Saturday, February 7, 2009

Bruce and I went to the 'Puddler' Restaurant last night for dinner. It was my birthday, so we decided to go all out and have one of the more expensive items on the menu, which was an ocean platter. It was the most delicious meal we have had out in a long time......a platter for 2 which consisted of a fresh whole lobster, crab, Moreton Bay bugs, oysters and king prawns. There was a seperate bowl on the platter which held a cream, wine and garlic sauce with mussels, scallops and calamari strips in it. This all came on a bed of salad with home made tartare sauce, limes and lemons. Fizzy finger bowls, excellent service, and the best palate cleanser I've tasted in a long time....fresh passionfruit, pulped mango, and champagne in a shot glass, just added the final touch. I could become quite addicted to the palate cleansers...YUM!!!
We were totally decadent with a home made liqueur chocolate pudding with melted chocolate sauce and ice cream for dessert, followed by very good coffee.
The waiter and waitress must have thought I was a total idiot because I took so many photo's while we were there. My excuse was that the photo challenge this week is titled 'dinner time', so I was snapping away trying all sorts of different shots. LOL!!!!
Here are some of those pics.....
Bruce having a wonderful time.

Sorry, I ate it before taking pics........
ooops, and again......
All I can say is it was too good to spend time taking pics when the plates, bowls and cups were full......

Today was a terribly hot day - 46C . There has been a lot of dust in the sky today, so much in fact that at around 3.30 today it looked like a grey overcast day. We have had quite a few grass fires around our area, and at 6pm tonight the big water helicopter flew very low over our house and filled up at the lake. I didn't have time to go and grab my camera, it all happened so quickly. Boy those guys are BIG.

Here are some pics of the sky full of dust........


At about 6.30 tonight the wind turned and brought with it lots of smoke from the fires. The smell was quite overpowering and made our eyes sting. It was so bad at one stage that while I was cooking dinner I got these photo's from our back door. You have to remember that even though this is 6.30pm, it is summer here and we have daylight saving, which means it doesn't get dark until around 9 to 9.30pm. The red ball is the sun poking through very thick smoke. The photo's are a bit darker than it actually was, but if I try to lighten them they lose clarity. This is how they came off the camera on a normal scenic setting.
This lasted for less than an hour, then we got the dusty, light, sky back again thankfully. It is now after 11 pm, and the air is still slightly smokey, but nothing like earlier today.
I just keep thinking about all of those poor, poor people who are experiencing devastating bush fires at the moment. Just horrendous! Our thoughts are with them, and those very brave souls who fight these awful fires......most on a voluntary basis. They really do the most amazing job.
We are hoping there may be a cool change tomorrow, but at this stage they are saying it will still be around 30C, but with cooler weather Monday and Tuesday....we sure do hope!!!!!

5 comments:

  1. Okay Marilyn, you ate before you took pics of all that lovely food! I'd have love to have seen your magnificent seafood dinner but heck, I'd be eating it before taking pics of it too! And wasn't yesterday such a devastating day with all those horrible fires around the State? I watched the news for an hour with all the different fires and they were just horrible. I still remember Ash Wednesday like it was yesterday and the winds yesterday blew lots of smoke and dust through here but nothing as bad as your pictures capture. Fingers crossed they manage to control most of them with the cooler weather this week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, my dear Maz. I hope you are out of harms way. Your brush fires are all over our news here in the states. I am feeling better and will fill you in down the road. A very belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, my friend! Your dinner sounds delightful and you did a super job with the pictures. Bruce looks wonderful. So glad you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have been thinking of you so!! I've been hoping that you, Bruce, Bree and all your family are safe during these horrific fires. Your are all in our thoughts!

    I feel terrible that I missed your birthday! I remembered a couple of days beforehand and then forgot! :( Hope it was happy!! I loved the pictures you took at the restaurant! You had me laughing so hard when I read that you forgot to take the pictures before you ate....sounds like something I'd do!!! So glad you enjoyed your special birthday dinner!! I sounded scumpicous and was soooo well deserved!! {{HUGS}} to you!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you and yours are safe Maz!
    And a very happy birthday lovely lady!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Maz...just checkin in ...I know you have been busy and wanted to share something with you...you'll have to come to my blog to find out!!

    ReplyDelete