Ho! Ho! Ho!

It is already Christmas Morning (albeit still very early) in Sydney and I can think of a few kids who will be ready to get up and cause havoc in a few hours' time  :-)  We are heading out to dinner with some good friends shortly and will turn skype on when we return to see what is happening on the other side of the world.
Merry Christmas everybody!

I am sitting here wearing my new hoodie and enjoying my day off

although I would enjoy it a lot more if I didn't have such a bad cold. It is still only early and breakfast was good and in a little while I will head into town to get a few things done. Lunch in Lugano yesterday was great and the train ride was cool too. Lots of snow north of the alps on the way down in the morning and then it was snowing like crazy on the south side on my way home.
Only a couple more days until Christmas- hope that everyone is getting relaxed  :-)

Look out Angus!

It won't be too long and my hoodie collection will be as big as yours :-) I went to Patagonia today and bought myself another to celebrate our cold, snowy weather. I will be in town again tomorrow morning- it is a shopping Sunday, but I will have an early swim and grab a couple of essentials before heading home. We have guests coming for dinner tomorrow evening and then I have Monday and Tuesday off to do some bits and pieces.

Winter is here- well this week at least

and we are not going to get above freezing until after the weekend. Fingers crossed for some snowfall to keep the skiers happy and I am off to Lugano for lunch on Monday  :-) Depending on timing, I might get to the gym beforehand or maybe even fit in a swim...... one way or another, lunch with Stefano will be great.
Mrs and the Mini-Mooses are flying out for sunny Oz on Saturday. Have a great trip gang- we hope to catch up with you at Christmas time.

Now you've made me jealous......

and thanks for the invitation to Northbridge for a swim and Christmas lunch  :-) Great that the gang will all get together on the 25th and I hope to be able to skype with you all and have a catch-up. Not long to wait now!

The end of a long week

and I really enjoyed a beer when I arrived home this evening. It is going to be cool over the weekend and this coming week- winter might be here at last!

I didn't make it to the pool this evening, sadly enough

but I did manage to take a few photos for my week-long challenge and have edited and posted the best of the day since arriving home. I really do need to do some exercise tomorrow evening...... many thanks to Tiffany, Lula and Noel for the fantastic package of biscuits..... I really do need to do some exercise tomorrow evening  
:-)

I managed to stretch my swim out to 1.2km this morning

and although this is not particularly long, it was a good step for me. The idea of swimming for a longer time at a slightly slower pace on Saturday makes sense and I will try for a slightly faster swim tomorrow even if I don't manage to swim quite so far. Three trips to the pool each week should see me continue to make good progress and I will also try to keep up with my other training.
The new pull buoy is good- it allowed me to swim more slowly and still maintain the correct body position, which means that I can get comfortable and swim for a longer time.

Curry and beer tonight to celebrate!

A small step for one man

A great leap forward for mankind! I have processed my first couple of RAW images and although it is slow going at the moment, I can see that the idea has promise. Just this evening I have joined in a one week photo challenge for next week to give myself a little push along in the photography and processing departments.

Thank you Tiffany and Noel,

and Tiffany's mom, for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. My first Thanksgiving turkey and it was delicious, so were the mashed potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. The pecan pie and the pumpkin pie were outstanding and a slice of the apple pie is in the refrigerator for 'ron. There are lots of thing to be thankful for and at the top of the list is family and friends (especially friends who can cook mmmmmm).

P.S. This is why I didn't mention it at the dinner table, origins of salmon****

No photo today......

I was in the city, had a swim, took a few pics and did some shopping but I don't wish to share any pics just at the moment. After having a discussion with a photography buddy during the week, I changed the settings on my camera and now I am taking RAW + jpeg photo files. That probably doesn't seem like much, but he tells me that the possibilities for adjusting RAW files in post-processing are enormous, so now I will just have to learn to deal with them. If the worst comes to the worst, the files can sit on a back-up disc for years and I can come back and process them when I am good and ready. No real down-side I guess....

Penfolds Bin 8 2005 Cabernet Shiraz steak and vegetable stew and mash cooked in the love pot.

Fab photos.

David was out on Thursday night with a couple of friends to take some pics of Zurich at night. These are my two favourite ones.

David is out with the 'boys' tonight.

They are meeting at the Helvti for a few brews then going to Gigi's for dinner. I am at home alone sipping on a 2004 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. Oh, woe is me...

Tasting notes for Rockford Basket Press Barossa Valley Shiraz 2004:

"A complete Barossa traditional shiraz; moderate alcohol, oak and tannins, yet full of flavour and character. Has taken full advantage of a very good vintage. In its own-branded, high-shouldered brown bottle. Cork.
14.5% alc. Rating 96." James Halliday, January 2007

"Yummmmmmm." Catherine Hamilton, November 2009

Wow! It's the weekend again

and I am hoping to fit in a couple of swims, a visit to the gym, some shopping and dinner and a few drinks with Stefano. Should be a great weekend- hope that you can all have some fun too.

The world has survived Melbourne Cup week

even though it did not have too much of an effect in this part of the world  :-)  There was plenty of partying going on in Oz and now the Christmas silly season is officially underway.

We have a cool weekend in front of us and I am about to buy myself some new sweaters and a warm jacket to get me through the coming winter. Off to the pool again shortly and I hope that the improvement can continue!

Happy Birthday Gary

hope that you have a great day. We will certainly try to give you a call a little later. Enjoy mate!