Hey crew, Well, it’s all over for another year of mayhem. Hope whatever you did, didn’t do, whoever you were with or without, that you had an OK time. That your mental health survived in tact. we had a roller coaster here in Oz.
Silly Season 2025 in Review
Christmas Eve Eve Jin, Kath and I go to the Sydney Fish markets. There have been others that joined us but for the last ten or eleven years we have been the core. We have some dinner on the waterfront and then Jin & Kath buy prawns for the festivities. It’s a lovely, fun thing to do and we have usually gone around 10pm but this year we went early, at about 8pm and got to see the sunset. Beautiful.
Christmas Eve we always fill the table with friends and Jin does his famous roast pork with extra crackling. He also bakes a cauliflower. I do the rest of the baked vegetables and salads. This year we had 11 at the table and it was a riotous affair. Loads of stories and catching up. There were presents and booze. It never goes late because 4-5 hours of people is my limit. At about 10.45pm I stood up, thanked everyone and they were gone by 11pm. That meant I could clean the table, run the dishwasher a couple of times, have everything packed away and be in a huge, cool bubble bath by midnight. Heaven.
This year on Christmas Day I did my best but honestly, I really did not want to go to my best friend’s sisters house. She’s a bully, a white-ant-er, a liar and a manipulator. I’ve sat by and smiled while she has undermined and humiliated my best friend for 25 years because my BFF has asked me to keep the peace as the sister uses her daughters as collateral. Just being around this woman is skeevy, makes me want to have a shower. Anyway, we were there 15 minutes and it was already pretty grim and then she started in on Kath. Hello Portia explosion. Not my finest moment. Was basically pushed off the property and told to leave or the police would be called. Oh well. Funny thing is, we had brought most of the food and she threw our cooler bags out with us. So there were about 10 people and we brought the prawns, ham, chicken, pork, potato salad, green salad and green bean salad. Don’t know what they ate but Kath came back to ours and we had a very quiet Xmas lunch that suited us perfectly. Jin is the smart one, as soon as he heard it was at the sisters place he said no, not going. So we came home, had loads of stories, some tears and laughter and generally enjoyed being together (as always)
Jin and I had decided to do nothing this year for New Years Eve. He is on call 24/7 at the moment, covering jobs above him on the railways. Then one of our girlfriends who works at the Sydney Opera House found herself with four spare tickets to House Kitchen. It’s the eatery closest to the very point facing the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour. Jin didn’t want to come so I rounded up three girlfriends and we had the most amazing time. All our food was included and it was very extravagant, delicious finger food. There were bands, singers, DJs and a slew of roving entertainment. All we had to pay for were drinks. AMAZING! We had a table to ourselves, seats all day and night, toilets nearby that were clean right to the end. Seriously, we had the chillest, most comfortable NYE of my life. I was driving so didn’t have much alcohol all night, just a sip of champagne with the girls at midnight, less than two fingers of drink in a flute.
We got a lift back to my car from one of my girlfriends. I felt something sharp poke me hard when I sat down but just moved my ass thinking I’d sat on a pin or coat hanger. Suddenly I felt so tired and really out of it just sitting in the back of the car, my eyes were unfocusing and I was just a little nauseous. It was like drugs but not in a fun way. By the time we got to my car I was just sleepy but opened the windows, drank a bunch of water and felt better, but not quite right. Dropped the girls home, drove to my home, fell into bed. Slept like dead people.
Next morning I wake up with a bad head, super dry throat, my bones aching, joints creaking and I feel pretty rough. My guess at this moment is I’ve got C19. I do a test, negative. Can’t think what’s wrong. About 6 pm though I sit awkwardly on a chair and feel this contusion on my ass. It’s a tender lump about the size of the palm of my hand. I get Jin to have a look and there are two really large holes in my ass, about 1.5cm apart. I’ve been bit by a spider. Yes, I have. No wonder. It takes me three days to properly recover. HA! How wild is that?
Christmas Eve was modern Cabochard by Gres, Christmas Day I wore Sancti by Liquides Imaginaires and NYE Ambre Nuit by DIOR with a couple of swipes of vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait. These were good choices.
So there’s my run down,
Tell me your high and low lights please,
Portia xx
Undina's Looking Glass 
Poor Kath and poor you having to deal with nasty sister. 😞 Glad you got to have a nice meal at home 😊 DH and I just had a quiet holiday at home relaxing.
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The spider 🕷️ bite sounds very scary!
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RR, Jin and my plan was to spend it just the two of us but sometimes you have to leap at chances. Next year will be chill as anything, I think.
Yeah, the spider bite was a bit scary. I’m so glad that’s all it was though.
Portia x
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Portia did the spider bite through your pants? Or were you wearing shorts? It is hard for me to imagine living in the Netherlands where spiders don’t bite humans! I am glad you are ok but wild it is. Your NYE sounds lovely, except for the spider, and how good of Jin to just not go to Kath’s sister.
One of my high lights was my husband on NYE. He said: shall we pretend it is just a normal night? Heaven: an early night after watching a feel good movie. More heaven is Grossmith Diamond Jubilee Bouquet I found and bought quite cheap on the Dutch Ebay equivalent. It is a beautiful powdery iris with hawthorn, a favourite note, in the drydown. I am very happy with it. Also quite a high light is my starting my ‘wear everything I have’ project, inspired by your decant demolition. So far I am enjoying my project a lot, many surprises!
No low lights here, I am glad I am healthy in all departments, as are all those close to me, and I am thankful for my countless blessings.
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That Grossmith sounds wonderful!
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That Grossmith sounds wonderful!
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Hey there Hamamelis,
Yes, through my pants, they were just summer cotton and a pair of undies. I think I must have sat on the poor spider and it was telling me to move.
Jin knew it was going to be disastrous. He’s a clever guy.
WOW! That perfume sounds divine. How exciting to have you along wearing all the things this year. Good luck with it.
Health is the number one blessing. Glad for you and your loved ones,
Portia xx
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Good on you for not tolerating that shitshow with the sister! Sorry about the spider bite, those are not fun and you have so many dangerous creepy crawlies in Oz. We had a very quiet year end here as usual. We watched the Sydney fireworks on TV and they were amazing! You are so lucky.
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You do way more living that I’m use to, Portia. 😉 And yes, spider bites are the worst. I spent a lovely evening with a bottle of chilled sparkling wine and my scent of the day, Rive Gauche pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent. I was feeling a bit nostalgic. Happy New Year!
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Hi there Flaconneur,
We only get one chance so I’m going to do all the things possible.
Your NYE sounds very calm and fragrant. Nice. It’s a perfect time for a little nostalgia.
Hope your 2025 is a good one,
Portia xx
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Portia! I’m so sorry about the spider: I had a couple of spider bites, unfortunately, on my upper body (once on my face!), so I hate spiders with a vengeance! I mean, I do not mind them outside “somewhere there,” but I do not tolerate them in my house or office, and all that nonsense of taking them out trying not to harm stops right there: good spider is a dead spider.
It must have been really bad at the sister’s place for you to lose your cool. Good for you though: from now on you won’t have to struggle with the necessity to go there ever again. If only your friend could do the same! Sometimes relatives are… as spiders that I mentioned above ;)
Holidays this year were good despite everything. Christmas Eve was harder on us since it would have been Rusty’s birthday. But we spent it at our friends’ house: my G-d daughter visited from out of state with her boyfriend, and we all had a great time eating, drinking and exchanging gifts.
New Year we celebrated in a 20+ people multi-generation company. Again, good food, drinks, white elephant gift exchange (we had a theme, Funny or Fuzzy Socks – it was hilarious). We got home around 3 AM, I think. Ormonde Jayne Ta’if parfum + hair mist were a great company.
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Hey Undina,
Thankfully I’m all good now from the spider bite. We used to get bitten as kids by them and get really sick, this one was pretty much over by next afternoon. PHEW!
It was 25 years of watching her belittle, berate and undermine my best friend. Could not hold back. Yes, glad to never see her again.
Glad you got out of the house on Rusty’s birthday. It would have been too sad. All the hugs.
Funny and Fuzzy socks is the best idea ever. Might have to steal it. thank you.
Portia xx
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Sorry you & Kath had to tolerate the sister. I sincerely hope neither of you have to see her ever again.
Biting spiders give me the heebeegeebees after being bitten all up one arm when on holiday in Lanzarote. Those bites took forever to heal.
Can’t plan anything for next year as we have no idea of what will happen to DH.
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Thanks Alityke,
Agreed!
Wow, did you get bitten by a colony? Luckily mine was a single bite.
Of course, fingers crossed for healthiest possible outcomes.
Portia xx
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Thank you my lovely.
I think it was just one evil spider that was hoiking itself up my arm by its fangs!
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GAH! Awful
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The sister sounds rotten, I’m sure she deserved what she got and I’m glad you won’t have to be around her again! Our NYE was busy for us; usually we stay in and make a fancy dinner just for us or us and another couple. This year, we went to two drop-in parties; the second one was next door so we left by their back door and were home in 30 seconds, lol. Very pleasant!
Ugh, I’m sorry about the spider bite! Glad it didn’t get too serious. Highlights of our holidays were, as always, that our kids came home for several days even though they live nearby, and that the newest addition to our extended family, our niece’s 7 month-old daughter, came with her parents to our Boxing Day party. She’s a cheerful, happy baby. We didn’t really have any lowlights, but like Jin, I’ve gotten very good at avoiding people during the holidays who will try my patience.
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Your NYE and silly season sounds PERFECT OH!
Nothing can be done about spiders in Australia, they’re part of our culture.
Should always take my own advice and stay away from toxicity. In my heart I knew going was a mistake.
Portia xx
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Your festive season sounds wild! The decamping on Christmas Day was dramatic, but well recovered, especially as you had most of the food. ;) Luckily we don’t have spiders like that here and I’m glad you are better. Otherwise it all sounded a blast.
On Christmas Eve here a friend hosts a traditional jam night at her house. 25 people packed into her small back room – all musicians except me and one other guest. The playing is of a very high calibre and it went on for five hours non-stop. An internationally known tribute band to Pink Floyd (called Brit Floyd) was amongst the party, so it was like a free gig. ;)
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WOW! You do the COOLEST things Vanessa. Your NYE sounds heavenly.
I may have a flair for the dramatic hidden away somewhere. HA!
Portia xx
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