Saturday

Going home day! 

It wasn't a bad drive back up the Coast although I was a little surprised when I woke up this morning - a couple of minutes before the alarm - and realised that I had set the alarm - actually all three of them - for the wrong time.  Instead of setting them for just before 5 so we would be ready for a 6am start, I had set them for just before 6!  S was fantastic and together we were ready to leave, all showered, packed and the guest room tidied, before 6:30.  

As a reward, we stopped for breakfast at Maccas at Heatherbrae with a crowd of other people - and while we were there we thought of the other trips we have made on this road and the friends we have shared breakfast with here.  

I don't know what it is but some days I feel fine driving and other days the old joke I make "if I get tired, I'll just have a sleep in the car" (S doesn't drive) could easily come true.  This happens even if I've had brilliant sleep In the days before and if S takes responsibility for getting us up and moving on the morning of travel (so she's the one who wakes up frequently lest the alarm be slept through - and she does!).  Today was one of those days and we were stopping frequently for breaks as soon as I started to feel fatigued-affected - until, just about Kempsey, I felt fine - and continued to feel fine - if a little sick of actually driving - for the last five or so hours of the trip. 

Emma was out of the room with M when we arrived - and she seems to have survived our absence with flying colours.  She does seem to have missed us though because as soon as I went inside she followed me and when I laid down on the bed, she bounced up to sit on my chest.  

"One of them [the furries] is a murderer!" M told us when we were settled with a cuppa. Before the afternoon was out we knew it was Mr Beazley, with no special instrument except those nature provided him with, on the front lawn!  M said she should have known that this was the location of "the killing fields" because all the cats, including Emma when she was out of the room, had been drawn to it to have a sniff and an investigate.  

It is great to be back at Latimers - watching the evening close in, listening to birdlife in the near distance, and seeing the cows in the paddock next door.  B roared past in the ute but stopped long enough to say he was off to do another Bern-Off down the back and watching it with a glass of champers in hand might be a great way to ring in the ... Happy New Year!  

Friday

We were up in good time to be able to do a lesiurely pack to make sure we had everything, and then to check out of the hotel (5-star is a fairly accurate rating) before taking Lars over the Anzac Bridge (complete with statue of New Zealand soldier with Lemon-Squeezer hat) to meet Liz and Elaine at Bar Italia for breakfast. Bar Italia doesn't really change.  I think it has had a lick of paint (okay, a whole new colour scheme - although the original paint job could hardly have been called "a scheme") once in the more-than-twenty years we've been going there.  You can have NO soy, NO skim and NO lite milk, although they have relaxed the rules at some point because now you CAN have decaffinated!  

Then, back on the road again - with first stop being S's mother's place to pick up the freezer bag we had left there.  We have done, I think, a marvellous job in organizing our packing this trip - not taking too much - something we are usually both guilty of - and having the right configurations for the different legs of the trip. 

Mind you, picking up the freezer bag was not just about retrieving the muffins C had made for our trip to the Central Coast at the start of the holidays - it was about the freezer bag - which works both as a hot bag and a cold bag - although not at the same time. We took the opportunity while we were there to do a group call to nephew P for his 17th birthday!  

Brother W and his family have been waiting since the start of the holiday brak to get weather decent enough to allow them to get out of the house (and new spa) and on to their boat and the lake - and today was the day!  Luckily we know their habits and rather than miss seeing them again, we suggested we meet up with them at The Entrance and have lunch with them - which we did. It was wonderfully relaxing to chug across the channel to North Entrance and chat while the kids (now both on the other side of 20) tried out new fishing lines and lures.   It was too nice to rush and in the end we pushed out our leaving time - making us only a little late for the next stop on what is now the Great Trek North - K at Weston.  

K has been out of Sydney for some years now and would never go back (although, as we all know, never is a very strong word) and she has painstakingly and lovingly renovated the little cottage she bought there - and - Ta da - it is now all done and looks (and feels) fantastic.  Her two cats, Lu-Lu and Fi-Fi, are still,as cute and cuddly as ever.  We had offered to take K out to dinner and rather than drive into the haunted she suggested the local hotel where the dining room is under new management and offering a choice of 10 meals for $10 - or you could pick from the a la carte menu. We didn't - and the steaks we chose were good!

Thursday

Sydney is certainly a busy place and people who visit here seem to be busy as well - if you take S and I as an example. 

And even though it would be sensible to have fairly early nights - once we do get back to the hotel room - that is impossible for me - what is it about me and wanting to watch television when I'm in a hotel room?  Could that be a throwback to my using the television for company on the trips I made for work without S? Or that we don't have a television in the bedroom so it is something of a novelty?  But at least I was up on time to be able to get ready for the start of what was a busy day.  We only had three appointments slotted in but since they were in various parts of Sydney, it was going to be a challenge - but at least we had Lars and the GPS to help get us around.  I shudder to think how much time we would have had to spend getting between places on public transport - and how much less time we would have been able to spend with folk along the way.  Even though Sydney's rail and public transport system is quite good, it does work on a hub system - so if you are out at one extreme you have to go into the middle to come back out again in another direction.  But luckily, we didn't have to rely on that. 

We met my brother G for breakfast across the road from the hotel and spent a very pleasant two hours with him going through family news, seeing photos from his recent trip to Mexico and Florida with his youngest daughter as she played in tennis tournaments, and pics of the house he and the family have recently moved into.  It was great to have a proper catch-up, but I was still sad that we weren't seeing the rest of the family as well. 

Then, we were in the car (thank you Valet Parking) and off to Wentworthville to see some mates out that way.   

They should have been away on holidays themselves but a recent hospitalisation of their oldest, and his  need for continuing treatment, meant they were at home for the duration.  But as they say "it's an ill wind ..." so at least we were able to spend some time with them and catch up with their news and goings-on - and have BBQ #1 of the day.  L, their youngest, probably the world's most voracious reader - to the point where she has been known to walk into poles while reading - was off visiting someone so we didn't get to see her and because we were due at our next appointment, we also didn't get to see the new Christmas puppy someone was about to bring over. 

Dinner with D and P (BBQ #2) was wonderful, as was catching up with them, seeing their renovations, and having a play with Ruby their blue cattledog whose favourite activity seems to be putting something for you to throw to her on your lap, and if you don't, she nudges it and you and does a drool (thank goodness both S and I were wearing long pants) until you finally give in - whatever it is ... a piece of grass, a small stick, a half-chewed lemon - and throw to  her.  She loves it.  D and P have done a great job on their renovations and except for the kitchen splashback, painting and the back deck - they are all but done, except for a lick of paint for the rest-of-house. 

We finally dragged ourselves from them at after 11 and made it back to the hotel and upstairs by midnight - where I settled in for another bit of television - hoping I would be able to rouse myself (and S) for another early start - checking out of the hotel (which has been fabulous) and going off to breakfast at an old stamping ground, Bar Italia in Leichhardt. 

Wednesday

It was on to Sydney today - the last stop on the Great Trek South.  We had thought we would take the train from the Central Coast into Sydney but in the end we decided first to drive in to Croyden and leave the car at a friend's place, and then, to take the car into the CBD and park it at the hotel.  It was very strange driving right into the city, something I avoided when we used to live here and would have avoided now except that it will be much easier to visit people in far-flung locations if we have Lars rather than having to rely on public transport.  

Sydney hasn't really changed - but I think the way we see it has.  It's like it used to be when we returned from holidays up north, including at Latimers, and while it was good to be home we always noticed that Sydney was just that bit more polluted, and crowded, and less nice than  "not Sydney".  

But there are parts of it that are excellent - like Sydney Harbour and ChinaTown - and, of course, the opportunity to catch up with friends and family.

We met T and T at the MCA and walked from there around to the Harbourview a hotel where we had a leisurely lunch and catch-up and saw photos of their recent trip to Hawaii.  They are doing what they can to maintain the holiday spirit - and greeted us in their Hawaiin shirts and straw hats.  T would have brought her bobble-head (as in the bobble-head is her head in miniature) but it hasn't yet arrived from the States where it is being made.  

After lunch, I went downstairs from our hotel in search of a newspaper and some fruit - and bumped into my brother who works in the area.  We had a coffee and chat and caught up with some of the family news - and will have breakfast in the morning to cover other territory.

Dinner was at our favourite Minh Hai in Chinatown and we were pleased to be remembered by the staff there - and to have our very familiar pineapple drinks - still as yummy.  We had hoped to ate it a truly memorable evening by checking out the David Jones Christmas windows on the way there - but they had been covered over by signs:  DAVID JONES CLEARANCE.  WAS. IS. ALWAYS. Except for their window displays for Christmas.  It was a shame we missed them - they were, according to various people we know who had seen them, pretty good! 

Tuesday

It's nice to have a sleep-in and even though I thought I was going to rise at 7:30 - that's when the alarm was supposed to go off - I didn't actually stir until 9 when S poked her head into the bedroom and said it was time - especially as we were almost due at our next stop!  

Considering this was the third different bed in as many nights, our backs aren't too bad although I don't think either of us is looking forward to sleeping on that fold-up queen-size bed (currently travelling in Lars' boot) this evening.  It's not a bad bed - but we think it prefers one person use it, rather than two.  

My brother and his tribe are well - and absolutely enjoying their latest addition - a spa. W has rigged it so the water is either solar-heated or wood-stove heated (metres of copper pipe wound inside the chimney which had it at 39 degrees last night when it was very cold out! The big dilemma - to sit chatting around the fire or lounge around the spa. It ended up being a bit of both.

M was in contact to let us know that all is well at Latimers - including the furries.   

Monday

... on the road again ... or would that be still.  After a lovely Christmas Day spent between Latimers and Kyogle, we are now off to the Central Coast to deliver S's Mum home.  It was a brilliant day for travelling - not too hot, not too cold, not raining, not too sunny - and most of the traffic coming the other way and there was lots of it.  We set out just after 7 this morning - we couldn't make too early a start because the kangaroos are still on the move and likely to be on the roads if you set out too early. And they certainly were about - there was only one we found road-side - just sitting there waiting for us to pass - we hoped.  S spotted it first and warned me to watch out for it.  The others we passed were safely behind fences and far enough away that we weren't at all concerned that they would be in danger of colliding with the car.  

I had forgotten what it was like to be out on the wide open road with hours of driving in front of you.  The good thing about travelling at this time of year is that there are "Driver Reviver" spots - where you can call in for a free cup of tea or coffee, maybe a biscuit or two, and sometimes even some "Fisherman's Friend".  It is a wonderful service provided by local volunteers and the stops are always friendly, clean and at the right spots along the highway.

We were lucky enough not to strike any accidents along the way although we found out that there had been a major one at Coffs Harbour at some point after we came through which had closed the highway for a couple of hours.  We weren't able to find out if anyone had been hurt, and hopefully they weren't because everyone should be able to go home after the holidays.  

The road has improved so much since last we came this way - although admittedly at that stage we were going the other way - when I drove the car up when we moved to Latimers (S and Emma flew because we didn't want Emma to spend hours in the car).  There is now dual-carriage way for more than half the way - in fact, probably even more than that.  And so good is the new road that there are huge portions that have a posted speed limit of 110 kph.  

We were stopped by the police only once along the way - for a alcohol breath test at Grafton - before 9 in the morning - and, not surprisingly, we passed with flying colors.

Lars pulled into S's Mum's driveway just after 5 in the afternoon - so the trip down (including shopping for dinner on the way home - because I wasn't sure I'd feel like driving again today) took about 10 hours.  Not bad.

Sunday

He's been!  He's been!  

If M and S hadn't said how long wrapping was taking, I would have crept out (after he'd been, of course!) to unwrap all the gifts. This would have been a re-enactment of when a (very, very) young S had done just that - running out early on Christmas morning and opening all the gifts under the tree and not just hers.  It would have been fun to do it - and see whether she was automatically suspected because of prior "offenses".  But because there wouldn't be time to re-wrap - even with all three of us doing it - I decided to shelve the idea (for at least another year).

There were some light sprinkles of rain as I started packing the car for our week away but not enough for us to have to wait.  The boot on Lars is amazingly deceptive about the amount it can take - and even after the portable queen-sized bed was packed, there was still room for the clothes bag, the empty (hat) bag, the electronics bag and a few other things.   

M saw us off - keeping to the old custom of throwing water after the travellers to wish them a safe journey (or something like that). It was a good drive to Kyogle with not too much traffic and a very cool and overcast day. We arrived just in time for a Christmas Champers before a cold lunch which had the table groaning and us salivating.  From the pic M sent us, it looked the same at Mouse's where she was hosting Christmas lunch for the usual crowd.

Happy Festivus to one and all!

Saturday

Christmas Eve. M took us out to breakfast at Ferry Road Markets (thanks M) - and even though we have had lunch there some time ago, this was the first time for breakfast. And except for the fact that there were just a few too many flavours on my plate, it was wonderful - and next time I might choose something "plain". I had the Eggs Benedict with ham (mushroom, spanish onion and something else I wasn't sure what it was); S had the corn fritters with scrambled eggs; and M had braised beef with beans and some very lovely toast (on the side). Then we split up - to leave M to do shopping - and I took myself off to Greenhouse - a shop I had found in the Ferry Road Complex last year and not bought a wallet I wanted at the time - and then each time I've gone back, they haven't had it. They didn't have it today either and I decided to get one anyway and was weighing two designs, really, one in each hand, getting a feel for them (Star Trek or Three Ring Binder; Star Trek or Three Ring Binder) when one of the shop assistants came up and asked who I was buying for and when I said "me" she said "definitely Star Trek". She asked if I wanted it gift-wrapped - yes please, and then she rubbed out the price on the tag so I wouldn't know how much I'd spent. I took that opportunity, as she was ringing up the purchase to say I had been surprised when I went outside to where the shop had been and it had moved - but I was pleased to find it had moved inside the complex. I said I came along every time I was in the area to check out the wallets and see if they had the AirMail one ... and then, Christmas miracle, she said "wait a minute", walked over to a corner of the shop (behind the counter) and came back with 'THE WALLET". Happy happy joy joy. Then I went back to get S to show her some of the other things they had in store - particularly their tech hold-all bags - talk about wonderful. She then dragged me out of the shop and we went off to ... I would say "finish Christmas errands" but S had already done that ... so it was off home to start packing (for me) and to finish the Christmas wrapping (for her). It is truly amazing, both she and M mentioned, how long it takes to wrap.

Christmas Carols filled the evening (and more wrapping) until M came home. I finished cleaning off my desk, some file preparation, and finally sending off Mouse's photographs - she has a sweet potato that looks like a duck - and even more so now, apparently, as it has started to sprout wings, then it was time for bed ... because tomorrow is ... CHRISTMAS!!!!

Friday

The drive back from Toowoomba was good, not too much traffic, and not too many silly drivers. Christmas-time really does seem to promote some stress for some people and they and being on the roads is a bad combination. I didn't notice a police presence on the way back but that may just mean they have found better hiding places along the highway. This means, of course, that not all oof the Highway Patrol cars have been coloured yellow yet - to remind people of the big four (as finally spelled out in the press recently): don't speed, din't drive under the influence, don't drive fatigued, and do wear a seatbelt.

I called in on J on the way down the highway to see how they enjoyed the US and to have a look at their photographs ...
and retrieve the camera I had loaned them so we can take it on holidays with us in a minute. The trip was fantastic - I haven't seen J so animated when she's talking about something for a while. Despite having been dumped by her boyfriend the night before they left, R had a great time and has told J that she wants to move to the US for six months so she can go to
school there. J is not against the idea and has enough long service leave to make it happen - especially essential as she would not be able to work there without a Green Card.

I arrived back on the Coast in time to do Turkey (Christmas) lunch with S at The Big House. She had finally made it to Robina this morning to get the last of the running repairs done on P and L's watches - difficult to find a place here but impossible in Kyogle!

Then it was back to Latimers for a rest before we did the furries and headed back into The Big House for Family N Friends dinner (Food Fantasy Two-for-One). It was the usual Sunday crowd so great company and great food. It doesn't get much better than this!

Thursday

What I want to know is how Pearl knows it isn't Saturday when the signs suggest it is - i.e. I haven't gone off to work, Emma is sitting out the front with me having a drink of the outside water, the others aren't up yet (although maybe they're not up yet on other mornings too). When I mentioned this this morning - feeling that it would be too sad to go out to breakfast without Pearl - M said it was okay because Pearl knows that if it's raining, she stays at home. And it was raining. But what happens tomorrow? Nothing as it turns out as tomorrow is Friday and I will be in Toowoomba not at Latimers ... and the next day, come rain or shine, is Saturday. It's also Christmas Eve. And there might be some more exterior illumination in our futures. M has the Gold Coast Bulletin's article with the names and addresses of the Christmas Lights Competition entrants - and there are some good ones - the winner - in Ashmore which is not too far afield to visit.

It was lovely having a leisurely start to the day although downloading the free version of SIMS may not have been the best use of my time, Especially as I failed all attempts to get my newly-created SIM, a female, to complete her second goal which you have to do before you can move to the third goal and so on. I did get her to have a shower though and I possibly would have achieved more life points by having her doing it naked - but that did not seem to be an option - her "least" state of dress appears to be a bikini. I'm not sure I won't resort to the Interweb to get some information on how to make Goal No. 2 happen - someone out there has to know.

The drive to Toowoomba was without incident - and also without many sightings (two only!) of other vehicles with reindeer antlers and nose - and one of them was at the service station at the top of the range in Toowoomba.

D and E came round this afternoon for a while, and J was already here with M when I arrived, so it was more or less a full house - and Mum is recuperating well from her gallbladder operation.

Back at Latimers ... it was raining and by the time I left it looked as all the furries had settled in for the afternoon, including Emma who has taken up temporary residence in the cupboard.

The Energex people arrived just before lunch to take away the tree branches they had cut down from around the power lines yesterday. They loaded them into the mulcher and were done and gone in under 5 minutes. I should have offered them a six-pack to take the rest of the yard debris which is destined for the tip before Christmas too - d'oh. What do you call someoe who has thoughts like that but way too late after the the point where it would have been useful!

Wednesday

What a great day - which could have a lot to do with getting a "leave work at lunch-time early mark" or this being the last day of work for a fortnight. Gotta love it!

I joined S, M and Mouse (and Mi and F joined us too) at Top One at Australia Fair for Yum Cha. J (from work) and I have been there a couple of times this year, but it is definitely better with a bigger group. You get to try more - and different things. J and I tend to have the same dishes each time we come - which has to do with her eating regime - she logs everything she ingests for discussion with her personal trainer.

Then S went off to do some shopping for the Kyogle branch of the family - rice stick noodles and Oyster Sauce. Luckily there is an Asian grocery store in the Australia Fair and she was able to ring her sister-in-law from the aisles to make sure she was getting the right ones. It's always best to be sure - especially in this case - because there was the possibility of picking the non-preferred version.

As she shopped (and looked for the Swatchband) the rest of us, except for M who was running an errand, visited Zarraffas and drank coffee, and some water - F was a bit on the dry side as he has been working with acid and that always dehydrates him. There is something very pleasant about lounging around a coffee shop/cafe in the middle of a work-day knowing you don't have to rush off and can just relax to your heart's content.

So relaxed was I that rather than rushing back to the car so we could leave the carpark - at no charge - within the free three-hour parking limit, while S waited on the husband-seat outside K-Mart, I had a lovely leisurely wander through the store on the offchance that something might want to come home with me. The something which shouted "take me, take me" was a 7" Tablet made by Telefunken which was selling for under $140. It has wireless connectivity, allows the use of ebooks, two USB ports plus an SD slot. That is phenomenonal. I couldn't see what the storage size was - although with USB and card slots, I tend to think it wouldn't have been very great - but it wouldn't need to be. It was running the Android system so it should be fairly easy to use. Mind you, I'm not about to give Padtheway the Second (iPad extraordinaire) the flick for a new tablet just yet.

Pulling up to the paybooth on the way out of the carpark, I proffered my ticket and a $50 note. The guy looked at it and asked if I had anything smaller. I showed him my (now empty) wallet and said no ... but that if he wanted to give me the parking for free (it should have been $5) I wouldn't say no. Now, just for a moment you could see the notion of whether it would actually be easier for him to do that flit across his face, and I don't know what finally tipped the balance (I would have thought the other two people standing in the booth with him might have swayed him the other way) but he smiled, handed me my $50 back and the boom gate opened. Merry Crimbo!! What a fantastic start to the holidays. Of course, at that point, I was a little sorrier that I hadn't been prepared enough to remember to take the reindeer antlers with me as I had planned so I could start the holidays season with Lars in costume - he looks great in antlers - and a nose!

On the way home (isn't free time a wonderful thing?) S and I dropped in to the newly-refurbished Maccas at Nerang for a cold drink - one of their new frappes - and were disappointed that it took longer than the advertised 60 seconds to arrive. They'll need to lift their game - or perhaps change their advertising.

Tuesday

B called out on his way past, well, okay, he stopped the truck to do it, to say he had a hose on the burning tree. Steve (who is this Steve of whom he speaks?) had suggested that if the fire wasn't put out, the tree would definitely perish - so now we wait for the next update and hopefully a definitive answer on whether M's big gum tree will survive.

M must have decided to go ahead with replacing the septic trenches -not a decision that could be put off indefinitely - because there's now a big load of gravel in the paddock below the house. Mark the plumber also visited - another sign that works are afoot. This may not be the only call for Mark's services - the bore pump, which had been behaving itself, went off today and had extremely low pressure. I switched us over to tank water this evening as we were getting none at all. M will go down and check it in the morning - with the bore out there is no easy way to water the livestock down the back.

We took ourselves off to dinner in Worongary this evening - to Fajitas Mexican Deli. It was our second time there and it was just as nice as the first. S had the Taco Trio and I had something I couldn't pronounce which was actually Chili Con Carne in potato skins, with sour cream in the accompanying salad. The only disappointment was that the other thing I wanted from the menu wasn't available - sarsaparilla: apparently no-one ordered it and it became too expensive to keep in stock. D'oh.

Phonography. You could be forgiven for thinking it has something to do with phonographs and sound - but in this instance it has to do with the iPhone (or smartphone). M has found a "competition" in The Courier Mail where you take a photograph with your iPhone send it in to radar@couriermail.com.au and they will publish the best pic of the day in their (phonography) section. There are no prizes - just the opportunity to have your pic published - which should be enough for anyone. Now I just have to find something to take a photograph of, or, as some might say "something of which to take a photograph".

Emma came out to drink water as M, S and I caught up this evening, after our return from dinner. She still likes outside water - even thought it has been filled from the same tap, in most instances, as her inside water. Emma has recovered well from having a Capstar this morning. I'm not sure who hates them more - S or Emma. It was only as S was lining Em up to give her the tablet that she remembered the words of Em's Sydney vet - "she'd rather die than let anyone give her a tablet". What Janet could equally as easily and as truthfully said is "she'd rather kill you than let you give her a tablet". Somehow, today, S just fluked flicking the tablet into a surprised Emma's mouth - it was really all over before either of them had a proper chance to be concerned about it. Capstars usually lay Emma low for 24 hours but she seems fine this evening.

Monday

The Great Bern-off continues today. B dropped in this evening to say that he had some not good news - one of the trees M wanted saved may be lost. It appears to be hollow inside - termites suggests D from up the lane - one of the experts (the other one is L's brother, who is a bush man from way back) B has brought in to consult to make sure he is doing the best he can for the tree. The hollow from the termites, rot and burn are big enough for B to stand in - if he was foolhardy and not at all concerned about his safety. There is still a chance the tree will survive - by burning out the rot it will leave good wood - and if there is enough of it - the tree will stand; and if not, the widow-maker will fall probably within the next 24 hours, and, although sad, it is better that it falls when people are expecting it, and not on anyone or livestock. There is another chance for it - the other tree growing with it may be enough to give it some added support. B will keep us posted.

Still no rain but there was no opportunity to have a look at ROM as M was out this afternoon. Despite making a couple of stops on the way home, I did manage to return to Latimers in daylight - and take the bin up to the road before night fell. Emma was outside when I went and seemed a little surprised when she saw the 4-wheel drive - she is more used to seeing me step into and out of Lars. It was a bit like the first time she saw the horse across the way. It's a big thing for a small cat from the inner city.

Sweetie was a bit agitated this afternoon but there didn't appear to be any reason for it except that the dogs were a bit more yappy than usual. We're all a bit concerned by Spot's lack of road sense and that he has turned into a bit of a car chaser. How do you train a dog not to chase cars?

I know the crows are big at Latimers, but even I was surprised by the one I saw this afternoon which was, no joke, as big as a hen. Sanity prevailed when I realised it was doing very poultry movements - and it was in fact a big black hen!

Sunday

Home again - and because a storm was forecast for this afternoon, M had already done the mowing - but, alas, she had run in to a spot of bother because the drive belt had come off (again) but differently this time. It looks like a two-person job to work out what the issue is and how to get it back on.

No puzzles from Mouse this week because she slipped them to me last week when I picked her and S up from the movies on Thursday. The coupons were done and in the mail on Friday morning. Also in the mail during the week to Mouse were prize cheques from That's Life and rival Take 5. This is good because it is a while since she's won anything - and yes, there's still the photograph of a sweet potato that looks like a dude to be sent in. I think M said Mouse has some others now as well.

M and Mouse were off to The Big House tonight for the Christmas Ball. From the photograph M posted on FaceBook, it looked amazing. Hopefully she took some more to show us.

If I'd realised there were Carols on on the Coast last night, we would have gone; instead we had a quiet night in with the furries, admiring the Christmas decorations S put up on Friday, and watching holiday programming, including the still-excellent Vicar of Dibley Easter Special and Shrek the Halls. How do people keep coming up with good ideas for spreading holiday cheer while steering clear of the Scrooge and the three ghosts model? And did the makers of the Smurf Christmas Special not get that memo?

The afternoon/evening storm did not eventuate so there was no rainfall overnight. Just as well, too, because that would have doused B's bern-off which is still underway. M was saying B and D have done a great job of clearing away the dead wood down the back and it is looking fabulous down there.

We were sorry to miss the Markets and N today but are looking forward to catching up with everyone at dinner on Friday night.

Saturday

Toowoomba is lovely this time of year especially because it is much cooler this Summer than it usually is. Generally speaking, it has been the coolest start to Summer here in Australia, since I was a child - and that's a good few years. S is loving it!

We arrived this morning, leaving Latimers just after 7. For the first time we came on the new "Darren Lockyer Way"Which is the same old Warrego Highway we always use, but it has recently been sign-posted (and named?) in honor of this football "great". S asked if the Lockyer Valley was named after him - and while my initial reaction was to say "no", but we know the valley had to be named after someone- and it might as well have been Darren's family as anyone else.

We stopped at Roses Cafe for breakfast and greedily devoured a copy of The Chronicle (the Toowoomba paper) hoping there would be details of their Christmas lights - and were very disappointed to find that there had been a map - but it was published last Saturday - and we couldn't find a copy of it on the web. There was an article though about a lighting display in one of the parks which had been attacked by vandals who had stolen loads of "power chords" and there was some concern that the organizers would need to pull the plug.

The reason for our early start (we usually arrive up there at lunchtime) was so we could catch up with my niece and her family. They had another commitment this afternoon so they had made time this morning to come to Mum's place. M continues to grow into the cutest little girl. She is now just over two and, true to developmental progression, she has entered the "terrible twos" although she wasn't being one of them when we saw her.

Then, after a spot of shopping, it was off to see E (aunt) and D, always good value. What was going to be a quick visit turned into a very enjoyable nearly three hours. They are off in their caravan just after Christmas and will meet up with one of the other aunts in rural NSW on their travels. They just love that caravan of theirs - their second, and much easier to manage that then pop-up one they used to have - their first foray into mobile homes - and possibly even RVs. D hails from America and even though he has been out here more than 20 years now, he still has that measured, thoughtful way of conversation that epitomizes some of our US friends.

Then, as night was falling, it was time to do the Xmas lights tour of Toowoomba. Our plan of action, without a map, was to go to the areas where we had been in previous years, and see if they were still doing them. Two out of three were and that was very exciting and at one house that was particularly ablaze with lights of all shapes, sizes and hues - and, as we were told, had featured on that night's news - we heard that the park lights were in fact "on". And the "Winter Wonderland" as it was called, was absolutely magnificent! Entry was via a gold coin donation in support of the local Lions Club and each of the displays in the park was sponsored by a business. You just have to marvel at the ingenuity and talent of people and how they can make a string of lights brighten your heart.

Friday

No-one can say that at least part of the plan didn't work. I had The Great K at the airport in plenty of time to make his flight to Sydney. It was a pleasant drive down the Motorway and much faster than I had dared hope - so fast that he was going to have time to have something to eat and drink, at a very relaxed and leisurely pace, and still not be anywhere near boarding time.

M, on the other hand, was going to be able to do that in Sydney as her flight was delayed/deferred/cancelled/postponed/something like that -and she ended up being flown into Brisbane and then bussed to the Gold Coast Airport from there. What should have been a fairly eary return turned into 8pm - after a 2pm start to travelling. Unfortunately even though she was on her way, early, to the airport when the text came to say her flight was delayed, she was unable to get on an earlier flight.

So, the fill in the time between the departure and arrival, I took myself off to Currumbin and found a cafe/restaurant across the road from the beach which made a great coffee, and tapas, and caught up on some writing, reading and general relaxation. It was, simply, marvellous and I will have to get S and M down this way at some point. M knows the place and was surprised to hear that it is open in the evenings but this is only a new development - only last week in fact.

Ah well, I guess that means it's true what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men and that it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good and that too many cooks spoil the broth. They say that for each adage there's an equally apt "other" one eg "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work" and while this might seem like a good and fair thing, it can be confusing to the rest of us.

Thursday

Will the rain hold off long enough for me to do some mowing this afternoon? That is the question on everyone's lips - well, mine at least. It world be nice to get to it before it rains - otherwise it's getting so full, green and lush, it'll need to be done on a higher setting.

Fruit was delivered to work today and I managed to get to it before the rest of the hordes and walked away with a white peach. This reminds me of K and L in Sydney - and Bellinis - the taste of Summer at their house. Here the sound of Summer is a teaspoon scraping across a homemade fruit juice (or maybe cordial) ice block - and will continue to be until I can find the "freezy cup" - which you freeze overnight, pour liquid in, stir for a minute or so and it turns to ice. Yum.

We had our section's work Christmas lunch today at Lime on Chevron Island and that was very nice indeed. I will need to encourage S and M to come one day - I think they'd enjoy it. Afterwards, I went around the corner to the Gold Coast Arts Centre to pick up S - she and Mouse were there for a film which was, as it turned out, perhaps a little too violent for both of them. Then we three went off to The Big House for the "swipe your card for Christmas" promotion - Mouse got $25 yesterday, $50 today - S and I managed $10 each, each day. If we get the same tomorrow, that will pay for our dinners at the Food Fantasy Buffet next Friday (they will still have the 2-for-1 special going at that stage thou - so we could afford it now).

The Great K rang this evening. We are giving him a lift to the airport tomorrow and picking M up at the same time. Rather than having him come to Latimers, I will pick him up from his place out near the Uni - but leave plenty of time for the pick-up as M, who has been there to pick him up before - says it is fairly circuitous and not easy to find.

Well, despite my best intentions to get on ROM this afternoon, it didn't happen so it seems I have something to look forward to on Sunday on our return from Toowoomba. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to check out Carols and Christmas lights up there since we are going to miss the bigger ones here on the Coast on Saturday night.

B was around this afternoon, stoking the fires of the Great Bern-Off - hopefully he's found some more downed trees to burn otherwise the original one was humungous (and still burning five days later)! Luckily all the furries (even Emma) know to stay well out of the way as he zips past the house on his way to and from the conflagration.

Lockdown has been achieved - a little early at 8:45pm - but good nonetheless. We're trying for another early night, as S didn't sleep that well last night - and I believe she's planning to take it fairly easy tomorrow - just as well because she had a fall this evening when we arrived home and is waiting to see how she fronts up tomorrow.

Wednesday

We were up early this morning for the trip to the airport for M's flight to Sydney - and we were in good time to drop her off and for me to fight the traffic back to Southport, and to work. She really needn't have been worried as the traffic did flow well and I actually didn't have to fight it at all - just go with the flow to be at work on time. (Is it only just over a week since I dropped J and R at the other airport?) I even had time to call in to Zaraffa's for a coffee, the bakery for a sandwich for lunch and the supermarket for some breakfast cereal.

It's still a busy time at work so the day just flies - especially now that we have found someone to do a coffee run at lunchtime most days. This is a habit we will lose next year but as we race to the end of the year - with 2 of us out of five on deck, we're taking all the help we can get.

Mouse came to collect S today and they went off to breakfast at Ferry Road and then on to Bingo where Mouse's run of good luck for the week continued. They're off to The Big House tomorrow - to swipe cards in a promotion, and I'll pick S up from there! That will give me another chance to check out how Lars is doing after his visit to the mechanic today. Thanks to F, picking Lars up was fairly easy; he came out to the house to pick me up and then dropped me in Nerang.

The furries are having a quiet night in - so are we come to think about it - and not even the promise of a decent showing of Xmas lights is enough to tempt us out again. On the other hand (or would that be paw) at least two of the furries are champing at the bit to get back out but since it is lockdown time they will not get their wish/way now. I'm not quite sure why Tink came in before she was called and she is not quite sure why her plaintive cries asking to be let out are falling on deaf ears this evening. Maybe she wants to go out and check on the burn-off down the back - she certainly came back from that general direction at one point this afternoon. It figures that furries would also be interested in observing these things albeit hopefully from a distance.

Tuesday

S definitely goes to the top of the tree for Christmas-preparedness. Armed with the list (divided into "Naughty" and "Nice" - no not really) she hit the shops - and did an amazing and wonderful job. Once home, she couldn't wait to spread the gifts out on the bed for M and I to have a look at - and for Emma to have a wander through - she likes Christmas as well. (At some point in the coming years, we just know that S is going to ask "what was on the bed" - as she does now, some years later, after two friends had spread their holiday purchases over the bed at the motel where they were staying ... there was a candle in the shape of a piece of birthday cake, a pair of black and white pants with elastic waist, eating utensils, a Byron Bay tee-shirt ... and you'll have to ask S what the other 27 items were - and she will most probably be able to tell you. She has a phenomenonal memory! Which is why she will probably be a little disappointed when she asks about the Christmas gifts in coming years! It's not much of a game if only one really plays!)

Lars finally made it to the mechanic this afternoon - thanks M for picking me up and for loaning me a vehicle to get to work in tomorrow. Hopefully Frank will be able to fix the timing belt (not a problem), fix the right-hand windscreen wiper (not a problem) and work out why it keeps stalling when the air-conditioner is on after it has been driven for a while (may be a problem). It's a bonus that he's local (in Nerang) and that M (of M and A) knows his work. And who knew that M was a trained mechanic ... and you have to wonder how often A has helped him because when we were at the markets the other day and M was having a look and said - what revs is it doing - A had already positioned herself to be able to tell. A great team effort.

M is off to Sydney tomorrow but before she goes she jumped on ROM for a couple of laps around the yard and of Herme's paddock. She did well, going until she was mowing in the gathering gloom of the evening. I was on the phone at the time so I'm not sure if she used the headlights for the last little bit or not, but I know she could see well enough to call us out to move the hose out of the paddock so she didn't mow it (something I might have done). She did well, and still had time to do some ironing, packing and computer stuff before calling it a night (but not before she had helped S who seems to have aspirated something and was having a serious coughing bout.)

Monday

Monday ... too far away - was it only yesterday? Nothing really to report - Latimers is still here, the furries are still here, M's still here (as opposed to later this week when she'll be in Sydney) and we're still here (as opposed to the weekend when we're planning to be in Toowoomba).

Sunday

So who's a bit tired after staying up to photograph the lunar eclipse? It took over an hour plus much concentration to figure out and work the manual overrides on the camera so just as well I had started when the eclipse was just starting! But it was worth it ... and I can't imagine what people of yore (a time not a place) would have thought when they saw a blood-red moon appear in the darkened sky - although, would it have been the same colour then? Is the colour now to do with the materials in the atmosphere between us and it? I think I saw on QI once that the sky in ancient Roman days was pink rather than blue for just that reason.

Which brings us to "The Ides of March" - a film just released here starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling which (from the trailers) appears to be about a US Presidential/candidate race. Of course, when I see the title it just reminds me of my birthday - but it must mean something else to other people - the attack on Julius Caeser on that day (hmmm ... triumverate - that's a nice word) - betrayal, intrigue ... that kind of thing - will this set up an expectation about what it's about (politics) and what's going to happen (murder?) ... was that the filmmaker's intention?

The Markets were good this morning although A took us all to task for being tardy. She is right, of course ... we are all shockers, and that we're always late (F:When were we ever on time?) is no reason for not to try to change our ways. Luckily she didn't hold it against us and we were all able to share the delicious cake she'd baked and brought along.

N wasn't there today - she was still en route from Canberra after overnighting at either Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie - but she is planning to come to the Markets next week. Unfortunately we'll miss her as we'll be in Toowoomba again.

I knew it was going to be a warm one today as I sat out the front while Emma had a bit of a wander and could see heat haze on the bricks. The day didn't disappoint - it was hot, and stayed fairly warm when the thunderstorm descended this afternoon bringing with it some lightning but what didn't seem like a lot if rain - but it was fairly hard to tell about the latter because we were safely ensconced in The Big House waiting on the draw for the VW Golf Cabriolet convertible - which did not, in the end, come home with us nor, more's the pity, its cash equivalent. But there's always next time!

Saturday

The shops are full of Christmas decorations, stock and shoppers - and Pacific Fair appears to have been refurbished since last I was here. Who knew? Or, who thought to mention it? The seating (husband seats - because, traditionally, that's where they sit while waiting for their Significant Others to shop) have been made very modern - one to a seat, a bit like a ... rocket in some ways, very coccooning after a hard time in the shops. Do some seat shapes have different therapeutic properties? Has anyone ever done research into this - and, if so, do the therapeutic benefits differ between people or are they the same across the board? But there was absolutely no time to be sitting in those seats because it was time for Christmas shopping - or, rather, Christmas looking because rather than taking money with me (although I did have a little of that) I took the camera (read: iPhone) so I could take photographs of items I thought would make good gifts and then discuss them with S. It made it like an adventure rather than hard work - and only one shop questioned me about the camera and pointed out their sign demanding no photography in-store. I think I did well - actually having S agree with two of the items that I had chosen - and the others mostly weren't that awful, just probably not as personalised as they could be ... but, truthfully, even I could see that the item I had chosen for nephew M was not quite "right" but we won't go into that now.

S's foot was still sore today (sorer than it has been for a while) and rather than risk injuring it further, we decided to have a quiet night in with it elevated and resting. It must have worked too because she said that at one point during the night (when she was asleep) she heard it "crack" and it has been feeling much better since).

I didn't make it to bed until quite late. M was out and I took the opportunity to settle into a few hours of Samagrams - updating my puzzle database and looking for new ones. The good thing is that this also allowed me to catch up with some episodes of series that I am watching - and by the time I finished all that I was well and truly ready to call it a night ... but before calling the cats in, I thought I would just do a rubbish run - and it was as I was walking it over to the bin, I looked up to see the full moon and realised it wasn't - there was a big chunk out of it. It was on FaceBook soon after (thanks Mi) and a quick search of the interweb confirmed we here in Australia would be able to see the full eclipse in its entirety. To photograph or not to photograph - that is the question.

Friday

Well, it was overcast but not raining this morning, and not too hot so it looked like, and was, another great day here at La timers. Not too hot; not too cold - although M, who does feel the cold, mentioned this evening that she had seriously contemplated putting on thermals before coming out to FamilyNFriends dinner. It was the usual Sunday crowd for dinner this evening - taking advantage of the "two-for-one" deal at Food Fantasy at The Big House. And even though I thought it was crowded this evening, A who had come last week with her work for their festive season celebrations, assured us there was a massive line-up then. We were therefore even more grateful to M that she had Come in early to line up, pay and secure a table for us all (thanks M).

I was also grateful that Friday is the end of the working week for me - and what a long week it has been. We are two people down in our section (three from this afternoon) and the heavy end-of-year workload and Iack of help are starting to wear thin. But it's only a couple of weeks until the Xmas break now - which is definitely something I'm looking forward to.

M beat me to the ROM today- and even though she did it on a higher setting (so there's still plenty to do), it looks great. I'm amazed she managed to find a window where it was dry enough to do it, but, then again, it may not have rained as much at Latimers as it did on other parts of the Coast.

It's full moon tonight or would be if you could see it through the cloud haze. But it's not raining now - and wasn't on the way home from The Big House - early enough so we could see Xmas lights along the Way. S and M watched a special on "exterior-illumination" (aka Christmas lights) the other evening and are now keen to see it in the wild. M even mentioned there is a place in Brisbane which does a good show, so that might be in our future - and speaking of future - there's a dance on tomorrow night which might be worth a visit - especially since I can't use my tax as an excuse this time - although it may still be raining - it does look like it's settled in for a while. If it's still raining in the morning, that will make a lovely, gentle start to the weekend.

Beazley has to go back to the vet next Monday for more testing and it will be interesting to see what his blood glucose levels are and whether they will take him off the insulin completely - otherwise, if they drop his dose again, he will be on only half a unit morning and night - which will be incredibly difficult to measure out in the current syringes - unless they do it by making it one unit morning or night.(D'oh!)

Thursday

Some days are diamond, others are gold ... and some are neither of these and are just plain ordinary (in the colloquial sense*) ... spectacularly so. But at least it's still raining - which means the tank is still filling (over-filling?) and the grass is still growing - it looks lush and green now. I'm hoping this wet spell will leave us by the weekend and I will get the opportunity to take ROM out for a bit and do some serious lawn mowing. This will be possible since we are now not planning to go away for the weekend - for a moment there it looked like we would be doing a visit to Toowoomba but we have deferred that until next weekend.

Name seven countries ending in "Y" - was the first question at the Advancetown Trivia this evening and between us, S and I managed to get them all. We weren't paying much attention though, as evidenced by the fact that we missed the answers to the picture questions of Round 1 (it really did look more like Fred Astaire than Sir Anthony Hopkins) - and had to ask on our way out. We were busy working on the Christmas list, something we have been meaning to do for a while as the holiday season is fast approaching - actually, it's almost upon us.

M and Mouse went off to Brisbane for the day - I caught something about Bank of Queensland and David Jones' Food Hall - and it seemed that the weather was "variable" up there - dry (unlike here) but cool in places. M had thought about taking the train up (usually a good option) but they ended up driving instead. But it was a quick run up and they were back in time for M to be at Zarraffa's at Nerang for a coffee this afternoon.

And guess whose driver licence turned up in the post today? Even though I paid for only two years' worth, it doesn't expire until 2016 - which I think relates to that the NSW licence I forfeited was valid for a couple of years yet. It's good to finally have the Queensland version - and a bonus that it's yellow!! And given how tired I felt the day the photo was taken, the pic came out a little better than the one on my passport - but admittedly then I had gone for the "this is how tired you will look when you front customs after a gazillion hours on a plane" look rather than the "this is how you will look when the police pull you over and ask to see your licence" one. Of course, at the time I didn't even think about the "this is the one you are going to use for ID most of the time" look.

Thinking back over the day, it might have started out fairly ordinary - but it did improve!

* From the Australian Oxford Dictionary: Ordinary - colloq. poor; below average. (When you think about it "ordinary" is no ordinary word - it can mean regular or boring or poor.)

Wednesday

The date seems as though it should be "something" but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. If it doesn't come to me soon, I'm going to have to go to the interweb and do a search. Hmmm, hard to know if it's the first use of the instant replay or the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Both changed the world.

It is still raining here at Latimers so there's a fairly good chance that it will fill the tank and means M may not need to buy water. I had mentioned the other day that rather than doing that we could convert the back of the 4-wheel drive into a big tank and just go round collecting it from public places. That, of course, would be "wrong" but not an idea that other people haven't already had and carried through - as M said, that's why all the ... I want to call them spigots but they're really tap handles were removed from taps in parks and at beaches and at other public venues - because people were taking tanks, barrels, you name it, and helping themselves to water. So, the question is, if you could monitor and pay for water at a park, would it be cheaper than having a load of water delivered (not counting the initial set-up costs of having the back of the 4-wheel drive converted).

S made it back to the dentist today - which she was pleased about as she had chipped a tooth late last week (this may have happened at the hospital) but worse still, and maybe not related to the tooth already having been compromised - she bit into something and the corner of her tooth fell out. As both she and M commented, it is amazing how one's appearance is changed when bits of your teeth are missing. Anyway, the dentist was able to fix the damage and S is really happy with the job she did - especially since S is still fighting the lurgy from earlier this week. (Why do dentists wear face masks? Is it so they don't catch whatever their patients have or so they don't give them what they've got?)

We didn't make it to CSP this evening. The jackpot has not yet been won although M says some people have been close and S says she has the feeling it is going to go off soon - it was about this time last year it went off and it would make a lovely Christmas bonus! As would L's horse winning it's race today - but alas, it did not. It's a shame because it had been doing quite well in trials. (Going through my paperwork the other day - doing my tax - I came across a TAB ticket for when one of L's other horses raced. I can't remember if it was this time that it didn't place and while I could take the ticket in and find out - I think I was keeping it for a reason - which just escapes me at the moment.)

Monday

My new Queensland driving licence has not yet arrived, so it looks like I'll need to visit the Post Office again. They said to let them know if it hasn't arrived by the 9th (Friday) - but let's hope it does!

I did my civic duty today and completed a survey about Communications surrounding the Hinze Dam Stage 3 Alliance. As I explained to the Survey person, I hadn't been around for all of the project, but what I had seen - including the community BBQs and glossy brochures, had been good. Now I'm just waiting to see if we will win one of the 5 x $ 100 gift vouchers on offer (not my reason for participating - I didn't find out about them until after the survey was completed). Which reminds me, the Fuel Voucher redemption for buying 4 tyres at once hasn't yet appeared in the mail box either. But there was something there today - a package for S (gifts in plenty of time for Christmas).

After all our efforts in remembering that the Centre up at the dam is called the "Interpretive Centre" - the survey didn't refer to it as that at all - they called it the "Visitor Centre" which is much easier to remember but which doesn't seem nearly as interesting.

It looked like rain again this afternoon - and there were a few spots to support the look - so there was no mowing at Latimers today. There is still burning-off happen and every so often B roars past in his ute to check it and make sure the fire isn't getting out of hand before he roars out again. (Just hope those furries remember to stay out of the way.)

The news today was saying that it is going to be the coldest start to Summer in nearly 50 years. S is hoping the middle and end of Summer are the same.

It was an early night all round again at Latimers - the furries were safely inside before 9 - and even though I stayed up to finish most of the puzzles for sending off tomorrow, I had to leave some - I have to be up at 4 in the morning to take J and R to the airport. (I wonder if we'll see N up there.)

Tuesday

Travel day - but not for us unless you count me dropping Jand R off at the airport in Brisbane as "travel"! l was surprised to arrive at work at my usual time -even with stopping at Zarraffa's (original) Helensvale store, and waiting (only a couple of minutes) for them to open.

The trip to the airport was good but we were glad we'd made an early start - by the time I was coming back tomthe Coast, the traffic to Brisbane was at a crawl.

Today seems to have been "catch the speeder" day. There were radars between the Border and here, and between here and Brisbane. Coincidentally, there was an article in the Courier-Mail today about the new bright yellow police patrol cars - but there were none of them in sight. Mind you - the police vehicles that were out weren't really in plain sight - one was hiding -oops, parked, between bushes - not very sporting al all, and definitely suggesting revenue-raising rather than deterrence through a (highly) visible presence.

Poor S is down with a lurgy - not quite sure where she picked it up but she is not a happy camper. Emma has been doing her usual wonderful nursing and was happy to share S's dinner before resuming duties. Mind you, Em was not totally well today either (sick a couple of times) but she does seem okay.

Pearl is such a fiend when it comes to food. We've taken to popping her in to M's room while we feed the cats. It's too distressing to even put her outside because she can see that they are eating and gets anxious that she is not. Although "inhaling" might be a better word - I gave her mince this evening and she was so excited that she didn't want to do her "waiting dog" trick, was standing on her food mat, and wouldn't back away so I could put the dish down. Then the mince vanished within an instant!

M was busy while we were away - not sure where she found them but there has been an addition to Latimer's exterior illumination with some Christmas (?) solar lights in the garden. They are wonderful and great to watch as they change colour!

The Christmas Lights tours around the Coast have started to be advertised, and while the biggest carols have been cancelled because the organisers could not raise enough money to cover the expenses associated with putting on the event, details of other carols are available at www.goldcoast.com.au. It really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Sunday

"The song that never ends." L loved it and couldn't get enough of it, especially when S started her own chorus of all the terrible fates which could/would befall someone who wouldn't/couldn't stop singing "The song that never ends". It's a shame L accidentally wiped the initial recording of the duel/duet between the two parts because it wasn't nearly as good the second time around - although we all had a good time singing at the top of our voices as we tooled down the highway on the way to deliver the children back to their parents in the afternoon.

We took the kids to the Markets with us in the morning - it was a good turnout - even N came for a brief moment which was surprising because she is still trying to get ready for her trip to France next Tuesday (the same day that J and R set off for the US).

After the Markets, we went off to the beach - or had planned to but Broadbeach was absolutely packed and there was no chance of getting a park which would allow us to get to the beach and back to Pacific Fair by 12:30 for "Puss in Boots". And I was so glad that we didn't miss "Puss in Boots" because it was very good. They had enough adult humour to keep us interested - although, truthfully, even the children's humour is enough to keep us involved - and the animation ... ahhh ... the animation. How did it get to be so good? The water in "Rango" was fantastic but the water in "Puss in Boots" was spectacular! You could almost feel it! So it was no surprise that we ended up at Currumbin Beach on the way to the airport so we could feel the sand and the surf. There is nothing quite like the beach.

It was sad to hand P and L back but I think we gave them a good time. When asked what their favourite bits of the weekend were, L said the (Latimers) animals and P said yum cha. See, there is something for everyone on the Gold Coast!

Back at home, M (thank you) and the furries were all in for early lockdown and it was early nights all round except for S who stayed up watching a program on Cabaret - the musical and the movement.

Friday

Have I mentioned lately that I am not a fan of Daylight Savings Time - but since I was going into NSW for less than 24 hours, I decided I would just stick to Queensland time - and if anyone wanted us anywhere at a specific time - they would need to be in charge of getting us there.

But the only specific plans we had once there were dinner - with P and L - and since they know Kygole eateries better than we do, we let them pick - the Earth Bistro, part of the Commercial Hotel. It was very nice. We have been into the pub before, just in passing, and never eaten a meal there. P insisted on ordering for us - he knew the person taking the orders - she goes to school with him - and he did a great job - writing down the orders on the iPhone to make sure he would get the food and drinks that everyone wanted.

We were more than surprised to see that they had milkshakes and thickshakes on the beverage menu - which was lucky because after the drive I really felt like one and was thinking I would have to settle for a coffee or something else that would not hit the spot. All four of us ended up having milk-based drinks, and they were cold, milky and very yum. It was all we could do not to have seconds on them.

The food was great too. S and I had the steak special, L had nachos, and P surprised us by having fettucine carbonara - but it shouldn't have surprised us because he has always liked pasta.

After dinner it was back to the motel where we watched television in our room before it was time to see the kids back to theirs (they were in No. 1 so it gave M and M, the locums running the motel in their parents' absence) run of the residential area.

Then it was time to crawl into bed - even though it had been a good drive (thanks for the loan of the car M) I was still a bit weary at the end of the long work week where we are two people down and in the middle of progress claims.

Hopefully all the furries back at Latimers are good and behaving themselves - and that Beazley, due back at the vet this afternoon, has had a good report.

Saturday

We were impressed that the kids were up and ready to go in time for breakfast before their concert this morning. They needed very little prompting too, which is good. When I went around the first time - they were awake but not yet fully stirring - and when I returned 20 minutes later, they were up, showered (hmmmm), dressed and almost packed and ready to get their instruments - trombone and saxaphone - from the house.

I will never understand L's ability to have a lime milkshake - at any time, let alone for breakfast. She didn't want anything to eat because she was starting to feel nervous about the performance - as were we, but for slightly different reasons - ie that no-one seemed to be sure that "today is the day", and what time the concert was scheduled for. The venue was not in dispute - they were providing background music for the local craft market. The other thing that was not in dispute was that this would be their teacher's last appearance. She is staying at the school next year but won't be taking the kids for music.

The concert was good - although the crowd of passers-by could have been bigger. Usually people are sticky-beaks but it doesn't seem that this lot is. Their loss because the kids were great - and the tear in my eye at the start of "Rainbow Connection" was emotion and nostalgia rather than a comment on the quality of the kids' performances.

Both of them did solos - and you couldn't have found prouder aunties. I managed to get some fairly decent photographs - and a video or two - which I will distribute to them and to their teacher

Concert finished - we headed back to the Gold Coast - Yum Cha, a walk around Robina shopping mall, and some videos before we all tumbled into our respective beds ready for tomorrow. One of the videos was "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" which S and I watch every Christmas - and which we thought it was high time the children saw. It is still very funny, especially the sequences where Sparky is trying to get the exterior illumination working. The kids seemed to enjoy it too - commenting that it reminded them of Christmas at their place. Funny that.

Thursday

It would be fair to say that some of us pulled up a bit tired this morning - after a fairly late night - arriving home just before 1am - but it was worth it! And the day wasn't too difficult to get through - even though there was some close, involved figurings to do - thanks to the high from the Concert, coffee, coffee, and some ... coffee. R went down to the canteen on site at 11-ish, in search of some lunch for him (he gets in at 6 usually and is feeling peckish by then) and he kindly agreed to shop for caffeine for me. What a nice man! Especially as it was raining. It's a pity S is in Kyogle because she would have loved the first day of Summer here - cool, overcast, raining ... just a little different to the view that most people have of a typical Gold Coast (or Australian) Summer.

And because it's raining today, there was no lawn mowing - but I came straight home from work anyway because if there was going to be a storm, I wanted someone to be home with the animals. They can get a bit scared sometimes.

The other reason for wanting to come straight home though - was to finally sit down and finish my tax. I had made a good fist of it the other night and I wanted to finish the year, do the cover letter, make electronic copies and address the envelope so it was all ready to send off tomorrow. Even though I had been putting it off for a while - and not just getting that last little bit done - tonight was definitely the night.

M stayed in as well working on her ... tax! There's something about commisserating about how the preparation turns a little pear-shaped each year and even though there is every good intention to "do better", and be more organised for the next year, that hasn't yet happened. But even though it seems doomed to failure (as it has been every other time), I will try again (perhaps with a new system) for this financial year.

S is having a good time in Kyogle and very much looking forward to the kids' concert on Saturday morning, as am I. M (thanks) has kindly loaned me the good car for the trip down there - since Lars is still not fixed - and even though I have now been able to schedule him into the mechanic - that won't be until 14 December.

The furries were all in this evening - which might have had something to do with it being wet outside - I doubt they were attracted by the tax!

Wednesday

It's the most fun I've ever had outside The Big House - a picnic of sorts as we sat in the Coach (bus) waiting for the last two folk to arrive so we could begin our journey to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and an evening with Elton John. As we waited in air-conditioned comfort we ate pizza, listened to Neil Diamond's "Hot August Night" and watched as a woman who had fallen over - but seemed to be okay except a little ''out of it" was escorted from the property and on to a bus.

S was so disappointed that she was missing out on Elton - she left with her brother M For Kyogle this afternoon and had reached there just as our coach pulled away from The Big House. They made good time-because we all left Latimers at more or less the same time.

The Concert (thank you M, The Big House, Elton and the touring company) was amazing and even more so when we found out that EJ has bronchitis and had been advised by his doctor not to do the performance - but he did, giving a very human face to the saying "the show must go on''. The staging was simple yet effective and included clips of a younger Elton performing the old favourites when they were new. The Cello Boys - as found on YouTube were amazing and not just because they (according to Elton) lowered the band's average age by 30 years. At least one of the other band members has been with Elton from the start - what an incredible ride and time that must have been!

After losing his voice in the last song (of the concert), Elton did come back on stage for a quick and much appreciated encore before, hopefully, going back to where he's staying for a well-earned rest, a good night's sleep and, at the very least, some medication.