New Roo.
As co-owner of Roo’s Barefoot Cantina, I believe it is crucial to have a proper mascot. Since our inflatable friend, Roo, died a tragic death in the hail storm a while back, we searched high and low for a suitable replacement. Not really…jay just happened to drive by a concrete sculpture store on his way into the city, saw a giant concrete kangaroo and thought, “I must own that.” He stopped on his way back and felt the pain of the price tag, so he pushed back the normal Shearer instinct of “go big or go home” and went with a smaller version. Meet the new Roo.

Dollop.
We had our department meeting today (about 10 people) and of course there was enough food for “tea” to feed the Australian army. It was sitting in front of all of us and nobody was digging in (even though we were given the green light to start eating). I was intrigued by a plate of rolls with what looked like a yogurt container in the middle. I could barely concentrate on the meeting as my brain was wondering if they really put yogurt on bread… So I decided to break the ice and grabbed a roll. The container said “dollop” cream, so I figured it was just a spread of some sort. I put some on my bread and spread it around. Meeting continues. I take a bite, seems ok but kind of bland (as is everything I have eaten here). And then I hear laughter from a few people. My face instantly got red. One guy said “you need to put jam on first and then just a dollop of the cream.” Well thanks guys…that tasted much better. After the meeting I asked that people please fill me in ahead of time if I am doing something wrong…

Meat pies.
At almost every tea or gathering, a staple on the menu are sausage rolls (kind of like a mini hot dog in a biscuit) and mini meat pies. I have not yet mustered up the courage to try the sausage rolls, but today I thought I would give the meat pie a go. I took a small bite. It is a pastry like outer crust filled with “mince” which is some sort of ground meat and a sauce. Might have been ok but it was only sort of warm. I nearly gagged…I don’t do cold meat… I might try again sometime, but let’s just say I won’t be craving it. I should point out that I was eating all of this while everyone back home was eating one of the best meals of the year. *sigh*.