Home again

We got back home to our house last night after three weeks housesitting for our friends Zoe and Paul at their huge house on Sydney's Northern beaches. By housesit I mean we hassled and called Zoe and Paul repeatedly until they finally caved and reluctantly agreed to hand over their keys. Despite some pretty unbeachlike weather we managed a few lovely breakfasts at Curl Curl, a couple of gorgeous afternoons swimming in the ocean pool at Freshwater and had friends for breakfast and lunch by the pool at Zoe's house. A highlight of our stay was Scarlett riding a bike for the first time. Looks like that might be making it to the top of the birthday list for her next year. Despite all the extra space - our house fits in theirs at least twice -it was lovely to get back to Leichhardt, all our familiar things and in particular our bed which is the world's most comfortable. I went to bed at 8.30pm last night with my book and was asleep by 9pm. Bliss.
Tomorrow is Melbourne Cup, famously 'The Race That Stops the Nation". And it really does. Melbourne pretty much closes completely as everyone heads to the track or to parties and lunches showing the 4pm race. Everyone dresses up more extravagantly that at any wedding here. Women wear hats or fascinators, gorgeous dresses and men wear suits. The fashion is half the event. Traditonally everyone gets very very drunk on champagne, there are sweepstakes, prizes for best dressed and the day is a right off. Even in Sydney, everyone stops work to watch it. Screens are erected in public squares and pubs and resturants host big parties and lunches. Even here in my building, which houses about 3,000 people in different companies, there is a huge champagne party put on in our large foyer for everyone who works here with a big screen for watching the race. This year Scarlett will be going to nursery for an extra day and Rob and I have been invited to a lunch at Cafe Sydney, a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the bridge and opera house. We have both been asked to be judges of the fashions at the lunch - I am judging best dressed woman and best shoes with a fashion designer and Rob is judging best tie and best jewellery with a jewellery designer. I won't be able to go crazy on the pop this year - this is a good thing - last year I was so smashed I had no recollection of picking Scarlett up from nursery - but I'm sure that won't stop Rob.