After what I can only describe as one of the most wonderful and enjoyable Christmases of my entire life, I have found myself in the quiet in-between days that fall after Christmas and before the arrival of another New Year. And boy do I ever love the few days that fall between the 26th and the 31st of December, it is pretty much my favourite time of the the year for so many reasons. 
Firstly, just about everyone is on holidays so there is a really laid back vibe to those six days that you don't get at any other time of the year. People are chilling out, they are all living their best lives and all of the frantic 'must get done before Christmas' stresses have been tossed aside and replaced with afternoon tipples, sleep ins, joyful time wasting and a general decompression of the past year.
Also, the weather is usually pretty lovely which offers everyone room in their lives for picnics, long walks, outdoorsy explorations, BBQ's, star gazing, novels in hammocks and long relaxed conversations at any given moment. You never feel guilty for wasting time because you're off the clock and time suddenly becomes completely irrelevant, it's absolutely heavenly! 
And lastly, but certainly not least of all, because you just got gifted a whole bunch of new things you feel like a totally spoilt rich bitch for a while. You have new things to play and fiddle with, new clothes and jewellery to bling up on and often you'll even some some cash in your pocket to burn. For me, this year was particularly fortuitous and I got spoilt silly by by family and friends beyond anything that I could have imagined, it was both delightful and unexpected but let's not bullshit anyone here, it was also extremely enjoyable. 
So now I happily find myself falling into the quiet in-between days and just like a lazy cat stretching out on a furry rug, it feels amazing! So far, I've been sketching, reviewing films on Spicywatch and binging TV. I've also been listening to audio books, meditating, walking, playing brain training apps, doing 45 minute yoga sessions and having Pisco sour cocktails in the afternoons. Tomorrow I am heading to Melbourne for the first time in over a year because of COVID restrictions and I have plans to spend a couple of days roaming the city with my best friend, visiting the NGV and hitting up Chinatown for Yum-Cha. 
Oh yes it is the most wonderful time of the year! And I hope that you are all equally enjoying the quiet in-between days as much as I am and that you also enjoy a glorious and safe transition from 2020 to 2021. Let's hope that just like the quiet in-between days, that it's a gentler and kinder year to us all!

Last night, on a most auspicious blue moon, we all celebrated Halloween at Enfield. This involved much feasting on various candy, pumpkin soup, pulled pork and slaw Vietnamese rolls and cinnamon scrolls which left us all in a food coma by 11pm. And although the Trick or Treaters were thin on the ground this year due to COVID-19, we still managed to carve out four incredibly good looking jack-o-lanterns, make some candy apples and watch a decent serve of horror material. All round a pretty successful Halloween celebration in my mind. 
However, I have to say that there is nothing that I could stream on any channel that would compare to the real life horrors that I have been hearing about over the past few weeks. As I had feared, as the restrictions of COVID-19 begin to ease, more and more crazies are starting to emerge from the wood work. Women that I personally know have been stalked, harassed, followed, abused and in more than a couple of incidents cheated on by their long term partners. One woman I know even found out that her partner had been stalking another woman! What the fuck is going on here?
The consequences of this have obviously made these poor women feel extremely violated, unsafe, emotional and deeply insecure. I can't even express how genuinely horrified I am by the frequency that I am hearing these kinds of difficult and dreadful tales. I am now more than ever also seriously concerned that this type of thing is a sign that more of the same is to come.
Is it fair to pin all of this on the COVID-19 restrictions? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps these motivations and perversions have always existed within these individuals and isolation has just amplified the strange and depraved behaviours that they were always harbouring. Either way, it's not good and it appears to be on the rise. 
​A recent statistical bulletin produced by the Australian Government  on July 2020 discusses the prevalence of domestic violence among women during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey asked 15,000 women that had previously reported abuse to complete a survey, not surprisingly less than 5% of those women took the survey. However, from that 4.6 percent it was cited that the pandemic had coincided with the onset or escalation of violence and abuse from their current or previous partners. 
Furthermore, only 3 months ago The Sydney Morning Herald published an article saying that one in ten Australian women are currently experiencing domestic violence or abuse during the coronavirus pandemic, with attacks becoming more intense and frequent according to reports. 
And Australia is not the only country to be seeing a rise in these kinds of behaviours, it's a worldwide epidemic that is fast following on the heels of COVID-19. Across the globe crisis calls coming in from women has risen by as much as 18% and the most alarming statistic of all is that around 40% of women that are abused, harassed or stalked around the world never actually report anything to the authorities, so it is impossible for anyone to really know just how bad things have gotten. 
In an attempt to aide and counsel abused families the Australian government has announced a $150 million domestic violence emergency response package to boost front line and national support services over the period of the pandemic, which is certainly a step in the right direction. But it's a Band-Aid effect that is treating the outcome of a disease but not really getting to the core of what we can do to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future. Where is the funding to rehabilitate the perpetrators? What can we actually do to stop this type of thing from occurring? This is also clearly where we need more funding and training, especially when the statistics show that 33% of women reporting abuse and harassment at the moment have never experienced it before, so it's evidently on the rise.
As I said earlier I feared that things would become even more dangerous for women because of COVID-19 and unfortunately it looks like I was right. Aside from remaining supportive and caring to friends and family around you who may already be suffering right now, it's also important to remember to be hyper vigilant, cautious and super safe yourself. And I do not say that lightly. The fallout from the coronavirus may mean that wearing face masks may not be the only new norm. Supporting women in crisis and dealing with volatile, unhinged men may also become our new norm, so I do urge you to please take care out there ladies. 

SHUTTER ISLAND 
Release Date: 2010
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 138 mins 
A neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Laeta Kalogridis and based on Dennis LeHane's 2003 novel of the same name. In general people have been quite polarised with their reactions to this film and that's because this isn't an easy movie. In short, Shutter Island is a deep dive in the psyche that delivers as much intrigue as a Hitchcock classic and as much crazy as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. 
A Deputy US Marshal and his partner have been hired to investigate a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane on Shutter Island after one of their patients goes missing. From the moment that they arrive, it appears that the facility is harbouring secrets. 
A stellar cast are all really delivering here, with memorable performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams. The overall atmosphere and ominous vibe of the film is undeniably palpable. Whether you love it or hate it, I guarantee that you won't forget it in a hurry.  
FINAL SAY: Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Spicywatch.com celebrated its 6th birthday this weekend. However, unlike previous years when I gathered together some movie loving friends to share in the joy of cinema with me, due to COVID-19, this year I didn't actually do anything at all. There was no sharing of favourite movie clips, no eating, drinking and merry chatter about the latest fabulous movie or cinema experience that people have enjoyed; nope this year Spicywatch had to quietly sit back and turn 6 without any fanfare or celebration. 
This could be just as well for my friends who are not fans of horror, because a sixth birthday does seem like the most opportune moment to bust out favourite macabre movie clips in the name of a '666' themed movie celebration, but I guess that will have to wait until Spicywatch's 13th birthday now, so to all of my horror hating friends, you really dodged a bullet there! 
However, in spite of quietly going about her business, Spicywatch.com has actually grown quite substantially over the last 12 months and is now being enjoyed by over 6 million people around the globe... jokes! I'm not IMDb for God's sake, but Spicywatch has continued to gain a loyal and slowly growing audience of people that seem to respect my opinions about movies and there are now 821 reviews in total to be found on my genre lists. 
Turns out that I only added a mere 31 movies to my genre lists in the last year, which means that I must have watched a lot of crap because I know for sure that I actually watched 212 films in 2019. Unsurprisingly, only 31 of them were 3 Chilli Peppers or more and I think this is probably pretty accurate. After all, after a lifetime of movie watching I have only reviewed 821 films in total which, if we start the age count at say 14 (which is around the time that I seriously started to adore movies) then that means that I should have added around 25 films every year to my blog to get to where I am, so if you think statistically I have actually enjoyed a higher than average contingency of movies that I have watched this year overall. 
And it easy to see why, the last year was a really strong one as far as high quality films were concerned; with incredible film-making now becoming the norm. Every year the bar gets raised, and in all truth it has to because audiences are more discerning and demanding now. People are smart and woke and they want sharp viewing experiences as a direct consequence of that, which means that mediocre cinema experiences are just not cutting it anymore.
Generally I added around 5 films to most of my genre lists, but there was a definite burst happening on my drama, art house/foreign, gritty/documentary lists. This is not surprising to me, with unforgettably good movies like The Lighthouse, Little Women, Marriage Story, Parasite, Shadow, 1917, The Nightingale, They Shall Not Grow Old and Hail Satan? all leaving their marks and impressions upon me over the last 12 months. 
I have banked a huge list of movies and TV series to binge on over the next few weeks, and I must apologise if I might seem to slide off the radar for a little while as I am heading in to hospital on Friday for a procedure that will put me out of actions for around 4 to 6 weeks. And although you may not hear from me, I can assure you that I will be viewing movies, taking notes and reviewing again as soon as I am fit and able to do so. 
Many thanks and much love to my regular Spicywatch readers and supporters that have for 6 years now, offered me regular check ins and greatly appreciated comments of support, feedback and kindness.
​Until next time, stay well and take care. 

HAIL SATAN?
Release Date: 2019
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 95 mins 
An American documentary film about The Satanic Temple, outlining its origins and grassroots political activism.  Directed by Penny Lane, this documentary highlights the efforts of the Satanic movement in their attempts to preserve the separation of church and state against the privilege of the Christian right. 
Through a series of public demonstrations designed to advocate for religious freedom, The Satanic Temple push their mostly unwelcomed agenda and force many Americans to address the clearly corrupt authority of Christianity within their country. Lead my their enigmatic co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves, this group of misunderstood outsiders band together and use their wit, charm and mischievous nature's to speak the truth, managing to ruffle more than a few feathers along the way. 
This is a great documentary that will challenge your preconceived ideas about both the Satanic movement and the Christian faith movement as well. And although you may not necessarily agree with all of the unorthodox demonstration methods of The Satanic Temple, you will not be able to deny their intelligent, witty and mostly entertaining advocacies for justice and equality. 
FINAL SAY:​ In the fight for justice, the devil's work is never done.
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I guess that everyone wants to feel like they have lived their life to the full, and the idea of a full life is different for everybody. Does it mean that you need to have an extensive bucket list of tasks to complete in your lifetime? No, of course it doesn't! Some people lead extremely full and rewarding lives without ever attempting to tick off any bucket lists. 
However, with that being said, I did stumble across a 100 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE list that has been clearly designed for Australians, and after ticking off 70 of them immediately I was feeling pretty chuffed about just how many fabulous things I have actually done in my lifetime. What a lucky and very spoilt lady I am!
Now, I have to be honest, some of these things are not going to appeal to you at all. In fact some of them really didn't appeal to me at all as I was reading them; damn some of the things that I have ticked off didn't actually appeal to me that much either, but I still did them!
Look at this list as suggestive, rather than exhaustive. There will, without a doubt, be things that you've done on here and there will be things that you will think are outrageously bad ideas. Who knows, you may see something on the list and think to yourself "yeah, I would like to that before I die," in which case I would encourage you to pursue your aspirations. Regardless of how well you score on this list, or how many things you do or don't wish to do before you die, just remember that you don't need to making grand and sweeping gestures, travelling long distances or eating snails in Paris to be living a full and rewarding life, trust me I've done that one and it was revolting!
And if you don't like any of these, then make up your own 'life bucket list' if you're really motivated. I used to know a woman in her late 50's, and every month she and her friends would take turns at ticking something off each other's bucket lists. She found this method of getting out of her comfort zone extremely rewarding and she and her friends were always going off to do some wild and adventurous thing; it was quite inspiring actually. Whatever you chose to do with this list, thrash it or trash it - just remember that it's your life and you've only got one, so make sure you're doing the things that make you happy. 

JOURNEY TO THE WEST: CONQUERING THE DEMONS
Release Date: 2013
Rating: M
Running Time: 110 mins 
A Chinese language, fantasy, comedy film that was co-written, co- directed and produced Stephen Chow. A loose comedic re-interpretation of the famous Chinese literary classic novel Journey to the West, this sweet and silly tale delivers just the right balance of fantasy and action to make it a real winner. 
An aspiring Buddhist monk attempts to protect a fishing village from three vicious demons. His misadventures lead him to team up with an amorous female demon hunter named Miss Duan, and eventually the two must unite to battle the legendary Monkey King. 
When you're combining ancient tales of Chinese mythology with Stephen Chow's zany and original style of storytelling, you know that you just can't go wrong. Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is left of centre, highly entertaining, fast paced and extremely funny. In short - it's an unmissable Chinese treat, and a perfect viewing choice for a Lunar New Year celebration. 
FINAL SAY: This is straight up bananas!
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

It is during times of struggle and difficulty that we absolutely must endeavour to tighten our commitment to ourselves and bring more attention to our need for self care. The urge to soldier on in the face of adversity or crisis is generally so strong that we will happily place our needs on the back burner and forge forward, often at the peril of our own wellness and sanity. It is a weakness that I too am guilty of, but when push comes to shove, we really aren't doing ourselves or anyone else any favours when we ignore the signals that our bodies are sending us for better self care by continually placing ourselves last. 
By learning about the different forms of self care, we can better arm ourselves with an ability to recognise when we are moving into personal crisis or neglect, and how to fill the voids in our self care routines when they do occur. 
A terrific article from tulipandsage.com categorizes self care into six main types: 
1. Physical Self Care
This is an awareness of your physical body and what it needs to thrive. Exercise, rest and clean food. It does not need to be vigorous or intense to be effective, aim for consistent and enjoyable long term activities, healthy diet choices and adequate sleep to improve your physical self care.
2. Emotional Self Care
Become mindful of your emotions, listen to your feelings and recognizing patterns, triggers or obstacles to your ability to remain calm, focused and happy. Writing in a journal, being artistic, dancing or being creative are just some ways that you can express and develop your emotional awareness and self care. 
3. Spiritual Self Care
This doesn't need to be religious or rigid to be meaningful. Anything that brings you closer to the essence of yourself is nourishing your spiritual self care. It could be doing charity work, being more mindful, taking up meditation, walking in nature; there are lots of ways to strive for more inner awareness. 
4. Intellectual Self Care
We all need new challenges to invigorate and nourish us mentally. Anything that will expand your knowledge and awareness falls into this category, from reading a book or watching a documentary to taking up a class or learning a new language, you'll be expanding yourself and meeting your intellectual needs. 
5. Social Self Care
Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, people need people. You do need to spend time with other people and have meaningful connections with loved ones, so make plans to get together with people that you enjoy spending time with. Catching up, going out for dinner, meeting for coffee or going to the movies is not only an escape from the norm, it's social self care and it's important to your wellbeing. 
6. Sensory Self Care
Nourish your senses and send healing stimuli to your brain, sensory care is so deeply fulfilling. Through sight, smell, touch, sound and taste you can reinvigorate yourself. Listen to some soothing music, light a scented candle, eat a delicious meal, get a massage, go for a barefoot walk in the park and please don't forget to always stop and smell the roses!

All forms of self care are equally as important as each other and you should endeavour to not neglect your needs in any area. Listen to your body, listen to your soul, listen to your heart...it may sound corny but you are actually sending yourself small but not insignificant messages about your needs all of the time and you just need to be quiet enough to hear them. Self care matters because you matter, and it is neither selfish nor self indulgent to take care of yourself, so listen carefully to your self care needs and learn how to be kinder to yourself. 

Spicywatch.com has just turned 5, hip hip hooray Spicywatch! Apart from my family and friends, I don't think that I have poured this much of my spare time and energy consistently into anything before, and for as long as I can remember, I don't feel like I have loved or enjoyed pouring my spare time into anything as much as I have loved sharing Spicywatch with all of you wonderful readers. 
Watching and reviewing movies is not just a hobby for me anymore, it is an important part of my life now. For five years I have shared my thoughts, my opinions and my passion for cinema with you all, and so far I have managed to review 790 movies that I honestly believe are worthy of your time and effort to view. I look forward to one day having 1,000 movies on my Spicywatch genre lists that are worthy of your time, but it will take me quite a few more years to get that far. 
Last nights celebrations were focused on the Best Music Moments in Cinema, which is a broad topic, but extremely fun one to investigate. Musicals were most welcome, but not mandatory, and as it turned out, there are actually a huge number of movies that have very significant and memorable music scenes in them that are actually completely non-musical movies. 
My wonderful and supportive friends and family gathered in Enfield to share a drink and their cinematic loves with me; and we laughed, sang and got our groove on to some of the most unexpected (but mostly excellent) musical moments that we could find.
And here is the extensive list of best music moments in cinema (from every genre) as chosen by my nearest and dearest, that made it to the Spicywatch 5th Birthday celebration screening in my living room last night:
Baby Driver (Bellbottoms) 
Pulp Fiction (You Never Can Tell) 
Beetlejuice (Banana Boat Song) 
The Skeleton Twins (Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now) 
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Twist and Shout) 
Coraline (Garden Scene composed by Peter Corrigan) 
Pretty in Pink (If You Leave) 
The Perks of Being  a Wallflower (Heroes) 
Napoleon Dynamite (Canned Heat) 
Little Miss Sunshine (Super Freak)
Straight Outta Compton (Boyz N Da Hood) 
The Blues Brothers (Shake Your Tail Feather) 
Two Hands (These Days) 
American Psycho (Hip to be Square) 
The Lion King (Circle of Life) 
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Space Oddity) 
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Ricky's Birthday Song) 
Guardians of the Galaxy (Mr Blue Sky) 
Moulin Rouge (Come What May) 
Mean Girls (Jingle Bell Rock) 
Trainspotting (Lust for Life) 
Sound of Music (Edelweiss) 
Reservoir Dogs (Stuck in the Middle) 
O Brother Where Art Thou? (I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow)
Risky Business (Old Time Rock and Roll) 
Easy A (A Pocketful of Sunshine) 
The Mask (Cuban Pete)
Nacho Libre (Encarnacion) 
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Origins of Love) 
The Big Lebowski (Just Dropped In) 
Pitch Perfect (Riff off) 
Purple Rain (Title Track) 
Love Actually (Jump) 
Bridesmaids (Hold on) 
Little Fish (Flame Trees) 
Slumdog Millionaire (Jai Ho)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Anything Goes) 
Singing in the Rain (Title track)
And one of my all time favourites: Mulholland Drive (Llorando/ Crying) 

I have been truly blessed in this lifetime to have some of the most wonderful people imaginable in my life. My children, my partner, my family, my friends - I have really drawn the ace card when it comes to good people; and everyday of my life is better for knowing these people. During my final week of autumn vacation I was fortuitous enough to share some of my time with people that I love, appreciate, respect and adore most of all in this world, and nothing can make you feel more wealthy and fortunate than having incredible people in your life can. I have shared delightful breakfasts with dear friends, had delicious cake and coffee with quiet confidants, chatted and giggled on the phone for hours with family members that are too far away, and shared sumptuous long lunches with my closest family members. 
I even managed to squeeze in a trip to Queenscliff with some friends during the week. We hired motorized scooters and rode them along the Bellarine Rail Trail in the late afternoon, arriving at a coastal winery called Basil's Farm just as the sun was setting. We enjoyed some good wine, nibbles and even better company in the still of the early evening as we sat by the bay watching the sky change from blue to pink to purple. We happily took a few choice bottles of wine back to our accomodation to share and had a lovely evening of drinking and chatting. It was really nice to get away and enjoy some good company, a little salty air and a change of pace for a while. 
Easter was an extremely busy affair, with Craig's birthday tossed into the middle for good measure. Thank goodness Zoe came down from Geelong for a few days to help me manage all of the cooking and running around that is required to host an Easter feast for a dozen people. In the end, it all went off without a hitch and everyone left with full hearts and even fuller bellies. Now I have a fridge that is overstocked with leftovers, which means that I can take a load off for a couple of days as we work through our stockpile of food provisions, so the whole event was a win-win for me overall. 
Seriously though, I really cannot imagine what my life would be like without all of the wonderful people that I get to share it with, these people support me, raise me up and offer me refuge when I need it most of all. The people that you surround yourself with do give your life meaning and do make it more profound, enjoyable and abundant by just being present. There are a million things in this life that you can be successful at, and a billion more material things that you can collect or earn, but there will never be a greater or more meaningful thing to gather into your life than the love, respect and quality time that you get to share with your good friends and family; it is absolutely priceless.
When you really sit back and take stock of how many incredible people you have in your life, you very quickly realise how blessed you truly are and how much meaning your life truly has. It isn't what we have that makes our lives meaningful, it is who we have in it that makes it more meaningful, so surround yourself with the most wonderful people that you can and get the best out of your life every day, because you deserve to. 

I have just reached the halfway point of my Autumn holiday break; the time has gone so fast and man oh man, I have been so damn productive! I'm actually pretty chuffed about how much I have managed to get done and genuinely pleased with my consistent efforts to use my time wisely. I've been ticking boxes like a boss, catching up on all of my 'to do' tasks and generally taking care of business in a way that I can't usually manage when I am working and it's been bloody amazing!
In the last 7 days I have serviced my car, been to the dentist, seen the doctor, had a stay in hospital to get something corrected that I've put off for way too long, caught up with my parents, hung out with my kids, had my eyebrows done and my hair trimmed, celebrated a friends birthday, gone to the movies (twice actually), checked out the Picasso collection at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, completed an online PD module, finally put all of my New Zealand holiday photos into an album, planned my Easter Sunday gathering and even spent some time drawing and painting. Phew!
Next week I have another art gallery visit, a few blood tests, a catch up with some friends, an overnight trip to Queenscliff, Craig's birthday and also Easter to wrangle; basically a walk in the park after last week's mammoth effort. I am hoping that there will be some room for at least one more decent sleep in before it all comes to an end!
I'm also quite proud of the fact that even though my usual routine has been totally thrown out of the window, I've not compromised on my daily yoga practises, walks, meditation, reading, podcast listening, TV binging or movie watching over the holiday period. I have read almost three books in 10 days and faithfully watched at least one film a day since I went on holidays over a week ago. For some unknown reason a large majority of those films have unintentionally been horror movies, but as a huge horror fan this has presented me with some surprisingly enjoyable viewings.
When it comes to TV, like 95% of the rest of the world, I am most excited about Game of Thrones returning tomorrow to kick off the final and most anticipated TV episodes of all time; which I fully intend to faithfully glue myself to the couch for every Monday evening, for the duration. I can't recall a time when I was so looking forward to a TV show returning before, and I suppose that's because we really don't have to wait for programs to come out that often anymore.
G.O.T. has been an 8 season, 9 year viewing commitment, which is rare even for an avid viewer like myself. The last show that I faithfully watched without missing an episode for 9 entire seasons was Seinfeld which ended in 1998, so yeah, it's been a while since I've been this committed to a TV show. Apparently if you watch the first 7 seasons of G.O.T. all up, it would take two days, 15 hours and 30 minutes, which is how much of my life I have given to the show so far, and clearly I am willing to offer even more! Even though I often tire of a lot of long winded TV series, G.O.T. hasn't worn me out yet, so bring it on I say! I am ready for all of the scandal, dragons,  and visceral goings on that Season 8 can deliver, and if any of the other seasons are something to go on, there is definitely going to be some surprises in store!

Another year is drawing to a close and what a wonderful year it has been for me. There have been so many highlights and so many special events, holidays and celebrations that I have been able to share with my family, my friends and my work colleagues this year that it is hard to know where to start. 2018 has truly been a year filled with great blessings, personal growth and many, many smiles.
I really like to make a list of the highlights of a year as it draws to close because it is so easy to forget just how many joyful things you do and get to be apart of; and how much you have achieved if you don't take stock on some level.  I always feel so deeply overwhelmed whenever I look back at everything that I have achieved and shared throughout the year and reflecting on a year is a really lovely thing to do that really helps you to count your blessings and focus on the abundance in your life. 
Here are my favourite highlights from 2018, all of which have brought me a great deal of joy, a sense of belonging, a feeling of enrichment and have provided me with many memories to reflect upon during the quieter and more contemplative times of the year. 

JANUARY:  Zoe and Lachlainn's engagement, Seth's 13th birthday, Jubilee Lake Picnic in Daylesford, Australia Day Fireworks, BBQ's and Drinks on the Enfield deck, TRUE - 30 days of Yoga program, Started my new job adventures. 
FEBRUARY: Chinese New Year- the Year of the Dog,  Rockabilly Festival, dinner and coffee dates with friends, Curry/movie night get togethers kicked off. 
MARCH: White Night Festival, International Women's Day, Cooking Day at Enfield  with friends, My Birthday, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Begonia Festival, The Arts Trail, the Egg Painting session at Enfield on Easter Saturday.
APRIL: Craig's Birthday, Eating Hot Cross Buns and good quality Chocolate on Easter Sunday, Dinner Parties, the Autumn School Holiday Break, Movie Nights at Enfield with mates, Apple and Quince harvesting. 
MAY: Mother's Day, The Festival of Light at the Great Stupa in Bendigo, a Daylesford Chocolate Mill visit, meeting Daniel Kish (aka. The Batman- echolocation expert), Spicywatch's 4th Birthday.
JUNE: Zoe's 21st Birthday, Winter Solstice Celebrations, Mushrooming, Completing my Level One Braille Qualification, Weekend Breakfast Dates with friends, the Winter School Holidays.
JULY: Alice in Wonderland at ACMI, Winter Movie Marathon nights, Flashy Cocktails and Long Lunches with my friends, When I Grow Up Art Exhibition, All day Baking and Soup making Sessions, Prospects dinners, eating Homemade Apple Pie with my Family. 
AUGUST:  Dinner parties, Dress-up Events at School (Book Week, 100 days of School, PJ day), committing to 30 days of 30 minutes of extra exercise (which I have continued with ever since).
SEPTEMBER: Father's Day, Seeing the Showcase Performance at school, Commencing 20 minutes of daily Transcendental Meditation (have also continued with this all year), the Spring School Holiday Break.
OCTOBER: Halloween horror movie/ dinner night, Rediscovered the joy of the local Botanical Gardens, School trip to Melbourne Zoo, Landcare Open Day, Cocktail and Perfume Night at The Lost Ones.
NOVEMBER: Bonfire Night, Anniversary weekend at Skenes Creek, Dinner Dates and Movie Nights, Sunday afternoon Live Music at Smythesdale Pub. 
DECEMBER: Dinner Party with friends, Having a KK to spoil and one that spoilt me as well, Staff Christmas function, Student Graduation, the Foundation Team Dinner, Summer Holidays kicking off, Christmas Day, Champagne Breakfasts, Reuniting with my nephew. 

Seriously, it has been the best year, I have so many things to be grateful for and so many reasons to celebrate what a wonderful life I have. On top of all of that, Spicywatch hit 11,000 return readers this month and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to think that people are not only reading my blog and reviews, but are returning for more, it is just incredible to me. I am truly thankful to each and every Spicywatch reader for their continual check ins to my website, for their beautiful comments and their amazing support throughout the year. 
May 2019 bring you all much peace, much happiness and an abundance of all of the best things in life. I look forward to delivering more reviews and movie information to you all in 2019 and sharing my personal life experiences with you along the way as well.
Happiest of New Year's wishes to you all, may your resolutions be fulfilled, your hearts be full and your hangovers minimal; may you discover many new, enjoyable challenges and rewards in the new year and I hope that 2019 allows you to find your groove in all things,
Sending all of my love to you,
Happy New Year,
From Spicywatch xx

Today is Boxing Day and I have officially dropped out the other end of Christmas. What I am now experiencing is that numb sense of overwhelment and exhaustion that arrives in the days preceding Christmas time. I have indulged in copious amounts of rich and decadent deliciousness, I have drank enough alcohol to challenge the driest of sailors on shore leave and I have received the most amazing gifts over the last four days. In short, it has been tremendously busy and I have been tremendously spoilt all over again. Talk about your first world problems over here, too much of the good stuff for me that's for sure!
However, it wasn't all take and no give, I really had a wonderful time giving all of the gifts that I had shopped for and I made plenty of treats and delicious eats for others to indulge in. I also did my volunteer shift of Christmas gift wrapping and fundraising for the Salvos as well, so I actually got to give over quite a bit of my love this jolly season. Everyone knows that the giving is generally even more special than the receiving at Christmas time and it was so wonderful to spend time with my family and friends over the last few days in an unhurried, indulgent and relaxing way. 
To be honest I haven't even managed to get out of my pyjamas today, I am having the laziest of days and with the fridge full of leftovers, I won't even need to cook this evening either. Unfortunately, my body clock has not adjusted to holiday time yet and insists on waking me up at 6am, which wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't continually burning the midnight oil at the moment as well. I don't think that I have been in bed before midnight since I finished work last week, and the lack of rest is starting to get a hold of me. 
Tiredness affects people in all kinds of ways, some people get cranky and moody, others get dozy, but I get vague, really, really vague. People can have entire conversations with me and I won't hear a word of it because I am off with the pixies. I also do really stupid things like lose my glasses (which are perched on top of my head) or put things away and forget where I put them. I suppose that I am just getting a really good glimpse into my future, because from what I have heard, people in their old age do a lot of wacky stuff like that all of the time. However, I also get really annoyingly foggy and I can't focus on anything for very long, everything seems much harder than it actually is and I am really only good for one thing, movie marathons and TV bingeing.
Am I using my tiredness as an excuse to hit the couch hard for a couple of days? Probably, but I don't feel guilty about that, it is the holidays after all and I have well and truly earned my right to be lazy and disconnected for a while. The time to unplug and tune out has finally arrived, so I think I might watch something a little on the slanted side because my mind is already there after all!

Gimme a high five, a kiss on the cheek and a slap on the arse - work has officially ended! I have now happily navigated (and survived) the Christmas Staff Party, the work place Kris Kringle certificate exchange and the obligatory tipples, cheerful chatter and tears of goodbye that come with all end of year farewells and the much anticipated and fiercely coveted Summer holiday escape. All of my Christmas work events were thoroughly enjoyable, as one would expect when you work with a group of wonderful people, and I was sweetly touched by the outpouring of love and care that everyone in my school community shared with each other over this busy and genuinely exhausting time of the year.
The children (literally dead on their feet by the final stroke of the clock) showered me with much thanks, many hugs and a ridiculously generous cascade of gifts that were both greatly appreciated and overwhelmingly touching; highlighting all of the reasons that the slog is always worthwhile and that we do indeed change tiny minds everyday for the better. It would be more than fair to say that Christmas definitely came early for me. I don't even need to open another gift now, I have already been insanely spoilt and my ego has had a mighty good fluffing up from the many compliments and thanks that the children's parents (who did not hold back their gratitude or appreciations) happily gave to me. 
And so now I move onto more personal affairs, as today I brave the supermarket hordes to shop for my pre-Christmas get togethers and my family Christmas Day lunch. And even though I know that the supermarket is going to resemble a looting escapade during a zombie apocalypse, this is truly a labour of love now and I will undertake it with a lot of thought and loving devotion, because after all, it is Christmas time and therefore an excellent opportunity to spoil your loved ones and indulge in the finer things in life without feeling guilty. 
I have my menu planned, my shopping list written and I have purposely set aside Christmas Eve to prepare desserts and spend some time with Zoe and Seth swanning about the kitchen cooking up some delicious Christmas fare. I like to do all of the hard work and as much of the preparations before Christmas so that on the day I just have to load up the oven and grab a glass of bubbly. No-one should be slaving away in a kitchen on Christmas Day, that is just downright criminal. The load on the day has to be shared; the kids will dress the table (which Zoe has a turned into an art form), I will fill the oven and carve the roasted beasts, we will all do a little dusting and turning out of pre-prepared sweet treats, Seth will organise some appropriate and festive mood music and Craig, as he always does, will provide a jug of good gravy which he makes with the precision of a surgeon. And voila - we will have ourselves a merry little Christmas family gathering. Nothing more to do on the day but pop open the crackers and enjoy a relaxed meal together, which now that I have written about, am getting very excited for.
​Come on Christmas, I am ready for you to arrive!

I cannot deny that the fatigue of a rather long term has begun to set in over the last week. Since the beginning of December I have attended seven dinner events, two graduations, five after hours appointments, two breakfast dates, squeezed in a trip to the movies and not missed a day of work in the process. I have also finished my Christmas shopping, wrapped all of my presents, sent off my Christmas cards, put up the tree and decorations, planned my Christmas menu and volunteered to work for the Salvos and wrap presents on the Sunday before Christmas. I don't want to brag, but I am bloody well going to because I am slamming this Christmas so hard!
With only two days of work left, I am starting to feel the drag of this busy time of the year weighing down on me, which means that I need to shift my focus back to the positive things that have lead to me to this point in the year. I admit that I am ready to unwind a little, and I probably deserve to because I have been going at it like the clappers, and even though work will fall into blissful respite for a while, I still have quite a lot to do between now and the new year, which at this stage looks like a sweet lull from the busyness for me. However, no matter how you look at it, it is always easier to get  more done when you are on holidays and things don't ever feel like a chore when you are marching to the sound of your own drum and don't feel compelled to adhere the time constraints of paid employment. 
Overall, 2018 has been an absolutely massive year for me in every way, absolutely positive that is. I have incorporated so much new learning and self discovery time into my life this year, and for that reason I have a much fuller and richer life than I have ever had before. I have worked really hard to develop routines that have offered me a healthier lifestyle overall; one that embraces me in mind, body and spirit, and I have reaped a  lot of rewards for those efforts. I have also worked harder at my employment, taking on new skill sets and trying out new experiences on a level that I would never have had the confidence to do before, which has pushed me out of my comfort zone but made me grow as a person. And I also believe that I have worked really hard to cultivate meaningful relationships in my life this year by nurturing the positive and uplifting relationships that I am lucky enough to have by spending more time with people who stimulate, entertain, enchant, respect and interest me, which has made my family and social life incredibly enriching and deeply satisfying. 
On all fronts, I feel blessed. Blessed to have had the year that I have had, blessed to be able to spend Christmas time with my family and friends and blessed to have grown as much as I have this year. And even though I have no idea what kind of fuel is carrying me across the finish line of Term Four this year, I am deeply thankful for it and cannot wait to see what lies ahead for the rest of this wonderful season of celebration. 

Celebrated Halloween a little early this year, perhaps it was the full moon or maybe it was just because the 27th was the closest date that we could all manage to gather together, but whatever the reason, the Samhain vibes were flowing on Saturday. 
Whenever people get together at my place, there is always food involved. Not only do I love to eat, I also really love to cook as well, so any celebration is a good occasion for a big cook up around the bench in Enfield. Which is exactly what Zoe, Seth, Helen, Craig and I did this year, we made a delicious feast from scratch to share together.
​Our meal consisted of two different types of ravioli (pumpkin/feta and beef/mushroom) and a delicious tomato based sauce to accompany them. We also made vanilla poached pears in a salted caramel sauce with vanilla ice-cream for dessert, which was an amazing and decadent finish to our evening's festivities. Whilst we cooked, we listened to some tunes and shared some Halloween-ish cocktails and then spent the dark hours indulging in one of my favourite things in the world, B-grade horror. 
I absolutely love B-grade horror, especially B-grade horror from the 80's and 90's because those two decades were rife with poor writing, dreadfully acting, mediocre effects and cliche horror tropes that make them so damn awful that they are absolutely hilarious. I usually call them D-grade because they are so genuinely bad, which should give you some idea of the quality that I am talking about, D-grade means 'woah-fully good' material to me.
On the agenda for B-Grade gold this year? Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood, the name really says it all doesn't it? It is truly classy viewing, I can assure you. Made in 1996, this 87 minute fantasy/horror got a whopping 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, and stars Angie Everhart and Corey Feldman in two of the lead roles; need I say more? In a word it is dreadful; rife with grotuetous titty shots, full of cheesy one liners, the soundtrack seems like it was recorded by someone that cannot sing in their living room with a boombox and the characters are dressed primarily in cheap silks, denim jackets and tennis shorts. It is just so bad that it defies explanation really, it's the ultimate B-grade horror find, and after a few nice strong cocktails, it is the funniest movie that you could ever see. We were literally crying with laughter at some points during the movie. 
And that is how all B-grade horror/ fantasy and sci-fi movies need to be viewed, half pissed and with really good company. Over the years we have watched some absolutely pearlers out here together that just shouldn't be missed; they are so bad, they are actually good! 
Some of my personal favourites and highly recommended B-Grade offerings are:

• Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
• Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) - just outside of the 90's era but you'd never know!
• They Live (1988)
• Evil Dead 3: The Army of Darkness (1992)
• Tremors (1990)
• Highlander (1986)
• Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
• Day of the Dead (1985)
• Critters (1986) 
• The Thing (1982) 
• Warlock (1989)
• Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)
• Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)  -a bit older, and quite possibly the worst horror movie ever made, it is unbelievably bad and hilarious. 

With Halloween just around the corner, you don't have to opt for a serious horror movie scare; a cheesy B-Grade retro horrorfest is just as enjoyable, and maybe even a lot more fun! 

Don't really know what happened, but somehow October just arrived. How we have already reached the tenth month of the year fills me with great confusion and concern, because it was around October last year that I went for my first job interview in over a decade and started to forge a new way of being for myself. In some ways that feels like it was very long time ago, because I have made so many changes to my life since October last year, and then in other ways it feels like it was only a few months ago that I plucked up enough guts to throw caution to the wind and put myself out there again.
However, no matter how you look at it, there is no denying that October has just snuck in the back door and that we have well and truly arrived at the 'ber' months of the year. This means that it will only be a matter of time before the onslaught of 'way too bloody early' Christmas propaganda and paraphernalia arrives in stores, spurring on early hysteria and panic among the masses and obligating us all to make lists, shop and prepare. Bottom line for me here is that there is no fricken' way that I am ready for another Christmas yet, and I flat out refuse to acknowledge any of that early stuff and nonsense of Christmas until I have at least managed to milk a decent Halloween celebration out of October. 
Until the ghosts, goblins and ghouls have come out to play for Samhain, I am not doing any department store trees, front yard twinkling lights, Christmas shopping lists or pudding recipe chatter, I will not even entertain it! The Christmas decorations and Christmas tree do not come out in our house until the start of December, and then (and only then) will I happily allow a full 25 days of hysteria and anticipation, damn I'll even encourage it! But just like eating easter eggs before Easter Sunday or hot cross buns before the week of Easter arrives, some things are better to wait for and Christmas mania definitely falls into that category for me. 
Nope, October is all about freaky deaky horror for me, the freak-ier and deak-ier the better. I generally re-watch all of my fave horror movies over October and search out some new material to bring to the fold as well. Making candy apples, carving pumpkins and inventing dark and desirable new cocktails is what October is for. And it's the last month to splurge in couch slouching before the weather gets really hot and we all get a lot more social and start heading outdoors in the evenings.
So, with only four weeks until Halloween (and impending hysteria) arrives, I think that I might get my thinking cap on and plan a night of fun and festivities in Enfield. And above all, there will have to be some terrifically terrifying movie choices for my guests, so I must begin my research asap!

Spicywatch.com celebrated it's fourth birthday last night with a small but extremely supportive group of wonderful family and friends. I have now reviewed more than 700 movies that are totally worthy of your viewing time, I have rolled out more than 410 blog entries, generated a few loyal readers and I have been to the movies so many times that I think the proprietors are considering offering me shares in the business. And most importantly, I have loved every single minute of it.
I have adored watching all of movies that I have sat through to get me to this point, even the really bad ones. I have loved hooking up with friends at the cinema and dragging my family along to the movies every other week. I have loved sharing my thoughts and the events of my life with all of my readers on my blog and I have loved the process of building up an almanac of worthy and 'spicy' movies for others to consider watching. 
Last night the theme of the evenings celebrations was comedy, and everyone was encouraged to share their favourite comedy scene or funny moment in a movie with the group. We watched scenes from old but still hilarious classics like Duck Soup and Young Frankenstein as well as modern comedies like Bridesmaids, Nacho Libre, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Mr Bean's Holiday, Rat Race, The Wedding Singer, Kung Fu Hustle, What We Do In The Shadows and Clerks. Even the unlikely thriller American Psycho managed a look in with Christian Bale's raincoat wearing "Hip to be Square" routine.
There was much laughter and hilarity, and it was really lovely to be able to share a couple of drinks and some good company in the name of Spicywatch.com. I have really been overwhelmed by how supportive and positive everyone has been of my website, which really has been a labour of love for me and sometimes a bit of writing therapy from time to time as well. I really have poured a lot of my spare time and energy into maintaining  Spicywatch.com and the continued support of my readers has been incredibly overwhelming and deeply meaningful to me.
Dear readers, without your support Spicywatch.com may not have made it any further than it's first birthday. Your shared interest in quality cinema and commitment to reading my constant rants has meant more to me than words could ever really express. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you so much my lovely spicywatch supporters and I will certainly endeavour to keep offering you more experiences of cinematic worthiness, along with the contents of my head, in the years ahead. 
Keep on watching, and please do keep on reading xxx

The Universal Stupa of Great Compassion in Bendigo hosted its annual Festival of Peace and Light this weekend and we were fortunate enough to join the celebrations. Well, word has clearly gotten out about how terrific last years festival was because this time the event had grown substantially, both in participation numbers and the lineup of performers.
Last time we were among a mere 100 odd visitors that had our own seats to view a few international acts and some fireworks and this year the Stupa was swamped with thousands of people. There were over 40 various performances in the afternoon, at least a dozen vegetarian food vans (tofu to die for people), merchandise vendors and of course, the precious Jade Buddha which has returned to the Stupa and created a most auspicious and important reason for Buddhists to make the pilgrimage to Bendigo this weekend. 
Because the event has ballooned to epic proportions it was a lot more difficult to see everything and this time there was more than one stage operating with different attractions happening at one time, kind of like a Buddhist Big Day Out, which did mean that you didn't get to see every performance like we did last time. Also forget seating, there was nowhere to sit unless you wanted to perch on a rock (which I happily did) and if you are a short arse like me you often couldn't see the action that was going on even if you wanted to, but it was still so much fun and definitely worth the trip to Bendigo. 
Chinese lions, drumming, various international dancers, hoop twirlers, a puppet theatre, live music and instrumental performers, singers, acrobats, didgeridoo performances, Tibetan chanting and let's not forget the spectacular sound and light extravaganza that always makes me feel like I am five years old again as I ooh and ahh in amazement as the fireworks go zipping across the sky overhead. 
The food vans this year were super impressive as well, with a massive array of extremely tasty and also healthy vegan delights. I had a particularly good shawarma with beetroot  and hummus, but the curries, felafel, rotis and other Indian fried delights also looked delicious and I don't think that anyone was struggling to find something delicious to eat. Again, it was the line up that seemed to be the biggest obstacle, but as long as you kept your cool and stayed the course, you got fed. Like all festival events, you have to expect crowds and queues and you have to make your peace with it, after all it was the Festival of Peace and Light; you can't go around abusing people and being a dick at an event like that. 
I think that the Festival of Peace and Light showcases Victoria's broad Buddhist diversity and the communities genuine interest in other cultures and religious practises. I know without a shadow of doubt that I will be returning next year, and I really look forward to watching the festival grow and expand each year. Next time I will be more prepared for a more grand experience than I was this time and I cannot wait to see what the organisers are going to bring to fold in 2019, so exciting!  

The time of too many chocolates, stodgy doughy buns, sugar rich treats, alcoholic tipples and spreading waistlines is upon us. It is Easter, which always means too much of a good thing for me and generally always leads to me needing a decent detox after the event to rid my body of all of the toxic sludge that has been produced after placing myself into an alcohol and sugar induced coma for the four days of the Easter long weekend.  
You would think by now that I would be much better at practising moderation, but no....there is something about the lure of a Cadbury chocolate bunny and a bottle of good red wine that has an overwhelming power to reduce me to nothing better than a lush over the Easter break. I always find myself eating and drinking way more than I normally would, happily indulging well into the wee hours of the morning and always wishing that I hadn't later on when I feel like a lumpy bloated mess.
However, this holiday period hasn't all been about over indulging, I have done some other really cool things to kick off the April holiday season. To get the wheels in motion I went to the movies on Good Friday, I actually went to the movies twice last week, but who's counting? I also spent an entire afternoon hand painting hard boiled eggs with Zoe, Seth and Helen on Easter Saturday and I hosted a lovely Easter family lunch on Easter Sunday which unfortunately did involve eating way to many proteins, sugars and carbs, so needless to say, I am a bit of a puffy sloth today. 
I cannot deny that it does feel good to throw caution to the wind and eat and drink with wild abandon, but I would also be lying if I didn't acknowledge how dreadful my body feels after I have done that. Generally, I live by the 'everything in moderation' standard, however sometimes I do things to excess and I always feel like a shit sandwich for days after. I think that it may have something to do with getting older, because when I was younger it really didn't seem to matter what I shoved down my gullet or how much I drank, my body could always process things pretty easily. These days I only need to stare at a slice of cake for longer than 30 seconds and my hips get wider, and if I drink too much, the hangovers that I get have been hand picked my Satan for my pure displeasure. Agony would be downplaying it, and they last for days not just the day after, so drinking beyond moderation is out of the question for me. 
So I willingly farewell the Easter season and its over abundance of caloric nightmares and carb loaded gorge sessions and look forward to a week of clean eating and a bit of self nurturing to get my system back on track for the rest of the holiday period. 

One of the things that I love most about living where I do is that there is always some kind of free event or entertainment that can be accessed without having to travel very far. With only an hour to travel to Melbourne, the Surf Coast or the Grampians, I have perfect access to almost any type of activity that I choose to partake in, and over the last few weeks there has been no shortage of opportunities.
In particular, Ballarat and the surrounding rural areas have had a bevy of free events that has kept me more than busy and also highly entertained. Last weekend The Ballarat Begonia Festival was on, which is always an excellent and free extravaganza of all things garden related. And last night the town celebrated its second White Night event, which was again really engaging and gathered a massive and diverse crowd of enthusiasts.  
Yesterday I hit the road to check out the Golden Plains Shire Arts Trail, which showcases local artists and their works throughout the Golden Plains region. Turns out that there are dozens of very talented artists right on my doorstep and within a 25 kilometre radius of our home I viewed pieces from so many different artists covering so many mediums, including painting, photography, quilting, jewellery making, leathering, garden sculpture, ceramics, nature art, watercolor painting and sketching. Amazing! I was so impressed with the standard of work that I saw, and it was really nice to have a chat with the artists about their pieces as well. 
I love it when a community comes together to share their passions, their hard work and their knowledge, and it is refreshing to be able to attend events without feeling like you need to spend a whole lot of money. Nothing much comes for free anymore and it is nice to know that even when you're seriously broke that you can still get a bit of culture into your life.
​Anyone that knows anything about me already knows that I sure do love a good cheap thrill!

Okay, okay, I have to eat my words about the Academy Awards never giving the Best Picture  Award to a fantasy movie, because The Shape of Water reigned supreme winning both Best Picture and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro at the 90th Academy Awards, which was just tremendous and completely unexpected from my perspective.
Frances McDormand took Best Actress in a Lead Role and Sam Rockwell Best Supporting Actor for Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. Gary Oldman nabbed Best Lead Actor for Darkest Hour and Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for I, Tonya. Coco deservingly won Best Animated Feature Film as did Call Me By Your Name for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, and it was great to see a horror represented in there as well this year with Get Out winning Best Original Screenplay for Jordan Peele.
Of course I stayed up until  11.30pm last Tuesday evening to watch the entire event on television, I wouldn't miss it! I wasn't in a glamorous gown, eating canopies with a glass of champagne in my hand as a work colleague suggested I might be. I was actually cosied up on the couch in my PJ's with a coffee  and a biscuit in my hand, but I didn't miss any of the action! I also watched The Golden Globes and the BAFTAs as well in similar fashion this year. For me, it is so good to see the movies and actors that I have enjoyed on the big screen getting some well deserved notoriety, it kind of galvanises my opinions about quality cinema and I just love the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood awards ceremony. 
It was also my birthday last week. I have now had my fourth round of eleventh birthdays, and was very spoilt by those nearest and dearest to me. It all kicked off on Friday when my new work colleagues gave me an unexpected and very thoughtful gift, then in the evening I was invited out to a friend's house for a delicious home cooked dinner with a group of friends. We enjoyed many laughs and libations alongside of a amazing roasted lamb and the most delicious roasted chicken that I have ever had, topped off with a scrumptious lemon tart for dessert. 
My actual birthday, which was Saturday, started off with an incredible brunch at Enfield thanks to Helen, who happily provided the most amazing spread of French pastries, breads and juices for an epic morning feast. Zoe joined us in the afternoon and we all went out for dinner to a swanky new Thai restaurant in Ballarat, and then on to see a live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Wow! There are some incredibly talented people in Ballarat; what an incredible show! And the music! Now I understand the appeal of a live rock opera, what an amazing effort and what a terrific night out for my birthday.
Came home afterwards and stayed up until 3am listening to music, singing loudly and drinking way too many celebratory drinks. A pretty great end to an exceptionally lovely day I think. I was absolutely showered with amazingly thoughtful gifts from friends and family, received heaps of kind text messages and just felt really loved and appreciated by those that I care about, and who could ask for anything more or better than that on their birthday? What a perfect week of celebrations I have enjoyed and how lucky I am!

The final days of summer are upon us, and though we should be enjoying the last days of light joyously, for many the reality of this time of the year is something altogether quite different. People are starting to show early signs of fatigue as the Christmas holiday period fades into the backgrounds of our lives once again. The daily 'grind' becomes the norm, temperatures are ridiculously inconsistent with very little sign of rain and the misty mornings of early autumn have already arrived. What is still alive in my vegetable garden is hanging limply, our water tank is bone dry and the gale force winds blow everything off our deck every other day. One can easily lose sight of the bigger picture at this point of the year; but not me!
March is always one of my most favourite months of the year. There is always something to celebrate on every, single, weekend in March. With the thought of autumn looming, people get super outdoorsy all over again in pursuit of their final days in the sun, which means that my events calendar is always chock-a-block. Add to that a long weekend, an upcoming Easter and for me, two weeks of school holidays and woohoo! You have got the making of one of the best months of the whole year. 
I really enjoy autumn as a season, especially out here in Enfield. Autumn out here means blackberry and apple picking and also mushroom foraging. Bush walking is at its best out here in the autumn, because there is far less risk of snakes and heat stroke. We always have plenty of water on the dam for the our resident ducks in the autumn time and the garden gets some much needed moisture from the heavens. The threat of bushfire is gone, and although the days get slightly shorter, you appreciate them all the more because you know that the days are also growing darker and that soon the sun will no longer hang around in the sky for many hours a day. 
March in Ballarat is particularly good I think. The Begonia Festival, The Golden Plains Arts Trail and White Night are all on and free to access; but there are also heaps of other things that I love about March as well, like the Academy Awards Ceremony (duh!), International Women's Day, World Harmony Day, Solitude Day and this year Good Friday and Easter Saturday as well. Loads to look forward to, and I get to have my birthday in there as well. Yep, for me March is one of the best months of the year, so it is without any sadness at all that I say farewell to another summer in my life and welcome a new season with much enthusiasm and excitement, because there are so many more wonderful days ahead to be enjoyed! 

MUDBOUND 
Release Date: 2017
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 134 mins
An American period drama directed by Dee Rees and based on the novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan.  After premiering at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Mudbound was released on Netflix and deservingly earned four nominations at the 90th Academy Awards due its excellent depiction of rural American history.
Two men return to their poverty stricken farming homes in Mississippi after serving their country overseas during WW2. They struggle greatly to re-adjust to a rural lifestyle after the war, especially in a small town filled with racism and discrimination. 
Mudbound is an exceptionally powerful post-war movie. The storyline is completely believable, the cast is exceptionally strong and the struggles of the characters are deeply affecting. I was riveted for the entirety of this movie and was really impressed by the onscreen efforts of Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Jonathan Banks and Garrett Hedlund. This film deserves to get a lot more attention, it is worth making the time to see it. 
FINAL SAY: I love them all equally. Every mother does. 
​4 Chilli Peppers ​

Celebrated the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dog) with Craig, Zoe, Seth, Helen and one of Seth's friends yesterday. We went over to the Gold Museum in Ballarat to see an exhibition entitled Awaken The Dragon, which boasted the oldest Chinese Dragon and Chinese Lion in the world amongst its displays, and since it is only in town until April, Chinese New Year seemed like the most appropriate and auspicious time to go and see the display. We then went out for a huge Chinese feast at a local Chinese restaurant, followed by Chinese movies and fortune cookies at Enfield. We watched The Mermaid and Big Trouble in Little China, which has become something of a cult classic in our home and is always watched with much cheering, hilarity and carry on every time we see it. I think I fell into bed around 1 am feeling very tired and satisfied with the day's celebrations, which was a welcomed distraction from going to the cinema for me at the moment. 
With less than a month until the 90th Academy Awards Ceremony, the cinemas in Ballarat are currently flooded with excellent, high quality movies. The downside of this is that we always get most of the Oscar nominated movies later than everyone else and pretty much all of them at the same time. This means that if you are serious about seeing the nominated films before the envelopes are opened on the night (like I am), then you have to be willing to go to the movies at least once a week beforehand. There are nine movies in the running for Best Motion Picture this year, and I have only made it to see five of them so far and I'm fairly certain that I won't make it to see all of them beforehand now. 
For those of you that are not familiar with the line up yet, these are the nominations for Best Motion Picture at this years Academy Awards:
The Shape of Water
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Get Out
The Post
Call Me By Your Name
Lady Bird
Having not seen all of them, it is difficult to discern who will win, but I think either Three Billboards or Call Me By Your Name, but it is impossible to say for sure and I often disagree with the Academy's decision anyway. Regardless of the win, the nominated movies are always excellent and worthy watches and I will get around to seeing them all eventually, as I do with every other years nominated films as well. 
It is great to see that some fantasy, science fiction and horror/ thriller movies are getting nominated, however it is pretty safe to say that the Academy will always give the Best Picture award to a drama movie. People still don't really take fantasy, science fiction and horror/thriller genres that seriously, and I can understand why, a lot of it is total shit; but some of it is absolute gold as well and it often sadly gets overlooked. 
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the first fantasy movie to ever win the Best Motion Picture Oscar and no Science fiction movie has ever won it yet. The Silence of the Lambs was the first and only horror/thriller to win it in 1992, but since then, no horror movie has made it past a nomination. Pretty biased I think, but drama is more accessible for most people I suppose. Still though, I would die if they ever stopped making science fiction, fantasy or horror movies because they are three of my favourite genres to watch. 
Every year there is at least one movie that I find completely overrated that gets nominated for the Best Motion Picture Oscar that I think just isn't as good as the other nominations. So far this year, shockingly because I really wanted to love this movie, it is Lady Bird. Again, not a bad movie, but I do question its Oscar nomination when it was only a 3 Chilli Pepper movie for me. This is where the great injustices really come to the forefront for fantasy, horror and science fiction, because IT, A Ghost Story, Mother! and Blade Runner 2049 were all far better films than Lady Bird and yet they didn't even didn't get a look in. I really do think that the Academy needs an overhaul, but I know that millions of people have been saying this same thing for years now and nothing has ever changed, unfortunately, the dramas always get all of the attention. 

LADYBIRD
Release Date: 2017
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 95 mins 
​A coming of age, indy drama, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, the only female director to have her film in the running for an Oscar in 2017. With a believable, original and witty dialogue, Lady Bird swings between amusing and awkward, revealing a strong and strange relationship between a strict mother and her flamboyant daughter. 
Self named Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) is navigating her way through her final year at high school, but trying to work out boys, friendships and which college to apply for is continually made all the more difficult under the watchful and scrutinizing eyes of her head strong mother (Laurie Metcalf). 
I really wanted to love this movie, and perhaps I would have if all of the humour wasn't revealed in the preview and everyone hadn't hyped it up so much. It is a good film, but it didn't feel all that original to me. I have seen a lot of coming of age movies now, and Lady Bird did not bring anything new to the table for me.
Ronan and Metcalf are terrific together and the acting is definitely a strength here, as is the witty realistic dialogue, but for an Oscar nominated movie, this fell short for me. Most of the writing is on the wall with this film, the character of Lady Bird is at times annoyingly pretentious and there are no real surprises. The overall outcomes were very predictable. 
FINAL SAY: I gave it to myself. It is given to me by me.
3 Chilli Peppers

Yesterday Craig and I hosted Zoe and Lachlainn's engagement party out here in Enfield. Around 55 friends and family members ventured out in the evening to join us, and the weather could not have been any more perfect. A spectacular pink sunset greeted our guests as they lounged around the garden, resting below bobbing lanterns and sipping beers and champagne in the still coolness of the evening. It was such a wonderful evening, everyone appeared to be having a really great time and most importantly of all, Zoe and Lachlainn had a terrific time sharing their special event with everyone else as well. 
Zoe had a very clear idea about how she wanted the evening to look, kind of rustic, relaxed and country themed; which involved hay bales, wild flowers, mood lighting and a variety of seating arrangements for guests to choose from. The preparations started the day before with a massive all day baking session and then by 9am on Saturday the real setup had begun and all four of us pitched in to make it happen; and it all came together very nicely. To be honest, I think that we managed to pull off a pretty respectable engagement soiree. If only the clean up today had been as much fun as the actual event, because I tell you when I awoke this morning sporting a nice little champagne hangover the last thing that I felt like doing was cleaning up from a big event. Nevermind, c'est la vie, you have to endure the after party clean up, and if there is no mess to clear up then it probably wasn't a very good event in the first place.
Zoe and Lachlainn are just the cutest couple, it was so lovely to see them enjoying the company of their nearest and dearest together. There was certainly no shortage of smiling faces around them last night, everyone was super happy for them both and obviously agree that they make a fantastic couple. Everyone that I spoke to was 'over the moon' happy for them to be getting engaged, clearly they too had seen the makings of a good long term relationship growing over the last six years and were not at all surprised that the two had decided to make things more official.
I know that we were more than pleased to be sharing in the celebration of such a wonderful declaration of love, especially between two such wonderful people. When it comes to celebratory events, this one topped them all for me. My daughter has found someone that makes her so happy that she wants to spend her life with them - now that's truly an event that is totally worth celebrating!

As we prepare to send off the old year and welcome a new one, I sit and reflect on the finer moments of 2017 for me. It was most certainly a big one, a year that was filled with farewells but also filled with opportunities to uncover new aspects of myself and to grow as a person.
Here's my highlights, best bits and fave moments of 2017 in a nutshell:
JANUARY: Yoga mornings, Torquay, The Maticevski exhibition, Seth's 12th birthday in Geelong, Seppelt winery, Queenscliff ferry, Triple J's Hottest 100, Chinese New Year - Year of the Rooster, Long Summer Nights.
FEBRUARY: Meeting my new students for 2017, Seth starting at Damascus, Coffee dates with mates, Curry and Movie Nights kick off.
MARCH: White Night Festival, International Women's Day, My Birthday, The Lost Trades Fair, Harmony Festival, Japanese dinner with friends, The Arts Trail, Blackberry picking. 
APRIL: Easter School Holidays, Sydney Road Trip, Staying with family in NSW, eating Hot Cross Buns and chocolate eggs, Orthodox Easter, Craig's Birthday, Autumn afternoons. 
MAY: Mushrooming, Mother's Day, Wicked at Her Majesty's, Day Tripping to Daylesford, The Festival of Light at the Great Stupa in Bendigo, Fruit Tree planting. 
JUNE: Spicywatch's Birthday, Rockwiz, Winter Solstice Celebrations, Zoe's Birthday, Winter School Holidays started.
JULY: Winter movie marathon nights, Sleeping in, Yarrowee Trail hiking, All Day Baking Sessions, eating Apple pie!
AUGUST: Middle Eastern Banquet with friends, Silvers Circus, School celebrates it's Birthday, George A. Romero zombie tribute night, starting Positive Visualisation techniques.
SEPTEMBER: Father's Day, School Art Show, Getting my Colour Analysis done,  Dave Lachapelle photography exhibition, School Holiday Break.
OCTOBER: Spring Mornings, Long drunken lunch dates,  Daily Meditation Practises, Clothing Swap charity event, Getting a Job Interview, The Edith Head exhibition.
NOVEMBER: Días Los Muertos, Romancing the Skull exhibition, Zoe and Lachlainn got engaged, Got a new Job and met my new student. 
DECEMBER: Scienceworks, Staff Christmas function, Student Graduation, Farewell dinner with my work team, Cherry and strawberry picking, Summer Holidays start, Christmas Day, New Years Eve. 

 The past seven days have been one of the biggest weeks that I have had in a very long time. It has been an absolute roller coaster of events, emotions and endings. Thank goodness that Zoe had Seth in Geelong for the better part of it all because I was hardly even home, and when I was home, I was emotional, exhausted, distracted and stupidly busy as I ran the gauntlet of farewells and also tried to prepare for Christmas. I was hitting the hay in the wee early hours and rising again by 5.45am each day, and now I am pretty burnt out. 
On Friday I said my fond farewells at work to everyone and boy was that tough. It was the most surreal feeling walking out of work and then driving out of the car park for the very last time, it is amazing how attached you get to even the most mundane of things after nine years. It is certainly a place that I have poured my blood, sweat and tears into, but it is also a place that has helped me to grow in every way, and I know that I am a much better person now than I was nine years ago because of the incredible friendships, challenges and triumphs that I have experienced through my time at work. It was certainly an extraordinary team to be a part of, I have never worked anywhere like it before and I am taking with me the most wonderful memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. 
And now I can turn my attentions, because Christmas Eve has arrived! Rejoice, it is time to put aside all worry and care, because it is Christmas time! I look forward to Zoe and Lachlainn arriving soon to share in the pre-Christmas celebrations with us at here in Enfield. A small window left now for final wrappings, food preparations, Christmas movies, festive cocktails and generally embracing all of the awesomeness that Christmas brings. Christmas Eve has a certain magical quality to it that cannot be denied and the anticipation of the season is at its most palpable and delightful on this one day of the year.
I adore getting people that I love together to share great food and company with me, and Christmas always provides those opportunities in abundance, it is just a really blissful time to spend with family and it is always a highlight and fitting end to the year for me. To all of my wonderful Spicywatch readers, I wish you all a very bright and merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy the season with loved ones, that your stocking and wine glass is filled to the brim and I also hope that you get to indulge in some good food, great company and general Christmas cheer. Enjoy every moment, may the season treat you well xx.

CRACKERS
Release Date: 1998
Rating: PG
Running Time: 92 mins 
If you aren't Australian then this movie will not appeal to you at all, and if you are Australian you will be mildly amused by the Aussie anecdotes and behaviours. Not the best but certainly not the worst Christmas movie to ever have been made, Crackers attempts to demonstrate a traditional Aussie Christmas and enjoys a certain level of success in doing so. 
Young Joey is forced to endure Christmas with his mum's new boyfriend and son at his grandparents home in the suburbs. Joey makes fast friends with his estranged and eccentric great grandfather, who teaches him a thing or two about life. 
There are some really great moments in this film, most of them delivered by Warren Mitchell who plays the eccentric grandpa Albert, and the general feel of the film will be relatable for most Australians. Unfortunately, some of the humour is just too cheesy to take seriously and the plot is mostly built around antiquated cliques, but for a Christmas movie it is more than adequate. 
FINAL SAY: Hit me but don't shit me. 
2.5 Chilli Peppers

It is time. The time has come for me to farewell my current work colleagues and to prepare for the next league of my own personal journey. Much easier said than done that's for sure, but millions of other people have left work places that they have loved and they have all survived so it would be pretty stupid to think that I won't manage when I say my final goodbyes tomorrow. However, I would be lying to myself completely if I didn't acknowledge the lump in my throat and the tightness in my chest when I think about how fond I have become of some these said 'work colleagues' who are in fact so, so much more than merely work colleagues, they are really very dear friends and it is going to be gut wrenchingly difficult to actually say goodbye knowing that the end of the day will actually signal a farewell to my work relationship with them. 
I am preparing for a difficult and emotional day, it's going to big and tricky, but I have some plans to celebrate the greatness that I am leaving behind and enjoying every last moment with them all. I have been trying very hard to practise mindfulness at work over the last few weeks, so rather than thinking about anything ahead, I have been just languishing in the each and every given moment. It has given me some really interesting perspective and a lot more joy to just be in every moment and I plan to share those joyous findings with my lovely colleagues and friends tomorrow as I depart. There are some pretty terrific people at my work and I feel like it is my job to let them all know just how terrific that I think that they are before I miss my chance to. 
So here I am, only days aways from Christmas preparing for a massive change to happen in my life and feeling all of the mixed emotions that comes with that. And then there is the excitement of Christmas, the summer holidays and the restful days ahead to share with my loved ones. I am a flurry of emotions, a fountain of feels and a flood with fidgets, but most oddly of all is that I am all of those things in the very best of ways.