Sunday, October 31, 2010

Day 104 (Saturday)

Saturday ... and Coffee Sisters with Pearl where she was soon joined by another red dog who looked very much like her from the back but may have been carrying a little more around the tummy. We think the games of ball with Pearl have provided some good exercise and routine for her over the Winter months and it will be interesting to see if she still remains as keen now the weather is getting warmer.

Just for a change we decided to do a walk around Pacific Fair shopping centre today - leaving M to take Pearl for a walk around the dog park by herself - because it was going to be a bit hot for S. Alas, no amount of air conditioning and retail stimulation could replace the splendor of the flowering gum M found at park's entrance. It reportedly smelled magnificent as well and depending on how we go for time tomorrow (the last day of my holidays) we may take a run - by which I mean "drive" - in there to check it out.

Pacific Fair hasn't really changed that much from when we used to come to the Gold Coast for holidays. It has some different shops and outlets of course but it still has the same feel to it. As Brett from Mudgee (he stayed at the Montego Motel at the same time as us one year) said it was the biggest shopping centre he had ever seen. That was a few years ago now and it has been surpassed in size by Robina and Harbourtown, and probably others, but it is still a favorite, especially now that there is a Kathmandu there. We were restrained in the retail therapy stakes although S did manage to bag a Manchester bargain with a doona cover, fitted sheet and pillow cases set for under $20 at one of the sales.

Back at Latimers, the squabbling over the nest doesn't seem quite as constant but it hasn't stopped completely. I can't see whether there are still five chicks but it does make it difficult for the parent birds to feed any of them when they are constantly trying to defend the nest.

We were so busy doing other things today that a visit to the tip seems to have fallen off the list. We'll have to do that (hmmm ... chainsaw? To cut up the branches of the tobacco tree?) and it's time I learnt how to drive the tractor. Tomorrow would be a good day to do that especially if it's going to be cool and a little overcast - no rain need apply!

We had a wonderful night out tonight - but we had better be careful given this is our second Saturday night out in a row ... we don't want to be setting any precedents though. Unless they are all enjoyable as this evening. We went in to Jupiters Casino for the Food Fantasy seafood buffet and then for a spot of gaming - not including watching the football on the screens set up throughout the restaurant! It was wonderful and a great way to spend the last night on my holidays where I can stay up late (without feeling guilty).

We all came home tired but happy including Beazley who was wandering down the lane as we were coming in. Tinky was being her usual stay-out self and chose not to come in with the others - and it was after midnight by the time M finally coaxed her in. How did this little cat get to be so headstrong?

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Day 103 (Friday)

It dawned bright and sunny in Toowoomba - and without an early morning visit from W - although she did call in at a more sensible hour - just as we were finishing breakfast. She was on her way to an Open Day with her work and she was running early so she and a colleague decided to call in for a cuppa.

Then we were off on a shopping expedition with Mum - who is in the middle of a couple of projects including trying to find a way to keep the local possum from eating her rose buds. Given that possums are nocturnal creatures, she believes that putting some low wattage solar lights on the same level as the buds will discourage the possum and preserve her flowers - at least until they blossom and she can take some photographs of them. But how to get the lights on the same level? Mount them on dowel ... so off we went to Bunnings to get some and have it cut to the right length. And to have a look at chain saws - who knew how heavy they were or that they come in petrol or electric - and push mowers (without motors).

Not content with that, we also went in search of labels for spice bottles which you would think would be one of the easiest things to find - but not so. I will have a look on the interweb and see if I can find any.

Oh, and the other thing I managed to do was find a couple of pairs of footwear for work - I'd say "shoes" but one pair is sandals which I don't usually wear but I decided it was time to try something different - with the decision even better since I was given a 30% discount on my purchases.

S and Mum were very patient with my shopping - as they were yesterday when I was in search of work shirts. I think I have everything now so there is no excuse for not going back to work on Monday.

The drive back to the Coast wasn't bad although we did pass a couple of accidents on the way - one with four or five ambulances in attendance. And because there had been a four-car pile-up at Robina earlier in the afternoon, traffic was slow again on the Nerang-Mudgeeraba stretch although this time it was slow from Helensvale which is further up the highway.

Of course, on the way down we stopped at Sprengers for carrots for Hermes and for L's horses. We just have to remember to take them out of the car.

Tonight was dinner at Mouse's which was a very low key affair but still very enjoyable. I'm not sure what the combination of beans (and seven other vegetables) and cabbage means for later on but it was very delicious at the time.

Em was glad to see us back and only did the usual back-turning thing that cats do - but only for a few moments - before coming out for a drink of outside water (truly much better than inside water) and a wander on the grass, and then a little sit on the table. That's something that both she and Maggie have started doing of late with no clues yet as to why. We suspect it might be because there are fleas about - and from Pearl's allergy we known she's had some - but the cats seem to have escaped mostly unscathed. Let's hope it stays that way!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Day 102 (Thursday)

What's that they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men? After a final last effort, I managed to get the car out the driveway an hour after our scheduled departure time .. all I can think of is that I was having such a good time at Latimers, I didn't want to leave. Part of the good time did not include watching the swallows - they were again squabbling over the nest.

It was a decent drive up to Toowoomba - and I made it a point to check out some stretches of the highway to make sure what their speed limits are - watching for roadside signs and also checking with Gomez the GPS.

We stopped at The Coffee Club at Plainlands (about 40 minutes out of Toowoomba) and had a very enjoyable toast and coffee (tea for S). From there we phoned my mother to give her our estimated time of arrival and she decided that she would ask her sister to take her down to the vets to collect her recently (yesterday) desexed puppy - Pippa. She seems to have come through with little distress and it's all Mum can do to make her be calm.

There has been decluttering happening here and we took Mum and several bags-full of donations to the LifeLine "opportunity shop". While we were there, we also had a look to see what they had - and we remembered the time when I had been visiting Toowoomba before having a holiday on the Gold Coast and, as the unit where we were planning to stay had tennis courts - we bought some cheap racquets so we could practice our tennis. Many an afternoon Dad and I went out the front of their house in Winifred Street and played "street tennis". I can't know remember why we chose to do that rather than just going to a tennis court - especially given how hard it was to convince my niece and nephew to be ball catchers - so they could fetch stray balls - and there were a few.

I finally got one of my other wishes today - which was to have a game of 10-pin bowling. Strangely enough, it was a virtual game on a whiz-bang television set that my aunt had won in a golf-related competition where you had to ring in and leave your name and if your name was pulled from the barrel first - you won! I had two goes at the bowling - the first turn saw 5 pins dropped and then I completely missed the balls on the second throw; on the second turn I hit 9 pins down with the first bowl, and managed to take the spare with my next shot. I was stoked and decided to call it quits then, especially as no-one else seemed keen to have a go.

Tonight was a barbecue with Mum, my sister and her family including Baby M. You haven't seen a kid as happy as when she's clutching a sausage in her hand and chewing on it - on the side of her mouth that doesn't have her single tooth. It was a good night and we all went home tired but happy - and were tucked up and in bed by 9.30 - ready to do it again tomorrow (and almost hoping that sister W doesn't show up at 5.30am in the morning as suggested).

Day 101 (Wednesday)

Another wonderful day here at Latimers! Except for the continuing squabble over the swallows nest which is becoming increasingly violent with blood being drawn by one of the interlopers through mid-air collision and peck. Nature can truly be harsh and despite checking on the interweb and asking around it seems as though it is best that we humans don't intervene and just let them sort it out themselves. But it isn't easy to watch - except Tink doesn't seem to mind waiting below the nest ... although we're not quite sure what she's expecting to happen.

As it is Wednesday, we followed the usual S and M routine which included leaving the house at around 9 to go to Zarrafa's at Carrara for a coffee and a raisin toast, and then into Broadbeach for Guidedog Bingo. You don't actually play with Guidedogs but it is held for the Guidedog's benefit with all proceeds going to their care and training. It is a good cause and great fun - especially when you are on a lucky table and everyone wins a prize including the woman who came for the first time today.

Then it was over to the Casino for a Bite of lunch - and a swipe of Rewards cards to go into the lucky prize draw - drawn on the hour and if your name comes out of the barrel and you reach the promotional spot in under 3 minutes, you win $500 Casino Dollars. (We didn't.) Then, with the money we saved by having lunch at Bite, we had a go at some of the gaming opportunities offered by the Casino ... and what's that they say "the house always win" - and we weren't about to argue with popular lore today.

Then it was back to Latimers - via the supermarket - well, supermarkets since S and M went to Coles and I went to Aldi to check out what specials might be on at the moment and those which would be starting tomorrow. You just have to love Aldi - bargain of the day - an iPad cover for $4.99.

Today was the opening of the new Myer store at Robina and M went off with Mouse and A to attend. It was apparently incredibly busy but there were some decent bargains to be had - making the crowds almost bearable if you didn't mind waiting in long queues to purchase your merchandise.

For dinner - something special - Worongary Chinese - and while most of it was fantastic, I really do need to learn (and quickly) that long and short soup is something best eaten immediately - otherwise it turns a bit gluggy.

The kids were all in before-time this evening and we all settled in for an early night because S and I are off to Toowoomba in the morning. I am hoping to get a fairly early start to beat the Brisbane and the school traffic.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Day 100 (Tuesday)

More holidays - and I am having a wonderful time. Today we finally made it out to the open sea to do a spot of whale watching. We had booked a tour with SeaWorld who have been advertising on television. Luckily they had some open spots for today as we are fast running out of holiday - especially as we are still planning a quick trip to Toowoomba later in the week.
The added bonus of the SeaWorld choice was the option of a Combo ticket for not that much more which included entry to SeaWorld as well.

We went out on the morning tour on the Migaloo - named after the white whale calf spotted off the Coast here a few years back. (M was telling us that the first person to sight Migaloo was a family friend.) It was a glorious day for it - slightly overcast with a light sea breeze and a 1-metre swell. We chose to ignore the minor seasickness warning but did make a small concession to it by making sure S, already slightly queasy from her various Lurgy medications, had some Travacalm to give her the best possible chance of not succumbing to motion sickness. And boy - was it fun! Once we were out there the boat was bucking up and down - and in a moment I had an even greater appreciation of those who sail - and walk around in ships - in mountainous seas. And we were fortunate enough to see some whales and a pod of dolphins - and even luckier when they announced we would be staying out a little longer than planned to maximise our whale experience.

As we sat, drifting and waiting for the whales to surface, I found myself thinking of that hit movie of the mid-1970s and how the shark hunters of Jaws sat waiting for the great white to appear. And I thought of all those whalers, especially when there were only sailing ships and how much more of a chance whales had in those days and how it would be good if whales weren't hunted at all. Or that people could be more responsible and careful with their rubbish and old fishing tackle: so birds and other sea creatures don't get entangled. Luckily our tour crew spotted some birds in trouble and scooped them up for return to SeaWorld. In all, there were tour terns tangled in fishing line and hooks and hopefully the rescue folk will be able to save them.

Then it was back to SeaWorld for us as well for lunch and to spend some quality time with the polar bears, sharks and dolphins - and to catch the Pirate Show! They certainly provide a wonderful experience and we came home tired and happy knowing there are such dedicated wildlife professionals at work here. I was also very happy with the photographs I had managed to snap during the day including my favourite of six dolphins flying through the air - part of an excellent Dolphin show.

Meanwhile, back at Latimers ... Uncle R had arrived and worked throughout the day with M to trim and tidy and tractor and mow around the property. They also checked the bananas and gave the lemon tree a good trimming because it really was starting to be a bit ... bushy - but boy did it produce a lot of fantastic fruit this season.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Day 99 (Monday)

Well, one could get very used to this holidays thing quite quickly. Notwithstanding the early start to get S to the doctor to follow-up on "the Lurgy" it has been a very relaxing day with a lazy breakfast in Nerang followed by a full day of playing (for me, S went home to bed) at the Robina shopping centre. I'm not usually one for getting lost in retail therapy - unless electronics are involved - but I was a person on a mission - looking for "a look" for when I start the "new" job next week. I was mostly successful - I now have pants a-plenty - it's just the shirts and shoes I'm falling behind on. But there is still time. As a reward, I did allow myself drooling time in the Apple Store there and managed to exit without spending considerable amounts - in fact, nothing came home with me except some advice from the Genius Bar about deleting photographs en masse.

On the way home, responding to the call from S's sickbed for more lemonade and bread, I decided to get them at the elusive Worongary - armed with the knowledge from both J and M that it was easy to find - turn left instead of right at the showground. And there it was - right where they said it would be. I still put down a trail of breadcrumbs though lest it be just an apparition.

The Latimers mower remains silent although the same cannot be said for L's. He and the Mrs are off to Melbourne for The Cup later in the week so he's probably doing his best to catch up with the grass while he has the opportunity. Uncle R is coming back this way tomorrow and he is going to have a go at bringing the mower back to life so we can get to the grass which is growing longer by the day. But it gives the plovers a place to play and hide.

There are some more swallows harassing the ones currently using the nest and sitting out there is sometimes like being in the middle of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". There is swooping and calling and a general state of flurry which can't be at all good for putting those little chicks at ease.

Emma has started going outside again and as well as eating grass, and drinking from the big water bucket, she is now making e effort to go over under the nest and smell the bird droppings that have fallen into the newspaper. For a cat with poor eyesight she seems to have a very advanced state of smell.

Maggie is intriguing us at the moment by taking up a position sitting on the bench in the laundry - and not really moving from there. M isn't quite sure why that is, except that Maggie can display odd behavior sometimes without ever giving any real reason. This may be one of those times.

We had a nice surprise yesterday afternoon when L arrived with a huge dish full of freshly caught, cooked and cleaned crabs. They were absolutely magnificent and it was a fitting tribute to the youngsters participating in Junior MasterChef that we ate as we watched them compete for places in the Final 8.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Day 98 (Sunday)

What is "Mrs" short for? It's something that I've never thought about until I saw the sign (for the umpteenth time but obviously I actually looked at it this time) for the "Groper and his Misses". Hmmm, that didn't sound right. That's something that will bear looking up.

Up early this morning for the weekly Skype call with T and then off to the "Summer" Farmers Markets. M and S had gone earlier to meet up with the others and I followed when I was able. They had already finished coffee and banana cake by the time I arrived but there was still time for a quick natter before M, N and A left.

Surprisingly, we didn't do that much actual marketing. As S said when I indicated to her empty bag, since we had both been lurgy-bound last week, we hadn't managed to make it through last week's produce so she thought we could concentrate on that for a start and then do fresh fruit and vegetable shopping as needed. It seemed like a good idea.

The group at the Markets gets bigger and smaller, depending on who's around, but last week there was a new face - and this week she brought her husband along as well. S and I weren't sure if they were new starters or folk who had been away and then come back ... But it seems they are "new" and had known someone at the table last week and even though they weren't here this week, had joined in and then (she says, seemingly and rather uncharitably) proceeded to dominate the conversation. Ah well, maybe she will have calmed down by next week - or found other people to play with.

Post-markets we did a quick detour via JB Hi-Fi but left there with no new purchases, then via the Carrara pharmacy to have a prescription filled for S, then lunch at the aforementioned "Groper and His Misses". It was nice, as always, but perhaps not quite as nice as the Ferry Road Markets. Butnback to Mrs ... according to the inter web, Mrs is short for Mistress but not "mistress" as in "the other woman" but Mistress as in a woman with some power. It's suggested this date backs to Colonial times but in the source I was using, it also said there was no reference to it in Colonial times - so it's a little hard to know for certain. You have to love the English language.

Beasley was trying to show off last night. It had started raining again and despite the adverse conditions he had managed to hunt down and capture a small creature with which to impress his mother. M was on the phone with her sister at the time so did her best to acknowledge his catch of the day so he could be separated from it. Luckily M is good at multi-tasking.

Even though I wanted to stay up late, S has an early appointment with her doctor in the morning and since we want to go whale-watching later in the week, we have to make sure she is as well as possible for that - so an early night was had by all again here at Latimers.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Day 97 (Saturday)

M was off bright and early this morning - just leaving as I was getting up. I had decided that since it's the weekend and I have the next week off, I was going to indulge myself with a few sleep-ins starting today - and I got off to a great start.

S was also up and I took the opportunity to reinforce the concept that it was time to visit the doctor - which she agreed to. After a couple of phone calls we found a surgery which had an available appointment this morning.

As we were getting ready to leave M phoned to say she had a spare ticket for the V8 races, but the last bus to the site was at 11.30. Sigh. There was no way we could make that and still do S's doctors appointment so with heavy heart we declined - given the choice, I wanted S to be better for tonight's dinner at N and S's place. S was looking forward to it too and if she at least could talk and eat she would be a starter.

So - definitely the doctor and we had time for a quick breakfast in Nerang - although S wasn't really able to swallow much but she did make a valiant attempt at the scrambled eggs - before going to the surgery.

For a short visit - S thinks she was in there for all of three minutes (I would have been able to confirm that had I not been dozing on one of the waiting room couches) - it was very productive. She was prescribed some anti-inflammatory spray with an analgesic for her throat, some antibiotics which she will only use if it appears the infection is moving to her chest, and told to switch to a paracetemol-based pain killer.

By this afternoon she was a little more like her old self and when J came to visit S emerged for a cuppa and a piece of Lillian's fruit cake - and it is very good fruit cake.

We have decided to defer our planned trip to Toowoomba until later in the week to give S a chance to fully recover from the lurgy.

She had recovered enough though to go out for dinner and we had a lovely evening with S and N, their niece Lucy, F, M and S and I. It was a relatively early start to the evening as both F and S are early risers - which means they tend to flag earlier in the evening. We had a tagine for dinner, with cous cous, followed by pear, chocolate sauce and ice-cream for dessert. They followed it with an absolutely amazing walnut liqueur which had been liberally dosed with star anise giving it a wonderful aniseed flavour. Totally yummy.

We were home well before midnight so I took the opportunity of being on holidays to stay up late and watched classic crocodile film "Lake Placid" again (I've lost count of how many times I've seen it - not enough obviously because I didn't remember what had happened). Beasley watched it with me and he wasn't scared at all!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Day 96 (Friday)

Pearl has become computer literate. She sent me an e-card today telling me she was ready to play! I think she may have had some help from her mother but it was a lovely surprise even if she only wanted a short play. All that typing and popping in a picture of herself must have worn her right out.

S is still down with the lurgy and at this rate it isn't going to leave her quickly. She has agreed, though, that if she isn't feeling substantially better tomorrow, then she will go to the doctor. Unfortunately, when she agreed to this this evening, it was too late to make an appointment with one so we'll have to chase one up in the morning.

M went off with F and Mouse tonight to a cocktail party for the launch of the GC600 V8 motor race which is being held on the Coast over the next couple of days. It is a big event and parking is obviously at a premium because they have converted part of the Gold Coast Showgrounds over to parking - and it is a way away from the circuit. M posted photographs on FaceBook of F and some young thing - who she later explained wasn't just a "young thing" but the student who had boarded with F and M some time ago. She is an Indy Girl (I think that's what they're called) helping to promote the GC600. The other photo she had of huge plastic balls - with a person in each - in the pool - looked stunning.

Back here at Latimers, the rest of us were having a fairly quiet night ... in bed by not much after 8.30pm. The kids wanted to go out and as it was too early for lock down - I thought I'd leave them go for a while, try to stay awake and then bring them in a bit later. That wasn't to be. For some reason, at the end of a long week, and probably because I still have a bit of my own lurgy hanging around all I could do was fall asleep on the couch - not sure what it was I thought I was going to watch on television - and then drag myself off to bed not that long after.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Day 95 (Thursday)

The lurgy lingers and has flattened S quite convincingly. M is unscathed. I acknowledge its presence but am not giving in to it - except for that one day and the purchase of numerous over-the-counter cold and flu reliefs.

I'm not sure who is being the better nurse - Em who is lying at the foot of the bed so S can't move (although she probably finds the foetal position quite comforting) or on her pillow so there is no room for her head - or M whose ministrations include making sure fluids are kept up and making chicken noodle soup for S. I'm keeping S supplied with tuck-ins (although it's difficult to get this right when someone is alternating between boiling and freezing), TLC and cat duties (M is helping with this too).

And there's plenty of time to be doing this looking after because the latest word from the back yard here at Latimers is that there's something wrong with the mower! I don't think it's caught the lurgy too but it definitely isn't well - and may be something to do with the fan belt or the drive or ... hmmm, maybe it's time to do that mechanics course. Anyway, that won't happen in time for the summer of grass so M is going to call someone to come and diagnose and fix the problem. Of course, to add insult to injury, Bernie was out mowing his paddocks this afternoon even into the twilight, using the mower headlights to get in that little bit of extra mowing time. And it was a lovely evening for it with an almost full moon rising gracefully from behind the river gums. Even S managed to get off her sickbed to come and admire nature's handiwork. As did Em who took a lap around the yard - and a few laps out of the water bucket and the dog with a dish for it's middle - before making a bee-line for the front gate where I was waiting to cut her off at the pass. S had warned me that she, Em, was in a more explorative mood these days and had no hesitation in trying to escape from the yard. I'd be happy to let her have more of a wander but with her failing eyesight and her recent propensity to hypos, it just seems politic to keep her close. She can wander around the yard when one of us is there to keep an eye on her (without being distracted by whatever might be in the camera lens). For an old cat she can move fairly quickly.

Everyone was in early tonight and even I was ready to go at 8:30 - which felt like a couple of minutes before or after midnight. But I did get to play technology with M - trying out an amazing application called Bump where you can transfer information between devices by bumping them together (but not too hard!) - and I finally managed to find the files I had promised someone for tomorrow - so ... off to bed ready to do it all again on the morrow.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Day 94 (Wednesday)

The lurgy has come to Latimers, felling both S and me (or should that be I ... I'm still feeling the aftereffects otherwise I would be able to make a decision about that). S is still in bed, alternating between being boiling hot and freezing cold, but Em is there to nurse her and offer her comfort. I have dragged myself out of my sickbed to go to work - my last day on the pipeline project - because I'm feeling a bit better and because I know if I don't get this done I'll need to come back next week - and I really want to have next week off. There are plans! Toowoomba, Dreamworld and the tigers, whale watching ... hopefully S will be well enough to come too!

Even though it was fine over parts of the Coast yesterday, it was raining quite heavily at Latimers in the morning. I can't comment about the rest of the day because I was asleep for most of it - finally emerging after sunset and dinner cookie time to have a hot drink and something to eat. It's amazing how good a nurse Em is - when I did wake up she was on the bed, not far away, and she'd come over for a cuddle or to lay on top of me. She's feeling the cold a bit more these days and her favourite position is down at the bottom of the bed at S's feet, so she can't actually stretch out. I keep suggesting we change sides - since I'm shorter and am used to sleeping like a pretzel around Em - but she won't make the change.

I dreamt of snakes yesterday (sometimes a snake is just a snake). I was getting someone to teach me how to handle them - and how to get used to seeing them so I won't panic when I see one in real life. Because if one is unlikely enough to get bitten, it's only a matter of time before the powers-that-be disband the 000 emergency number; they were talking about it on the radio today, saying that because 40% of calls to the number were not emergency calls or were hoax calls, they were thinking of shutting it down. There was some suggestion that people should use the 112 emergency number - which is supposed universal from a mobile phone - but wouldn't people who have been abusing the 000 number just ring the other one instead? (I am reminded of the episode of the IT Crowd where the emergency services change their number from 999 to some very long number - and give people a jingle to sing to help them remember it. Suffice to say that when the time came to ring it, the call went through to someone in a faraway land rather than to emergency services; although they were raised quite successfully with the sending of an email.)

Tink was us to her naughty tricks tonight when she didn't come in when called. It was funny, though, because she almost came in a couple of times before she did her disappearing act. Perhaps we could call her Houdini instead?

We have now heard that the Great K achieved a High Credit mark for his thesis and has been told that if he wants to do some more work on it, he can move towards having it published. In the meantime, a huge basket of flowers and fruit arrived yesterday to all of us as a "thank you" from the Great K's folks. It was truly magnificent.

Mowing has been happening all over the valley with the verges of the lane way now being clipped to a very respectable level. Uncle R was due to come this morning to do some things around the place but as it was raining when he called to check, he's been rescheduled to another day. I do miss his whipper-snippering though. It just finishes off the job - helping make Latimers look as good as it can.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Day 93 (Tuesday)

We are being spoilt for sunshine which is a lovely change. Someone commented that they had never seen the sky this blue before but I think it may be that it truly is so long since we've had a good few days of sunshine that they may have forgotten that the sky isn't merely blue but displays a wide range of colours (all blue - although it is said that in ancient Roman times, the sky was pink) and depths.

Hermes is home - and it's wonderful to hear M talking to him over the fence and occasionally singing to him as well - just as she sings to Pearl - although she sings them different songs.

It's as good as the birdsong on the property - of which there is much. I did an early shift at work yesterday - in at 7 out by 3.30 - so I arrived him to Latimers in bright light. I tossed up whether or not to jump on the mower and do some laps of the yard or the Hermes top paddock but decided that if Hermes was to coming back then he would need some grass to munch on.

So I hopped on the camera instead to take some shots of the nesting birds. There are three nests with hatchlings - the swallows, wagtails and another lot of black and white birds which I am at a loss to identify. They are all amazing especially the willie wagtails who do everything they can to draw your attention away from their nest. I'm not entirely sure they don't have a second, "dummy" one to fool other people and birds.

There were some amazing golden parrots sitting on L's fence - the real reason I pulled the camera out - but they were gone by the time I came back out.

A balloon passed very close overhead at Latimers this morning. We've had a few now and because of that I should recognize the sound they make when they're burning gas. It's like a loud whooshing noise but not quite. We raced out to see it ... but not so quickly that we didn't remember that if we could see them they could see us - and since one of us was just out of the shower it was politic to throw something on. Otherwise they might want to add a visit to Latimers for every flyover.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Day 92 (Monday)

I was fairly tired when I went to bed last night because as I was doing Saturday's entry I ended up writing gibberish which I had to go back and correct this morning. I haven't been that tired for a while - you know the kind - where you know you are too tired to be doing something (hopefully not driving lest it turn into that joke: when I go I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather not screaming in terror like his passengers) and you know you are falling asleep but you persist even though you are failing. Badly. But at least the iPad didn't fall off the bed.

Latimers was in darkness when I returned home this evening but Pearl and S raced out to give me a lovely greeting. She was in the middle of cooking dinner while M was working quietly on her special project although she did interrupt herself to get the rice ready as she helped S. Hopefully there will be leftovers for lunch although if it is good as it usually is this might fall into the miracle category - but miracles do happen - as evidenced by the canonization of Sister Mary Mackillop at the Vatican over the weekend. This is Australia's first Saint and probably a good Catholic would be able to reveal the nature of the two miracles that led to her "qualifying" for sainthood. But Wikipedia works as well and both cases were women who were cured of cancer - one in 1961 the other in 1993. Both were in Rome for the ceremony.

The river at the Crossing must be up tonight. As I was about to cross, a car coming from the other direction stopped in the middle of the bridge. While I couldn't see what they were looking at - it was dark by then - they had stopped in a position which would allow them to see the river level. They were still parked there as I drove away around the corner at least until I couldn't see them any more. Hopefully the bridge will still be there in the morning (I may have been watching too many horror/thriller movies of late).

Uncharacteristically, everyone was in early tonight - so much so that when supper cookie time finally arrived, and we were going into "lock down" Maggie decided it was time to go out and she did manage to escape before being coaxed (as in "carried") in a short while later. At least she isn't as elusive as Tink when she decides she wants to be out.

And speaking of out, Hermes is still on holidays over the fence so it will be interesting to see if we can get to his other paddock with the mower before his return.

The sky is still clear enough for us to do moon-viewing in the evenings here at Latimers. Now if I could just get someone to explain how the different phases of the moon work ...

Day 92 (Monday)

I was fairly tired when I went to bed last night because as I was doing Saturday's entry I ended up writing gibberish which I had to go back and correct this morning. I haven't been that tired for a while - you know the kind - where you know you are too tired to be doing something (hopefully not driving lest it turn into that joke: when I go I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather not screaming in terror like his passengers) and you know you are falling asleep but you persist even though you are failing. Badly. But at least the iPad didn't fall off the bed.

Latimers was in darkness (the lights were on but the sun had gone down long before) when I returned home this evening but Pearl and S raced out to give me a lovely greeting. She was in the middle of cooking dinner while M was working quietly on her special project although she did interrupt herself to get the rice ready as she helped S. Hopefully there will be leftovers for lunch although if it is good as it usually is this might fall into the miracle category - but miracles do happen - as evidenced by the canonization of Sister Mary Mackillop at the Vatican over the weekend. This is Australia's first Saint and probably a good Catholic would be able to reveal the nature of the two miracles that led to her "qualifying" for sainthood. But Wikipedia works as well and both cases were women who were cured of cancer - one in 1961 the other in 1993. Both were in Rome for the ceremony.

The river at the Crossing must be up tonight. As I was about to cross, a car coming from the other direction stopped in the middle of the bridge. While I couldn't see what they were looking at - it was dark by then - they had stopped in a position which would allow them to see the river level. They were still parked there as I drove away around the corner at least until I couldn't see them any more. Hopefully the bridge will still be there in the morning (I may have been watching too many horror/thriller movies of late).

Uncharacteristically, everyone was in early tonight - so much so that when supper cookie time finally arrived, and we were going into "lock down" Maggie decided it was time to go out and she did manage to escape before being coaxed (as in "carried") in a short while later. At least she isn't as elusive as Tink when she decides she wants to be out.

And speaking of out, Hermes is still on holidays over the fence so it will be interesting to see if we can get to his other paddock before his return.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Day 91 (Sunday)

The sun was up before us this morning - although we weren't that far behind. It was a glorious day - wonderful to be alive and to drink in the warmth of Spring although, that being said, it was actually a little chilly in the wind - and there was one.

The Markets were good fun although everyone else was there by the time I arrived (I had been doing a Skype call and suggested S and M go on ahead and I would meet them there). S bagged some good bargains and seemed to be having a good time. The coffee (thanks Mouse) was scrumptious - you know how some days it's just better than others - and there was a good crowd at the table to talk to, including young N who has taken a job as an analyst in Canberra and leave in just under a month to take up her role there. She will be missed!

After the Markets (did I mention that the potato man - David - is currently off in the Northern Territory working on a "life skills" program with indigenous folk there) we made a change to our normal routine (okay, we still went to JB Hi-Fi) and joined M, Mouse and F for lunch at the Ferry Road Markets. Yum. They have a lovely selection of shops there too including "The Tea Specialist" which is probably where I'm going to buy my next "tea cup" from. It's funny how we get attached to certain vessels for drinking out of, isn't it? I know lots of people can just use whatever cup there is but for others, it's not so simple. It has to be the right shape, the right density, the right volume. And, of course, it can vary, too, depending on the beverage.

I missed Hermes in his paddock today when I finally managed to get on the mower and go down to do the "bottom two". And when I say "missed" I mean that he wasn't there so I didn't have to keep looking for where he was so I could mow around him rather than "I didn't run into him with the mower". He was in the yard over, though, and did seem interested in what was going on in "his" paddock.

It was a little wet in the very bottom one and while I managed not to get bogged there are some furrow marks to show where it could have happened - but at least you can see them now the grass is at a more manageable level. And yes, there was that "ah" Colorbond moment - and despite a snake having been seen on the property, I did stop the mower to savor the moment. It was easy to do too, because I had already had to actually get off the mower earlier when it "caught" in the rough. (Sounds like golf!)

As twilight approached, S and I sat out the front, me writing, S listening to the radio, and waiting for M and Pearl to return from their power walk to the road (and back). We're fairly sure that there are new hatchlings in the swallow (yes, swallow) nest again - which would mean it really had not been empty for a day since the last lot hatched. We never were able to tell if three or four were in that clutch - or how many might be in the new one. There are also some nests on the go in the tree near the front gate and it will be interesting to see when those little ones emerge. Yes, it's a special time to be at Latimers! Even the cats think so because they spend a fair amount of time out under that tree - and don't even seem to mind or be deterred when they get swooped for their efforts.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Day 90 (Saturday)

Road trip! We all piled into the car with Mouse for a day-trip to Toowoomba. She and M were off to a reunion which was being held there instead of in the town the reunion was actually for - probably because the trip there couldn't comfortably be done in a day. We were grateful of the spare seats in the car because that meant we could visit my family and perhaps the Red Rose Cafe, also in Toowoomba, which is famous for its spring rolls. The other Rose Cafe we passed along the way was the Rose Cafe at Marburg. Marburg is also home to an Emu (products) farm - you can see emus from the highway but we don't like to think too much about their fate.

Besides coffee, the one stop we had to make was at Sprengers for carrots for Hermes. He is still agisting with the neighbours but it's good to have them for when he comes home - which could be any day now.

It was sad leaving home this morning because the sun was shining brightly - not bad weather for a road trip - but it would have been even better weather for mowing. But that will come soon enough because tomorrow is scheduled to be fine. And it better be because it's markets day again and we have to get there earlier because the markets are now on Summer time - which means they open and close an hour earlier!

The country on the way to Toowoomba was quite wet with dams in paddocks overflowing so much that in some places there seemed to be little paddock left. The road was pretty bad with a repeat of Latimers potholes. It was just as well M was keeping a safe distance from the car in front or it would have been very difficult to spot the pot holes in time to steer around them.

The police did not seem to be out in force except for the start of the Logan Motorway on the way back where several cars and a bike had been selected for special attention - the very kind of attention we can do without.

On the vehicle front, I have now received another toll evasion notice - this one from one of the tolled tunnels in Sydney on 14 September ... which is all well and good except neither Lars nor his number plates were in Sydney that day. The Queensland toll people are much more organized and send you a photograph of your car being a criminal. (I will be contesting the Sydney one and hopefully the hoops will be not too difficult to jump through.)

Otherwise all is well at Latimers.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Day 89 (Friday)

The end of another week here at Latimers where we have been able to see some more sunshine, M has been able to do a little more mowing and it's Friday night dinner - which has to be one of my most favourite times of the week - and this week is no exception. Everyone was in good form - especially F who still seems to be missing his wife who, only today, was popping over to Macedonia for a coffee. More tomorrow.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Day 88 (Thursday)

It's been a while since we have been to dinner on Trivia Night at the Local - but there we were tonight - and the Emcee gave us a really big enthusiastic welcome - even though she knew that we don't play. Attendance is down a little which she thought was either due to her (unlikely) or that there are a heap of other trivia nights now on offer in the area. But is was fun to be there again and to answer questions knowing we wouldn't publicly be putting our trivia knowledge on the line. S is very good at it though - and any team would be lucky to have her. Hmmm ... maybe we can start farming her out for a fee as the "trivia secret weapon".

By the time I arrived home this afternoon, Pearl, all fresh from a bath and dry-off, had already had the ball thrown to her a few times so wasn't particularly interested in doing it again. But, true to form, she did race out to meet me at the car when I drove in to let me know she hadn't forgotten me. And, in a change from the normal, she didn't have either the moose or the ball with her - it was a squeaky football toy tonight.

After the reports of the UFO here yesterday, I should have been ready for tonight's sighting ... the moon - which hasn't been visible for some time. It would have been nice if it had been full moon - it's about half moon - but it was great to see it again. "The moon is in the sky." Someone used to say this when they were a child - and both S and I remember it as being someone different. Maybe they both said it.

The massive pothole on the way in remains unfilled and at this rate we're going to lose a car into it. Some of the patching on the other holes is starting to come apart already - a day later - so we can just hope that we don't have any more torrential rain in the immediate future. Does bitumen settle if you leave it?

And what's worse than finding a spider on the ceiling ... not finding the same spider on the ceiling when you come back into the room a few minutes later. Not quite sure where it went but I am definitely checking all my clothes BEFORE I put them on, and shoes ... and everything else. I am also practicing being very calm as I flick away the "thing" crawling on my neck so it doesn't startle me - or it - too much. I'm now unsure whether it's spiders or snakes that I'm more scared of ... or things starting with other letters of the alphabet.

Lars' new registration sticker has arrived - together with another photo of him - this time crossing the Gateway Bridge without paying his toll. I could follow it up with them - since we did have a toll doodad but I can't be positive that it beeped when we went through the toll point ... ah well, at this rate we are going to have a very nice album of official photos of him. Quite historic as this, the second one ever, has him in his old clothes (NSW registration).

Brisbania was mostly fine today although there was some concern that the city would be swept away in the flood peak after the Wivenhoe Dam was opened to let some of the overflow out. The peak was due to hit at 2.36pm (how do they know that?) and while I was watching out for it at 2.10pm as I had my lunch ... and had made a note to come back to watch the huge wave surge through the city, I was busy printing out reports at the time and missed it ... the time that is - the flooding seems not to have eventuated. But such was the amount of debris in the river today, the River Cat services had been cancelled this morning and were unlikely to come back for the afternoon peak hour.

We have no such problems here at Latimers where the animals are fine (even coming in early last night again), folk are friendly, and the grass continues to grow.

Day 87 (Wednesday)

It was a fairly early night for most of us at Latimers with the kids all in and tucked up by 8.30. It would have been nice had there been something decent on television for them to watch but even the TV had an early night as S concentrated on reading "the book" while M was out at the movies.

It was nice to see a bit more of the Sun today - which gives us hope that the weather folk may have the forecast for the rest of the week wrong and we could be in for a for dry days. M took the opportunity to jump on the mower and do the grass around the house and it's new looking a bit more like a lawn. She wasn't the only Latimer's resident grabbing the opportunity , L was out as well doing the lane verges.

Also out and about were the Council road crews and while they managed to fill most of the potholes on the road into Latimers, they did miss one - which is a shame because once you notice they've done such a good job on the others you are really not expecting that last pothole not to have been filled. Lars managed to swerve to miss it in time but had anything been coming from the other direction we might have been amongst the growing ranks who have been having tyres repaired or replaced.

If you think of taking up a sport, will it be something in which you might do yourself a real injury - like the Coast man who recently won in the jet class at the National Air Race Championship in the US where he risked life and limb flying between huge steel pylons at more than 600km/h less than 15m off the ground? Golf must seem really tame after doing something like that!

With more movie projects slated for the Coast (although that may change now the Aussie dollar is so strong) it's not surprising to see more ads for extras - although even I wasn't expecting it to be so specific: "Tall, thin Caucasian, African, Asian, Hispanic people needed." That's a lot to ask in a person. And we're not even going anywhere near the other ad for film work!

Hermes is still playing with the next door horses and hopefully it will be dry enough for him to come home tomorrow. We miss looking out and seeing him grazing in his paddocks. But there is at least one hare who isn't missing him - at least today when it took a shortcut through the paddock to meet up with another hare who was scampering through a paddock a couple over. I couldn't believe how quickly they moved but then remembered there is probably an instinctual imperative for rapid movement - as with most animals. But there was nothing chasing them this morning so they had started the day well.

Not as happy is a young lad overseas who decided to donate his slider turtle to a local zoo when the turtle became too big to look after. Staff popped it into an enclosure as he watched and an alligator in the same enclosure, who had never before shown any interest in sliders, promptly swallowed this one whole. (There is a brilliant episode of QI which talks about why the giant turtles from the Galapagos Islands were not given a Latin species name until well over 300 years after they were discovered. It seems that anything that was named needed to be taken to London where the naming took place, and because the giant turtles were so tasty, none of them ever made it back.)

While yesterday we were sad at Dame Joan's passing, today we were happy to hear that they have started bringing the 33 Chilean miners, trapped underground for 69 days, to the surface. This has been a mammoth undertaking and quite a feat in engineering especially as original estimates suggested there would be no chance of rescue before Christmas.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Day 86 (Tuesday)

It had just been raining again when I arrived home at Latimers so the chance of having a good game of ball with Pearl was a little remote - especially as she brought out the moose. Despite some time having passed since last Pearl wanted to play ball with it, it still has the aerodynamic properties of a ... moose and since it was still raining the prospect of a small felt toy covered with rain and Pearl held little appeal. Pearl could not be convinced to go out on the lawn to fetch the one ball that we could see - and, as my excuse, the gum boots didn't fit me so it was a safety hazard. Tink came out to watch but her mouth was too small to allow her to retrieve the ball; Beazley was content to stay inside in the dry, and Maggie, well, we're not sure where Maggie was ... but she missed out on a good game of "go fetch" where we pointed to the ball and waited for Pearl to do our bidding. We were excited at one point when she did set off up the back but came back before she had made it halfway to the ball. I don't understand how a dog who can see the ball in almost pitch black couldn't see it - in all its orange glory - sitting in the grass ... unless she was too short. S commented that when Maggie had been out on the lawn earlier, it was up to her shoulders ... because she is a little on the vertically-challenged side and because she sank into the grass rather than gliding over the top of it - which is to do with the grass, not her physique.

S and M are both busily reading the book M brought back with her from faraway places. This is a great lesson in "taking turns" and S reads while M is out, and then M reads when she is "in" and not doing other things. I am waiting to see who finishes first.

We at Latimers were saddened to hear of the passing of great Australia icon and Soprano Dame Joan Sutherland who passed away in Switzerland (her adopted homeland). It is nearly 20 years since her Farewell Concert at the Sydney Opera House and there is now talk about the Concert Hall (or was it another one?) there being renamed in her honour. It would be a fitting tribute to this amazing La Stupenda who was admired by that other great voice of the 20th Century - Pavarotti - who credited Dame Joan with having taught him much.

Hermes didn't come home today after his night out ... he spent the day, instead, in the paddock a couple over - so we could still hear his whinny. It was good to know that he'd spent a dry night because there have been far too many wet ones - especially when he chooses not to stay under cover in his shelter.

Someone rang in to one of the local radio stations to report a UFO - a big, bright ball in the sky ... which turned out to be the sun ... but it wasn't with us for long. But it was nice to see it and drink in what Vitamin D we were able to before the clouds came over again. The forecast for rain has now been extended until Friday.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Day 86 (Monday)

"I got you four hash browns each ... you'd better eat them" the two children were instructed as a woman, presumably their mother, shepherded them into a booth at the big yellow Runes. Hmmm ... I suppose it's breakfast but it could have been spiced up with a McMuffin-something or even some toast. I didn't stay long enough to see if the demolished them as they had been told.

The rain continues. But at least Hermes is going to spend the night under cover (as opposed to undercover ... can you imagine a horse detective providing some competition for canine crime fighter Inspector Rex). He has gone next door where he will have company as well as being able to keep dry. This is a sure indication that the rain will now stop - plus M changing the water over from "bore" to "tank".

It's a bit quieter at work these days and when I arrived there this morning - the first one even though I had deliberately arrived a little later than usual to give someone a chance to handle the alarm - it looked as though it was just going to be me for the rest of the day. Thankfully S offered to come in and do lunch with me because there's nothing quite so depressing as trying to keep motivated on a miserable day with no-one else in the office for light relief. (The decision about whether we go ahead or not has been pushed back until to the end of November but just about everyone on the project is looking at their options at this point.)

Well, we're moved from "potholes" to "potholes from hell" to "great craters" here on the Gold Coast - but at least there is debris - gravel, dirt, stones - around some of them to give a bit of warning as you approach. I was surprised that one of the new and emerging potholes is one that had only recently been filled - so there may be some truth in a local resident's comment that one of the causes of this continuing problem is "the inability of Council's road crews to adequately fill in holes in a permanent manner". But at least most roads are still open today.

Here at Latimers, the roof leaks are "contained" and a call has been made to the roof man to see about getting it fixed; M took the rubbish and recycling up to the main road (hmmmm ... does this mean I'm out of a job); and S made a wonderful chicken and vegetable curry for dinner - of which hopefully there will be enough leftover for me to take for lunch tomorrow. Gotta love it!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Day 85 (Sunday)

It looks like we're going to have to get to the Markets an hour earlier now that they have moved on to Summer Time - which seems to have less to do with Daylight Savings time than with having the Markets all wrapped up before the hottest time of the day arrives. They changed to the earlier start last week - so by the time we arrived today at 10 (on time for a change!) there was only an hour until it closed - not that that's ever stopped us from hanging around and drinking coffee before.

It was a reduced crowd at the market today - people no doubt having been kept away by the rain that continues to fall here. The dams in South-East Queensland are currently at 99% capacity and they've opened the spillway on at least one of them. It's a pity construction to elevate the wall at the Hinze Dam hasn't finished yet because this would have been the perfect opportunity to fill it.

The mystery of who are the two horses has been solved: Lottie is back in the paddock where she was, and Drewey is in the other paddock. It seems that the horses don't mind who's in the next paddock as long as someone is - which is why we're feeling a bit sorry for Hermes - with Holly away, and the next door horses not being let out in the rain. It will be interesting to see if M decides to bring him into his - or someone else's - stable if the rain continues ... no change to the Thursday date by the Meteorologists (from the Greek meteorologia "treatise on celestial phenomena" from meteoron "thing high up" which were classified either as aerial (wind), aqueous (rain, snow, hail), luminous (aurora, rainbows) or igneous (lightning, shooting stars)).

M went out for most of the afternoon, S spent some quality time with Em and I sat down to watch "Earth: Final Conflict" and do the filing. A perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. As someone posted on FaceBook - "If there's one thing I love, it's wearing slippers on a lazy Sunday afternoon". Here, flippers are the more appropriate footwear ... and buckets for a couple of persistent drips which re-emerged tonight.

The kids didn't stray far from home this afternoon/evening and even when Maggie went out and "lock down" was called, early, fifteen minutes later - she came in probably not wanting to spend any more time out in the wet than necessary. That there don't appear to be as many amphibians around today might have something to do with her non-tardiness.

It has been another great day - the grass continues to grow (we're grateful that M got to do laps around Hermes' paddock the other day when there was a break in the rain), the river is over its bank providing a very spectacular sight compared to it trickling through the rocks, and it's nice to be warm and toasty inside here at Latimers.

Day 84 (Saturday)

Is there something happening that we don't know about? I keep seeing pirates or, more correctly, people wearing pirate paraphernalia - first a man in a pirate hat (that wasn't all - he was wearing regular clothes as well), a young girl wearing a store-bought pirate costume, and now, a young boy wearing a very elegant looks-like handmade costume, complete with red bandana who seemed incredibly authentic until he pulled out the six-shooter. International "Talk Like a Pirate" Day is long-gone and if someone was instituting a "Dress Like a Pirate Week", they could have let us know. (Where did we put that cutlass and skull cap from the Fancy Dress Ball last year?)

Saturday means Crave and off we went, with M, for her debut visit. Probably because it was raining, it was fairly crowded - we took the last available table - and, alas, there were folk at the next table who could have taken their foul language elsewhere. We're used to Crave being a bit more genteel but at least the food was up to its usual standard and the next table people finally left (after what seemed an interminable age).

Then it was off to the movies "Eat Pray Love" for S and M and Mouse while I went in search of filing stationery. It is time to attack my overflowing desk at Latimers and try to bring some order into chaos - and stationery always helps enthuse me. I've branched out this time and rather than doing manilla folders (although some did come home with me) I am switching to lever arch files and a minimalist approach which will see me not keeping every piece of paper that comes across the desk ... although lately it has been not so much "across" as "onto".

The one thing missing from easy distance of Latimers is a decent Chinese noshery. I've had a hankering for a good long and short soup for a while and we called in at the Q Centre on the way home to pick up some takeaway from a little Malaysian/Chinese place there. Alas, we were too late - or too early - 4.10pm and they re-opened at 5. It was still raining by this stage so rather than go home and come back, we decided to frequent The Coffee Club, have a coffee and wait - except, as we found out, The Coffee Club was closed.

Almost in desperation, we decided to revisit the Highlands Park restaurant, working on the principle that it would be fairly difficult for anyone to ruin a soup ... and that worked out fairly well except I'm unsure how "vegetables" expanded to "combination". But it hit the spot enough that I don't feel I need to go looking for more tomorrow.

The kids are enjoying being inside this afternoon (it's still raining) and S is taking the opportunity to catch up with lifestyle programs while I sort mail, catch up with correspondence and try to find the right headspace for the filing project - although I will attack that properly tomorrow.

The road on the way in to Latimers is looking a bit worse for wear with the rain and these days it pays not to drive through any puddle of water lest it be hiding a pothole. The Department of Meteorology is predicting the rain will continue until next Thursday which gives us plenty of time to see if shadows are cast on overcast days (if you take away all other artificial light sources).

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Day 83 (Friday)

The Gold Coast - famous for fun. This is the new slogan designed (and road tested) to attract tourists to our shores. Very GC - oh wait, that was the old one! - which should now disappear ... washed away with the rain that continues to fall on Latimers. At least we aren't further up the coast at Noosa where recent storms have led to power outages, downed trees, flooding and landslips - with parts of it now being declared a disaster area.

We enjoyed Friday night dinner - still with F - but hosted by Mouse for the first time since the travellers returned from faraway places. Mouse is a fantastic cook and produced borscht, a lamb roast complete with vegetables and all the trimmings and, as if that wasn't enough, rhubarb crumble and custard for dessert. Yummmmmm.

On the way there, we drove past the new ferris wheel atop the Surfers Paradise transit centre. It was a blaze of light - and I'm prepared to bet it's using some newfangled lighting technology because it was so bright it almost lit up the sky. Such a thing would definitely have been banned during war-time blackouts where even a single headlight could be seen from miles away (because the decimal system had not yet been introduced here in Australia then). Imagine how far away a set of headlights could be seen from. Makes me wonder, if in these days of modern warfare, the same conditions would be enforced eg total blackouts or would smart bombs and GPS and satellite technology and infra-red and/or body-heat sensing technology mean it wouldn't matter if the other side could "see" you because they would know where you were at. (Hmmmm ... not sure what was in that coffee this morning!)

Lars woke up as a New South Welshman today and by nightfall he was a Queenslander thanks to the kind assistance of the mechanics who had a big enough screwdriver and a drill to be able to affix the new plates. Just have to remember to hand the old ones back in now. I'd left work early to get it done and despite a moment of concern when I was stuck on the M1 (Motorway) parking lot, I made it in good time ... and still arrived home in daylight to see M fetching hay for Hermes. The next door horses have been inside out of the rain for the last few days and M pointed out that he is probably starting to feel lonely - so she was planning to give him some hay and see if she could at least entice him to stand in his shelter down the back rather than in the rain up the top waiting for the others to come out. It can't be easy being him.

The other kids have been staying close to home and M had had to physically eject them a couple of times (as their mother she can do that) to make them remember what the great outdoors is like. That's about the only way they are going to see that the orange and mandarin trees are in blossom, that the lemon tree is bursting with greenery growth (I think it's fruiting activity is over for this year), and that the grass is in need of yet another mow. The only good thing is that great brown gashes in the lawn have been covered for another little while. (there seems to be no colour that starts with "g" that is a type of brown ... but I now know ... thanks Internet ... ducks don't have lobate feet and from whence the term "to brown nose" hails ... but heaven knows why!)

Zumba lessons have started at the local hall. This was excluded from previous despatches because it seemed it could be a passing fad. But it seems like it's here to stay, at least for a while!

Well, since there will be no mowing tomorrow (rain forecast) I think it will be either a movie or a trip to Officeworks for some filing items. Will be fun either way!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Day 82 (Thursday)

It's nice to drive out of Latimers early in the morning and be able to see all those things that make it so special - the grass that just keeps growing and growing, Hermes, the kookaburras and other birds (there may be a swallow sitting on eggs in the nest again), the horses and cows in the paddocks along the road out of the valley - and it's possible because it's lighter in the mornings now as we move further from Winter. And it is further from Winter (in the Southern Hemisphere) because the Christmas goodies and decorations have started appearing in the local supermarkets.

While there is a suggestion that electronics will be the gifts of choice this coming Festive season, I think books are making a comeback. On the train on the way to Brisbania this morning, a quick survey showed that 5 out of 7 people were reading books; one was working on a computer and the other was doing something on an iPad. The titles of the books were not immediately obvious and I will have to look up one that Paul Wilson wrote called "Xalm for Life" with the "X" representing the letter that was obscured by the readers thumb. Palm (the now all but defunct operating system which has been bought by HP and will hopefully make a reappearance one day)? Balm? Calm? Psalm? Realm?

It does raise the question though ... are people who are into technology slightly less aware of other things - such as their appearance. Mr Computer on train this morning was nicely attired - down to his socks that were obviously not a pair. And, because they were not very differently coloured - both were gray but one had yellow hatch marks on them - I suspected they were not Directors socks (named after Edmund Capon, Director of the Art Gallery of NSW, who is rumoured to have worn mismatched socks and been the inspiration for the Directors socks, which were sold (may still be) at various galleries throughout the land.

Back at Latimers, a great beautification of the mailboxes - or perhaps "cleaning" would be a better word - was underway. M did it, part of her returning rituals we suspect, and it was a good walk and work-out for Pearl as well.

In an effort to keep horses and bats from being too intimate, the Gold Coast Turf Club is fencing off part of its property to prevent horses approaching too near to the bat roosting area. The move is designed to lessen the risk of horses contracting the bat-borne Hendra virus which has the capacity, if widespread, to decimate the Queensland racing industry.

Lars now has a new registration or will have as soon as the new Queensland The Sunshine State plates (they didn't have any Queensland The Smart State ones available) are fitted.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow and the next day and the next day but hopefully there will be enough of a clear patch for mowing to happen. I noticed the next doors were mowing at 6 yesterday morning - part of the flurry of activity (which didn't happen here) because the neighbours are due back. No matter what the reason, it does give Latimers that very-much-looked-after look!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Day 81 (Wednesday)

I'm sure things are happening in the world - the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games for instance - but for some reason I haven't seen or heard the news for days. When I did it was about more armed hold-ups on the Coast, the horrific road toll over the holiday weekend, tit-for-tat schoolyard goings-on in our Federal Parliament ... and the list goes on. All this seems very far removed from life at Latimers where the things of concern are more bucolic ... Has the farrier done a good job with Hermes' feet, how much water is in the tank, is there petrol for the ride-on mower, what are the names of the horses in the near paddocks, and how do you get small frog like creatures out of the house without them being pounced on by one of the animals? To say we are "knee-deep" in amphibians at the moment would be an exaggeration but there are a few. When Pearl goes outside to attend to those things a dog must do outside, she seems to be taking longer than usual and walks with her nose close to the ground, very much like she's looking for something - and it isn't truffles. I swear she was licking her lips on the way back in at one point and I wondered if she had taken the opportunity to just taste one of the little visitors. Not being an amphibian aficionado, I'm not sure what type they are but I don't think they are cane toads - otherwise we would be very concerned about Pearl tasting them, even a little, since their skin secretes an hallucinogenic substance - so we've heard ... or perhaps that's just for/to people.

Even though I tried not to be jealous of the others having seen whales yesterday, I admit I was a little so I was very pleased to have the opportunity today to visit their viewing vantage point and gaze far out to sea in search of them. There was plenty else to see including kite-boarders skudding up and down the beach in a very strong coastal gale, traffic banked up on the Gold Coast Highway and the complex that replaced Montego Motel. It was a wonderful interlude - nice food, a cold ale (ginger) and good company. All topped of with a whale sighting! I considered naming it "Wally" because I had spent so much time looking for it.

It was quite late by the time we arrived back at Latimers and the kids, even though they had been fed at the usual time, were wondering why their supper cookies were not in their bowls. It was a good try on their part but since it wasn't quite yet that time of the evening, they had to wait. But it did get them all in in time for an early "lock down".

It seems to get earlier each year but the Jacarandas are out already - some have even seen the better part of their full bloom and are already dropping blossoms into that wonderful under-tree purple carpet. The word "miasma" comes to mind but is totally inappropriate. It sounds as though it could mean something nice rather than quite the opposite.

So, what will the new theme for the Gold Coast be? It's about to be launched in the next couple of days and will replace "Very GC" which was an attempt to add a little (more) "sophistication" to the Coast's image. By all reports, it didn't work. The plan now is to portray the Coast as somewhere where you have "Fun". (Do you have to write "fun with a capital F" if you write "Fun"?) The "fun" tag should be relatively easy in the state "where Australia shines".

The sun favoured us with it's presence yet again today ... or rather, the rain clouds stayed away. It feels as though it's going to be a (long) hot Summer and talk has already started of how the relocated Southerners are going to keep their cool as the temperature rises. Will there be a plunge pool (aka kiddies wading pool) in Latimers' future? Air conditioning? Runs through the sprinkler? Early morning visits to the local pool? Lots of cold showers? As S said on the way home last night, it's a small price to pay ... (un)bearable heat for the joy it brings us and our loved ones to be living on the Coast - especially here at Latimers.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Day 80 (Tuesday)

"Injuring and killing people is simply unacceptable." Does anyone else think this is a worrying statement when it's clearly displayed, complete with company logo, in the workstation I'm currently inhabiting? The good news is that it's not aimed at me personally because someone else's name is on it!

There are some things that can unintentionally make you upset - but hopefully not so upset that you would think about harming others. Take the contestants in the recent race at the turf club ... wait for it ... in Brisbane ... where the women, clad in more suitable attire than that suggested for the Gold Coast "Bikini Stakes" - ie running clothes and stiletto heels raced through the mounting yard (I kid you not). There were lots of tumbles and you would think those falling would have been cross about the circumstances that led to their hitting the ... was that asphalt they were racing on? Meanwhile, here on the Coast, it seems the future of the Bikini Stakes is in doubt with reference to it now removed from the Turf Club's website.

Even closer to home, Beazley has spent time with his own sporting endeavours - and he did manage to catch a frog and bring it to the door last night. I'm not sure that he was allowed to bring it in though.

The cats and Pearl are getting used to having their mother back from her travels. For our part, we miss Pearl sleeping in the general lounge area or outside our door (yes, yes, we know she was a tripping hazard but we never did stand on her or trip over her during all the time she was doing it!).

S is also enjoying having M back - for her company, but also because it means she has another way of getting out and about without having to rely on me. Today they went in to the Jupiters Casino complex and had a light snack on the Executive accommodation level there. As they looked far out to sea they saw whales swimming - breaching - by. It was getting on towards dusk but there was still enough light to see - and the waves splashed up when the whales hit the water were a brilliant white against the darkness of the ocean. (They were kind and thoughtful enough to bring me home some tasty little snacks which I wolfed down with a cuppa. It's always nice to have a little pampering at the end of an incredibly frustrating day ... hmmm - maybe the sign on the workstation is not so ill-placed.)

Mr Roadworthy came today and after some initial concern about "where" he could do the inspection - as it appeared that our work carpark was full to overflowing - he informed me that it wouldn't take long - so we double-parked in the lot. All done; no problems - so next up is to remember to take my Passport out of its hidey-hole and take it and the other documentation to the Department of Motor Transport. That's a job I'll do in Brisbania when I'm there later in the week.

Pearl and I had a good game of ball this evening before S and M arrived home. It's always good after the mowing because a collection of the balls takes place before the mow happens - and there's a good selection from which to choose. Pearl has her own thoughts on the matter as well though, because if you throw a ball and she changes her mind about it, she just presents you with one of the others to throw. We could restrict her to one ball at a time, but since she's the one who runs up the back of the yard to fetch them, it seems only fair that she has a say in what she's fetching.

Tink seems to like having a choice too - now that there are two cars leaving Latimers and coming back with hoods all toasty and warm for her to stretch out on. She was asleep on one tonight at "lock down" so S just went out and carried her in. It makes a difference from the days when she stubbornly refuses to hear that she's being called and will just not come in. While the others have been known to do it, she is the worst offender.

S is about to enter a new realm of MWC with apparel gifted to her by M on her return. The "peasant pants" (which I don't think really are) will make a very colourful addition to her wardrobe and while most people couldn't pull it off, I know S will be able to wear them and the Russian soldier-hat (complete with badges) at the same time. Hmmmm, I'm just wondering if MWC is going to be right nomenclature ... maybe we need another term to accurately reflect the international flavour of the attire rather than lumping it in with the already existing MWC-style. The Turkish scarves and tablecloths could get a look in that way as well - plus the in-house shoes - yellow (mine) and pink (S's).

The Gold Coast Motorway is not the fastest drive when it comes to driving into Nerang - as I found out this afternoon on my first peak-hour drive back from work. Finally, I am starting to get an appreciation of those news and traffic reports that say "Nerang to Mudgeeraba is very slow" and be glad that I turn off before then - to get back to Latimers as fast as I am able.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Day 79 (Monday)

The sun came out today. It was a welcome change after all the rain we've had recently, and even though more rain is forecast for later in the week we're enjoying the sunshine and warmth while we have it. You can just feel your skin drinking in the Vitamin D. Now, where are those sunglasses?

It was a rare pleasure to have lunch with S and M today. They were on their way back from visiting Mouse and called in to the Lakes Complex. Luckily we were having a slow day at work so I was able to get away at short notice, and they phoned as they were on approach, passing the giant David statue out the front. We could see where the low-lying surrounding areas (it is a flood plain) were submerged and strongly suspected that any polo happening on the College oval in the coming days would be of the water variety.

Lunch was at The Garlic Clove which seems to be a better restaurant in the evenings than it is a cafe during the day. I have been spoiled by having another coffee venue close by and today, knowing that I had just had a coffee not long before and that I would have another later in the day, I had tea instead. Coffee is such a hit and miss affair and unfortunately depending on who is making it there, it has often been a miss. I have mentioned it to them on a number of occasions, but it doesn't seem to have had an effect .... alternatively, it could just be that I am far too fussy about my caffeine fixes.

M jumped on the mower this afternoon which was both a joy and a ... what is it when something isn't a joy but just the opposite? By mowing, M uncovered more track marks through the lawn. Remedial action is going to be called for. And more than a grass-over. I don't know how he managed to scar it quite so badly although I think it was more to do with it being wet and sodden rather than him doing burn-outs on the lawn. It was quite strange but very rewarding doing the lawn on a Monday and I'm looking forward to Summer days with long evenings when the lawn can be done any day rather than having to wait until there's time on the weekend.

I can see I still have a long way to go with my lawn mowing to be as proficient as M. But she has had lots more practice than I. The lines she does up and down the yard are straight and long and I can see this is a more efficient method than I've been employing. It's always good tom learn from a master.

Hermes is still coping well without Holly in the paddock next door to his. I noticed that there are now horses in L's two paddocks closest us but I don't recognise their horses well enough to be able to tell who they are. I did say hello to them on the way down the lane but had to be content with using the very familiar "hello you" rather than their names.

S cooked a lovely vegetable curry tonight - the same recipe she did for the Great K while he was here. Not sure if I've mentioned that he's only doing one subject this semester and S had thought he might start dropping out to Latimers to say hello a little more often. When he does come, we'll have to remember to give him his "dress" belt - hopefully it's his. We noticed it on the ground in the garage soon after he had left and thought, logically, it had to be his - although it may have fallen out as I was relocating things from Lars to the Honda's boot in preparation for the Great K's visit and transportation to the airport.

And speaking of Lars, as I was coming around a big sweeping curve this afternoon, I'm sure I heard a "clink". Luckily it wasn't one of those mysterious noises that usually results in a bill for some hundreds of dollars from the mechanics - when it clinked again a little while later, on the same type of curve, I knew, even if I couldn't pinpoint its exact location that it was surely the wrench I "lost" yesterday! Just as well it wasn't a spanner (in the works) or anything could have happened.

The Mobile Roadworthy certificate man was meant to come out and do the next inspection of the car today but he rang just before lunch to say that he was not well, and he would need to reschedule until tomorrow. I'm working at different offices on the first two days of the week so he took tomorrow's address and will meet us (Lars and me) there instead. Then I can start filling out the paperwork for my registration transfer. I've decided not to spend $2000 getting personalized plates for Lars - although I do reserve the right to change my name to whatever the plates are ... and given some of the personalised plates I have seen, this would be kinder to pedestrians and other drivers who try to work out the naming protocols like 55ING. I will miss those familiar yellow plates though! And it's never too early to tie some distinguishing tag to the car, similar to how people do to help them identify their luggage at the airport, so I can find Lars when we go out.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Day 78 (Sunday)

The Eastern States of Australia moved to Daylight Savings Time yesterday - except for Queensland, which is where we are. That should have been the end of it, especially as we saw it as one of the benefits of moving to this side of the border ... never again would I have to worry about moving clocks backwards or forwards to get to the right time. I know there are all sorts of ways of remembering which way the clocks go at which time - for example Spring forward, Fall back - but that really only works if you know which way is "forward" and which way is "back". I can't even get it if you need to move a meeting forward or back - is it earlier or later. I never can tell and am therefore grateful for electronic calendars which do the adjustments themselves - all you have to do is know what the current time is. Enter DST. We needed to be up early yesterday and I had set the alarm for 6.40am; the next one for 6.45am; and the next one - on a separate device - for 6.50am. By some strange fluke of fate, I woke up, unassisted, at 6.53am. How on earth could I sleep through not one, not two, but three alarms! But, I congratulated myself on being able to at least wake up within good time - rather than after the time we were meant to have left for the airport. I rushed through the morning ablutions, knowing that I just had time to get ready and make S a cup of bed tea before sitting down to my 7.30 Skype session with T. On my way to the kitchen - 7.25, still on schedule - I put on my watch (the first time in a couple of days) and realised it had stopped at 6.25. Ah well, they do say you should change the batteries of smoke alarms at DST start and end, so this was just another thing to do. It was then that S asked me what I was up to - and I was glad she asked, because that meant she was awake already and I wouldn't have to do it hurriedly when I came back with the tea - and did I know that the iPod had reset itself to Daylight Savings Time. It was actually only 6.25 now not 7.25. A quick check of the iPhone confirmed it ... I had hurried through the morning - where I could have been sleeping in - to be an hour earlier than I needed to be. DST 35 - Me 0 ... with 35 being the number of years I have lived in states which do DST and I still not "got" it. As S paraphrases each year, from the film "City Slickers", even the cows (now horses) have it before me! And if I can't get that, I'll probably never be able to work out why the alarms didn't go off - an hour earlier?

It was great to pick M and her mother up from the airport on their return from their overseas visit to family and friends and faraway places. She has been missed by the kids and all at Latimers - and Pearl especially gave her the warmest welcome - as dogs are wont to do. The others were a little more standoffish - which is perfectly understandable ... they are cats!

M & A had arranged a "light lunch" to welcome the returning travellers and while it was simple it was simply wonderful. We can't say the same about the weather though because it continued to rain, and then it rained some more. I thought the reason for it became a little clearer when we passed a church on the way back to Latimers. The sign out the front announced: "Jesus Reigns".

Mini MasterChef wasn't on when we tried to tune in tonight. A quick look at their website revealed nothing ... I couldn't tell if it's continuing - which is probably a "yes" because there doesn't appear to be a winner listed on the site. We'll try again next week.

The Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony will be telecast late this evening and at this stage I'm not sure if Latimers is going to stay up for it. We have failed on the two other main sporting events here in Australia this weekend - we watched neither the replay of the final of the AFL in Melbourne yesterday (following a draw last weekend) "very boring after the first quarter" or the final of the NRL in Sydney today "very boring after half time". We are, however, contemplating our own sports events in the backyard including water skiing if it rains much more. Do they make floaties for tractors?

The excitement of the day though was fitting a new wiper assembly for the windscreen - and buying a new multiwrench to replace the one which dropped into the side panel of the car yesterday. How many times have I seen mechanics in movies, working under the hood, and they put their tools on the top of the side panel - and they stay there ... rather than sliding into the hole where the hood's strut lives when the hood is down. It came as a complete surprise when it happened - but I could still see it so it was going to be relatively easy to fish out ... except neither S nor I had small enough hands. The wire coathanger that I bent out of shape and then into a small hook only helped me knock the wrench, until that point balanced on one end, over and into a place where I couldn't possibly get it. That part of the car chassis seems to be self-contained and away from any vital moving parts - either engine or wheels - and the hood would still go up and down ... so I'm not going to take to it with a can opener at this stage. It will be interesting to see if it clinks as I drive.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Day 77 (Saturday)

"I can't have my shower" S told me this morning, which was a shame because she was going first - it being Saturday and my day for easing into the weekend rather than jumping out of bed and straight into whatever the day had to hold. "Why?" "Come and see." ... but by the time I had made it out the bedroom door, Tink had already vacated her spot in the middle of the shower and was making her way down to special cookies land as though this was something she did every day. Of course, it very well may be and we have never seen it before.

So, with that hold-up, it was a late start, and our arrival at Crave for breakfast was delayed just a little more as we stopped at the Post Office to pick up mail that wouldn't fit into the boxes. Who knew that all of Nerang would be hanging out there this morning. I'd like to say the line was "out the door" but given they have automatic doors, that can never happen. The line, however, did go all the way to the doors and then there were people lined up outside it as well. S had waited in the car and couldn't believe how long I took. Luckily though, one is never bored when one has an iPad and I was able to finish off some writing as I waited. It's probably better that way too, because there are quite a lot of things that would part a person and their money in there at the moment ("Look away ... look away.") Who knew the Post Office sold computers now?

We had been at Crave for all of a couple of minutes when the phone rang and it was F who was wondering what we were up to. He had been out and about, quoting on a job, checking on another, and had realized that the weather was so inclement he really just wanted to be somewhere warm and dry, not necessarily at home, and perhaps spend part of the day with a good DVD. Helping his father with something in the storage shed wasn't going to be that so he was looking for options. "Come join us at Crave" I told him and since he was just around the corner from Olsen Avenue, he was there in a flash - and could find something on the menu for breakfast (he had been contemplating baked beans on toast at home but chose Eggs Benedict with Spinach instead). So we spent the next hour or so chatting, eating Crave's very yummy breakfast, drinking coffee, and throwing food down my front (that was just me ... a first try of their savoury mince of unknown consistency was not the wisest choice on a "white shirt day").

It was a good thing we did the yard work last week because the rain fell, and fell, and fell today. It only let up to get heavier! Tink was happy though, having eschewed the shower, she made it on to the front of Lars and stayed there for a good while. Emma came out to watch the rain for a while, even getting a little wet in the process, and that didn't stop her going out again a little later.

Hermes seemed to enjoy the rain too and he was out in it a fair bit. I couldn't help but wonder if that overcoat of his is waterproof because if it isn't it must weigh a tonne once the water's in it.

We spent the afternoon in, out of the rain. It's Saturday so that meant the Sydney Morning Herald for S and for me, a rather surprising made-in-Australia movie called "Daybreakers" - a vampire movie which is slightly darker than the Twilight version. It has some amazing special effects and the story is quite well-developed - a nice change in an Australian movie!

It's getting very close to "lock down" time and probably because of the rain (yes, still!! raining) everyone is in already and taking up their favorite spots throughout the house. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to a change of sleeping spots tomorrow when their mother returns and they all beg to be allowed to sleep in with her!

We have another early start tomorrow ... the usual Skype session with T, and then, rather than off to the Markets, we're off to the airport to pick up M and O. We can't wait!

Day 76 (Friday)

S and F slept together last night! Thank goodness they have such a large couch because as we watched "The Bourne Identity" both of them drifted gently off to sleep, leaving me to enjoy the movie - which I did. When the credits finally rolled, they were both still well and truly in The Land of Nod and at that point I thought it would have been good if I could have carried S out to the car, driven her home and deposited her in our bed without having to wake her because she was obviously tired. As she said later, it wasn't that she wasn't interested in the movie it was just that a great weariness had descended upon her - which might have had something to do with last night's early morning litter activities. She said that doesn't happen to her very often - and I can attest to that. Usually it's me who drifts to sleep in front of the television or the computer ... but I do seem to remember one other time when she did it, something to do with trying to stay awake during a horse-riding/dressage video.

So once again we managed not to see "The Blind Side" which F would have been happy to watch and, of course, S would have too. Maybe we can line it up for one night next week although I hear that S is really looking forward to going to see "Eat Love Pray" although my predilections would have me queuing to see "Eat Love Prey" instead if such a movie existed - although it could well be a wildlife documentary rather than a science fiction movie aka the "Species" trilogy.

Rain came again to Latimers today. I heard on the radio that it was the wettest September the Gold Coast has had in over a hundred years, since 1906 actually which would make it 104 years. It's hard to remember a day where it didn't at least sprinkle. Or to forget that it was in 1906 that San Francisco had its last really big earthquake.

I went to Brisbania today and continued to play "spot the difference". It was interesting when S pointed out that not everyone could have done it and when I was getting ready to move on to my next task, Sandy there mentioned that if it had been her she would have been playing "connect the dots" instead. While it was an interesting thing to do I am glad I'm on the Coast next week because the next task is actually documenting all the changes including counting the light fixtures (including mm measurements) off the plans.

Lunchtime saw me off to Queen Street Mall to get some paperwork for the car registration and on the way there I fell into a little stationery shop to ask for some purple cartridge refills for the Lamy fountain pen ... no, they didn't carry anything like that but I would be sure to find them at The Pen Shop! Heaven on a stick ... and he told me exactly where to find them in The Brisbane Arcade - which was almost exactly where I was going anyway. It is a wonderful store and they were in the middle of proofing, on computer, their latest brochure which is going to be, as the woman behind the counter assured me ... "very romantic" - and full of lovely gifts.

Meanwhile, back at Latimers, J had phoned to say she was running late and finally arrived at 11, telling S the reason for the delay (yard person running late) but then settled in to a 5-hour stay during which she did a great job and had numerous chats with S - who know knows that J wants to do temporary foster care.

By the time I arrived home, J had not been gone for that long and then when I mentioned we would have to leave fairly soon to get to Flam's on time (we didn't) you could see that S would have liked just a bit more of an transition period. But at least she had changed out of her Latimers MWC - which I'm sure F wouldn't have minded.

The kids remain their same cute selves and Beazley has taken up a new spot in the Manchester shelves - he's preferring crocheted rugs this week. Even though it's been raining a bit, they are all still managing to spend a good amount of time outside and not always at the time when they should be coming inside for the nightly "lock down". Those spending time in the great outdoors include Emma who is still racing outside, or through to the shower or laundry, at every opportunity.

Hermes seems to have gotten over his heartbreak of earlier in the week but he still does let out a very plaintive whinny from time to time to let us know that while she may be gone, she is not forgotten.

We have a big day planned for tomorrow including cat cookies, dog cookies, mail collection from the Post Office (I'm too early or late most days), breakfast at Crave, a drive-by the hospital site, a Mudgeeraba pie for S, some grocery shopping, Carrara Halal Indian takeaway for dinner, tax for me (something to get the teeth in to) and perhaps even some desk wrangling. Phew! But we're looking forward to it. Especially if it rains as expected. The promise of some days really does make you feel on top of the world!