Happy Hogmanay!

[Roger Kettle]

Fantastic photos, Joan!
Tarks, on a personal note, I was invited to  D.D.'s house to take in the New Year----something I didn't fancy as I have to work today. Out of politeness, I made an appearance but left at 11 p.m. This makes me the only person in the world to have escaped this household before 3 a.m. without sampling 28 different malt whiskies. I am so proud.

[Vulture]

Fantastic photos, Joan!
Tarks, on a personal note, I was invited to  D.D.'s house to take in the New Year----something I didn't fancy as I have to work today. Out of politeness, I made an appearance but left at 11 p.m. This makes me the only person in the world to have escaped this household before 3 a.m. without sampling 28 different malt whiskies. I am so proud.

.... and so sober!

[Malc]

I spent most of today sleeping. I spent new year's eve at a friend's house.
Uli and Tracey are our great friends, we've known them since our kids were in playgroup together. My wife Mel had arranged for us to be at their house on New Years Eve for a barbie, but no-one told Uli, who had dismantled the barbie for cleaning, so we ordered in pizzas..

Uli had only just come back from work and was kanckered, but great host that he is, he got out the Guinness and schnapps (he's Swiss) and manfully did his best, but collapsed on the couch at about 10.30pm. We were watching TV at the time, both of us clutching a pint of Guinness (the girls were ooh-ing and aah-ing over baby photos in the kitchen) and I hadn't realised he'd dozed off. He then had one of those sleep "spasms" where you think you're falling, and splatted Guinness all over me.

Joan, those are great photos. I used to live in Jannali, and in 1995 we saw the bridge fireworks from the hill above Como railway station, 20 ks away. We even smelled the gunpowder! Fantastic memories.
Thanks to you all for 2008, I really enjoy this site, I wish you all a happy 2009.

[The Peepmaster]

Happy new year everyone.

You'd have thought one of you cartoonists would have designed a Happy New Year banner.

Good idea!

[Tom]

Love the photos Joan - especially the ones with the Moon in!

[Diane CBPFC]

Joan, I imagine that you must be very glad you decided to stay up for the New Year. It looks so lovely over there.

We spent the evening around at a neigbours with five families in total - just muchies and board games but it was nice.

[Roger Kettle]

How cold is it with you, Diane, and has the moose returned? I know I keep going on about this but I miss the moose.

[Malc]

Let it go, Roger. Moose are like that. If she was really interested she would have called.

[Roger Kettle]

But she promoosed.

[Vulture]

 

[The Peepmaster]

But she promoosed.

Honestly! That's all you caribou... 

[Diane CBPFC]

It warmed up to -25c today but we still stayed home. It still feels cold and the windows have frost on them.

The moose only stay in the yard when the snow is high (like over two feet) - we have about 8" right now so they can still go and forage in the bush.

I think I am going to take down our decorations tomorrow - we had a live tree - our living room is on a slope with one end being two floors high so we had a 12' tree. We cut them down underneath power lines as the power company comes through every so many years and plows them all down anyway - it seems less like murder that way.

If I see any moose I will tell them that Roger was asking after them.

[Vulture]

It warmed up to -25c today but we still stayed home. It still feels cold and the windows have frost on them.

The moose only stay in the yard when the snow is high (like over two feet) - we have about 8" right now so they can still go and forage in the bush.

I think I am going to take down our decorations tomorrow - we had a live tree - our living room is on a slope with one end being two floors high so we had a 12' tree. We cut them down underneath power lines as the power company comes through every so many years and plows them all down anyway - it seems less like murder that way.

If I see any moose I will tell them that Roger was asking after them.

I think it is just one particular moose, Diane.........

[Malc]

...and she's a very attractive female moose. There's nothing odd about Roger.

[Joan]

Ooooh, lookee, it's my photo on the front page!  Fame at last - well not for me, I suppose, and Sydney doesn't need any more, but anyway ...

Joan, those are great photos. I used to live in Jannali, and in 1995 we saw the bridge fireworks from the hill above Como railway station, 20 ks away. We even smelled the gunpowder! Fantastic memories.
Thanks to you all for 2008, I really enjoy this site, I wish you all a happy 2009.

Trevor used to climb on the roof of our house in French's Forest to watch the fireworks, Malc.  I tried it one year, but wasn't too happy up there.  We can hear the fireworks, and see the odd high one from here, but if we want to see them better, we have to go down to Mona Vale Road and down a short trail into Garigal National Park where you're standing on top of the hill and can see right down to Bondi.  There's one for you Google Earthers.

Fantastic photos, Joan!
Tarks, on a personal note, I was invited to  D.D.'s house to take in the New Year----something I didn't fancy as I have to work today. Out of politeness, I made an appearance but left at 11 p.m. This makes me the only person in the world to have escaped this household before 3 a.m. without sampling 28 different malt whiskies. I am so proud.

Oh, I feel slightly ill, Roger - haven't touched that bottle of Dalwhinnie, or any other whisky since my jetlag folly.  Wonder when I'll be able to face it again.  Well done, btw.

-25Celsius, Diane?  OMG, I thought you meant Fahrenheit!  I remember being in Washington when it was -17C and we couldn't go out very much because my friend had just had a baby and even if we wrapped him and his toddler brother up, their poor little faces turned blue with the cold.  No wonder the moose are keeping warm in the bush. 

Love the photos Joan - especially the ones with the Moon in!

I didn't think it was going to come out in the photos, Tom.  It was a lot bigger than that in real life.  There was also a very bright planet next to it - some dispute as to whether it was Mercury or Venus, but it all looked very picturesque.