Two years ago today, we said goodbye to our dearest family member, Cairo – an 8yr 3mth golden retriever. It was a sad moment for me, even to this day.  She was put to rest underneath the persimmon tree which she loved to eat each summer.  I thought I’d share some of her moments below.

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For as long as I could remember (read: 2-3 weeks), I’ve had an ambitious goal of riding around all of Canberra’s lakes in one sitting. This was something I had never contemplated doing, ever, let alone since May of this year when I started riding again after earning my driver’s license back in the late 90s!

Here’s a summary: 118.4km, 1054m climbed, 4:37hr moving time.

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We went out for a small team lunch today together with our commanding officer who was taking a voluntary redundancy and finishing up at the end of next week. Chris has been at Treasury for donkey’s years – something that I remind him of at every opportunity cause I’m a cheeky bugger. We went to one of his favourite Chinese restaurants situated in the Belconnen Markets where he began to order a selection of dishes in his native language. There was a schezuan beef, a couple of hot pots, a mixed roast and a vegetarian plate. All of which were delicious.

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Celebrating 11 years of Canberra and Nara being sister cities, I went expecting it to be low key but was blown away by the packed crowds. With all of the Japanese stalls offering a taste of traditional flavours, we found it amusing seeing a long queue to some Dutch pancakes. It was also reassuring to see Mee’s Sushi (from Manuka and notably the best Sushi in Canberra) present too.

I was conscious of eating festival food, especially before attempting Fitz’s 105km cycling challenge the next morning – but I’m a sucker for food (particularly the yummy kind…) so I had to experience some things. Happy to report I was fine for the event and completed it in under 4hrs (not counting the 10min pitstop at Tharwa).