It had long been arranged that Katie's father would be coming up to Brisbane from Canberra at about this time of the year. And he did. As a proper father he wanted to be sure that his gorgeous daughter was in safe hands.
Joe however decided not to be present. That was more reasonable than it seems. The family knew him well from his time in Canberra. And there was at that time a gap in his studies and assignments that he wanted to use to visit his friend in Sydney. Joe values his friends greatly and I entirely approve. His Sydney friend is the ONLY good friend he has made since his schooldays, so is very important. And Joe spends quite a bit on airline fares to see his Sydney friend.
But that did leave a bit of a gap here in Brisbane. So I stepped into the breach and shouted Katie's family a Japanese dinner at my favourite Japanese restaurant here in Buranda.
Katie's father is a landscaper and when we had a bit of a chat, I heard that retaining walls are one of the things that he does. I have very strong views on retaining walls. Is that a surprise? Most people know that I have strong views on politics so how does it fit that I also have strong views on retaining walls? Maybe it just means that I have strong views! I suspect it does.
Anyhow we totally agreed that boulders are the only retaining walls worth having in the long run! LOL. But I have been involved with the building game for many years so I think I have picked up a bit about it here and there.
Most of us had the Teriyaki Chicken Don but Katie's mother had the Japanese curry -- which was a good choice. It must come as a surprise to most but the Japanese do brilliant curry!
We retired to my place for tea and coffee afterwards with both Anne and Jenny doing the honours for that. With two sociable ladies present, the occasion had to be a success! We had the drinks on my front verandah, which is a place always enjoyed. The Mulberry tree in front of us was in full leaf, as was the Asparagus vine, so that was a nice environment, but the real boon was a possum or two in the tree in front of us. Close-up wildlife!
We discussed the antics of the local bush turkeys a bit. They are very bold here now that they are protected. I often see one or two of them strolling down my street. I always think they would make a nice roast but my father ate them in the good old days and he said that they were pretty tough to eat.
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