Happy New Year

Here's our very own Christmas Angel. Jaxi knows exactly what to do with those decorations.

It is the night after Christmas and all through the house

Nothing is stirring, not even a mouse

The turkey's been eaten, the presents unwrapped

And all Santa's helpers are taking a nap

Now that the fireworks have died away and the evil spirits have been well and truly intimidated, it's 2007 and time to wish you all

HAPPY NEW YEAR ,

GOOD HEALTH and GOOD LUCK for any new or ongoing endeavours.

Forget all those resolutions. Just do it and enjoy it. I really love the Japanese New Year custom of having Old Year Forgetting parties so that each New Year is an entirely new beginning.

December has been a really busy month with lots of comings and goings. Most members of this somewhat peripatetic family were here for Christmas including baby Jaxi and her proud parents and my son Cluan, who now lives in Canberra. Ross is missing as usual at this time of year and is currently in Mongolia where it is now minus 35C. He tells me his nose hairs freeze every time he steps outside.

Christmas here was really cold this year and my reputation as a rainmaker remains undiminished. However, this was much better than the terrible bushfires that were burning all over the country in the weeks before I came. We even had teams of fire fighters from New Zealand, but they were all able to go home for Christmas.

I was going to include some highlights from my year in South Korea, but I am flat out now doing an intensive language teaching course so this will have to wait a while. That doesn't mean I am not thinking of you. Thanks very much for your lovely Christmas card Christine and also the surprise party put on by Judy, Mary and Amy.

Impromptu Farewell Party put on by some of my senior students

'Bye for now,

Veronika