Long weekend at Schonegg

The rain is over and this Monday is a public holiday, Queen's Birthday. I spent the long weekend visiting my friends in Country Guesthouse Schonegg, which I'm sure all you blog readers know by now, it's 300 km from Sydney near Canberra. It was a very happy weekend; everybody had been looking forward to my visit, especially the children, Mathias and Katja, and so had I. Knowing that it might be longer until we meet again is sad to think, but we made the most of the time!

We enjoyed perfect winter weather, sunny and blue skies! We played soccer, board games, and a cooking competition called Mystery Box Challenge, from the popular Aussie TV show MasterChef. You get a box with surprise ingredients and one hour time to cook something from them. No recipe books or computer permitted. The box contents is the same for all contestants, and you can use up to 5 additional ingredients. That was great fun, and of course a great learning experience too. When the time was up, we presented our creations to the jury (Richard and Evelyn) and received scores in different categories. And lo and behold: I won the prize apron! :)

I was also invited by Evelyn's mom for Sunday lunch, and she had again made something very special for me: a self-baked cake in the shape of my initials (MM). She is such a dear! From her you can learn deep and simple truths, such as that the joy you give to others comes back to you -- and that the sky is like an ocean, with the clouds like waves. Evelyn's dad was up and about too, which was really good to see.

In the evening, Katja, Mathias and I made a campfire in the garden, with a perfect improvised tripod and pot to make hot punch. And of course we also made damper on a stick (Stockbrot) , marshmallows, and fire-baked potatoes, under an ice-cold clear starry sky.

Oh, and Germany beat Australia in the soccer worldcup 4:0, but that you surely already know!