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Turkey Burgers + Fresh Salsa + Sweet Potato Fries
Read more: Turkey Burgers + Fresh Salsa + Sweet Potato FriesThe following recipes have been created in our kitchen, with a little trial and error. We think we have gotten a perfect combination, and I wanted to share these with you. These are ‘bunless’ burgers, and are so tasty, you won’t miss the bun (or the extra 200 calories). We eat turkey because Ben doesn’t…
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When the pieces come together: Part Two
Read more: When the pieces come together: Part TwoOur accommodation the first night of our weekend was with a lovely lady called Barbara at her B&B in Port Angeles, Ocean Crest. We arrived just before dinner and she showed us to our room. It was very comfortable, had its own bathroom, and just next door was a little sitting room for us. Barbara…
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When the pieces come together: Part One
Read more: When the pieces come together: Part OneWhat makes a perfect weekend? What are the essential elements that must come together to create a weekend of ‘Kismet’? Well, this past Labor Day long weekend we discovered that the perfect weekend can be as much about what is omitted as what is included. The night before our departure I suffered a night of…
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Geocached up
Read more: Geocached upSo, I have landed a new job. As soon as my work visa is sorted, I will be working for Groundspeak, who run Geocaching.com among many other things. Geocaching, as a recreation, was new to me when I applied for the job. I researched it, and decided that not only did I want to work…
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Heatwave
Read more: HeatwaveThe thermometer in the northwest of the U.S. has nudged (and sometimes tipped over) the 100F mark for the past few days now. As an Aussie girl yearning for a ‘real’ summer’s day, I was equally thrilled (It’s hot!) and amused (Will the people here please stop freaking out?) when I saw the forecast. But…
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Musings from Minnesota
Read more: Musings from Minnesota“Summer time and the living is easy…” Gershwin had it right. When the days are hot and the breezes are cool, when lakes are glassy and the loons call out at dusk, when you’re sipping beer and reading on the deck, life is easy. A few days ago, Ben and I got back from a…
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One book in one minute
Read more: One book in one minuteOf course, having just read through my friend, Simonne’s, 15 books in 5 minutes (note that she claims she wrote her whole post in 5 minutes. I took 45. Hmmm), I have realized that my favorite classic of all time is not on my list (it is on hers, though). I could argue that it…
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15 books in 15 minutes
Read more: 15 books in 15 minutesI love to read. In fact, I have discovered that my desire to write is affected greatly by whether or not I am reading regularly. When I read less, because I am too busy to carve out the time, I write less. When I make time to read – and I read diversely – I…
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Boys, baristas and burgers
Read more: Boys, baristas and burgersWhen you move to a new city, your senses are heightened. You notice that everything feels ‘new’, because your body is picking up on the subtle differences between that place and your previous home. The salt air here in Seattle is brinier than in Sydney, more pungent. On sunny days, the sky seems bluer here…
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Hawaii H2O
Read more: Hawaii H2OEvery day we were in Hawaii we were either in the water or out on it, sailing, snorkeling, paddling and swimming. Ben even tried surfing, and we both had a bash at paddleboarding. Some of the highlights: Sunset Cruise (Maui). Our first night on Maui we got on a sunset cruise, which was romantic and…
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Hawaii: The high life
Read more: Hawaii: The high lifeLet me set the scene: 8 days in Hawaii, 4 on Maui, 4 on Kaua’i. We mixed it up: relaxation and adventure. We saw new sights and revisited a couple of favorites. We spent a lot of time up high. Ziplining (Maui). This is a relatively new past time, where you hook onto a steel…
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A big bite
Read more: A big biteI live with an amazing person. Yesterday morning, despite a niggling cold, he jumps out of bed and says, “Let’s have tea on the roof.” So, we made mugs of tea, grabbed our books, and headed to the roof of our building to enjoy the morning sun, and our incredible view. Yes, it is a…
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back on the horse
Read more: back on the horseOn Saturday, April 4th, Ben and I made the drive from Vancouver to Whistler in good time, despite the copious roadworks. Our accommodation in Whistler was ready for us at 9am – 7 hours before check in – which suited us perfectly, because we could change for the slopes in our apartment rather than the…
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A hot cuppa
Read more: A hot cuppaIn Australia (and England, and a few other countries steeped in the Imperialist love of hot tea), any bad situation can be helped, if not fixed, by a nice, hot ‘cuppa’. In fact, it is a common response when a friend bemoans their dilemma to say,”I’ll put the kettle on.” Things start to look up…
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3 days ’til Spring
Read more: 3 days ’til SpringSpring is three days away, and this is what we woke to: and this: and this: It is a pretty sight, I must admit, but it is noon and 2 Celsius (36F). Brrrr. We were warned. We’d been told that February teases with bouts of warm weather, like we had last week when it hit…
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He’s a doer
Read more: He’s a doerLast night President Obama addressed Congress. It was televised live, and I watched as I did last month during the Inauguration, transfixed. Ben came home half way through, and we sat side by side, nodding, and occasionally commenting to each other. “He’s a doer,” I said at the end. “Some people are talkers, and some…
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What’s that aboot?
Read more: What’s that aboot?We spent the weekend in Vancouver, Canada. I need to make that distinction, because there is actually a Vancouver in Washington State. We discovered this as we sat in the car at 6:40am on Saturday morning, trying to input a Vancouver address into the GPS to no avail. We were due at 10am to claim…
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4 degrees of separation
Read more: 4 degrees of separationYesterday morning, Ben and I got up and went to the gym. This is not that unusual – he goes most mornings, and I often join him rather than going later in the day. Yesterday, however, it was 0 degrees Celcius when we left the house at 6:30, AND there was snow on the ground.…
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Brownies
Read more: BrowniesOkay, so here’s a departure from my usual missive. Brownies. I have a fail safe, delicious recipe that was passed down to me from my grandmother. I still have her handwritten version, which stays in my recipe file because I have it committed to memory. But I treasure it, because my maternal grandmother was amazing…
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The little things…
Read more: The little things…When you traverse the globe and land somewhere far from home, it feels different. At first you can’t quite put your finger on it, but it is a noticeable shift in how you experience the world. Outside looks different, like you’re looking at through Coke bottle glasses, or a smudgy window. It also sounds and…
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All quiet on the Vegas front
Read more: All quiet on the Vegas frontSo, I spent the weekend in Vegas. The Virgin America jet from San Francisco to Vegas was stuffed to the rafters with techie types all buzzing about the excitement of CES, a big-deal Technological Conference. Those around me were chatting excitedly about the shows they would see, the tables they would play, and how they…
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All Quiet on the Vegas Front (archive)
Read more: All Quiet on the Vegas Front (archive)I am digging through the archives of my blog and found this post from Jan ’09, which was somehow mis-categorized as a ‘page’. Moving it over to join it’s fellow posts. So, I spent the weekend in Vegas. The Virgin America jet from San Francisco to Vegas was stuffed to the rafters with techie…
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Settling in Seattle
Read more: Settling in SeattleI am a little hesitant to use the word ‘settling’, because of its connotations about settling down and settling for less – neither of which describes my move here. I am however, settling in. After a fruitful trip to IKEA, I now have drawers, and having lived out of a suitcase for two months, drawers…
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Settling in Seattle
Read more: Settling in SeattleI am a little hesitant to use the word ‘settling’, because of its connotations about settling down and settling for less – neither of which describes my move here. I am however, settling in. After a fruitful trip to IKEA, I now have drawers, and having lived out of a suitcase for two months, drawers…
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So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu
Read more: So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, AdieuI have just had another brilliant Christmas. I truly love Christmas. I love the cookies,the music, and being with family and friends. Oh, and I LOVE presents. Having spent the last two Christmases in colder climes, I was thrilled to be able to have a true blue dinky di Aussie Christmas – well, our version…
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On the home(less) stretch
Read more: On the home(less) stretchI have spent more time on hold listening to Muzac in the past days, than in the past months combined. This is because I am having to inform everyone official – from my dentist to the phone company – that I am of ‘no fixed address’. I now have something more in common with the…
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Chaise Lounge
Read more: Chaise LoungeThis is my living room sans couch, dining suite, and pictures on the wall. Ironically, it now shares common traits with the Seattle apartment, where we have yet to buy a couch, a dining suite and to put things on the wall. Ben and I started looking at couches, dining suites and things to put…
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And we called her ‘Kylie’…
Read more: And we called her ‘Kylie’…Our GPS on this trip through California and Nevada had an Australian accent. In a land of chewy ‘R’s and rounded ‘O’s, a flat-tack Aussie accent was incongruous, yet welcome, “Make a roit tuhrn in three quahrtehs of a moile.” We got used to it, as I am a native Aussie speaker, and Ben is…
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Flying the Coop
Read more: Flying the CoopToday I say good bye to my little mate, Jessie. We have a brief history in the scheme of things. I adopted her from my sister’s brood 2 and a half years ago, and she has been my little sidekick ever since. In my preparation for moving to the states, I am moving out of…
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Playing
Read more: PlayingSome days you feel like a little kid. You get to play. You laugh a lot. You wonder at the world. Our second day in Yosemite was like this. We awakened refreshed and peeked out the curtain to see just what we’d hoped for: blue sky. We feasted at breakfast – isn’t that why you…
Sandy Barker | Author 
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