Where has 2006 gone?

I can't believe it's almost 2007. I've been sitting here wondering what I achieved in 2006, and came up with nada. Sometimes I feel like a mouse on a wheel... maybe I've hit a rut because work has become difficult and painful. It's nice to have a long break, but a long break means distancing yourself from everything and seeing how pointless it all is.

What does 2007 have in store for me? Well, I will be getting married, for one. I don't think our lives will change much once we're married, except maybe the legal aspect. It's a very strange idea that everything I do from then on will probably directly affect Chris. I'm so used to just doing things without much thought about ramifications, and I'm lucky that Chris is quite tolerant of that. But from then on, we will have the same name, and will be seen by law as the same entity. Scary stuff. Do I think marrying Chris is the right choice? Well, a long time ago, I heard someone say, "You know you are still in love with your husband/wife when your heart skips a beat when you hear their key in the door." Well, I can't say my heart skips a beat, but there is no better sound in the world than hearing Chris coming home. I think the cats agree because we all run downstairs to say hello when he comes home :)

Hmm.. maybe this is what I've achieved in 2006. In 2005, there was a lot going on in my life. Mainly moving to Sydney, then moving back against my parents' wishes, starting a new job, all the while wondering if I'd made the right decision. There was a fork in the road and I took one turn over the other, but my mind was still lingering on the other bend. But moving into this lovely house with Chris and the kitties, I think I'm finally home. Things aren't ideal with my job, but most other things are in place - not many people can say that.

To put an end to this melancholy, here's a picture of the two kitties grooming each other. I think it's so cute that they do that :) They really are like brother and sister.

Oh and before I forget, our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both enjoyable. On Christmas Eve, Chris had his regular roleplaying during the day. I sat in with the guys till it got too boring... then Chris cooked a roast dinner and we had a lot of wine and food. Before we knew it, it was time for presents. I bought Chris a Claymore sword which he loved, and he got me a shopping spree, hehe.. actually it was $400 that he put on a card for me to spend any way I wanted, because he said the last few Christmas presents he got me had been misses. I am pretty hard to shop for, because I always want jewellery, but am very picky about what I wear. So.. I ended up spending it on.... wait for it.... jewellery! I bought an antique-inspired diamond band for my right hand. It had to be custom-made to my size (stupid small fingers!), can't wait for it to be ready! I also plan to buy a pair of earrings to go with my wedding gown with the rest of the money.

On Christmas day, Chris's mum Gaye and her partner Derek came round at around 4pm. We put the turkey in the oven with some roast veggies, then nibbled on crackers and homemade dips that Gaye had made. One of them was a delicious tzatziki, and the other was made with roasted red peppers, cashews and pomegrenate molasses all blended together. Mmm.. yummy. Gaye had given me some pomegrenate molasses to try on its own.. it was strange, almost like Chinese vinegar, but with a sweet aftertaste.

For entrees, we had cold prawns, smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, and fresh avocado. The smoked salmon was delicious, velvety smooth and smokey. I'd never had smoked mackerel before, it was really nice, and nowhere near as fishy as I thought it would be. We had this with champagne and sparkling rose from Cleveland winery. For dinner, we had the big roast turkey, lots of roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, brocolli, and peas. By then, we were pretty full.. but there's always room for dessert! Gaye had made a Christmas pudding from scratch and it was yummy! I really enjoyed it, never had homemade pudding before. It was much nicer than anything bought from a store. It was full of fruit and nuts, and incredibly moist. We ate ourselves into a stupor that night ;)

And.. that was Xmas. My new year's resolution is to get my driving licence (finally!). A happy 2007 to everyone :)

Welcome to the family, Mako!

Chris and I recently got another cat. His name is Mako, because it sounds cute with Mika. M&M! Because I chose the name Mika, Chris got to choose Mako's name.

I fell in love with him when we saw him at the RSPCA last weekend. We only went in to pet the puppies, but this guy was so affectionate that our hearts went out to him. And we also thought it was cute that he looked so much like Mika ;) Sometimes I find it hard to tell them apart. Mika has some black in her fur and she is a little smaller, while Mako is white and cream and his face is a bit 'boofier' than her's.

Anyway, he'd been on my mind since we left the RSPCA on Saturday, and last week, Chris came home with Mako as a surprise! Mika was so angry at first. She hissed and puffed up, and wouldn't let him near her. But two days later, they were cuddling up :)

Aren't they so cute together?
Mako's closest to the window. Mika's the one with her paws neatly tucked under her.

I think they're really happy together, and Mika isn't as spoiled as she used to be. She used to act up quite a bit because we were away from home during the day, but now she's got a friend, she's less bored.

I think the real test is when they are able to both sleep on the bed at the same time! At the moment, Mako hogs the bed and swipes at Mika if she tries to get up. Hopefully, that will pass and they can become best buds :)

The Grange at Cleveland Winery

I couldn't get cut and paste to work, so here are the pics first, and food review below!

My entree, Smoked Salmon with Lemon Risotto
My main, Moroccan Chicken with Couscous
Chris's main, Ribeye with Bacon, Potato Patty and Fresh Beans
The gorgeous view

My sister gave me a perfect pressie for my birthday - lunch for two at a winery! Chris and I meant to go ages ago, but he's had a busy schedule for the last few months with moving and clients gearing up for the busy Christmas shopping season, so when we had a free weekend, we grabbed the opportunity to head to Cleveland winery.

The trip there was really painful - it was 37 degrees, the trip was 1.5 hours and Chris's car has no airconditioning, so we were pretty much plastered to the seats by the time we got there. Unfortunately, it was bushfire season, so we saw a few on the way that were caused by inconsiderate motorists throwing cigarette butts out of their window >:( Makes me angry!

It was well worth the trip when we got to the winery. The sky was so blue and you could see for miles and miles. I love the sense of space that you get in Australia. We decided to start off with the complementary cellar door tasting. Unfortunately, because of the heat, the wines didn't taste as good as they should have. My favourites were actually the two wines that Cleveland winery outsourced - the Reserve Shiraz and the Pinot Noir.

We were starving at this point, and Chris was already getting tipsy (he hardly ever drinks) so we decided to get some grub. The menu was quite varied and most of it sounded really nice. The voucher gave us 2 courses each, so I decided to get an entree and main, and bullied Chris into getting the dessert I wanted :D

I decided to give their rose another shot because it tasted promising even when it was lukewarm, so i ordered a glass to go with lunch. It was served icy cold and tasted a hundred times better than it did at the tasting!

With an icy cold bubbly beverage in my hand, I was ready to start eating! For an entree, I had the smoked salmon with lemon risotto. It was pretty good, the smoked salmon was fresh and succulent, and the velvety texture went really well with the tart lemon risotto and tangy sesame dressing that was drizzled on the accompanying rocket salad. My only complaint was the risotto patty was served piping hot, so it 'cooked' the salmon slightly. Maybe it was only a problem because it was such a hot day.

For a main, I ordered the moroccan chicken with couscous. Sadly, this was a bit dry and flavourless. Still, I was so hungry I gulped it down and had some of Chris's main too! He ordered a delicious ribeye wrapped with bacon, served with fresh beans and a potato patty. The steak was so succulent it melted in your mouth, and the sweet red wine sauce it came in suited beautifully. The potato patty was a bit boring and tasted like it had been frozen, but the beans were lovely and perfectly cooked.

The dessert was the star of the day, I think. I didn't even get to take a picture of it because we finished it in 5 minutes flat. It really did taste homemade - there was blackberry, apple and mint, and strawberry, served with fresh cherries and berries. It was perfect on such a sweltering day.

Full and sleepy, we made another stop at the cellar to buy a bottle of rose for Christmas dinner, and then headed home. About 10 minutes into the drive, a cool change suddenly hit, and the change was amazing. In a split second, the temperature dropped by about ten degrees, so the drive home was much more pleasant :)