I had no idea the Walkabout was gone. My only memory of the place is that it’s where I was introduced to the “Snakebite” – half beer/half cider with a purple “S” (blackcurrant syrup) visible in the foam. I’m a little sad that Shepherd’s Bush is no longer the Antipodean capital of London. We saw Paul Kelly play the Empire there in 2001 with what felt like every Aussie in the Northern Hemisphere…

• https://www.traveller.com.au/shepherds-bush-what-happened-to-the-walkabout-pub-and-the-most-australia-suburb-in-london-h1icjv

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Surprise delivery for me?! A lovely Christmas swag box from the AWS dev:Ember team has me feeling quite festive.

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I watched “Tick, Tick… Boom” today and – as a former theatre nerd, RENT-head, and HamilFan – it hit me pretty hard. (I hadn’t been spoiled at all for the “Sunday” number and it blew my damn mind.) It’s about 100x better than that crappy movie version of Rent, and the video footage at the end gave me the same teary chills I’d get when Mark would project his film onto the audience. LMM did a fitting job honouring Larson’s legacy and tragically lost potential.

• https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/tick-tick-boom-easter-eggs

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Christmas is time for sweets! An enormous chocolate babka made by the Snook, and Kaiserschmarrn (Tirolean pancake) made by me!

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In news that will surprise no one, we made way too much food for two people. (Turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted onions, glazed carrots, peas, and gravy for dinner!)

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Merry Christmas! The turkey is thawed, the babka dough is chilling, and the homemade pumpkin pie is baked. Here’s to quiet time, good food, and Netflix with my best friend…

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Almost can’t believe it, but it appears we managed to survive five flights and three weeks in the US without getting infected! We wore masks, limited contact, and avoided crowds wherever possible. I’m sorry to those we didn’t get to see, but I’m really relieved we managed it.

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This whole podcast is great, butI think you’ll love this ep in particular! (I’m happy they mentioned my two faves – “Anna Begins” and “Einstein on the Beach”)

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Dragged my jet-lagged self out of bed for an early morning appointment with Lea at @salonahead. Still tired, but at least I’m red again! It looks like a white Christmas is unlikely, so I’ll have to make do with the frost…

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My first time ever making laksa from scratch!

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I’m happy to report that we managed to keep my little Christmas tree alive for a whole year! (…if you ignore the giant brown spot on the back where he got a bit burnt this summer)

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Happy Gravy Day to my fellow Australians! And thank you to @[764999277:2048:Jody] for recommending this podcast, a deep-dive into this famous 5-minute Aussie Christmas song (without a chorus – but with a gravy recipe – set in a prison!) that ends with a live performance that honestly made me tear up on the way home from the supermarket today.

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Me: What is happening. Why are you doing Dr. Strange hands?

Him: I’m doing yesterday’s #adventofcode and It involves rotating things in space.

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Saying goodbye to the King of Boner Lake. (Does that make me the Princess?) #yesthatswhatitscalled

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Rest assured, Chicago, that ketchup was only for the fries.

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Stargazing. We tried to find Comet Leonard but we got too cold. We saw Venus (as a crescent!), the moons of Jupiter, and craters on the Moon!

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