Happy New Year!

We made it through another whole year! And we even went out for New Year's eve this year. The local pub closed for a private party which had a kids room and bands and we all went along for some drinks and chat with local friends. It was nice to go out for NY as we havent done so for a while. Little M crashed at about 10, but J made it through to 1 am watching 007 with his dad!
Not much going on here as winter shut down sets in. We went to the pantomime on Sat which was a blast, very silly. The main cast have stayed the same over the past 3 years and they do a good line in slapstick comedy - buckets of water etc etc, the political satire is a little lame but my dad would love the puns = ie they are truly awful. Theatre season is great here - the Mikado is on soon from the local G&S society so we will probably try and see that one. Other than that highlights have been J being able to walk to Granchester again without completely collapsing from foot pain, another expensive visit to the dentist by big M. Apparently my teeth (which are just like everyone elses teeth) need extra care as perhaps the reason my siblings have few fillings and I have lots is due not to childhood eating and brushing habits (which were the same) but due to differences in mouth flora. Basically I got really sick of being told by dentists that its all my fault and clearly I didnt brush my teeth - when I am a stickler and R is hopeless and NEVER has a filling. So being the annoying academic that I am we managed to agree that averages are part of a distribution and that not everyone would end up with the same outcome from exactly the same care regime cos there are actually differences in people's saliva etc (so R now loves to tell people to watch out for my acid spit). Now I am much happier because we have worked out a few things that are good for me to do so that there will be no more decay work, only restoration work of the already mountainous set of fillings. (For those of you with unhealthy interest in dental care this means brushing with water as soon as I get up, brushing as soon as possible after meals, a special 'clinging' mouthwash for overnight). Oh another piece of invaluable advice for all chocoholics..... if you MUST eat 10 squares of chocolate eat them all at once, not one piece an hour as then the bacteria only get one go! Best excuse I have heard! And in case you are wondering the bill is $A210 for the check up and then $A1250 for the 3 fillings - feeling better about your healthcare costs now??