Ringing in the new year

I'm not sure what it is about New Year's Eve, but people tend to celebrate as though the next 364 days will be such a hellish exercise, no one can look January 1 in the eye. In my youth, I attempted wild revelry. It didn't suit me. At one such event, I remember standing in a club, listening to a local band, drinking something minty that I hated but my friend brought so I was being polite, and all the time trying to avoid what I was thinking:

"I'm bored. Bored. B-O-R-E-D, bored. Bored beyond belief. Is it midnight yet?"

Nowadays, we usually get together with a few friends, have some food and a few drinks, and lots of conversation. No loud music, no twirling lights, no craziness. Just good times.

If you love going to the clubs and getting crazy with it all, I'm good with that. No matter what your party pattern is, if you're looking for alcohol with style, check these resources:

For wine lovers, I'll keep recommending Alicia Bien's Evolution of a Wine Drinker until you all buy a copy. Just do it, okay? Don't make me nag.

Here's the link to the Kindle version, but as you can see by the photo, it's also available as a paperback. http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Wine-Drinker-Alicia-Bien-ebook/dp/B00E8ALIMW/

If you like martinis, may I recommend the Martini Diva? She's got recipes for every kind of martini, and I mean EVERY ingredient known to man. I haven't looked, but I'll bet she's even got one using artichokes.

http://themartinidiva.blogspot.com/

Otherwise, here's a collection showing how to drink like a sophisticated detective and his lovely wife.




Honest to Pete, I don't know how they solved any cases.

Happy New Year!

Squee! I got something cool!

I worked a fundraiser last Saturday, as most of you know. As with most fundraisers, this one had baskets of goodies to be purchased in a silent auction. I won this basket:

"Won" as in "was top bidder and paid money to take home."

It's a cool Dashiell Hammett basket and I was the only bidder because no one recognized who Dashiell Hammett is and what the basket contained. Ha Ha, more for me. Yes, it's nice to have my own copy of The Thin Man. I've actually already got the DVD collection of Thin Man movies. What I really wanted was this:

Look closely at the upper left corner.

These are two previously unpublished novellas, written by Hammett specifically for the films that became After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man. They've been edited by his granddaughter, Julie M. Rivett, who signed this copy. This advanced reader copy.

Oh, yeah. I'm in heaven.

Never saw a Thin Man movie? Watch this clip of moments from several of the films. You'll want to watch them all.



I love Nick and Nora.