Our First Weekend Away ... Sans Chickie

That's right, hubby and I escaped to Hobart for a long weekend and left Chickie with AB and co for the weekend!  The plan had initially been to go skiing overseas for a week (without Chickie) ... however said plan was formulated whilst I was still pregnant and hence clueless! In reality, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her for so long, hence skiing was put on the back burner for another year, and we went instead to Hobart, a whopping 1 1/2 hrs away by plane. I must confess ... it took a lot of agonizing to leave my munchkin behind and I don't think I could have done it if it weren't for the fact that I know how much she adores being with her Grandparents and Uncle H! It also helps to know she is being left with someone who is actually able to care for her properly, not just some random babysitter. Anyway, despite our missing her awfully, Hubby and I did have a marvelous time. Admittedly, we did buy Chickie three presents within our first hour in Hobart, and continued steadily from there, placing our carry on bag allowance severely over the limit.

We stayed in some lovely apartments on the pier in Hobart, enjoyed lovely meals out, slept in, had afternoon naps, drank lots of wine, read books ... bliss. We also saw two movies, and went for a very long walk ...  One of the movies was Sarah's Key which a good friend said we absolutely must go see. Well, it was an excellent, thought provoking, soul stirring movie, but not my idea of escapism. Perhaps it also had something to do with my being apart from Chickie, but I sobbed, yes, sobbed, throughout the movie, and required a stiff drink afterwards. It was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen ...

Anyway, this week has been outrageously hot at home, so we have been staying cool indoors (thank God for air con) and spending huge amounts of time watering the garden.  This morning I tried to start baking in preparation for Chickie's first birthday on Saturday, but then realised my oven was filthy and I recalled how I have been delaying the inevitable cleaning process required after cooking Xmas turkey and so on.  So some 3 hours later my oven is clean, and all ready to dirty again tomorrow ... at least Chickie's birthday cake should taste like white chocolate mud instead of over cooked turkey and roast lamb. Here's hoping anyway, one never can tell ... its been a while since I did any serious baking. I'm using this party as a good excuse to try out some new recipes I've been hoarding for years ...

Ciao for now, will let you know how the baking turns out!

NMC