Where's The Credit Card? II

Very pretty, girly and would look very much at home in my wardrobe - not only the red dress but the very pretty floral number too.

-- Nora

Sweet!

I've started Christmas baking.

The fruit mince is mascerating, gingerbread is done.

The brambrack cake is next as will be the macaroons, almond crescents, Christmas biscuits and fudge.

I might take a little break with a Candy Cane Martini

To make one candy cane martini, mix:
1 1/2 ounces of vanilla vodka
1/2 ounce of peppermint schnapps
1 ounce of club soda
crushed candy canes for garnish

Dip the rim of a martini glass with water, then the crushed candy canes. Mix the vodka, schnapps, and club soda with ice in a cocktail shaker; strain into your prepared glass.

-- Nora

Mrs Peel, We're Needed

Nicky reminded me that I had forgotten another Charles' household Christmas classic - the 1965 Avengers episode Too Many Christmas Trees.

By the time this episode aired on Christmas Day 1965, the playful nature of John Steed and Emma Peel had been established and the early season prickliness between the two characters - a hangover from the earlier seasons with straight-laced Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) - had completely evaporated.

This season marked Diana Rigg's first with the franchise and with her on-screen chemistry with Patrick Macnee and a deft touch to directing by Dennis Spooner, the show became a truly international hit with US audiences fascinated by this piece of television which was part drama, part comedy, part romance, part fantasy.

Enjoy Too Many Christmas Trees:

Cocktails By Request

This is especially for our blog friend Kae, by special request:

Bombay Sapphire Collins
60ml Bombay Sapphire Gin
Fresh squeezed juice from 1 lemon
2 heaped tsp of castor sugar
soda water

Serve with ice in a high ball

This version of a Tom Collins is one of mine and Nicky's favourite cocktails. It's a light and tangy alternative to a gin and tonic and always goes down well during summer.

-- Nora

Cool Breeze

After a warm summer day, it's nice to be experiencing a cool breeze.

And a drink.

Cool Breeze
2 oz vodka
6 1/2 oz lemon soda
1 oz fresh lemon juice

Pour the vodka into a highball glass over 5 ice cubes. Fill with Lemon Perrier, and add the juice extracted from half a lemon. Stir and serve.

-- Nora

Have Yourselves A Merry Little Christmas

Being financially straitened this year, Nick and I are having an austerity Christmas which means no bought gifts and accepting Christmas dinner at the home of some generous friends.

I'm getting my shopping thrills vicariously by taking my elderly grandmother to do her Christmas shopping which I've done for the past three years (which has given me the opportunity to guide gift purchases for members of the family much to their relief).

Nicky and I have pulled out Christmas decorations for the first time in three years and have started watching our Christmas themed viewing:

The Thin Man (naturally!)
It's A Wonderful Life
Meet John Doe
Holiday Inn
How The Ghosts Stole Christmas (episode of The X-Files)
The Big Little Jesus (episode of Dragnet)
of course, no Christmas would be complete without watching Die Hard, which Nicky is delighted has made the cut at number 8 in a list of Britain's favourite Christmas films.

While I wrap my grandmother's Christmas presents for the family, enjoy this cocktail:

Angel's Delight
* 1 oz cream
* 3/4 oz triple sec
* 3/4 oz gin
* 2-3 dashes grenadine

1. Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice cubes.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

-- Nora

UPDATE: Well said Mr Bailey!

It's A Do(o)zy

While we're in a You Tube sharing mood, here's another one.

It's the best five minutes you'll spend today:



Hat Tip to Tim Blair and Ken H.

-- Nora

His Name Makes No Sense

Tee hee,

Who said local government elections had to be boring. This is gold:



Golden Driver
1 fifth tequila
1 orange juice
1 lime
ice cubes
Fill a short glass with ice. Pour the tequila into glass until about half full (. Top off with the OJ. Squeeze a slice of lime into the drink. Enjoy!

-- Nora

Vulgarious (adj)

Nora's 82-year-old Irish grandmother is famous.

Her newly coined word 'vulgarious' made the cut for Urban Dictionary.com.

The definition is thus:

People whose uncouth actions/behaviour are also amusing.

-- Nora

Jane! Stop This Crazy Thing!

From News.com.au:

IT has taken a long time but elements of the Jetson's futuristic lifestyle are finally becoming real.

George's treadmill, which must have appeared ridiculous in 1962, is now an everyday reality.

Rosie the robot maid is not quite here yet, but the Japanese seem to be closing in.

And US company Moller International has put a flying saucer into production that looks remarkably like George's perspex topped transportation.

Test footage can be found here.

Unfortunately, it's not enough for Nick who says that as a comicbook reading kid he was promised a future in which we'd all have our own personal rocket pack.

He's still waiting.

-- Nora

Geek Post Of The Week

The Times Online lists the Top 50 movie robots - complete with links to You Tube clips.

Cool!

-- Nora

Duck!

After going on a worldwide rampage Duckzilla hits Sydney.

Here is an exclusive picture taken by Nick Charles:



-- Nora

Banzai!

Hey, as a sport I think it could really take off.

-- Nora

Better Make It A Double

A man was lucky not be sucked out of a plane when a hosptial emergency flight he was aboard suffered an explosive decompression:

...the flight nurse was transporting a patient to a Seattle hospital aboard a twin-engine piper turboprop. As the plane was cruising at 20,000 feet, the window adjacent to Fogg's right shoulder exploded, causing a drastic change in pressure that sucked him out of the window, headfirst.

It's reminiscent of the dramatic British Airway's flight in 1990 when the jet's cockpit window blew out sucking out the captain. The captain was saved by his quick thinking flight crew who, not knowing whether he was dead or alive, held on to his ankle. He was alive AND conscious.

Suck a lucky escape deserves a drink:

Lucky Double
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 2 oz vodka (mandrin)
Slice the lemon half further into four quarters, and drop into to a mixing glass. Add triple sec and muddle well. Add mandrin vodka and ice, shake well, and pour out into an old-fashioned glass.

-- Nora

Can I Haz A Kitty?

As many people know, Nicky and I try to be fastidious with our spelling and grammar. Nick is more successful at this than me.

However, the English language is ever changing and even incorrectly spelled words when done for a reason can be a valid form of communication.

And, thanks to the Internet, this phenomenon can spread virally - particularly amongst English speakers who in this particular case appear to share in this universal joke.

The joke is I Can Has Cheezburger, a blog which posts cute pictures of animals with captions in a childish voice or English as a second language syntax. For the over 35s think Mind Your Language with animals instead of people and without the racist overtones.

Nick and I came across a variation of this some weeks ago with I Has A Bucket, which has now been adopted into everyday conversation (strangely enough the joke hasn't worn out in our household yet, which may be part of the appeal of this and I Can Has Cheezburger).

So, enjoy this links and smile this Friday with a kitty who may be forced to consider his 'lifetime rating one'.

-- Nora

The Final Frontier

Past:
Aging hippies and Gen X wannabes relive the glory days are fined for breaking into satellite tracking station Pine Gap

Present:
Computer glitches connected with a new power supply cause the International Space Station inhabitants to consider evacuation.

Future:
Researchers have successfully performed another test on a scramjet engine that offers the possibility of jet speeds 10 times faster than today, meaning here to the UK in two hours.

-- Nora

Nick and Nora's Nifty Celebration

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of The Thin Man Returns Blog.

Thank you everyone who's read, left a passing comment, heck, even disagreed with us.

To mark the occasion, Nick and I have started a second blog, Nick and Nora's Nifty Knick-Knacks to share our collection of interesting odds and ends.

We intend to update this regularly, so please check back if all things retro appeal to you.

Cheers!

Champagne Celebration
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz brandy
1 sugar cube
Angostura bitters
4 oz Champagne
Add Cointreau, Brandy and a sugar cube saturated with Bitters to a champagne flute. Fill with your favorite champagne. Garnish with an orange twist.

-- Nora