 |
||
|
Wednesday, January 04, 2006  Happy New Year 20-06*!Wow. First post of 20-06. Welcome. Welcome, too, to recent invitees of HEREIN: Emma and Chris. I hope you enjoy your visits and some of my insights and commentary. Well... I had a very enjoyable break off work, which I can tell you, was MUCH needed. Only when you are having a break do you realise how much you require time away from work to place things into perspective, and often when around loved ones, family and friends does this happen. To the right is a Samarian Sunset that I concocted. It was lovely. My break was quite full and involved a (now) Christmas Eve Eve tradition of dinner and frivolity at Sim's apartment, beautiful celebrations of Christmas at Sim's parents on Christmas morning and with my Aunty's family on Christmas Day and night (poker and table tennis featured heavily), a trip to the country (Seymour) to visit family and have a Boxing Day Christmas, finding post-Christmas bargains while wearing jeans (blahck!) in 30+ heat, a pool party in Glen Waverley, which involved eating, swimming and playing cards/crosswords/cryptic crosswords and preparing for a fantastic New Year's Eve.  My New Year's Eve was spent with Sim, Erica, Emma and Chris at my humble abode where we made a lively time of it. From a few rounds of Quickdraw** to a quick game of Cluedo (it was Mrs. Peacock whodidit in case you were wondering and I was just scribbling who/what/whichroom Erica was asking about on my pad, Sim, Emma and Chris...) to sipping Cin Gins, swallowing Singapore Sling-style cocktails and Samarian Sunsets, and downing a few Cowboys, everyone had a great time. I just re-read that sentence and realised that "downing a few Cowboys" could be construed as not quite above-board! :) Mmmm, butterscotch and Baileys.Here is AJ, Erica and Sim dancing up a treat... Note Erica's magnificent cocktail dress and AJ's embarassing dancing. It was the first time Erica, Emma and Chris had met Jaffa - my brother's and girlfriend's Pomeranian cross something beauty of a dog. It was so hot that day that poor Jaffa was struggling in the heat, but enjoyed everyone's company and doing his own little doggie dance when we were all boogying to the DVD of Chartbusting 80s in the evening.  To the left is Emma, on a footstool, doing a Hawaiian dance. At least it looks like this is the case... You decide!Actually heading into 20-06, the five of us resembled a Zulu tribe as we held each other (yet in a straight line) and jumped up and down to the beat of Madonna's Hung Up (it was our choice of song to enter into 20-06). 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! As Fry would say, "Here's to another lousy Millennium!" :) It was a great evening of good company, and just chilling out on a REALLY hot night. The drinks were a feature and thanks to Erica for bringing everything from bitters to cinnamon sticks to a blender and the lovely handmade chocolates and pudding that you made especially for my and Sim's lovely Christmas present. It was fantastic, thank you. Speaking of which, you should all head over to Erica's blog and listen to her and Nafyn's rendition of Something Cool. The holiday season is always good to hire a few DVDs and without exception, I hired Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Cowboys & Angels, OutFoxed and Sideways. I am not a lover of wine, but have to admit that Miles' insight below about pinot noir is beautiful: "it's a hard grape to grow ... it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early ... it's not a survivor like cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it's neglected. No, pinot needs constant care and attention ... it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked- away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression." May 20-06 (and the 11 other months) be all that you wish it/them to be. *It shall herewith be referred to as "twenty-oh-six" as opposed to "two-thousand and six" **Alias has been used to protect identity of this card gameposted by AJ | 10:19 PM | | ||
