Sunday

Back at Latimers and even though it was dark by the time we arrived home, S noticed that M had had the motor mower out and done some more of the lawn. Did I mention that M had not, by the time we left for Toowoomba yesterday morning, heard from the Deere hospital so she doesn't know what the problem is with the ride-on mower, whether it can be fixed, or how long it will take to fix. I miss it and can't wait for it to come home.
The rest of the Toowoomba visit went well - if a little sad as we said our goodbyes - but hopefully they will be back in town for the Christmas holidays. Thinking about reunions, maybe it is time to get all the family together again - the immediates raher than the extendeds though - and I might start planting the seeds for an end-of-year get-together with the brothers in the next little while to give everyone time to get used to the idea. It could be fun.
The drive back down the range was good although it would be better if they could finish the roadworks and eliminate the 40kph zone - it's hard enough to keep the car to 60 on the way down the hill without putting it in Low. Still it was a good drive back - and one I'm glad we're not doing tomorrow - the end of the three-day weekend.
M had been busy in our absence - and as well as bringing home treats from the International Food Festival she went to today, the cup shelf has had a makeover with a new tier so we can double stack the cups - but not on top of each other.
It is good to see Emma and the other animals - we miss them all when we are away and it seems that we have been away a lot in the last little while. S is planning to be away later this week as well when she goes up to Brisbane for a couple of days to attend a conference with the Dalai Lama. She is really looking forward to it but is worried in case she still has her lurgy - which means she wouldn't go because she wouldn't want others to be disturbed/inconvenienced by her coughing (she's good like that); maybe it's time to start pumping loads of vitamin C into her to help her really throw it off. And to remind her to ring S in the morning (wonder how she's going with training for the Kokoda Challenge - not far away now) since that's who she's planning to bunk with in Brisbane - S knows she's coming but not that she's planning to come a day earlier.
When M said that I would probably hear Beasley when he was ready to come in tonight, I thought he would do the usual routine of meowing at the door. Well, he may have been doing that but there's no way anyone would have heard that as he pushed the cat flap against the closed back door. I didn't realise what it was the first couple of times he did it but once I did twig I raced up to let him in so his racket wouldn't disturb the others (both S and M went off to their rooms a while ago). There's not much point planning to have a sleep-in if you can't get to or stay asleep once you've turned in.