Let me start by saying I had the BEST time. The day we arrived in Sydney was 6 months since the day we left (to the day), and it was the first time I had been back. We stayed with our dear friends Elle and Kilkenny, where, from their kitchen window you can see over the rooftops to where we used to live. We had hoped this trip would be easy going and relaxed, but it very quickly filled up to a very busy week. Packed with errands only a big city can fulfill, work meetings, and catching up with friends. Our days were spent fully booked, with an hour or two of rest in the afternoons before getting ready and going out again in the evenings.
We caught up with everyone, in a mix of intimate home cooked meals, picnics, restaurants, cafes and pubs. One night turned wild in the kind of way you can never plan, ending in karaoke with group shouting, dancing and air guitar. It was so much fun.
We got to spend time with our god-daughter, and meet newly hatched babies. :) We had a roast dinner with my Uncle and Aunt, and spent quality D&M time with best friends.
We went to the art gallery to see Del Kathryn Bar's winning portrait, which as expected, took my breath away. There was no photography allowed so I can't show you any close-ups, but I bought a book with some of her other work, so I'll show you that soon. We were able to overhear peoples comments, most good, others not; "It's not painting is it? It's just like colouring in."
I went to my favourite book stores, and spent a day meandering in shops with Elle. We walked as much as we could, and Mr You went skating at his favourite ramps as much as he was able.
I'd like to say we got our fill of Asian, Lebanese and Greek food, but despite our best efforts we didn't get through nearly as much as I would have liked.
A couple of friends bought some of my original paintings, despite me trying to give them as gifts they insisted on paying huge sums for them. At first this made me really uncomfortable, but after much coaching I was coerced into accepting their gesture as a sincere offering of support, encouragement and friendship.
Our trip climaxed on the final night with the Sinead O'Connor concert. Elle and I were obsessed with Sinead when we were teenagers, and despite challenges (including reggae), have continued our fan-dom ever since. So seeing her in concert together, in the first concert she has EVER performed in Australia, was an event I will not likely forget. What made it even more special was that Kilkenny (Elle's husband) paid for all our tickets, and refused to accept any money, telling us he wanted to give them to us as a gift!!!
The very next morning Mr You got me up at an un-Godly hour to drive home, hoping to beat the city traffic. But as we drove through the city in the morning darkness, with as much traffic as ever, I took some bleery photo's. Hoping to document all the cars on the road before dawn, we were inspired to see angels of light above us in the photo's when we returned home. It was a "magic-like" way to end a week that lived up to all expectations, and soaked us full with a new dose of sincere friendship.
This is: "the contents of my bag." 
Some of you may remember how excited I was about the first ever Earth Hour last year. Well it's on again, and this time the rest of the world are joining in. It's on tomorrow night, 29th March, and the idea is that at 8pm you switch off your lights and unplug all non-essential appliances for just one hour in a plan to save electricity and reduce emissions. Last year the aim was to reach a 5% reduction in Sydney, but the result was a 10.2% energy reduction across the city, surprising the organisers, and proving that a small act can make a big difference.
