Happy New Year!

We had a quiet NYE — a lovely dinner, snoozing in front of Sean Micallef's very good show, and bed at 30 seconds past midnight.

Perfect!

Earlier we'd been to see another (much better) movie — this time it was Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze with fabulous special effects, and even more wonderful music.

We took Marnie (and our grand-daughter still to come) and our grandson Mack. David and I absolutely loved it, but it was all a bit too grown-up for Mack, who recently turned six. More a film for slightly older people who have loved the Maurice Sendak book since they were children — like Mack's dad!

:: Los Americanos, with Lily, Nick and Will, have departed for the Great Southern and the South-West. They're spending a few nights in the Walpole-Pemberton area to see the great karris, and next week they are walking the Cape-to-Cape track — 134 km from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin, camping all the way.
The house is very quiet without them!
It was great fun watching them get ready (that's Nick and his step-mum, Jenise, organising camping food, above). Scott, Nick and Jenise are seasoned hikers and knew what gear was needed, how to pack it, how to cater for 14 days in the bush, and generally how to go about the whole big project. After helping with a couple of trips to the (rip-off) outdoor adventure stores, David and I just kept out of the way!

:: To save weight and space in his backpack, Will has taken my little Canon camera and left me with his giant Nikon, and I have to figure out how to use it well enough to post pics.

So, in the meantime this is a pic of Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, where, with Dace, Max and Halina, we were a year ago today, watching the amazing and moving Turtle Dance performed by men of the Pueblo Indians, a New Year's Day ritual.The dance was performed right in front of this incredible adobe structure, which has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century.
There were no cameras allowed at the dance, and it was extremely cold though sunny, with snow everywhere. The pueblo looked incredibly beautiful.

Our feet lost all feeling as we stood on the frozen ground waiting for the dance to begin. It was well worth the wait, though. There were drums, and chanting, and elaborate head-dresses and finery made of feathers and pelts, with sprays of evergreen. A fabulous experience.

:: Thanks for coming by for another year, and for all your comments and emails.

Happy New Year to you, and I really hope you enjoy this bold, bright decade to come.