Lego dudes

There are 3 geeks in my living room playing plastic instruments along to music from 80's metal bands with the lego avatars on the tv. Normally I join in on such things and perhaps I will hit the plastic drums before the night is out....

The Australian Whiskey Spectacular

Gathered in the whiskey and cigar bar called Baranows Lounge are the doyens of Australian Single Malt distilleries, David Baker from Bakery Hill (VIC), Patrick Maguire (TAS), Bill Lark from Lark (TAS) and Cameron Syme from Limeburners (WA), and us, the people that love whiskey and go to such tastings. Amid the dark brown leather couches, scattered palms, the mounted deer head, the wait staff bring out over a hundred glasses of our tastings.

Nights like this are pretty special, you get to taste the whiskey while the founder of the distilleries walk you through their passion - making and drinking whiskey.

One of the best nights of the year!

Take that Nick Cave t-shirt off

I miss the 19yr old Lenore. It struck me the other day how aging and gathering physical content in ones life is very restricting. The responsibility that comes with striving for a comfortable lifestyle shackles one to a workforce, a house and a location. I am starting to feel the weight of this. It is not necessarily a bad thing but I notice it.

When I was 19 and I slowly but surely traded all my belongings at the Cash Convertors in Coolangatta to gain money for coffee and a camera, it did not occur to me to worry about keeping and hoarding my belongings. When it came time to leave that area - I sold or gave away all my furniture and started again in Sydney. And again when I decided to make the move to Melbourne. I packed what I could fit into the Sierra and everything else was sold or left. I felt free and able to make changes in my life that were substantial and fun.

What have I traded for that perceived freedom? I now have a nice place to stay that is full of all the necessary luxuries - ie big tv and media centre for all my entertainment needs, lots of single malts, a spare room for visitors, a beer fridge that is always full, 6 computers etc. I have a job that offers good money and security, a relationship that is just getting better as the years go by. And these are not bad things. Most people strive to have this.

Then why is it that I am dreaming of getting rid of it all (except GB of course) and taking to backpacking around the world for a couple of years? Is it a midlife crisis? Is it because I feel the tick-tocking of my biological clock?

I am restless.

Motherless state

Last night I drove my mum to the airport. She was going home after spending 3 weeks with me. Although we didn't really do alot in that time, it was nice to have my mum around to chat with and just be in the company of. It has been many years since I have spent that amount of time with my mum and I really enjoyed it. I learned that I am awfully similar to my mother - frustratingly so.

All the time I am seeing my mum as an individual more and more, not as a collective of my parents.

#27 Ride on a Paddle Boat

Myself, my twin, her hubby and my mum made the 3 hour journey for a day ‎trip to the good ole town of Echuca. The general consensus was that it was a ‎bloody long way for a boat ride but I had a ball! The historic little street they ‎have set up is very sweet and the boats vary from grand to laughable.

We hopped on a paddlesteamer and headed off for an hour trip. Turns out that ‎that really isn't very far in distance because they travel at a very slow pace. ‎Fun though :)
‎
So did the paddle steamer live up to my expectations?.....I was imagining the ‎big floating casino's of yesteryear, the men in ten gallon hats, the women with ‎bustles and being thrown over board for cheating at poker.Of course none of ‎that happened on my trip with the family. And I was only slightly disappointed. ‎I did at some stage want to divide the people up on the boat evenly so each ‎side was carrying a similar amount of weight but other than that my anxiety of ‎boats stayed pretty much under control.‎

The Shortest Month

So I have chosen the shortest month to complete some more of my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.

32. Post an entry every day for a month. Sorry - but I think it might be a good experiment to see where my head is really at.
58. Meditate for at least 30 mins once a week for a month
84. Write a Restaurant review and post it on a website
52. Go to the Opera
16. Tell a Stranger they are beautiful. That is if I come across anyone that inspires such a comment.
14. Make my own affirmation tape
30. Send my Aunty Syl a letter with photos
31. Send a postcard to postsecret

I am also doing a secret Sober February with GB. The reason it is secret is that last night it was my Brother-in-Law's birthday and we had dinner at Hellenic Republic - and I had a couple. And this Thursday we are booked in for the Australian Extranvaganza Whiskey Night at Baranows. So 2 nights out of the month are already fried. I am adding 2 days of March to the end to make up for it. But trying to explain that to anyone is annoying.

Echuca Ahoy

In the almost-decade that I have spent in Melbourne Victoria, I have crossed the Murray River a fair few times in driving commutes from one state to another, but I have never been to somewhere specifically to see the Murray. It is far from it's former glory I presume by the flood signs and levels of years gone past but it still has an appeal.

Myself, my twin, her hubby and my mum made the 3 hour journey for a day trip to the good ole town of Echuca. The general consensus was that it was a bloody long way for a boat ride but I had a ball! The historic little street they have set up is very sweet and the boats vary from grand to laughable.

We hopped on a paddlesteamer and headed off for an hour trip. Turns out that that really isn't very far in distance because they travel at a very slow pace. Fun though :)

So did the paddle steamer live up to my expectations?.....I was imagining the big floating casino's of yesteryear, the men in ten gallon hats, the women with bustles and being thrown over board for cheating at poker.Of course none of that happened on my trip with the family. And I was only slightly disappointed. I did at some stage want to divide the people up on the boat evenly so each side was carrying a similar amount of weight but other than that my anxiety of boats stayed pretty much under control.

TOGA TOGA 2009

Last years TOGA TOGA New Years Eve party was such a success we decided that we will make it a tradition that for New Years Eve we will invite people to come to our house to eat and drink in sheets :)

From what I remember of this year: New friends in attendance, dancing in the rain, fights over who was singing in Rockband, several I-love-you-guys moments and GB managed to see the end of one of his parties for the first time!

Here is a photo of GB and I doing our best impressions of Bluto:

#56 See a live band at least once every 3 months for a year

04/02/09 - Briefcase Full of Blues (Blues Brothers Tribute Band)
09/02/09 - Jose Gonzales
15/05/09 - Psuedo Echo and Wa Wa Nee
31/05/09 & 18/06/09 - P!nk
04/08/09 - The White Album Concert
28/08/09 - Alice Cooper
21/11/09 - Monsters of Rock

And it looks like 2010 will also be a great year - upcoming concert: Newton Faulkner

#53 Host a family Christmas

GB and I hosted our first Christmas Eve family dinner and Christmas Day lunch. My family were pikey pikers and did their own thing in NSW and missed out! :)

Christmas Eve was just the three of us: GB, myself and Mrs K. This is the night we open presents and gorge ourselves on seaford.

Before

After

Christmas Day was another statement on indulgence and traditionalism. In attendance: Mrs K, GB, myself and the Sultana's GB's Grandmother and Great Aunt. It was a lovely and relaxed day (for me anyway - Mrs K did all the cooking and cleaning for me)