trip into the hinterland at Springbrook National Park and went to see the Natural Arch, or Natural Bridge. Basically a river carved a hole in the rock in such a way that it seems like there's a naturally occurring rock bridge over a waterway.  

The vegetation in these hinterland national parks is the same kind seem in the time of the dinosaurs. As stated in the park, only 0.3% of these forests remain in Australia since the dinos tramped around here, so walking through the dense foliage really takes you back in time to when great beasts roamed this country. I love this kind of environment. Surprisingly, you don't see too many snakes or spiders, but you can really hear the birds chirping away. At sunset we were treated to a massive shower of sound as thousands  some kind of tropical bird started singing before bedtime.






Underneath the arch, even in daylight, is quite dark and dank. Obviously the roar of the waterfall is emphasized in that close space, and even during the day we could see the odd glow worm in the cave.



We bought a really nice portable, travel tripod for Andrea's DSLR and it's great for taking just the right photos. Here Andrea's practicing some long exposure shots to try and get the wispy effect of the water falling into the arch.

Since we stayed at the park for nearly an hour and a half, it started to get really dark and the tour groups started pouring in to see the glow worms at night. We had purchased a flashlight, I mean torch, earlier that day and figured what the heck, let's go back down. We went the quicker way to beat the tourists and were treated to quite a site. Thousands of little lights all over the cave ceiling and wall. Little blue dots were everywhere...but so were the bats! Andrea was a little hesitant to explore the now pitch black cavern with little bats flying at a million miles an hour out of the cave, but since I'm hella brave, Andrea followed me in. We tried to get the best photos we could, but it is pitch black. The worms aren't really that squiggly, that's just the artifacts of a shaky hand, but they are tiny little cylinders of light, which is pretty cool. Hopefully we'll see even better glow worm caves on our trip to New Zealand! Sorry, Andrea, but I think there will be lots of bats there as well. :)

Sunrise

This morning I woke up at 4:30 for some reason. In my groggy state, I stumbled into the kitchen to pour a glass of water, and outside was a beautiful sunrise. The camera was conveniently sitting on the counter in the kitchen, so I snapped a couple pictures before I went back to bed.

Travels

This past weekend we had planned on a long weekend in Mooloolaba, but unfortunately the rains decided to fall, so we had to cancel. So, in the spirit of making lemonade, we decided to rent a car and drive up to Eumundi to take in the amazing markets they have on Saturdays. We were told to get there early, so we left at 6:30 to start our 90 minute drive to this wonderfully quaint town about 20 minutes inland from the coast. The markets are absolutely amazing. With more than 600 stalls selling everything from local produce, art, clothing, jewelry, there's something for everything. The markets have a strong focus on homemade goods, so almost everything you see if grown or made locally, which makes this experience even more enjoyable. Even though the rain was coming down, we really enjoyed walking through the stalls and eyeing all the goodies. We ended up buying some muffins, bread, and a few postcards from a local Aboriginal artist. I'm sure we'll make an effort to go back to these markets and the wonderfully artsy and quaint town. Unfortunately, we didn't snap any pictures of the markets because we were too busy trying to stay dry. But, on the way home, we took a scenic drive through the Glass House Mountains, where I managed to snap a picture of Chris in front of Mt. Coonowrin. I think he looks very handsome.

If you're ever along the Sunshine Coast, make sure to head to Eumundi to take in the markets. We guarantee you won't be disappointed...or go home hungry!

Mangoes

Mango season is in full swing here, and I am in heaven. Growing up with an Aussie mum, I am no stranger to this delicious fruit. But I now fully understand what my mum meant when she said "they taste so much sweeter in Australia". That couldn't be more true. The mangoes here are incredibly sweet, juicy, and the size of a small child's head (no jokes). Every time you go to the fruit market or grocery store, you can smell the mangoes before you walk in the door. And there are so many different kinds to choose from: Kensington, Bowen, R2E2...the list goes on. I think the R2E2 are our favourites. They are huge, sweet, juicy, and sound like a name from Star Wars! We are trying to eat as many as we can before we head back to Canada - a challenge I eagerly accept!

Jacarandas

A few weeks ago, Chris went out with the camera and snapped some lovely photos of the Jacaranda trees in our neighbourhood. I loved traveling through the city and getting these beautiful bursts of purple colour wherever you went. Most of the purple flowers have fallen off the trees by now, but it was sure a beautiful few weeks while the flowers were blooming. Enjoy the pictures!

Life as a kept man

Well it's been a while since we've last had an update, so it is definitely overdue! Things have definitely started to heat up here in Brisbane, and the rather mild and wet winter is behind us. We were pretty jealous of some of the hot weather back at home in the past months, but now it's our turn for the heat. While neverending summer does sound like paradise, and it probably is, everyday of 27, for now, takes getting used too. It's nice to never need a coat, but we're not quite at the point where we're just in flip flops all the time. If you are not a fan of sweating, I'm not sure if an Australian summer is for you...

Since my birthday I've been enjoying a little vacation from working, so Andrea and I have switched roles and now I'm the one at home cooking and cleaning. I am really enjoying the role reversal and it does allow me a lot of time to catch up on video games, relaxing, working out, and cooking. The day is pretty relaxing, but still things need to get done, and get done they sure do, the Chris Miller way. Andrea just commented the other day that my bed making efforts as of late have been the best she`s ever seen. Funny how spending all day at home makes you feel more proud of your daily chore accomplishments. 
 
I was very lucky to spend a week fishing and sailing with Uncle Errik and we even spent a weekend at Stradbroke Island, which is a large island off the coast of Brisbane that is largely nature reserve. We were very kind fishermen and didn`t bother the fish too much, spent our evenings at the pub and toured the island. It was really pretty there and it was a great vacation.

 One night on our way to the jetty for fishing we saw a Koala chillin`in the middle of the road and then during our late night fishing expedition we saw two dolphins swimming and playing in the shallows not more than 5m away from us for over two hours! It was really a great time. The beaches aren't crowded at all, in fact, from these photos you can see that we were the only people there! They renovated one of the biggest pubs, it may in fact be the only pub, and there's a shot of me enjoying a nice schooner of Blue Tongue.

I`ve also been spending some time watching the Oiler games and chatting with the folks via skype. Let`s just say that I`ll keep chatting with the folks...not sure about the Oiler games. Kidding asside, they have a lot of problems but they are fairly fun to watch most of the time.

We`re planning a little trip back to Mooloolaba for Andrea`s birthday next weekend and it should be another great time. School kids are out here and each year their graduation celebration is called `Schoolies`. This celebration usually consists of thousands of kids flocking to the Gold Coast, having rented apartments or accommodation a year in advance, and drinking and driving and generally causing mayhem which usually results in several arrest, injuries, and deaths. Let`s just say we won`t be heading to the Gold Coast in the next two weeks!

Right now I`m spending some time trying to plan our our big two month New Zealand/Australia tour starting in February, which should be a great time! As of now the plan is to come home in Early April, exactly one year since we left. Time seems to be flying by and we'll be home in no time.

Happy 27th Birthday Chris!

This past weekend was Chris' birthday. And what better way to celebrate than to head up to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine coast for some beach, sun, and good times. As soon as I got home on the Friday afternoon, we grabbed our bags and hopped on the train to start our 2 hour journey to paradise. We've been to Mooloolaba once before and really loved it there. It has a beautiful beach, but not the development that you would find on the Gold Coast.

We had decided to splurge a little bit and booked a vacation apartment for two nights right on the water. We used an online discount travel website, so we actually got a good deal. Plus, we were upgraded to a nicer apartment, so it was a really good deal! The apartment had a full kitchen, which was great because we like to cook for ourselves, and an AMAZING balcony that overlooked the ocean.

On Saturday night, we grabbed some chicken and veggies and went to the rooftop BBQ to cook ourselves dinner and sit with a glass of wine and enjoy the beautiful views of the ocean and the Glasshouse Mountains.
It was such a great weekend, even though we both got a little pink. Chris did some boogie boarding and I even gave it a go, even though my bathing suit kept losing it's battle with the waves! What a way to spend a birthday weekend! 

Sydney Day 4

Our last day was amazing. James and Jana picked us up and drove us to the Blue Mountains, about an hours drive from Sydney, where we did an amazing (and exhausting) hike. The 6km walk we did was called the National Pass Trail and was quite tiring, but gave us amazing views! We passed by waterfalls, walked through bush and along cliffs and hiked up some serious stairs! All in all it was absolutely amazing!

After we were done our hike, we ate lunch that we packed of delicious bread, smoked salmon, salami, tomato, sprouts and lots and lots of water! We were obviously being way too health with all the walking and responsible lunch, so we headed into town where we grabbed some beers and ice cream. YUMMY!

Since our flight didn't leave until really late at night, James and Jana took us back to their place where we ordered pizza, played some card games, and ate some oh so delicious mango.

We got on our flight tired, but happy - even more so because there were no screaming kids sitting beside us. Thank you Sydney, James, and Jana for a lovely 4 days! Hopefully we will be back soon!

 

 

Sydney Day 3

Day three started out a bit cloudy and cool so we decided to head to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) to check out the historical architecture. The building started off, and still is, a shopping centre. The building was completed in 1898, and much work and restoration has gone into keeping it true to its original design.
The building has beautiful stained glass, intricate tiling, a beautiful domed roof and two beautiful mechanical clocks. So, what would you house in such a beautiful building? You guessed it...uber expensive stores! So, we just spent our time admiring the architecture and left the shopping up to people with bigger bank accounts.

The afternoon was one of the highlights of the trip for me. We took the train from Sydney to Bondi beach where we decided to do a 5km coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee. By this time the sun had come out, but the wind had picked up, which was okay because it kept us nice and cool. The walk is absolutely beautiful. You walk along the coast the entire way and see some beautiful beaches, cliffs, and scenery. The walk probably took us a lot longer than it should because we were snapping pictures every few steps! If you are every in Sydney, we highly recommend going for this walk...you won't regret it!

We were very lucky that we had been invited to a Thanksgiving (that's right!) dinner put on by some friends of James and Jana. Lucky for us, the house was in Coogee, so James and Jana picked us up after we were done our walk. AHH! What a treat it was to have turkey (which you have to order special from the butcher here), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, veggies, pumpkin pie, and apple pie!!! It was an absolute feast. There were probably about 20+ people there and everyone had such a great time...I should have brought my stretchy pants! It was so nice to be around other Canadians and talking about home.

After we were all stuffed on turkey, we were kindly driven back to our hostel where we climbed into bed with our bellies full of delicious Thanksgiving dinner. What a way to end Day3!

Sydney Day 2

 Day two started off with rain, but was still quite warm outside. We decided to start the morning with a walking tour of Chinatown and Darling Harbour. We were able to get out of the rain when we stopped in at Paddy’s Market - a big warehouse that has turned into a daily China style farmer’s market. 

In one part of the market you can buy cheap handbags, clothes, accessories…you name it. The other part of the market is all fresh fruits and veggies at much cheaper prices than the supermarket. We picked ourselves up some bananas, kiwi, and paw paw (papaya) and then continued on our walking tour. The end of our walk took us to Darling Harbour where there are great views of the downtown Sydney skyscrapers. There are lots of shops and restaurants in the area, along with a really neat inverted spiral fountain. We finished up our walk by crossing the Pyrmont Bridge, which is the oldest still functioning swing bridge in Australia. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see it swing open.

After the walk, we went back to our hostel to grab lunch and eat some of our delicious fruit we had bought that morning. Fruit in Australia tastes so much better than anything you get back at home. I could have eaten the paw paw all to myself!

We spent the afternoon doing another walking tour of Paddington, Darlinghurst and Potts Point. We walked in some very lovely areas, and some not so lovely areas, but all in all had a great afternoon. We were supposed to meet James and Jana at their favourite local pub at 8:00 for a late dinner, so we decided to stop at Harry’s Café de Wheels for a pie. I got all excited because I thought it would be an actual pie (like apple or berry), but they ended up being meat pies. But, no worries! We settled on a delicious hot dog to share and rested our feet for a bit. Then we continued on our exploration of Sydney. But at this point, we were getting quite tired and our feet were hurting, so we basically shuffled along.

We met James and Jana at this great pub called The Local in Darlinghurst. It’s a great pub that’s off the beaten track, but was still really busy. The bottom is a bar, filled with couches, tables and lots of side benches to sit and have a drink. The upstairs is a really cozy dining room where we had dinner and enjoyed catching up with our friends. The Local has an amazing beer selection, so we got to have a sampling of some of Australia’s great beers with our dinner.   

After that, Jana drove us home and we were so exhausted from a day of walking that we barely had the energy to brush our teeth…but we did!

Next up…Day 3!

Sydney Day 1

After being picked up from the airport from Mr. Jimmy Lam and his wonderful fiancee, Jana Rohen, we were taken on a very quick tour of downtown Sydney and we say the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and a few surrounding neighbourhoods we were dropped off at our extremely budget hostel, which in Sydney isn't very budget but is very dodgy, we had a nice sleep and then headed out to explore the city. To start the day we had some breakkie at a street side cafe, Andrea had the granola and I had the bacon and eggs...naturally.

Our first stop, you guessed it, was the Opera House. The weather was supposed to be a bit crappy, but this day was really glorious. No wind, no clouds, just all Aussie sunshine. We took many great photos of the Opera House and then followed an insiders tip and climbed the bridge pylon of the Habour bridge, rather than the $250 bridge climb. You could see the entire city from on the pylon and we took some more great photos. After our 200 stair ascent, and descent, we treated ourselves to an afternoon beer and chips break on the rooftop of the Grandin pub and sat in the shade with a perfect view of the Opera House.

Since the afternoon was turning out so splendidly, we decided to catch the ferry to the North Shore and check out the famous Manly Beach. This is also a great way to get a discounted harbour cruise since it essentially runs the same route as the cruise but is infinitely cheaper. The trip was really cool and we got to see the entire harbour and the massive sprawlness that is Sydney. It ended up being so sunny and warm at Manly that we went a little Canadian beach crazy and almost bought swim suits and towels right there to jump into the ocean! But cooler heads prevailed and we just rolled up our pants and sat on the sand.

In the evening we enjoyed a little Chinese food down in Chinatown at the Superbowl where we sat next to a girl and her guy friend who told an extremely lame story about how his sister almost burned down their house when she was nine. Snoozefest. I almost burned down the house when I was 2. It was no biggie. I was high fivin' the firemen as they ate the burnt eggs and bacon I made.

At any rate, we ended the evening with a pint at the 3 Wise Monkies pub, which has three sculpted monkies above the door. It's a cool three level bar with a stage on the third level, and that night was a 90s cover band rockin' the night away. They were really good. Scary good. I didn't realize how good the guitarist was until he went a little nuts during one of the covers and his hands were lighting up a storm on his guitar. Good times.

Be Careful What You Promise

Hello again folks. I know we promised Sydney blog posts and here we are over a week later and we haven't posted a thing. We hang our heads in shame. But not to worry! We will update soon! We've just been super busy lately. Unfortunately, my computer died...again. And since we put all the pictures on my computer, I can't post any pictures to go along with our Sydney blogs. Don't worry, nothing has been lost forever. But, long story short, I use an online backup system and it's a bit of a process to restore data, so we might not have pictures for a while.

Also, we will post about Chris' birthday weekend on the Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba. Much sun and beaching were had!

Again, sorry for the lack of blogging. We will make an effort to do much better this week :)

We're Back!

Hello folks,

We are back in Brisbane after 4 fabulous days in Sydney. We promise to write a proper blog post in the next couple days, but for now, we are tired and in need of some sleep...and foot massages.

When It Rains, It Pours

Welcome to Queensland, the Sunshine State...but wait...where's the sun? I want a refund. If I had known we were coming to the Vancouver of Australia, I would have just gone to Vancouver.

Since the beginning of September, not a week goes by without rain, rain, and more rain. I'm undecided how I feel about it. It's good for a country that's normally dry and prone to fires. But, we flew halfway across the world for never ending sunshine, blue sky and loads of beach time.

September was the wettest month on record, and I'm sure after the last 5 days, October is sure to set a record as well. Brisbane has had over 250mm of rain in the past 2 days, which means...flooding. Everywhere. There are so many creeks that run all through Brisbane, and every one of them is swollen and overflowing. The creek just by our house has now taken from flowing underneath the road to over it. There are massive puddles (small lakes) everywhere. You can't escape the rain or water. Our apartment is so humid and our sheets feel damp. Today, my bus home was an hour late showing up because of all the flooding and road closures. At least my bus stop is covered.

The rain will come down in torrents and then suddenly stop just to start downpouring again 2 minutes later. The last couple of nights it has rained so hard, the sound on the roof wakes us up. I think it's time to buy a boat.

Tomorrow it's supposed to get a bit better, with only a shower or two. Then the sun should come out for a couple of days before the rain returns.

I know the sun will come back eventually, but I'm tired of all this rain. Plus, my $3 umbrella is at the end of its days.

I think now that we've set records for rainfall, we should set some records for heat and sunshine! Though, I'm sure if that happens, I'll be writing a blog post complaining about the heat. So, I guess we'll just take it in stride and maybe make ourselves some ponchos out of garbage bags.

Pass It On - Chicken Breast Stuffed with Smoked Samon and Goat Cheese

We've made this recipe twice already, and I definitely see us making it a few more times in the future. I think it's one of those recipes that would impress your family and friends, but it's really not too difficult to make. I think the hardest part is actually rolling up the chicken breast around the filling. I always seem to have stuff leak out. But in the end, once it's cooked, it looks (and tastes) amazing. I like to serve this with scalloped potatoes. It makes for a pretty rich tasting dinner, but your tummy will be loving you for it! It also goes really well with a simple spinach salad. If I have the time, I like to prepare this in advance. I do all of step two and then place the chicken rolls on a plate covered with cling wrap and stick it in the fridge until you are ready to start cooking. Take out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you start browning the chicken.

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese - from AWW Chicken
   -serves 4   Prep: 25 min   Cook: ~30-40 min

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
100g soft goat cheese
4 chicken breast fillets (800g)
4 slices smoked salmon (120g)
50g baby spinach leaves

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan forced).

2. Combine chives and goat cheese in small bowl. Cut fillets in half horizontally almost all the way through; open out each fillet. Spread each fillet with a quarter of the cheese mixture; top with one slice of salmon and a quarter of the spinach. Roll each fillet tightly to enclose filling; secure with toothpicks

3. Cook chicken in large oiled frying pan, uncovered, until browned.

4. Place chicken on baking tray and bake in oven about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks, slice chicken thickly. Serve with potato and veggies...or whatever you want!

T-7 days...and counting

That's right folks, in seven days we'll be on a plane for a short flight down south to the beautiful city of Sydney. We're really excited to explore a new city, get in some beach time, and meet up with our friends James and Jana. We are only there for 4 days, but luckily it's fairly affordable to go to Sydney from Brisbane, so who knows...this might be the first of a couple trips.

We've borrowed our Lonely Planet Sydney edition from the library and mapped out our walking tours, beach expeditions, drinking holes and harbour cruises.  Now all we need to do is pack and count down the days!!!

Sydney...here we come!

Winter

Here in Australia, especially in Brisbane, it's pretty much warm all the time. Sure it gets cooler at night, and right now it's cooler than usual, but it's still warm all the time. There are no days when the high temperature falls below 20. It's still funny to us that everyone complains about the weather on a cloudy day when it's 23 outside. That's weather that no Edmontonian would throw a stick at, especially in the depths our winter.

But while it's nice to not have to put on your coat, toque, gloves, boots, scarf, etc to head out and face the chilly weather, or scrape the ice and brush the snow off your car, or walk through knee deep snow...wait, where was I going with this? Oh, right. While there is all that bad cold weather stuff, there is something to say for that relief of finally entering a warm building back at home that you just don't get here. Facing the weather and braving the elements is sort of the price to pay for entering a warm building filled with warm food and warm friends and warm feelings.

Just a thought from down under. Cheers!

Flowers

Every Wednesday at lunchtime in the city (downtown Brisbane) is a farmer's market at Brisbane Square. You can buy fresh fruits and veggies from local farmers, fresh cheeses, pastas, breads, seafood, flowers, herbs...you name it. It's also a great place to grab some lunch as there are many vendors who sell delicious meals. I've met Chris at this market a few times, and we grab a bit of lunch, or some herb plants to add to our balcony garden, or some fresh fruits and veggies. Even though the market is crazy busy, I like walking from vendor to vendor and looking at the lovely things they have to offer.

Well, this Wednesday I came home to a lovely surprise. Chris had gone to the market on his lunch break and bought me some beautiful orchids. I've never had orchids before, so it was a really lovely surprise. I love how delicate the flowers are, and how vibrant the purple colour is. I wish that they could last forever, but I'll just have to enjoy them while they last...I guess that makes them even more special.

Pass It On - Salmon with Chermoula Sauce

I found this recipe one day when I was strolling through the bookstore looking at cookbooks. I didn't want to fork over the $20 for the cookbook, even though it would have been a great buy because there were so many good recipes. So, I put my memory to the test and read over the recipe a few times, ran out of the store, rummaged in my bag for a pen and some scrap paper, and madly started copying the recipe from my memory. Now that I think of it, I could have just gone to the library and borrowed the book. Oh well.

Either way, I remembered all the ingredients and we had a really lovely dinner! The sauce is fresh and light and has some good kick to it thanks to the chili flakes. Plus, it's really easy to make, which scores big points at our house! Served with some brown rice and a salad, and you have yourself a dinner to be proud of!

Salmon with Chermoula Sauce - From Australian Women's Weekly
   -serves 4

Salmon: Season salmon with salt and pepper. Oil the salmon skin so it won't stick to grill. Grill salmon until cooked. Meanwhile make sauce.

Chermoula Sauce:
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup corriander
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. chili flakes
1 tsp. ground corriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. tumeric

1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup greek yogurt

- Combine first 7 ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend together.
- Add in lemon juice and oil and blend again.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in yogurt. Serve on top of salmon.

Mt. Glorious

On Sunday, Uncle Errik and Larissa took us hiking at Mount Glorious, in D'Aguilar National Park. Lucky for us, the rain let up on Sunday, so it was a lovely day to head outside and enjoy some more of Queensland.
The national park is only a short drive from Brisbane, but you feel like you're in a completely different land. Much like our hike at Springbrook National Park, Mt. Glorious is a rainforest wonderland. We did a lovely 4km walk through the lush vegetation while the birds were singing and chirping all around us. I made sure to take as many pictures as I could, but my favourite is this one of a tree root that looks like a snake. It startled me for a moment when I first saw it!

I love walking in the rainforest. I love how the trees stretch up so high and block out the sun, how the birds chirp and sing to you the whole time you're walking, and how the moisture just hangs in the air. There's always something to see and the smells are so fresh and invigorating. I just have to make sure to watch where I'm going because there were a few times I tripped on a tree root. But, I managed to avoid falling on the wet ground, so I would call this adventure a success!

Mr. Snake (aka crazy looking tree root)