New Year's Eve

We are not traditionally New Year's Eve revelers; rather we tend to stay up, and when midnight strikes say Happy New year and thankfully go off to bed.
This year with Wendy and Celia (and planned Sue) I decided we would have some structure to get us through the evening. So I planned a meal and activity where each person had to teach us something.

I drew up a rough timetable so Wendy and Celia knew what was happening, this last minute step was quickly jotted down on a piece of newspaper handy!

Pre dinner snacks

As I was cooking, my lesson was 'How to make gyoza' so we had that as well as other snacks (made from my Christmas present from Lynne et al 'Tapas dishes") We had this with Champagne out on the decking with 'idle chatter'

Then the program called for Celia who had chosen to teach us about Art journaling which is a big activity of hers.

 Art journaling combines the written language and the visual language to give a greater breadth of       expression and understanding. In essence art journaling is the combination of art making and journaling with the intention to create greater insight and understanding of the self and others. Art journaling is about expression, both written and visual, of emotions and thoughts; it is a space for questions that may not have answers, a place for thoughts that may otherwise not have a home, a safe container for emotions so that they do not have to be loose in the world. Although the journal can become an extension of the self, it can also be a place to play and experiment with art materials. 

Wendy considering her next step

After several stages

The work space

While we felt we did not have Celia's creativity we were pleased with our effort.
Following this we had dinner. A Mediterranean Chicken with cous cous with pistachios. Again from the Christmas present "Quick fillets"
We then had a video to watch Gettin' Square a great Australian Comedy with the Logie winning role of David Wenham.. the court scene a ripper!
This was followed by dessert of apple & rhubarb crumble.  I made lots of crumble topping but went  a bit over board! Plenty for the next day!
Wendy then taught us to play Cluedo that she had had for years (probably a collectors edition!) but never played. She brought it down to leave for our holiday guests and we also had never played it though it was well known to us all.
After the first game we developed the strategy needed to eliminate the person the weapon and the room and in the final game, interrupted by midnight and a toast, I decided correctly that  it was Mrs White in the Lounge with the iron bar!
Happy New Year