Mid-Spring

The mulberry plant was nearly uprooted and a new nursery plant had half its branches and leaves snapped from gusty winds on the last Sunday of September 2009. I had got off relatively light, there were roofs blown off in nearby suburbs.

The air plunged into obvious cold temperatures after a rather warm day on the following day,September 28. Daylight savings was to begin on the first Sunday of October, when 2am became 3am. The sun had already risen by 530am, and this made me even easier to get to work early. Apart from the red dust storms of Wednesday dawn on 23 September 2009, sunlight was already intense by breakfast time.



Malaysian nasi lemak, Aussie cupcakes, Shanghai crispy chicken and Chinese dessert of white fungus with paw paw slices were the order of the day on the last weekend of September. Not being able to go away from the Sydney or Wollongong areas as planned that day, I plunged into a series of other appointments that were punctuated by hanging around in shopping centres, an unexpected friendly encounter and another late night coming home. The multi-coloured solar powered garden lights - alternating blue, green and pink - outside my home are a current welcome sight after having to drive so many kilometres to return. The three colours reflect my Aussie residency, Straits Chinese influences and Chinese roots.

I could not resist getting a pot of hardy ferns and a budding young muscat grape plant to add to my home garden. They are just a low bunch of green leaves now but promise to be more. Apparently this has been the hottest September on my side of the woods in 150 years.

Sweet September, Not Too Long Ago

September, and I have memories of misty nights on top of a hill. How it seemed to be only yesterday, and how clearly I can still see it now. My mates and I had budding ambitions, growing urges and a convulating sense of togetherness. For a few nights we relished this escape from the routine and the usual. More than that, each of us could look out into the bright lights - and expanse - of our otherwise ordinary lives back there below the lookout point. Was that first week of September a momentary escapade, or an opportunity of a pause between what we were leaving behind - early adolescence - and what we had to build ourselves - future adulthood?

The bungalow offered lazy afternoons and group nights, where we could gather to offer our inner thoughts, make fun of each other and unknowlingly get to know each other better. The cooler air induced us into a kind of comfort zone that we longed for in contrast to where we first met - the humid heat of classrooms in regimented schedules. We dabbled in discovering and experiencing then forbidden areas - which with the benefit of hindsight now, were passing phases possibly necesary to our individual development. The fireplace, the foreboding darkness outside the colonial styled windows and the wavering of leafy branches threatened with moving fog - it all added to a certain comforting charm, a dramatic backdrop and a unique perspective to our apparent liberation to talk about anything, to do without constraint and to realise that things were not forever.

I recall the sight of the twinkling stars above the dark night sky, and how we were all decked out in sweaters seated on the patio looking out literally at the world waiting before us. What magical evenings they were. They then added to our resolve to build a unique life in each of us. They now offer a refuge to inspiring memory.

Foursomes at Three Weeds, Rozelle, Sydney

Starters


Entree of Roast Pork


Duck Thilmere Mains


Dessert

Swinging Through Shopping

It was early September and it felt just right good to just shrug off the demands of the past week and go walkabout in retail land.

The devoted Calvin Klein store was on sale. May be a rare occasion, but it was obvious they were clearing old stock for new. However, CK products can be timeless, and this time it was a bargain moment.

Thompson green seedless grapes were so crunchy sweet these days, and it's not even the full swing of the season. Deep reds are gorgeous looking, but somehow they have not managed to produce seedless ones for retail, or it's just me who have not encountered red skinned grapes that I can swallow whole. Mandarins continued to be available in abundance, whether they are the honey murcotts or others, and they can be so refreshing after a meal, even if some quarters now hold the view that fruits should be eaten before one.

The Body Shop has its classics, and an orderly fashion in its displayed lay out. Spurred on by consumer preferences for better treatment of animals in product research and development, the brand continues to thrive despite new competition. I loved the eider-based below eye lotion best, a soothing balm for computer screen laden eyes!

I had not stepped into Myers for so long, not even in Wollongong, I had to check out their flagship store at the Chatswood Westfield.

A break from shopping for lunch found us in Vietnam Bo. Rice noodle soup can be found with more adventurous ingredients, though I only took one step away from the comfort zone and had pig trotter slices for a change to relish with the rich stock. It may not have been sufficiently confronting.

The label Country Road has been reinventing itself and evidence of this can be found no better than in a flagship store in one of Sydney's northern suburbs. Although most of the line are now made outside Australia, I found a finely made shirt that cried out to me to be rescued. The sales guys were polite and friendly. One was a typical Aussie twenty something who obviously had a late night out the evening before, with dishevelled hair but he looked so attitude-cool. The other held himself in stylish cool, neatly attired, with a kind of Japanese-Hong Kong air about him.

Pearsons Florists was welcoming - I could not resist getting into the mood for the southern spring and get two petite growing bouquets, not those which survived on sponges but in real soil packed in little pots brimming with blossoms.

Teatime had us trying the Japanese run Cacao chocolate cafe, upstairs in Chatswood Chase, where the beverage quality can stand up to any other in Sydney's line of fancy upmarket stores. Chocolate led to thoughts of books, and the sales guy at the new Angus & Robertson store in the Chase told me of the new concept outlet the chain had implemented in certain suburbs. I reckoned the bold and more open layout is a winner in attracting people to walk in - I fell for it myself. No more cramped aisles and hidden corners. It may look more like a Borders store, but I thought this is the trend for the future.

August in Wollongong

August in Wollongong, and the signs of approaching spring are clear. The geraniums in my garden continue to bloom, and the kumquats, miniature mandarins and Tahitian limes spring back to life. What winter there was, we wonder, apart from the rainy episodes and howling winds at night. The last week of August heralds the arrival of the flowers and the promise of the fruits of late spring. Festivals beckon, and blue skies are abundant.

Between August and September, and I enjoy a magical window of a hiatus. The hard yards were done, the possibly stinging snakes are kept at bay and I can fully enjoy a glass of wine, so to speak. There is nurturing warmth all around!

My fav fruits at the grocers are currently golden kiwis, red delicious apples, Queensland bananas and sweet thin-skinned imperial mandarins - that is what is available anyway for me here. On a winter's evening, treats would be Streets Almond Magnums, King Dairy Island blue brie from Tassie and Dairy Farmers thick and creamy yoghurt. And then into the long night and its wee hours without a care in the world on a weekend.

Idyllic

Home Party, Balgownie


Underwater World, Home Aquarium


Cakes and Pastries, Asian Bakery


Lazy Sunday Morning, Sydney Suburb


University Campus, Wollongong, August 2009


On Golden Pond, Gywenville

Sydney Sentiment Too