There is still debate about whether there were three or four kangaroos (beautiful specimens they were too) in the paddock we passed on the way home after doing the grocery shop in the neighbouring hamlet of M - because, once again, I failed to locate W'gary ... we know it's around here somewhere but this is the second time I haven't been able to find it.
Research suggests Americans spend 55 minutes a day looking for things they know they own but cannot find. The Latimers average is much better than that! Except when it comes to the letterbox key. May need to learn to disregard what other people say and follow my instincts - or at least look more thoroughly!
"I like doing it at home because you get to air dry on the trampoline rather than watching television at the hotel." So said nine-year-old McKenzie or was it Alice as she talked about being spray-on-tanned at home rather than at the competition venue. This is the same young thing who had been fitted with "flippers" - adult-sized teeth that covered her "baby" teeth - all the better to flash smiles at the judges of the children's beauty pageants in which she was competing. Then there was the four-year-old with atrocious manners who could "turn it on" as soon as she walked on stage, complete with forefingers tweaked on cheeks to emphasise her cuteness (which is exactly why I do it). I always thought you "spat" the dummy when you were having a tantrum, but this young one just asks for it - well, actually, "demands it" would be a more apt description. Makes one wonder what kind of future these girls have in store.
Addiction is probably too strong a word to use for the relationship S is developing with reality television such as the beauty pageant program. Location Location is one thing, but you know that just leads in to American Wife Swap and Celebrity Wife Swap and who knows what else - although if one was not too fearful to check the guide, we could all know what was in store in the coming hours, days and (please no) weeks.
There is nothing as heartwarming as a reunion - and it was like that when Maggie scratched at the screen door late this evening after being on the lam for a day. S let her in and watched as she ran straight to her food - not even waiting to be lifted up to the bowl. She wasn't saying where she had been but she seemed to be in good health, and in good spirits, if a little on the famished side. She (Maggie) happily took up her position on her chair after dinner and settled in for the evening.
Electioneering continues. Enough said. Although we are all waiting for the Debate tomorrow evening - the only one the heads of the major parties are having - to see how the worm turns ... one of the commercial channels is using "the worm" - real time audience polling - to see what the reactions are of men vs women to the Debate. Chances are they will not be debating immigration issues as both parties are ... and it is really difficult to find tolerant measured words to their policies because neither of them is ... so perhaps it is better to say nothing about that or that the Government has put a stay on the processing of Afghani asylum applications until October. Perhaps they would also like to pull Australian troops out of Afghanistan if nobody in power here perceives there is a problem in that country. (What is it they say about not talking about religion and/or politics - although, in this instance, they are probably one and the same.)
And lastly, spare a thought for Austrian pensioner Ursula Corel who was caught trying to buy a Louis Vuitton bag in Jesolo (near Venice). The bag was a fake - which she probably knew because she was trying to buy it for 7 Euro - but that's no reason for local authorities keen to crack down on the counterfeit trade slapping a fine of 1000 Euro ($1450) on her. Moral of the story: if you see someone with high-powered binoculars watching you from a high vantage point if you're traveling through Europe, chances are they're not tourists!
