DAY 6:

Title is good isn’t it?! I’ll explain below.

Typical Saturday Starts with a little yard work to around lunch time, usually with a few breaks for a smoke and maybe a coffee. This Saturday varied only slightly; the yard work was the same, the coffee tasted better than great, the slight change was I wasn’t having the smoke - it was my lawn mower! It started blowing this beautiful thick white smoke, I managed to jump up on the fence and watch it ebb and flow through everyone’s homes and yards all the way to the end of the block – very relaxing.

My habits and patterns were crazy, whenever I walked through my shed, or finished a big patch of lawn, I craved a ciggie. I lasted and finished the yard work in record time.

Me and Kylie went to Le Cornu’s around lunch to pick-up a coffee table that will match the lounges and our TV cabinet, we found one that was perfect; budget, type, colour, even down to the same handles. We told the Salesman ‘John’ that we wanted to buy, he said “sure I’ll just check to see if it’s in stock”.

He told us “it won’t be in until July, do we want to put our name down?”. Kylie was very disappointed, we told him that’s awful! and we’ll have a look around, we may come back. He basically bolted away as fast as he could walk!

We had a look around – nothing suited or looked as good for the money. Kylie went back to put her name down. She got another guy, he took her details and told her “Yep, we’ll give you a call in around six weeks”. Kylie didn’t understand, she asked him to clarify, Kylie explained what the other guy had told her, he laughed and just reiterated “about six weeks”. We turned and glared at each other with a stunned emotionless look on our faces, we both said in unison “what was the other guy on about? do they actually want our business?!”.

We came out the doors of Le Con-u; what’s this familiar gorgeous aroma? The smell was thick, it felt like there was an animated pie on a window sill with the aroma waves breaking toward us, I felt a sensation like I was floating through the air towards it. The smell of BBQ Snags and Kransky’s in bread with tomato sauce and mustard! mmmm it makes my mouth water just thinking about them. Earlier in the morning I told Kylie I was going to take her out for lunch – I think she thought Kransky’s and Bread was my treat for lunch, unfortunately not this time. we were on a mission to try and dodge the on-coming evil (but delicious) Kransky smell.

I didn’t tell Kylie where her lunch was, “a bit of a surprise” I said.

I parked at the Watermark Hotel carpark. First she thought I was taking her there, when we walked past and over Wigley Reserve toward Marina East she got a little angry she had to walk so far!! “Don’t worry, you’ll thank me afterwards” I said.

When we arrived, there were bouncers and security guards all over the Marina. We had no idea what was going on, we walked past a couple of empty market stalls – each one had a sheet of paper pinned to it “$5 Souvenir Glass”… I had a feeling we might have been walking into a Beer and Wine bloody Octoberfest.

We looked further down the Marina, there’s Music, Food, and WINE STALLS EVERYWHERE!! They were layered like beautiful bouquets of flowers on some tables, they were screaming “Drink me!” on others. People were offering tastings, and cheese platters. It was all getting too much for my senses to take.

If this was any other weekend I would have went through those stalls like lambs to the slaughter! They would have been cleaned out.

“I’M ON A MISSION” I heard this little voice say in my head (I know – it’s not good when you start hearing voices). It felt like weeks, but we finally got to where I wanted to take Kylie for lunch.

LIDO Ristorante – Seafood Platter for Two (recommended by Lyn Foong)

It was a perfect day to sit Marina side out in the sun, there was even a Sealion sitting on the mooring down below us. To drink I got a San Pelligrino Chinotto, and Kylie ordered a glass of Champagne (very supportive, she did ask if she could have one). In all seriousness I didn’t feel like a drink or a ciggie, it was a surreal feeling.

The meal took only a few minutes to arrive, Morton Bay Bugs, King George Whiting, Prawns, Octopus, Scollops, Oysters (Natural and Kilpatrick), and a very proportioned sized salad. The entire meal was fantastic, we left only a few slices of Octopus tenticle.

Kylie now understood why I had parked so far away!

I MADE IT! so much temptation, and no sliding back to old normality.

The whole way home I was as proud as a non-alcoholic fruit punch!