i am contented with sunday picnics

Why are you turning away from me? You're totally ignoring me now.


You get abandoned when the bottle you came with is used.

One Sunday slightly more than a month ago, I woke to a brilliantly sunny but comfortably cool morning and decided to pack a picnic basket for some relaxing time by the beach.

My picnic bag had the following:

- a picnic mat

- a soft bag stuffed with a huge beach towel for resting my head on while lying down, and a cardigan in case it gets chilly

- a bottle of Brown Brothers 2007 Moscato (I love it for its refreshing frizzante effect and light sweetness; the light alcohol content of 5.5% also makes it the most suitable wine in my stash to bring out when I am driving.)

- a vietnamese chicken and cheese bread roll from the famous Hong Ha shop in Mascot (that was my lunch)

- some finger food for snacking throughout the day: spicy hungarian salami, mild spanish salami, prosciutto, black pepper pate, pickled olives with herbs and potato chips

- fruits: a small bunch of grapes and a few kiwis

- a book (Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho - a birthday present from a colleague) and a photography magazine

- my camera

The above photos were taken when I was lazing on the ground reading my book. I was happy 'cos I had everything I loved around me. There wasn't anything else I wanted on top of what I had at that very moment. Really.

FYI, this was at Maroubra, not the main beach area, but where the land slopes upwards along Marine Parade towards the cliffs. There is a soft green grass patch near Mahon Pool that's perfect for picnics and a few rolls on the slopes.