Circa Saturday

Hello all! I'm back from my month long "holiday" in the States. My nephew's wedding was wonderful; it was great to see all the family all together—and we didn't scare our newest member, Callie (the beautiful bride), or her family! My parents continue to be well, though quickly approaching 80! My soon to be ten years-old chocolate lab, Joey, looked good too, though I notice that his age shows more and more. He now has a fully-grey muzzle (see photo 1) and needs some help getting up on the bed. (It makes me wonder how he sees me!) It was nice to have a another month of Summer and to see many of you. Sadly, I didn't get to see everyone I'd hoped to see. Thankfully all my flights across the country and across countries were fairly smooth and without much hiccup.

Coming back was harder than expected. I was feeling great leaving Australia. The weather was lovely and I had a sense of gratitude in my heart for so many blessings. Returning, I feel like a fish out of water again. It feels similar to how I felt the last time I returned from a break. I guess I didn't expect that. Not sure where the homesickness comes from as I do feel blessed here. Maybe a bit lonely? Not sure.

Anyway, I am trying to reconnect with people who give me life. I called Anastasia and her beau, Andrew. They are parishioners, hope to one day be wed and come from lovely, Lebanese families. They volunteer with the parish Young Adults Group and the Youth Group. And they are a lot of fun. We went out for brunch on the Saturday after I returned (I arrived 6:15 am Tuesday, 4 July—ugh!)

Anastasia had a friend who'd taken her to this restaurant in Parramatta called "Circa." According to Anastasia, the place reminded her of cafes that are common in Melbourne. So off we went.

I don't know if this is popular in America, but here "Avocado smashes" are big. It's basically half of an avocado roughly mashed so there are still chunks in it. This was served with a pouched egg and two slices of a toasted bagette. Yum! I love the colors on the plate (20: look how they threw on some roasted tomatoes and the red seeds of a pomegranate! Here's a lovely shot of Andrew's cappuccino (3) and a beautiful red juice made of beets, apples and oranges (4). The color just pops! A selfie with us hungry eaters right before the carnage (5).

The cooler weather is kicking in as we're in July (the middle of our winter). That means temperatures are dropping into the upper 30's at night and shooting up to 65 for the high in the day. Brrrrr! I know it doesn't sound bad, except the houses here aren't as well insulated as in the States. My friary (made of a cinder block foundation) holds in the cold—which is great in summer, but not so good in winter! The air is so icy in the house. I usually turn on my wall mounted, electric heater for a bit, switch it off at bedtime and then go under about 4 blankets for the night!

At the same time the cool, sunny days are heavenly. We are in a dry spell and I love it! After brunch, we went for a walk through Parramatta. I liked these artsy sails that were over the main street (6-7). They look like a school of fish to me. This huge banyan tree caught my eye (8-11). Check out how far the branches extend (10)!

Andrew is a barrister, which I understand is a junior lawyer. He takes the initial parts of a case and tries to settle between clients before it goes to full litigation. We walked through a judiciary part of Parramatta and he was pointing out some of the buildings of the courts. This coat of arms (12) says in French: "God over the Law" (I believe). Here are Anastasia and Andrew posing in front of a court building (13). Here's a shot of the side of the same building. I thought the architecture was interesting (14). And here is another courthouse (15).

We headed to Parramatta Park —to which I had never been. This entrance reminded me of Washington University in St. Louis (16). Here some clouds passed through (17). In the park is the frame of a convict's hut in which ten men were supposed to sleep (18-19)—I couldn't imagine! Finally, a war memorial on the grounds (20) made from the remains of an older war memorial. It reminded me of the recylcing of pillars as at the Basilica of St. Josaphat.

Okay, miss you all. Wish you could come visit!