Christmas

Blogvember post the last #blogvember

Homemade Advent Calendar

Homemade Advent Calendar

The final blogvember piece herald the beginning of the end of the year. Bring on the parties, the glasses of fizz, the gin and tonics. New traditions I am forging like a tree from 1 December, and homemade advent calendar give me joy and I hope can bring back the pleasures of the season that are sometimes jettisoned for style over substance.

Merry Christmas Cake

Merry Christmas Cake

 

 

 

 

 

Today we bought all the dried fruit and mixed peel and cinnamon sticks we need from the markets. We bought vermouth and brandy, bitters and more. All the base ingredients for mince tarts, fruit cake, puddings and delicious drinks. Here’s cheers to that! The next few weeks are a whirlwind. I am going to try to focus on the enjoyment of the little simple pleasures. The joy of champagne popping, the tinkling lights, the smiles of people I love. I will try to not get too hot and bothered. We will have cold lunch and pudding at 10 o’clock at night when it’s cool enough. I am looking forward particularly to trifle. I love trifle more than almost all the other christmasy treat combined. You’ll find me on Boxing Day morning with a spoon and my head inside the fridge.

Let’s deck the halls and make the yuletide gay. Now all I want to do is count down. Christmas in T – minus 25 days.

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Bookclub #blogvember

Tonight is the last bookclub  of  2013. IMG_1070

12 months, 11 women, much wine and many opinions.

The Christmas celebration was filled with cheesy Christmas music – Michael Bublé anyone? – and great food. It was for many the first official end of year celebration and there was some relish with which several members of the party took to that first gin and tonic.

Blogvember took a back seat while we feasted and chatted. During the end of dinner there was a suggestion of  writing a line each for a post, however when it came to it, the motivation waned. I did however ask the eleven women some questions. And here is a glimpse into what we get up to once a month.

I like book club because I read things I would never otherwise read – KM

And sometimes I appreciate the books more after we discuss them. However, in most cases I still forget them – AM

What about the new Christos Tsiolkas one? Is that full of the c word like the last one? KM

They are quite good to listen to in the car … Matthew Riley .. talking books – AM

Coming down in favour of Roadl Dahl for the kids as talking books … they are good family distraction – CP

I like book club because it is my only adult pursuit – TP

David Tennant doing all the Vikings accents – is awesome – I love David – the how to train your dragon stories are awesome, the characters are awesome, even if I can never remember all their names – CP

I love bookclub because you can be smart at bookclub and it is ok, no wait, it’s because you can be opinionated and that’s ok – TL

I love bookclub because I get to hang out with fabulous women – LR

I love bookclub because I have met wonderful women  I might never have met – KSM

The only reason I am here is because I had a crush on Paula’s boyfriend – TP

It is not about the book, it’s about downloading our lives – KSM

The books are sometimes hotly debated. Contentious books particularly. The chats and stories and support are worth as much as all the books in the world.

This year we read – Flaubert’s Parrot (Jullian Barnes), Past the Shallows (Favel Parret), When Colts Ran (Roger McDonald – our Canberra Centenary book), 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window (Jonas Janasson), Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Katherine Boo), Illegal Action (Stella Rimington), The Rose Grower (Michelle De Krester), The Constant Gardener (John LeCarre), The Perks of Being a Wall Flower (Stephen Chbosky), Burial Rites (Hannah Kent), and Dog Boy (Eva Hornung ).