The final day of the year

Thank you so much for the wonderful messages for my 11th blip anniversary yesterday, I enjoyed reading all of them and thank you for your lovely support.

I awoke to a wonderful pink sunrise (see extra) but it developed into a dull day with flat light. Tommy and Luke went skiing, they said it was so quiet on the mountain they could not quite believe how empty it was. Adam did not ski today as he ran 22km as part of his marathon training and then went to the gym!

Gavin and I walked Xena along the river, it was a good walk from the apartment. We ended up in the village at our favourite cafe for a flat white before walking back home again. It was busy in the village which is good to see as they rely on their winter tourism for most of their annual income.

This afternoon Gavin and I popped in to see some friends to take them some Christmas cake and mince pies. You cannot get them in Switzerland and these friends who live here are originally from South Africa, so they are familiar with them and miss eating them.

Tonight we are going out to celebrate Silvester (New Year's Eve). For about 15 years we used to go to the same restaurant in a hotel to celebrate Silvester, they did excellent children's menus when the boys were young, and had a live band so there was dancing afterwards with young, old and children on the dance floor. It was a relaxed family kind of evening. Sadly a few years ago the hotel was sold and the new owners decided they would limit their New Year's Eve guests to hotel residents only. So since then we have been trying other places, tonight we are going to a small local restaurant run by a husband and wife team, and the food there is excellent but it is a much simpler affair, no band and no dancing. Our good friends from the UK who also holiday here used to be with us every year at the hotel restaurant, and tonight we are both going to the same local restaurant so it should be fun with them also there. I know I will struggle to stay awake until midnight so may be back home before then. It is forecast to start snowing tonight, so we may be walking home in the snow.

Every year the village used to put on the most spectacular fireworks display, goodness knows what was spent on it as the display went on for quite a while. A few years ago they decided to ban fireworks due to the animals (as this is a farming community with much livestock here), although some people still let off fireworks and ignored the rule. I was told by a local resident that someone who let off a lot of fireworks last year got a very heavy fine, so hopefully the message of the fireworks ban has finally sunk in.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year, may 2024 bring you good health and good luck, love and happiness.