Moonlight Bonfire

Every year around late January or early February, my neighbors by the lake host a Moonlight Bonfire Party. Most of the times the ground is covered with snow at that time of the year, yet nothing would stop them from having fun. We would bring our food & drinks, and gather around the bonfire in their backyard, right by the lake. They usually pick a night with the full moon, so you can picture the scene: a beautiful full moon over snow-covered lake, while a happy crowd gathered around the huge bonfire built mostly with Christmas trees.

Yes, you heard me right -- Christmas trees. This is no ordinary bonfire.

Right after Christmas, my neighbors would start collecting Christmas trees and all kinds of old furniture from the neighborhood. I think their record was burning more than 200 Christmas trees at one night!!! Let me tell you, it's quite a sight. The fire shot way up into the night sky, and we speculate that people from miles away probably think it's a forest fire of some sort. It is WILD!

Chinese New Year lion dance dinner

We went to our friend Jenny's restaurant Nusantara for Chinese New Year lion dance dinner back in 2004. Our friends Ute, Uwe and their 3 kids sat with us.

The lion pretended to swallow Uwe while Ute took a close-up shot

It's customary to "feed" the lion with red envelope (lucky money) for good luck. Miranda got up-close-and-personal with the lion.

The lion prepared for the grand finale: swallowing the red envelope and the cabbage (symbol of good omen)

Whisper and Katie

We adopted two kitty cats over the years. The black cat is Katie (5 years old), and the other one is Whisper (3 years old). We LOVE our kitties!

Katie (left) and Whisper 2005

Whisper (left) and Katie 2004

Whisper (left) and Katie 2005