Having a positive outlook has enabled me to cope better with unpleasant or tough situations.

I like your recipe and this exotic dish. I might just as well try to make it and sell it at the restaurant. Thanks for the recipe.

Winter's round the corner here Down Under. It's been raining since early in the morning and right now it's got 16C. Thanks for sending some of your sunshine my way. Happy Summer!

Love your recipes and the photos are truly gorgeous!

I love your sense of humour and creative mind!

Living and working so far away from home has made me homesick and I often dream of spending Christmas in England. I am glad you and Alkis really enjoyed your Christmas holiday in my hometown. In less than 90 minutes, Sidney, Australia will be welcoming the New Year. Anastasia, I may not comment often but I always read your wonderful blogs. Happy New Year!

I'm happy with the little things I have and cherish, I have reasonable expectations and never expect the moon. In short, it's the simple pleasures in life that make me happy.

Because Australia is such a large country, its weather varies significantly in different parts of the continent. Living in Australia can involve everything from sunbathing on the beach in scorching summers to knocking snow off your boots after a day of skiing and from sweating out the humidity during the build-up at the beginning of the wet season, to wrapping up snug and waiting at the bus stop in the pouring rain.It's springtime right now and here in Sydney we are enjoying some nice weather. I don't particularly like spring, though. I like autumn but also Christmas in the heart of summer.

Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, said that "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty". A person will always act in a manner consistent with his dominate thoughts. People who think negatively will unconsciously attract more occasions to be offended. Someone who is sure that his efforts will fail will not attempt with enough determination to see himself through the challenge. The mind always looks for evidence to validate that which it holds as true. This is why positive thinkers find more reasons to be positive, and negative people will always come across justification to despair. Positive people have tremendous energy that brings forth the best in themselves and others.

Right now it's got 11C in Sydney but it's almost 10 pm. It seems to me that this year September in Australia is warmer than usual. Yesterday at 2:00 pm we got 21C! I'm looking forward to a long, hot summer! In September, there is a wide array of festivals and attractions in Australia. My favourite is the Festival of the Winds – This is probably the most exciting and the biggest kite festival in the country this year. The skies brighten up with countless kites of different sizes and shapes both from local and international flyers and makers.

What can you really say of significance in 140 characters? Sounds like you have to be really creative, at first, to get a precise, meaningful message squashed into 140 total characters. Like writing a 50 word fiction story or poetry. And you do. If you want to have more than a lot of nothing to say. However, most people aren't that creative, and don't care if they are anyway because they won't want to take the time to write 140 character poetry. With the Twitter format, they don't really care to express pithy wit most of the time, either. Hell, even 50 short words with proper spacing and punctuation require more than 140 characters!

I don't blog, but I love reading great blogs like yours!

Sounds delicious! But if I were you, I'd simply brush the chichen with the olive oil, then brown it in a hot, non-stick pan.

I can't imagine anything more invigorating than an early morning walk at the beach and a glorious sunrise.