Start as you mean to go on

I had friends for dinner last night, the second time I have hosted people in a fortnight, and it was nice to set the table and light the candles.  Of course, I forgot to photograph any of this but we ate:

• Sydney rock oysters with a dressing of ginger, mirin and red chilli - I put them on crushed ice on the fink platter I have and they looked lovely.  They tasted good but I think I like south coast oysters better.
• XL Queensland blue spot prawns grilled with tarragon butter - delicious and took about 2 minutes to cook.
• Rock melon wrapped in prosciutto - one of my guests brought this and it was delicious as was the Sonoma bread and some delicious salami I need to try and source.
• Samin Nosrat's Ligurian focaccia.
• Charred beef sliced on a bed of rocket with roasted beetroot and a horseradish and creme fraiche dressing.  This was less successful as the beef was too cold (I should not have put it in the fridge).
• Peach and mozzarella salad.
• Flourless chocolate cake with raspberries.
• Billiecart-Salmon champagne which was very delicious and my latest favourite champagne.

We watched the 9pm fireworks over the lake from the balcony and everyone was gone by 10.  I loaded the dishwasher and was in bed by 10.30 which was perfect.

Charlie had a sleepover with my daughter and the kitten so he was not tormented by the fireworks so it was all good.

I've been doing some housekeeping on my blog for the first time in ages and tidying up my blog roll (so many loved blogs where no one posts any more but a few new ones that I find myself reading).  I had to delete the instagram widget as it just would not work for free and I am not pouring money into this platform.  Typepad is no longer accepting new blogs so I have to face that this platform may be sunset in the next year or two and think about what to use in place (the horrifying bit will be trying to move any images so trying to get my head around that.)

Despite hating it when people hurriedly remove all evidence of Christmas before 12th night, I took down the big Christmas tree due to the old cat spraying it.  He was most unhappy at the kitten coming to stay and was very out of sorts.  Despite me hosing the tree down it still smells faintly of cat piss, if only in my imagination, so it will be heading to the tip forthwith.  My friends had a beautiful real tree so despite my poor record of keeping real trees in good health in the Australian heat, I think I will try that again next year.

My storage unit has put its prices up again so I am resolved to clear it.  S and I moved a few things and she took some shelves for her own unit and her childhood doll's house which the kitten is enjoying going in and out of.  The younger one wants her old changing table and cupboard as a linen cupboard so there will not be too much else to move here and save myself the $420 a month they now want to charge.

I've been listening to Backlisted.  I gave it a go a few months but think I chose an episode on the kind of writer who does nothing for me (I won't be rude enough to name) but I decided to give it another go and yesterday listed to the episodes on Alan Garner (who I have adored for more than 50 years and, I confess, was surprised he was still alive), E Nesbit and Elizabeth Jane Howard.  I am pretty sure I used to own Something in Disguise but suspect it was culled along with many other writers I read in 80s - Jane Gardam, Mary Wesley - and feel I must have fallen for the idea that their work was unfashionable.  I must remedy this.  Anyway, I downloaded Treacle Walker to listen to while walking.

I did not make my 2021 reading goal but I am not beating myself up and will start again this year.

Comments

[ganching]

Happy new year.

That dinner sounds lovely.

I'm now worrying about what to do with my blog if the platform stops working. We will have to compare notes.

[carolbaby]

My unsolicited advice on moving blogs (having done it twice now) is before you close up the old blog, migrate your data and then have a lovely and nostalgic time slowly revisiting all your posts and updating the photo links. I say lovely and nostalgic - but it did get a bit emotional.

I've heard pretty good things about squarespace (though that could just be youtuber shilling!)

I'm absolutely horrified at those storage costs!