Eye of the storm!

My beloved Nanna was a great believer in the short break long before they dedicated magazines and newspaper lift-outs to the concept. Not long before she died I took her, at Mum's instigation, for a short break at The Boolarong. This was a bit of a landmark hotel at Mooloolabah - the restaurant made a whole cuisine style out of fresh fruit, put together with lashings of cream, icecream, and synthetic fruit sauces. How bizarre!



This was in the days  (70's) when the greater part of the adult population still regarded fresh fruit and veg as slightly suspicious, suggestively primitive - my other grandmother had a habit of stewing the colour out of any edible vegetation before she would serve it up for human consumption, for example. Nanna, who'd grown up in Western Queensland, and who with my grandfather ate the rather stringy mangoes harvested from their own garden, as well as gooseberries and mulberries, and Queensland nuts (later know as macadamias - hah!), had no such reservations, but it was uncommon to find anywhere commercially serving up fresh fruit until a little more recently.

The short break is allegedly as good as a long break, only less disruptive and less expensive. The dashing Trevor is not good at restful and restorative holidaying I suspect; we only seem to do short breaks, or the one wonderful and exhausting longer trip to see my sister in London last year. What I miss in longevity of holiday he does see is made up for in quality...lovely restaurant dining; long, leisurely buffet brekkies; I'm sent off to the day spa for something wonderfully rejuvenating. It is a treat, and it IS (probably) almost as good as a week's time out.

We spent this week-end just past on one such mini-break, celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary. And it was lovely. The eye in the storm at this time of year - I have almost no market-free week-ends between now and Christmas, and they start to double up in November, so it does get a bit frenetic, if not plain frantic.

New Hilton, Surfers Paradise, 'FIX' bar

Tomorrow I'm taking a group of kids aged 8 upwards in an embellishment workshop at Tammy's 'piece together' sewing studio. She also has some special hand-made items for sale, and the studio itself is worth checking out...maybe some early Christmas shopping, or even gift-vouchers for sessions next year? And set in the Woolloongabba Antiques precinct there are plenty of other interesting retailers to browse, and some superlative lunching or snacking to be had nearby.

Have interesting and productive weeks!