Saturday

What's that saying ... what goes around comes around? I was standing in the kitchen this morning, doing a changeover of the paper towel roll when I heard a noise which I didn't quite recognize but decided, as one does, that it must the hair dryer. Well, I was wrong ... and I only have myself to blame. M had told me that she had purchased a nerf gun so she could ambush little H but she was worried because it was noisy and surely that would take away the element of surprise ... well, let me tell you, not so much! Before I could put together "too early for the hair dryer" and "nerf gun", projectiles were flying at me from a very GI Jane M who was gleefully giving everything that nerf gun had to give. Luckily it only takes 12 and she had not yet purchased spares - but she would have needed to stop to reload anyway. Great fun. Now, if only we had another nerf gun (the nerf gun manufacturers would really be very happy!).

Now that I know what it sounds like, I hope not to be caught out again ... and (fair warning) I just have to work out a way to mask the sound so I can launch my own surprise attack.

Hmmmm ... it does raise the question though of whether we, as adults, actually do "play" enough and why people who have never played with guns - certainly not since they were children - suddenly take it up again. Is it a question of exposure to products and is this one of the reasons that toy manufacturers advertise ... and should they really be advertising in prime-time slots rather than in the children's hour?

It is a glorious day at Latimers again and S and I spent most of it here except for a brief foray into the outside world to go to breakfast (boiled eggs with toast soldiers) at Bumbles at Budds Beach.

On the way we went past Sweetie who was out of the "box" and in the paddock. She is such a pretty little thing - little being the operative word. Now that she isn't standing next to her mother - or in her general vicinity - there is no point of reference and she again looks like a wee foal.

She was joined by an array of birdlife including one which looked similar in shape to an ibis but which had an iridescent blue body and wings and a slightly more curved beak. It was partnered by a lorikeet - the last one I'd seen was in a photo of Mouse from their visit to the Sunshine Coast earlier this week - and it took a moment to see it - perched on her head as it was. It reminded me of those photographs from childhood visits to Currumbin Bird Sanctuary at feeding time when there would be a flurry of lorikeets lining people's arms and shoulders and heads.

The CSP jackpot is now over $236k and despite our best efforts neither M nor I managed to bring it home this evening. But, on the bright side, M did manage to avoid some close calls - three before we were more than half a kilometre from The Big House - reinforcing again what S has always said, and reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman's character "Rainman" (where some of the action also takes place in a casino) ... she is an "excellent driver".