Sunday

We couldn't believe how many people had turned out at the Nerang Velodrome to see the bush-trekkers come in after their 96km tour of the Hinterland. We were there in good time to see the LLAMAS (Lovely Ladies Attempting Massive Acts of Stupidity - that's what I was told it stood for) romp in - looking surprisingly fresh for their over-30 hours on the move. S had taken a couple of tumbles during the walk, and one of the team had fainted and been pulled from the race for medical reasons - but they were all pleased with their efforts and performance. How fit must they be to be able to do that!!

The Markets were good as well - although a little low key when compared to the end of the Challenge. The general attendance was good - and we didn't make it into the sunshine yet again - and there was sunshine - because the markets had set our usual table up but this time with padded chairs. There's nothing like a few creature comforts to keep people close.

Then after the markets we went off to JB HiFi and M purchased an iPad 2 for her Mum and sister to use while she is visiting. Mouse was very excited at the prospect at getting an iPad and had already decided she would install a dictionary app and an app so she can play Mahjong - which would be okay if someone actually made one. Every Mahjong app I've looked at in the AppStore is a tile matching game - and even a search of the interweb hasn't helped in this instance.

We were planning a quiet afternoon in while M did things with the family, but we were lucky enough to get a visit from S's uncle and aunt who dropped in for (late) afternoon tea on their way back from visiting a friend on Mt Tambourine. They would probably have been here earlier if their friend would have let them drag themselves away ("but you saw S only a couple of days ago") and if they could have returned their GPS to a functioning condition after one of their grandsons had played with it - changing the voice (they didn't mind that) - once they could hear it - since he had managed to turn off the volume as well. In what is probably a very fortunate coincidence, their GPS is the same model as mine and I was able to talk them through the screens - so they could navigate - by hearing rather than by sight.

It was great to see them again - but even better that Pearl managed not to eat the small dog they were minding that they had brought with them. I was fairly sure M had told me that Pearl doesn't like small dogs so I hope this one didn't take the non-welcome to heart.

MasterChef tonight had the Dalai Lama on as a guest - but not as a guest judge - because His Holiness, as a monk, can only accept food; he cannot judge it. He was, as always, his calm, lovely self. Wouldn't it be great if we could all be more like him?

M arrived home just as we were getting ready to bed - so we had a chance to have a brief chat - knowing that she is off with the family to the Sunshine Coast - to visit the attractions, including Australia Zoo, and show little H some new scenery. Hopefully they will have a fantastic time!