Rain, rain go away

Friday was Rob's last day at work. For the next month he goes into the IBM
'resource pool' and if he doesn't find a job within the company (unlikely since his jobs and all those like it are going to China - hence the redundancy) he leaves. It will be a big change for us, all as the whole time we have been together Rob has always done shift work. In recent years this has afforded him extra time at home with Scarlett during the week, including one day a week they spend together without me, that most blokes don't get working 5 days a week. It's not the end of the world as Rob has had to miss out on a lot in the past due to working weekends and nights and it's not a job he has ever had much interest in. It's also a chance for Rob to try something new. We shall see what comes up.
There's something about living in a city that has hot weather 8 months of the year that means when it rains and is cold you have no idea what to do with yourself. Or it is just me? Everything here is about the outdoors - the beach, the parks, the walks, the markets, the open air cafes, restaurants and bars, the harbour, the pools. A wet weekend in Sydney was forecast and I was wondering how we would fill our time. We piled into the car and headed for the mall on Saturday morning to do the grocery shopping for our dinner party that night. I made a delicious pea and mint soup, and a spectacular Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for orange lamb shanks dish. Talking of fine food, I was lucky to be invited to an amazing champagne masterclass on Wednesday - a 6-course champagne-matched degustation dinner prepared by Tony Bilson one the Sydney's best chefs. I got to taste seven vintage champagnes including Dom Perignon 1996, Krug 1995 and the rare S de Salon 1996. It was all pretty amazing. On Sunday morning the rain held off and we went to the Botanic gardens for a run around. Great views and great morning despite menacing storm clouds. We stopped to look at the two beautiful metalwork sculptures by Bronwyn Oliver in the gardens, Palm and Magnolia. Bronwyn is a renowned Australian sculptor and is the partner of my colleague, wine writer Huon Hooke. Bronwyn took her own life last Monday so it was especially poignant to look at some of her best-known work. On a brighter note Scarlett finally succumbed to our pleas to sit on our shoulders instead of being carried on the hip whenever she gets bored of walking. Unfortunately it has taken until she weighs 14 kilos to show any interest in this pursuit so it is back-breaking work. What has greatly amused us of late is many many people mistaking Scarlett's doll for a real newborn baby (albeit with a massive head and eyes that never close). We regularly have people come up to us in the shop or wherever obviously about to tell us off for leaving the baby lying in the shopping trolley or letting Scarlett drag our 'baby' around on the floor. It's not until they come closer they realise it's a doll and start laughing. We are expecting a call from family services.