Thursday 26 February 2009

One of these nights I will have a proper sleep


as I am getting pretty annoyed at being awake 5 times during the night. Why is it that the best part of your sleep is the 10 minutes before the alarm clock screams?
My plans for getting to the gym regularly during Catherine's absence are going well- I am starting to feel a bit fitter and stronger and plan on attending another spinning class this evening. Hopefully this will translate to some more weight loss over the next few weeks as that helps with the motivation as well.
Not too much to report- looking forward to a warmer weekend here in Zürich and I plan on getting out with my camera to try to get some more photos. It has been a very quiet time on that front and with the days getting longer it is time to get stuck in again.
Happy Birthday Nicole! Hope that you have a great day and enjoy your planned festivities. I look forward to speaking with you a little later.

Sunday 22 February 2009

Dinner was lots of fun- thanks gentlemen!


I certainly enjoyed the company and the wines and I hope that the others found the food to be acceptable...... all in all, a great evening. Relatively early to bed and up this morning to get started on the Sunday chores before heading off to the gym. The snow lying around this morning was a surprise but luckily it wasn't a problem at all and around here most of it seems to have disappeared during the day.
It is going to be another tough week- the banking sector of the economy is still struggling under the weight of the problems that have emerged in the last 18 months and it is really starting to take a toll in other areas. The city of Zürich looked like a ghost town when I was in there yesterday- sure it is holiday time and some people are away, but there were very few shoppers around. Hopefully things will begin to improve sooner rather than later and we can get on with our lives before too much more damage is done to morale and bank balances.
Hopefully the Moose Man is all tuned up and ready to rock in Singapore.......

Thursday 19 February 2009

I am looking forward to the weekend


although I have been quite successful getting into the gym this week, having more time on the weekend makes things easier and somewhat more enjoyable too. It was nice to get into a spinning class this evening and with luck I can manage a couple of good training sessions over the weekend too which will help to get my weight moving in the right direction.
Hosting dinner for Chef Enzo, Chef Giorgio and Captain Pipo on Saturday which will be lots of fun and I am sure that we will have a proper boy's evening together. There will be enough red meat and red wine to keep everyone happy :-)
Catherine seems to be having a good time in Australia and I hope that things continue in that vein.
Since the snow fall earlier in the week, things around here have remained pretty cool....... sort of makes me think about summer again!

Monday 16 February 2009

Happy Birthday Jacqueline


Hi Gorgeous, hope that you had a great Sunday with Aunty Catherine and the rest of the family. Your birthday party looks like it was a lot of fun and I am sorry that I couldn't be there too. I hope to speak with you later to wish you a proper happy birthday.
much love, Uncle David xxxxx

Sunday 15 February 2009

I have managed to get to the gym a couple of times over


the weekend so I guess that should be seen as some kind of success. The weight is certainly not falling off me, but at least I feel better from week-to-week and can train a little harder than I could a month ago.
Catherine has arrived safely in Sydney and seems to be settling in quickly. Yumcha with the family and then Jacqueline's birthday party on Sunday afternoon- getting off to a fast start!
Not a lot more to report but I hope to have something more positive to say later on in the week...

Thursday 12 February 2009

In another 24 hours, Catherine will be in the air


and on her way to Oz to visit all of the gang and have a well-earned holiday. I am staying behind this time and will work and also keep an eye on our wine cellar :-) Fingers crossed that the dreadful weather and frightful fires are finished in Victoria so that Catherine and the family can take it easy and celebrate Brian's birthday in style.
This evening was another visit to the gym and I am planning on keeping up the rhythm in order that I can lose a little weight while Catherine is away and get fit for the coming summer. Hope to be able to take a lot of photos too- the last month has been awful in that department and maybe the break will do my creativity some good.
By the way- dinner on Saturday night was good (and I don't have to say so myself) and the wine was fantastic as well. We all had lots of fun and I hope that we can get the group together again at some point for a re-match.
See ya later, alligator! xx

Sunday 8 February 2009

YUMMMMMMM


What a team!
Marinated olives & a homemade artichoke dip accompanied with olive bread to start, served with a 2007 Cullen Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon. Entree was a salad of rucola & pear with balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing.
Main course; osso buco alla milanese served with saffron risotto and 2002 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz was fantastic, bravo Davide.
The cheese course included my favourite, Roquefort, and Brie de Meaux with black truffles and a pecorino, accompanied by nut bread and olive oil biscuits, dates and pear.
The pièce de résistance was a Torta Nera, home made, of course, served with De Bortoli Black Noble. (http://gourmettraveller.com.au/torta_nera.htm)
All plates went back to the kitchen empty and our guests, Myrtha, Dan, Claudia and Sylvia went home very happy and sated.

Thursday 5 February 2009

It has been a less-than-inspiring week


however, I have managed a couple of visits to the gym, a sushi dinner and tomorrow is the Chief's birthday (so not all is lost). We will pop in to have sushi again tomorrow evening and wish the great man all the very best and in the process get our weekend off to a good start.
I am also looking forward to entertaining at home on Saturday evening- it appears as if the weather is going to be cold and miserable, so hopefully we can find a menu which suits this time of year. Strangely, I already have a pretty good idea what we might drink :-)

Sunday 1 February 2009

This has been a pretty relaxing weekend and today


I haven't even managed to make it out of the front door! It started to snow this afternoon and I was very happy not to have to leave home. Luckily we have all that we need here for dinner and I have just opened a bottle of Adelaide Hills Riesling to get into the mood for cooking up an Asian stir-fry.
I am currently down-loading a whole bunch of music, writing a blog entry, listening to Amon Tobin and drinking a glass of wine. Who said that men can't multi-task? :-) Not too sure just yet what is awaiting us this week- the Chief has a birthday on Friday and we should pop in there to eat some sushi and a couple of his "sushi mafia" have birthdays during the week too. Looking forward to next weekend when we have more guinea pigs for the dinner table- probably cook something in the Italian direction and drink a few bottles of appropriate wine.
Let's hope that the new month is more enjoyable than the last!