a perfect day, almost

Oranges, winter sunshine and lavender

Lavender farm, Kooroomba

On a rare winter's day with no cycling, no football matches, and no plans, S and I drove to Lake Moogerah, 18 kilometres West of Boonah, to see the difference the summer deluge made to the capacity of the dam. It was so full, over six months later, the edges were still flooded. 

flood marker, Lake Moogerah

We then drove back to Boonah via Mount Alford, and stopped at Kooroomba vineyards, which had a lavender farm and restaurant attached. We tried some wine, being either too early or too late for lunch, and bought a case, then moved on to another vineyard down the road, Bunjurgen, and bought another. We also bought a bucket of oranges for $5, totalling 51 oranges!

The next stop was the Doogandan hotel, beside the Mount French turnoff, just outside Boonah. The toilet wall has to be seen to be believed:

painted wall, Doogandan Hotel

Pub lunches may not be so creative or as tasty as vineyard restaurants, but at least they are readily available until 5pm. We then drove up Mount French, and walked to the 'magic carpet' lookout, which reminded us of many previous visits, especially whilst training at the nearby Outlook, an outdoor adventure training facility in Boonah.

'magic carpet': the view from Mt French

It was a very relaxing day, with no stress, no bored teenagers, no agenda except to get out of the city. As Lou Reed said: 'such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you...' or something along those lines.

'what I value: eggs (and other good things) in nest' - polymer clay, pipe cleaner and glitter

I don't want to claim any special powers, but since I made this two weeks ago, in my girl's group, my chooks have started laying eggs for the first time this year...

Saw The Trip on Saturday night, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Kind of like Hairy Bikers touring in the epic scenery of the Lake District, whilst competitively doing impressions of Michael Caine and Hugh Grant. Is it my imagination, or were we laughing more than anyone else in the cinema? (always embarassing...) Now I want to see a feminist Australian version, with Judith Lucy as Steve Coogan, and Wendy Harmer as Rob Brydon.

more later.