A letter of apology......

to my overlocker.

Things have been tense lately between us, there have been issues & it needs to be addressed, let's just put it out there on the sewing table & move forward...together.

There have been times when you have been my best friend & I felt that I had returned the love by oiling & de-fluffing you every week. Maybe I have taken these times for granted lately & not given you the care you have become accustomed to. I will admit I have been working more outside the home, spending more time away from you & yes there have been a few weeks where the sewing machine has received more attention.

But the tension that is happening now is unbearable! I have tried everything to fix it & though I may have used a few choice words here & there I don't really blame you. I really don't but I do blame these two culprits for touching your tension dials & then trying to put them back to their original position..........

Please forgive me Ollie Overlocker xxx

Night Bus to Nha Trang...

Years ago while travelling in Malaysia I had got a night bus & it was so comfy & roomy I was really glad to see that there were a lot of them in Vietnam. We decided to travel the 400klm up to Nha Trang by bus, it takes 10 hours but only cost $7 each, bargain! & we don't have to pay for a nights accommodation. We were quite excited until we actually saw the bus, I think it was the oldest machine I had ever seen in my life but we laughed it off & got on. Unfortunately all of Mr Sprouts 6 foot 6 inches did not fit in the bus so it was a long 10 hours for him!

We stayed at The Light Hotel & Resort which is a great place right across the road from the beach. I booked the room the previous night before we got on the bus so was able to get a last minute rate of $40 per night in an ocean view senior deluxe room.

Nha Trang has great snorkelling & scuba diving, there are trips to the hinterland to ride elephants, day trips to see Cham Towers or you can be pampered and laze on the beach in town.

Just around the corner from the hotel is a snake restaurant where you can choose your own live snake to dine on, they kill it & put the still beating heart in a shot of vodka to be drunk. They also have live seafood to choose from which was far less daunting so we feasted on prawns & lobsters instead. Then back to the beach where Mr Sprout continued to eat anything & everything that happened to be walking by!

Next stop Hoi An....... we chose to fly on this leg of the trip :)

Happy Halloween.......

We do love Halloween in the house of Sprout & this year's party was loads of fun. 

 I did another table in black & white for the non candy food & that was demolished by the parents early on!

Mr Sprout did a great job in cob webbing the entrance & it was a big hit with kids.

To see all pics of the candy table head over to facebook.

Happy Halloween!

Something Fishy.....

Today is the last day of the school holidays & I have been busy making the Sprouts some shorts before heading back to work, these fish shorts are also available to purchase in the online store......

The tiny enemy...

I have been offline a lot lately as things have been very busy behind the scenes.

We finally started our kitchen reno, for the last 6 months its been downhill to the bench & uphill to the fridge as the floor has slowly sunk under years of termite damage.....

Needless to say the bbq has been getting a workout!

Mekong Meanderings......

I do love the Mekong Delta area but it is hot hot hot & humid! There are a few options to choose from when booking a trip from Ho Chi Minh, a one day tour which I don't suggest as it is a 3hr bus trip just one way to the boat, or a 2 day tour & so on. We chose the 2 day tour with a night in a hotel which cost us $18 each (breakfast included), there is a home stay option for a few dollars more. 

After a day of cruising around & seeing how simply people live we did feel a big clean out & donate was on the cards when we got home (which we did do).

As night fell we checked in & decided to head off for some dinner. We found a little local place, no English so a lot of pointing & sign language, sat down for a beer & soon discovered the place was crawling with rats, literally! to the point where they were fighting & squealing & running across the floor so much it was like watching a tennis match. It was at this point I slightly regretted ordering some spring rolls for a snack however I did see them taken from the freezer & not made on site so Mr Sprout & I were okay about eating them. I really wanted to take a photo because the rats were really funny but Mr Sprout thought it would be rude, so no photo!

We headed back to the hotel & ate in the cafe next door which much to our amusement had a list of the Chef's best dishes & top of it was Stir Fried Rat. Though tempted I opted for Bird no idea what sort but it wasn't chicken as that was also on the menu & Mr Sprout had Eel, both were delish.

The next morning we headed off to the floating markets which I found to be the highlight of the trip as we got up close & personal with all the boats & bought lots of yummy food & snacks. Which we really didn't need as we had bought loads of candy at the coconut candy farm the day before!

Next stop Nha Trang & the night bus to get there..........

Cu Chi Tunnels

I am the first to admit that I am not a big lover of organised tours not because of the destination or the tour company but because in our experience there is always a painful person on a tour & we were not disappointed on a tour we took to the Cu Chi tunnels.

I do not understand why some people travel if all they do is complain about the country they are in & compare every little thing with their own country, usually in a really loud & obnoxious voice. One example of this man's ire was the fact that the entrance fee to the tunnels is not included in the tour price, a point which was made to all of the other people on the bus by the booking agents & was written in the literature. Mr Sprout did point out it's not really something worth swearing & carrying on about considering it only cost $6 for the tour & the entrance fee is only $3.

 

It truly is a fascinating place to visit, however I have no idea how people lived down these tunnels for so long. After walking hunched over through one on my first trip to Vietnam I was definately not doing it again, way too claustrophobic for me. Mr Sprout on the other hand got right into it, so much so that he got stuck in one of the hidden entrances which I had warned him not to try...

after a fair bit of sucking in his chest & wiggling he was able to pull himself up & off we went to the tunnel walk. Because he is 6'5 his walk became a crawl & he was quite glad to get to the end & get back out. It was a great tour & ended with Tapioca dipped in nuts & tea.  

It was a scorching day & quite a long bus trip so once we got off back in town the first thing we did was find a street vendor selling beer & within 10 seconds we had little stools to sit on & the coldest stubby holders you could find, an absolute bargain at only 70c a beer.....we may have stayed for 2 or 3 more cold ones!