The Last Post

... For this year, that is.
Isn't it astounding how quickly these few weeks pass? Before we know it we're back to normalcy and heaving sighs of relief that we won't have to cook like that for another year at least.
Anyone else feel like that?
Having said that, I must confess that although I did feel as if I'd spent 5 full days in the kitchen over Christmas, I had my good friend S with me and we spent much of that time laughing. In fact I'm sure we had more fun than the rest of our families did in the other parts of the house, teehee!
All in all I had a lovely Christmas, our first one in our new house, spent with my little family and my very good friends S and R who are almost family too. So even though I wasn't with my Mom and sisters and Hubby's family in SA, we had a warm and glowing Christmas anyway.
And after spending so much time in the kitchen, us gals decided we needed a break so on Wednesday, when the shops opened, we took ourselves off on a bit of a spree, making the most of the first of the January Sales, returning home laden with bags and smiles.

What I haven't gotten to do is practise riding my bike. Today was going to be the day but let me tell you, we have a storm a-blowin' here that would put an arctic ice storm to shame! So hold thumbs it blows itself away by tomorrow, 'kay?

On the other hand, we went out and did something equally fun yesterday: Clay pigeon shooting. It turns out the step-children have inherited Hubby's shooting abilities and our instructor was most impressed with "all the natural talent in this group". Hah! You hear that? Natural talent, folks. Yes, that included me. I miss shooting and I have to say there's something awfully satisfying about shooting those little clay discs into itty-bitty pieces. I think this will become a regular family outing in the coming year.

Now, my final post for 2006 wouldn't really be complete without photos, would it?
Last Saturday we wandered down into Dublin city for a bit of "Ooh, look at the pretty lights", not to mention a cholesterol-rich meal in Eddie Rockets, the only fast-food place in the country that makes a decent hamburger.
I've uploaded a bunch of photos from that night onto Flickr, so all you need to do is click here to take a look if you feel so inclined.
Here is a preview*:


The others are waay better so go on, click the link, take a look - you know you want to...!

And with that I just want to wish everyone

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

May 2007 be filled with love and happiness for all of us.

*If you're wondering, the "Baile Átha Cliath" in this photo is the Irish name for Dublin. Of course it isn't pronounced as it is written - I'm sure Fence or Anne would be able to help out with the phonetics if you asked them nicely, though.