This week included Valentine's day so I had something to live up to. Last Valentine's day I bought Anne a 2kg (about 4lb) box of Greek Turkish Delight. Anne is very fond of Turkish Delight and the slightly lemony flavour of the stuff I bought her last year was such a big hit that she spun the box out for about 6 months before it was all eaten. I very rarely make much of a hit when I buy presents so I was of course pleased to hit the jackpot with that one.
But where would I buy Greek Turkish Delight this year? The lot I bought last year was a one-off. I did however manage to find some Turkish Delight made in Turkey but I doubted that I would hit the jackpot twice. So I bought a couple of lots of chocolates for her as well. So overall I think I did OK.
To top up I also took her next day to a nearby Japanese smorgasbord for dinner. It was immaculate and perfect in the usual Japanese way with a great variety of food so we both enjoyed it. I was rather surprised at how many young Anglo-Australians were there. It is not a cheap place so Japanese quality is obviously much appreciated.
And Jill also has her birthday next Monday so on Saturday Anne and I took Jill and Lewis to the Hilton Buffet for a birthday dinner. It too was pretty well patronized despite the very steep price. I think the Hilton keeps putting its price up until the customers come in just the right numbers -- popular but not crowded. There is an expression for that in economics which I could have told you in the far-off days when I was an economics teacher but my old brain refuses to co-operate at the moment ("marginal pricing"?). Anyway, I certainly appreciate the quiet decorum and first-class food of the Hilton.
I put on pre-dinner drinks on my verandah before we left for the Hilton in order to introduce Jill and Lewis to a favourite wine of mine -- Tyrrells Verdelho. Verdelho as most vintners make it is nothing special but Tyrrells make something really good out of it. I despise wine-talk so I will not try to describe the flavour.
Then when we got back from the Hilton, we retired to my newly refurbished living room for port and coffee. The port was actually a liquer Tokay, which has a really grapey taste. Liquer versions of Tokay and Muscat are the only fortified wines I drink at the moment.
I once again wore Highland dress to go to the Hilton. I included a dress-shirt in the outfit which took studs instead of buttons but I am so out of practice with such things that it took me 15 minutes just to get my studs and cufflinks in. Getting into Highland dress can definitely take a while. I guess it should help me appreciate the javascript:void(0)complexities that women go through in getting dressed.
