[Jelena]

So, what's up for the last evening of the year?

We're having friends over for dinner. I'm serving a Lebanese style meze dinner and we'll most likely be playing music from the 70s and 80s.

[Trader]

That sounds yummy.
My family [13 people] will be going to the Trotts down at Gloucester Park they have a great family atomsphere, we have a picnic before down on the Swan River at East Perth, nice an relaxed and no cooking yeah.

[Lee in Limbo]

It seems quite certain that it will be a quiet night in with the missus. I'll have to think of some way we can be entertained without New Years Eve feed from Times Square or one of our friends' parties. And I still haven't thought up anything brilliant for dinner. Been too tired to really think about cooking and such lately.

[DustyShinigami]

I'll be going with my dad to his sister's party. It should be a good way to mix with his side of the family.

I have so many aunts, uncles and cousins, the bulk of them i don't even know. I could literally walk past them in the street and we wouldn't even recognize each other.

[RLacey]

I'm not going to be doing anything special.

Well, I suppose I might play some Left 4 Dead...

[AndreaDraco83]

My boyfriend and friends are going to dinner over at one of our friends' place. But it was decided today afternoon, and by then I already said yes to a family dinner with all the relatives. My boyfriend, after midnight, want to come and get me and then head over, back at our friend's, but here's snowing and I don't want to force him on the road after midnight, with the fog and the snow...

... All in all, a messy New Year's Eve

Oh, and while we're at it: my best wishes for a fantastic 2009, my fellows...

[Squinky]

I'll be hanging out with my family in San Francisco. I won't be kissing anyone because I'm still a little bit sick.

[MoriartyL]

I don't attribute any special significance to the Gregorian calendar- it's just the calendar I use because the rest of the world uses it. The time for thinking about the passage of time was the Hebrew new year, three months ago.

But I did do something to finish the year. I set myself a deadline on my blog, that I needed to have a playable (complete) version of my second game done by the end of 2008, just because that seemed like a reasonable timeframe. So today I spent six hours on it, and finished it off. It's not quite ready to share yet (bugs ahoy!), but I think I pulled off what I set out to do. When I play it, I think about all sorts of things which I didn't specifically intend as I was developing the metaphor, just because the rules are realistic enough that the effects of those rules are realistic. But you'll see in a few months.

[Trunkyo]

A quiet family dinner at home, then my sister and I will be heading out to our mutual friend's home for the festivities. We'll be taking cookies and munchies and beverages, as our friend is... in too delicate a condition to play hostess. Believe it or not, she's almost due to give birth to her second child! For some crazy reason, she agreed to let a dozen people invade her home and celebrate downstairs while she's attempting to rest! Hmm, I wonder if she was planning on having a New Year's baby all along.

(BTW, I'm slowly turning her stepdaughters into adventure game fans. The younger one is close to finishing Sam & Max Hit the Road and the older one is playing Day of the Tentacle! )

[Giligan]

I'll be hanging out at home with family, and possibly watching the ball drop in Times Square.

[Squinky]

I'll be looking forward to your new game with interest, Mory.

[Melanie68]

I'm at home with the Emma (the dog) and the two kitties. I'm in my warm jammies and watching some TV. Just relishing the relaxation time.

Here's some Ella Fitzgerald - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (I love this song!)

Happy New Year to all!!

[stepurhan]

I literally rang in the new year (I ring church bells)

[Lucien21]

Just imagine one of the monks in this advert has a pink shirt on under his robe and this is Stepurhan at new year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-NvmNnU2UY

[bulldog]

Matt and I went to bed at 10:30pm and we rang in the New Year by sleeping.

Today I made cinnamon rolls then for lunch I made

Garlic and Herb chicken
Mac and cheese
Turnip greens
Black eyed peas
Rice
Cornbread

and Pecan pie for after dinner

[rlpw]

Originally Posted by bulldog

Matt and I went to bed at 10:30pm and we rang in the New Year by sleeping.

Today I made cinnamon rolls then for lunch I made

Garlic and Herb chicken
Mac and cheese
Turnip greens
Black eyed peas
Rice
Cornbread

and Pecan pie for after dinner

This is the first year in a long time I didn't have black-eyed peas, cornbread, and cabbage. It is a tradition and I cannot believe I went and bought Subway sandwiches.We have been overwhelmed by things we needed done we didn't take the time. Luck is not on my side now!

[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Just imagine one of the monks in this advert has a pink shirt on under his robe and this is Stepurhan at new year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-NvmNnU2UY

It's astounding how inaccurate the representation of ringing in that advert is.

This is proper English bell-ringing

The Italian way is more living on the edge.

[Jazhara7]

We spent Sylvester at our friends' place again. And despite repeated reminders, my father did not go and buy Oysters (honestly, these days I get the feeling he hardly listens to me, or anyone much when he's got an idea of his own. On Christmas it was the same, where he wanted to make Steak, though though we had already planned Cheese Fondue - he ended up believing that the Fondue was a sudden idea of mine that I had discussed with no one else. The truth is it was my sister's and her boyfriend's idea - if the time had not been so short, I would have made Chinese Steamboat. Anyway, my sister had proposed that during dinner on Sunday before Christmas, and we had all discussed it, and come to the conclusion that yes, we will eat Cheese fondue. Even my father agreed to it. But apparently he had forgotten all about it on Wednesday already, and now thinks I have "Sudden ideas", even if only a day prior he had reminded us to get cheese for the fondue. ), and then grabbed his head when he realised he had *forgotten* to buy oysters.

Anyway, annoyance about my father's "sudden ideas" (because he is the one who tends to *really* have them. Often concerning what to prepare for food.) aside, it was fun. Usually I would watch "Dinner For One", which is a kind of tradition in Germany to be shown on Sylvester (and also in some other countries in Europe, I think), but I didn't get the opportunity to do so this year, so I'll watch it on YouTube instead. You can watch it here too (yes, it's in English apart from the Introduction, which I'll translate in just a bit):

I think it's best to watch it in High Quality, so make sure to switch it on immediately, too.

Here's the introduction translated to English for you:

Honoured audience, Ladies and Gentlemen. We are standing in the country house of Miss Sophie. The name of this old lineage shall be kept a secret for reasons of discretion. Miss Sophie has invited her four best friends to a birthday dinner. I now want to disclose the seating order to you. Miss Sophie will sit over there, Sir Toby right here, Admiral von Schneider will be sitting over here, Mr Pomery there, and Mr Winterbottom will take his seat over there.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we do however meet at a tiny inconvenience here. Miss Sophie not the youngest anymore - We are celebrating her 90. Birthday today, and she has already survived her by many years. She has bid her last friend farewell on the final journey 25 years ago. Still, Miss Sophie does not want to do without this birthday dinner. And since the Gentleman can, for understandable reasons, not attend in person, they will be represented by her butler, James. This went rather well all these past years, and it will go well again today, because the course of this dinner for one has been the exact same for years.

And now watch the thing! And remember, turn on high quality!

Dinner For One or The 90. Birthday (1/2)

Dinner For One or The 90. Birthday (2/2)

Originally Posted by stepurhan

It's astounding how inaccurate the representation of ringing in that advert is.

This is proper English bell-ringing

The Italian way is more living on the edge.

If Itlaian way is "Living on the edge", what do you call the Russian way?


Alas, the monks in that clip seem to be German commoners (i.e.: people that have never rung a bell before) in disguise.


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[bulldog]

Originally Posted by rlpw

This is the first year in a long time I didn't have black-eyed peas, cornbread, and cabbage. It is a tradition and I cannot believe I went and bought Subway sandwiches.We have been overwhelmed by things we needed done we didn't take the time. Luck is not on my side now!

That's ok I think that Matt and I ate enough black eyed peas, rice and Turnip greens for everyone in the whole world

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by bulldog

That's ok I think that Matt and I ate enough black eyed peas, rice and Turnip greens for everyone in the whole world

We ate 12 grapes and made a wish for each of them, before the 12th ring of the bell. The daughter of the family who now lives in Mexico with her husband said it's a tradition over there.


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