2006 begins

We began 2006 with champagne toasts and kisses all around. Our friends, David and Evan hosted a New Year's Eve dinner (roast bison and more) for a six guests and we munched on traditional and delicious Christmas dessert treats while we counted down the minutes to midnight. I guess we all were feeling a bit glad to see 2005 end with its memories of tsumanis, earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist violence (political terrorists in London and gang-war terrorists at home) and, as usual, we hope the months ahead will seem better. After a short sleep, we dragged ourselves from bed and stared into our coffee cups until it was time to go to brunch with more friends. New Year's brunch with Ed & John has become a routine in our lives since Ed moved here from Vancouver in 1997. We have only missed one year and that was when they hosted the New Year's Eve party. The day was warm and rainy so we abandoned any plan for a traditional New Year's Day hike and headed to the gym instead and got our exercise on the treadmill and in the swimming pool. New Year's dinner was re-heated leftovers from Christmas - turkey and stuffing and cranberry salad and wine - and then it was TV-time and relaxation until an early turn-in.