Tuesday

By the time I arrived back at Latimers this afternoon it was threatening to rain - had in fact sprinkled on the car - so I put off ROM until tomorrow. Instead, it was cup of tea time with S and M out the front - something we haven't done for a while. I have missed it - not quite sure how we let life get so busy sometimes that we don't stop to enjoy the simpler things in life. Emma came out briefly for a drink of water but then put herself back into the room. She was a little low key this morning - trying to put herself away into her "corner" or into the cupboard. Instead, S made her a "nest" on the bed so she could keep an eye on her.

It was no surprise that there was a big storm this evening with over 2000 lightning strikes registered throughout the Gold Coast. S, at home at Latimers, watching through the very generous windows here, said it provided a very spectacular light show. And a bit of rain. Although we're only using tank water for the garden and pet watering at the moment, it's good to know it's being topped up and there will be no need to purchase water for a while. She said she was glad she was at home when the storm hit because the animals, particularly Pearl, were frightened.

While S was watching nature's show, M and I were in at The Big House watching the first night of Hale and Pace's farewell tour (thank you M). They were fantastic although there were a couple of places where the act fell just a little flat but they quickly moved on. The only problem was that at some points I was laughing so much that there was no way I could actually remember the lines I was laughing at. (I must ask M if she does.) Even some of the bits when they were poking fun at people - something I don't usually like - was done "well" and some bits of that were very funny too. The support acts were pretty good too - a ventriloquist and an unusualist - the latter reprising a performance he did on the Internet a while back - YouTube search or Google for "shadows Wonderful World" - it was/is incredible how he is able to produce such amazing images from a lamp, a screen, and two hands. Of course, the dancing coat trick was pretty good too! You have to love any act which features a yellow feather boa! (Is such a thing named after the boa constrictor snake?)

Monday

The treadmill is one giant step closer to being operational. < Sigh of relief. > I had a good chat with Technical Support today and Aaron was able to suggest some "fixes". So, in the mail today (thank you time difference between the Australian States) is a replacement cable set which should fix the problem. Of course, I had to take the treadmill down to diagnose the problem but the good news is that it came down much more easily than it went up - and I'm hoping that when it does go back up, it will be easy as well. I was surprised the furries weren't more interested in the proceedings but I am grateful S helped out! Thank you!

If I hadn't been busy with the treadmill, I would have walked the rubbish up (M had already driven the recycling up on her way out today) because I still have a couple (understatement) of steps to get for my today's 10,000. But I will get a few more before the evening is over.

The other thing I could have done is the mowing. It is time again. It's good to see it looking so healthy - it has obviously loved the rain - and I think we may be in for a little more - as long as it leaves the lawn dry for tomorrow afternoon.

M and A left for their overseas trip this evening. F was taking them up and I'm not sure who else was going up for the drive. Which reminds me, S was saying that M told her that when M get back in a couple of months' time, he and F are starting the garden project - putting a vegetable garden in in the area down the slope behind the garage. F has been talking about it for a while and apparently it was discussed at the Markets on Sunday (S and I were in Toowoomba) and a decision made to go-ahead.

I am still trying to work out what the noise was - ie what animal made it - out the back this evening. As I took the rubbish out to the bin, I heard a loud snuffling noise over near the avocado tree and then rustling and movement as Pearl barked and raced out, chasing it. It was far too dark to see (can dogs see in the dark or was Pearl following scent or sound?) so I have no way of knowing if it was as big as it sounded. I imagined it might have been a wild pig but I know we don't get them around here (I may have just made that up because I don't think that is anything that has ever been discussed with M or the neighbours) ... but even as I write that I wonder if it might have been Donovan (B and N's pet hog) out for a walk! I had been getting braver about taking the rubbish over to the bin in the dark but I'm now thinking that those days might be over - although now I am being cautious about wildlife not the possible appearance of a Yowie!

Sunday

As Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz" - "there's no place like home" - or is that just another example of famous movie quotes that never happened? It's always good visiting Toowoomba but it's good being home too. And it was a good visit - and a pretty busy day - shopping for a housewarming present for T, visiting D and E again (we went yesterday and played with their new tablet computer) to help D learn how to send photographs by email, a visit from K, and then Mum taking up some trousers for me.

M had called while we were on the way home to say she would feed Emma and give her her insulin shot so we wouldn't have to rush home. That was nice, so we called in to the local Chinese restaurant in Nerang and would have dinner there but as we weren't yet hungry (we had had a late lunch) we ordered some takeaway to bring back to Latimers with us.

Pearl was asleep when we arrived home but soon woke up and started barking and finally came out to help us unpack the car - but not before she had sniffed us as if she knew that we had been playing with another canine - Pippa. We let her check the car to assure her that we had not brought "it" home with us.

Tink came in a little while later and settled in front of the television to watch "Jaws 2" with me while S read yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. Although the screams (on the television) must have gotten the better of her because we ate dinner with the movie (rather than watching a Sunday night current affairs show).

All I can think is that Toowoomba is more tiring than Latimers because we were in bed by 8:50 and while I had been intending to read my book, that didn't happen because eyelids were just too heavy.

Saturday

It is raining here again today - and word is that it is raining in Toowoomba as well ... and they were right! We arrived here just on lunchtime after a leisurely drive up from Latimers - having first stopped in at Crave for breakfast. I am not sure what was wrong there today - S suggested that maybe the planets were out of alignment - but it wasn't up to it's usual wonderful standard. It was all just slightly "off" - M's coffee was not hot, her hard poached eggs were not as well done as my soft ones, S's side of tomato didn't appear ( they usually give tomato with the Crave breakfast but have been substituting a hash brown because tomatoes are not in plentiful supply [read: expensive] but a re-substitution is theoretically possible), and it took them ages to actually acknowledge our presence on arrival, to give us menus and take our drinks and food orders. It would be a shame if this is an ongoing change for them because it used to be an excellent breakfast venue.

It was a good drive up to Toowoomba - mostly - but for some reason the rain seems to bring out the opposite of safety in some drivers. One cut in in front of us to overtake someone and then almost immediately braked. Once again I was grateful for that piece of advice given to me all those years ago when I was learning - drive like no-one can see you. It does change your presence on the road!

It was good to catch up with relatives up here during the afternoon and then we took Mum out to Sizzlers for dinner. We were home by 8 and settled in for some television as I copied some music for Mum. Even though we had planned to have an early night, it was nearly 11 by the time all if us called it a night.

Hopefully the animals were in bed earlier at Latimers.

Friday

Bananas are down to $7.99/kg. I only know because I was taking a photograph of balloons far off in the distance and the A-board out the front of the supermarket advertising on now-cut-price bananas was in the shot. I wonder if H would have wanted to go on a balloon ride if he had seen one - and would I have wanted to go with him?

Family and Friends dinner tonight was at Mi and F's. It was lovely food - home-made hoummos - very tasty; pumpkin soup; chicken and rice and a very tasty garden salad - and simmit - a bread roll which is mostly crust - also very tasty. And then Mi's friend Sara (Lee) had prepared an apple crumble for dessert. Yummm.

The boys were home this evening and they came out individually to say hello and to eat their dinner. Not sure why they didn't both come out at the same time. Lu is still waiting to hear if he's been accepted into music college in Boston - and should know in a couple of weeks. I don't think F wants him to go, even though he knows this is what Lu wants - so much so he seems to think that Mi is responsible for Lu ever entertaining the idea of moving to the US to pursue his music career.

F is still fasting (as are the boys) and now, even more than before, once he's had dinner, he is ready for a nap. Mind you, at the end of a long week, following on from the Me and little H visit, his weren't the only eyelids being dragged towards their toes. (I wasn't one of them because I had managed to fit in a small visit to the Land of Nod between work and dinner - although as I was falling to sleep I was listening to music - which kept waking me up! Emma had a nap with me - probably because we haven't yet told her that we are going away to Toowoomba for the weekend.

While we were at dinner, Mi called A on Skype. It's not that long (actually Monday) before she and M are off to overseas. N left on Wednesday and is already in Malaysia and just about to move on to London and Paris. We will be following her progress in FaceBook in the coming weeks.

Thursday

The television is back! It has been missed - especially as there was nothing else that filled the hole against the wall where it usually lives. It was lovely this evening to see S watching it with Beasley cuddled up next to her on the couch, Pearl at her feet, Tink on Pearl's day bed and Maggie on the treadmill.

There is still no action on the treadmill. I had hoped it had somehow corrected itself overnight - and yesterday since I didn't get a chance to look at it then - but I was wrong. And it's not just Maggie can't reach the START button. I will call Customer Service tomorrow and see what magic they can do over the phone.

And speaking of magic - the Harry Potter* collectible wands Me took back for the other grandchildren were a big hit - except the children couldn't get them to work properly. Me told them they would need to learn the spells when they were older. Yes - this does mean that the travellers arrived home safely. Word is, though, that little H "looks different" although I'm not exactly sure what that means.

Since S is still not fully recovered from her lurgy, we didn't go out for our usual Thursday "date night". Better we stayed in with the furries and the television anyway - what would we do if we won another six-pack of beer at the Trivia Night at the Advancetown Hotel? Did I mention the trivia people have a website and if you go there - I'm not sure if you have to be signed up - you will see one of the next week's trivia questions. I think the last time we were there it was a three-pointer. Mind you trivia just isn't what it used to be - the questions are much harder and I can't help but hope the one M and S are about to go to at The Big House are better.

* Not to be confused with the JP** collectible signature stamps.
** Justice of the Peace

Wednesday

It's hard to know what's happening at home if you work an 11-hour day!

I do know that S is not feeling well and had the day in bed - except for getting a lift into Nerang with M so she could get some cat food and other supplies.

K came today and, besides other activities, also helped M put the screen door at the front back on.

There is a bird sitting on the nest. The cats are spending a lot of time out the front - minding them.

Tuesday

It's still raining here - and that's good because we do need it!

Did I mention that the new treadmill arrived at Latimers yesterday and I determined that today would be the day I would take it out of its box and start using it? I have always been an optimist - no wait ... I have always wanted to be an optimist but don't quite manage it - which is how it turned out with the treadmill ... not quite managing it.

It did come out of the box - which is now waiting out the back to go for a trip to the tip with the old treadmill - and after much perseverance and persistence (and not a small amount of swearing) I did manage to get it assembled (okay, so there are a couple of screws missing but I don't think they're crucial or going to make it unsafe!) - but the one thing I
didn't manage to do was to get it working. Was it because we didn't turn it on with a Christmas Vacation drumroll? We did turn it on though and checked and changed powerpoints and made sure we read the instruction book and did everything within our power to make it more than a very expensive paperweight. Of course, I will try it all again tomorrow without an air of absolute frustration and desperation - I'm hoping that will make a difference - and failing that, that I can get on to customer service (supposedly excellent according to the web reviews).

Did I mention I purchased the treadmill over the interweb and that it came to us from Perth. And if I have to put it back in that %#}^^<*£ box to send it back - it may not happen! We will just have to wait to see what tomorrow brings.

It's not the same knowing that H and Me are not just down the road with Mouse. There was an email from his Dad yesterday thanking M and us for showing H a good time - and referring to him as the "cuddly little toy". It will be good for him to see his family again - from what he said you could tell that he really wanted to go home - but he also wanted to stay. S had taught him a song - the "That's All Folks" one from Merrie Melodies - to sing if he got sad. Of course, I'm hoping he will also remember the Fizzy Bubelah song - to the tune of the Hallelujah Chorus! (Yes, yes, we suspect that's not exactly what Handel had in mind when he composed this Christmas piece.)

Monday 22

H has gone home! We took them (we took him, Mi, F and Mouse took Me) to the airport this evening. But more about that later.

M brought the lad home with her this afternoon - I suspect to leave the way clear for Me to finish her packing and re-packing routine. They do have a lot they are taking back - including the Nerf machine gun - and it is going to be astonishing if they can get through without paying excess baggage charges. Me was buying things almost right up to the last minute - making it even more of a challenge to fit everything in.

While we had H, we took a last opportunity to play Nerf ambush. He surprised us by saying he was now "too mature" to play Nerf. My goodness - what has gotten into that boy - who has been filling his head with such rubbish. You are never too old/mature to play! And I told him so. But maybe it was just because the machine gun was already packed and he would have to make do with the revolvers or his stealth pistol. I can't help but wonder if we'll ever pull them out again if he isn't around - trying to work out ways to cover the noise of the very loud motors on them!

I'd like to say that everything went smoothly in getting them to the airport and on to their plane - and while they did leave, there was a brief (actually very long) moment when it seemed that they might be bumped - off the plane rather than upgraded as Mi thought for just a second. But it all turned out and we are now just awaiting word that they have arrived home safely.

Sunday

This is our last full day with H and we packed a fair bit in - which is not only talking about my posterior and the plastic moulded seat of the Go Kart! But let's start at the very beginning.

After not nearly enough sleep - I'm blaming the actual staying up to watch the Shark vs Octopus movie rather than any nightmares that might have ensued from their battle - I clawed my way awake to feed Emma - and then crawl straight back into bed thinking I could get at least another hour's sleep before I had to get up to do the Skype call with T. M was sleeping down the back (H was in her bed) - also catching up on zzzz's after a not very restful night (teenagers kick, I was assured when we passed in the hall) but said she would start her morning ablutions so I could make my call from down there rather than have to go outside. It dawned very wet and fairly cold today - so I was grateful for the offer. It's good to see the rain - we badly need it at Latimers.

We made it to the Markets - but we were as late as Mi and F were - which is not like us really (it could be like them!). It was the usual markets crowd and we had our usual table - the oddity this time though was that they had a live group playing some quite good music about 30 yards from us ... it made conversation a little difficult but it provided some lovely ambiance.

After Markets (which are very slow in that last half hour leading up to closing time - they may be thinking of going back to their earlier hours) we had a couple of stops, including lunch, before heading off to the Go Karts. There are at least two tracks on the Gold Coast - one under cover, the other not - and because it had been raining and was still raining in patches, we decided we would try out the undercover one - with a smaller track admittedly but which wouldn't kick road grit over the drivers necessitating a change of clothes and possibly even a new set of clothes.

Of the three of us who fronted the Karts - one was experienced (H), one had ridden before (M) and one had never (me!) and was a little concerned, from a safety point of view, that they required you to sign a waiver (of all your rights), and then gave you karts where the fuel tank was between your knees and there was no seatbelt. But H had great fun - and that's what it's all about. (Even though my legs were a little wobbly as I got off - and my arms tired - why don't they fit power steering to these things? - I felt much steadier than last week when I went on the Batman ride - aka huge yo-yo-type ride.)

We finished with a cup of coffee at the nearby Zarraffa's, then a trip to the DVD store (have they officially stopped calling them video stores now?) to get some films for H for this evening - which he's spending at home with his Nana - and then we dropped him at home, picked up our car and came home ourselves, while M and Me went to the premiere of a new Australian film (based on a true story) "The Cup"!

Saturday

There was no sleeping in today because we had a big day ahead of us. Unfortunately, even though it is the weekend, Pearl had to stay home and couldn't come with us to breakfast at Sisters - because we were moving straight on to Mouse's to collect little H and then on to DreamWorld.

It has been years since I went to DreamWorld and it doesn't seem to have changed that much. There is more of it, though, but my favourite again/still was the Tiger Show. I think H is still enamoured with the rides but a little disappointed that the park's Q4U system isn't currently working (they're doing an upgrade). It's a great system though - you register for the rides you want to go on and the Q4U will let you know when it's time - completely doing away with the need to wait in line. Pretty cool - although the other thing I would have been impressed at was an interactive map which shows "You are here" and then plots a course to where you're going.

But H knew where the crocodiles were - they were on my list of things to see - both the real ones and the statue - and we have a lovely photo of H in the jaws of the crocodile (not the real one) and looking decidedly uncomfortable as the fibreglass teeth (not real but still fairly pointy and able to inflict some pain) bit into him.

Even though it was cold, and a little rainy at times, H went for a two goes of the FlowRider - which is like surf in a pool. He was getting pretty good at it too before it was time to leave. The Great K is on semester break and M was giving him a lift to the airport so he could go home for a couple of weeks. Alas, because we also had an early dinner planned, that meant we had to leave relatively early from DreamWorld - and them, when David's plane was delayed, we took him to the airport at the original time because there was just no way we could do it later and still make it to dinner and not be late.

It was a good evening and most everyone brought their appetites with them and - thanks to special permission (thank you M) - we were able to have a leisurely 3.5 hours stay which included a few trips to the buffet, great conversation, much fun and even a few photographs (must remember to send those ones to Mi).

Then we were off home, taking H with us and we settled in to a viewing of "MegaShark vs the Giant Octopus" (not Squid) - which is probably best classed as one of those films which is so bad it is incredibly memorable. Never will "take a walk" have the same meaning again - nor will I feel safe from sharks while travelling in a plane (H*ly Sh*t!!)! The good (?) news is that there is a sequel but we won't have time to fit it in before H leaves.

Friday

Family and Friends dinner is tomorrow night - so we met at Olga's to go to Putt Putt. As we sat there having bread rolls with chicken and various other filling - especially when F dropped H off after they had been to mosque and movies - I realised we had almost done Family and Friends dinner - the only one missing was Mihriban who was actually home sick with a lurgy she has picked up. Hopefully she will be well enough to come to dinner tomorrow evening - Seafood Spectacular at The Big House!

We went to King Tut's Putt Putt this evening - H had spied it in his travels and wanted to go there. I was just glad he hadn't spied the big slingshot ride and wanted to do that tonight! While the King Tut course options were good - three inside, one outside - we had time to only do one - and that was the Egyptian one as that had a "cave" where the putt putt balls glowed in the dark. In retrospect we decided that probably all the courses (except maybe the outside one) had a similar option but we were happy enough with the Egyptian one - except that it seemed to be a "family" course - with the holes designed to encourage your ball to go in rather than it being a test of skill and expertise. Still, only one of us - H - managed to score a hole in one this evening - and I think all of us had had one at the Mermaid course when we last went.

Then we were off to Surfers Paradise to find some ice cream - which happened to be downstairs from TimeZone ... so of course we had to go there too. H and I are doing car racing machines at the moment - and he's very good at it! It really is an interesting phenomenon to watch young people hang out at Time Zone. You can see that it taps into their short attention spans - no game there is that long - and they seem to be instilling that sense of gaming (or is that gambling) very early. But the kids - and the adults because there were a few - do seem to get something out of it so it can't be all bad!

Thursday

A light rain fell over the Gold Coast this morning but not enough to dampen everyone's spirits. And not enough to stop little H from getting on ROM and doing a few laps of the yard this afternoon. It was his first time on ROM - or anything like it - and S said he made a pretty good fist of it! And while he said he could have mowed six weeks ago, there just wasn't anything to mow - or so M tried to convince him (and it's true) but for some reason (perhaps because ROM is fun) he wasn't hearing it.

L chopped down the Lemonade tree! Although he hasn't removed the bottom half of the tree yet so it may yet be a method to promote growth. We only tried Lemonades for the first time this year - and they are marvellous. Just juice them and you can drink it straight away - you don't need to add anything to it - not even water or sugar. I think M said that she's been thinking of planting one. I wonder how long it takes for the trees to fruit. Hmmmmm ... or yummmm.

We met in at Pacific Fair this afternoon, at The Coffee Club. It was late night shopping so after our coffee and Crosswords instant scratchies (both H and I had winning tickets) H and I went into JB HiFi to "look". He helped me pick out some DVDs (they were having a 3 for 2 special) and was very patient while I deliberated over whether to get some "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". As we looked through the various titles including Heroes he pointed out that one of those actors had played Spock in Star Trek. Not so, I suggested and we both raced off to find photos of Spock to prove our case. He came back with the JJ Abrams movie (he was right) and I came back with the original series (I was right too)! This may be part of the generation gap that people used to talk about.

While S and I could have gone home and had an early night, I have started work on the "secret project" which meant I have to remember how to use PhotoShop - and it has been a while! It was a little disheartening - especially as I was trying to remember how to do just about the easiest thing - putting one photo into another. (It really shows that it's time to beef up the computer!)

Wednesday

I survived Dracula's Haunted House - and have the wristband to prove it! Of course, those who know me will know that I am not exaggerating when I say it took letting little H go first and both of us having torches that stayed on virtually all the way through, that made it possible. Who knew that it was going to be the day of the dark places - especially since the reason for going into Surfers Paradise today was to go to Infinity - a lights show. Luckily H had already been through this attraction with M so he knew his way around - the object is to make your way through Infinity by finding the doors that lead through to the next area - and without him there to lead the way through, I would probably still be there. I think we made it from start to finish in record time though (but not the five minutes that M suggested it would take) but it was still enough to take it in and marvel at what can be done with light and dark in different proportions. H doesn't seem to be afraid of the dark at all - which is just as well because in one area at Infinity it is dark and you step into the room - and the floor is all squishy and not quite where you expect it to be. And yes, those were laser sights on our backs and fronts and sides as we went through one area. Duck!!!!!

And then we went off to Dracula's Haunted House. This had not been on our agenda - well, not on mine at least, and I'm not quite sure how I came to say "yes" to going - but before I knew what was happening really the girls in ghoulish make-up at the counter were calling me "Mum" and assuring me it was scary and that if you chicken out they don't give cash refunds (but they will give merchandise!!). It's not everyone who can say they have crawled into Kevin Rudd's mouth, taken a tour of his digestive tract and then plopped out the other end! Would it have been more horrifying if it had been current Prime Minister Julie Gillard's instead? Again, H had been to the Haunted House before and he remembered all the best scary bits - especially the bits where they shoot air over you and make loud whooshing noises ... you knew it was coming because he would either tell me to cover my ears or he would be covering his. And it's not the world's worst attraction ... and it would probably be even more scary without the torches or if the batteries had run out before we reached the end. And, the electric chair in the entrance doesn't work!!! We weren't expecting it to work like a real electric chair but we were expecting it to do something!

Then we met M and S, had a cup of coffee at StarBucks (thanks to the young gentleman who gave me the receipt for over $10 so I could get two hours free parking even though I only bought $7.95 worth of coffee), and then made our way back to Latimers - stopping at Sushi Train Nerang (too crowded to get a table) and then at NoodleBox for dinner (takeaway).

Pearl was pleased when we arrived home and H fed her - mince and cookies - and maybe even a little bit of meat from his noodles. She would also not have said no to his popcorn - tonight was Movie Night again in M's room (no word yet on the television and progress in getting it fixed) and we all watched "Zohan" - very funny - before S and I left M, H and Pearl to it ... too many late nights make it very difficult to concentrate on detailed figurings at work!

Tuesday

Show Day! The Ekka! Strawberry ice-creams that have had the same recipe for years and years and years - until this year (but reportedly still yummy)! Sample "bags" (which they give away rather than sell)! Sideshow Alley! Fireworks! Woodchop! Magic tricks for sale - and not bad either! Show bags - which look magnificent when unpacked and spread out over the bed! Toffee apples! Free pens (which are wands and bubble-blowers)! It sounds like M, S, H, Me and Mouse had a great day at The Ekka and certainly the ones I saw come back to Latimers this evening (just after 11) were certainly tired but happy. S said she wished she had had a pedometer on because she was sure she had walked a very long way.

M brought back a new toy for Pearl - a yellow plush dog - which fits nicely in her mouth but which (sorry Pearl) doesn't squeak. S bought a new cat collar for Em because the other one is starting to vibe a bit tatty- but she has had it for a long while.

While everyone was off at The Ekka, I took advantage of the spare time to visit A and help with some more apps and downloads for her iPad - making sure she has plenty to watch while she is in transit and overseas. Hopefully she will like the one series I gave her - one of my favourites - so much so that I haven't been able to watch the movie they made after the series ended because I know there will never be new content - and possibly also because I heard that the movie - minus one of the main characters - wasn't that good.

The moon was magnificent over Latimers again this evening. And over the Ekka where the others saw it because they were in the stand facing the right direction. That's one thing about the moon - it shines on all of us - regardless of where we are - and helps us feel together even though we may be far apart.

Monday

It was a DreamWorld day today for M, S and little H. But for some reason the Q4U wasn't working there and H had to do his own lining up. They met me after work at Zarraffas before M went off to meet Me and Mouse for a movie at The Big House. S and I took charge of the lad and went off to do some tasks including calling into the pharmacy and going to the train station to get a timetable for their excursion to the Ekka tomorrow. But they had none left so H and I talked to the Customer Service Officer about timings for their journey there and back (I was more worried about them missing the last train of the evening back to the Gold Coast) and taking photographs of the times since there wasn't a printed timetable.
Then it was off to the video store. M had given S a voucher which meant we could get 7 weekly movies for $5.95 - and the only problem we would have was picking ones we wanted enough but not so much that we would want to watch them all tonight - unlikely. In the end we let H choose because he would be the one watching most of them. And then there was the dilemma of which one to watch first. I suggested we could do it by just doing a blind selection - but H had a better idea - he said we should use Pearl and let her pick. Which is how we came to watch Ali G in the House - because Pearl sniffed it most when she was making her selection. I'm not sure if it was the best of a bad lot but it was a bit funny in places and just plain crude - or was that rude - or both? - in others.
When we pulled into the video store we had decided to have NoodleBox for dinner - H had also had it for lunch but that didn't seem to bother him. By the time we had jumped out of the car - we were no longer definitely going to NoodleBox. H could smell something wonderful wafting his way on the Nerang breeze and it wasn't NoodleBox ... and though we weren't exactly sure what it was - we were sure it was probably coming from McDonald's (just over the road). So sure that as we left the video store, H asked if it would be alright if we had McBurgers for dinner. It's been a while since we've had Maccas for dinner and it was ... interesting. We're still wondering if it was my diction or the Macca person's hearing that turned S's orange juice into a Coca-Cola.
We must have made a lovely picture - the three of us and Pearl - watching the video in M's bedroom because the real television has not yet come back from the repair shop. I don't even know if M has had a quote for the remedial work yet. S, Pearl and H had the bed while I sat, quite comfortably, in the armchair. No sooner had we settled when H decided he wanted popcorn (he had mentioned it at the video store) and - just as well because we hadn't bought any - there was microwave popcorn in the cupboard - which he was able to make himself) - and I think we did well in cautioning him against sharing - with Pearl. And who knew that he sees his life motto as "Disaster is only a small step away" (as last seen on Mr Bean's Holiday)?

Sunday

There's nothing like routine to get a morning started well and this morning I was up at 6:30 to feed Em and give her the insulin shot - and I was planning to break routine and climb back into bed for at least an hour and a half - getting up in time for the weekly Skype call with Trish.

That was the plan anyway - but once I was up, I was up - and posting photographs from yesterday's excursion to FaceBook, the iPad, and making back-ups to DVD. Can't be too careful with digitial media if you want to keep it.

M and S were also a little slow at starting, well, not actually starting but getting out of Latimers - and they were still eating their breakfast (fruit salad - thanks M) aftrer I had finished the call and was starting to finish getting ready myself.

We were late to the Markets but they hadn't started without us - and F (even though he is fasting) did the honours with the Murse and fronted the coffee cart to do the orders. It was more or less the usual crowd although this time N managed to bring her husband along - and because they were late, when she came looking for us the first time, we weren't there ("why is it that every time I bring S, no-one is here?) - but they did find us later.

I was pleased to see that A has been using her iPad 2 because she came with questions - and I was able to answer most of them, send her some links to some worthwhile apps, and to show her some "tips and tricks".

And then we were off again (remember I said there was a plan!) - dropping Mouse's car off at her place so we could take her, Me and little H with S and I to Yum Cha at Robina. (You can book it rather than having to wait in line for a table to open up.) S and the others went off to get the table while H and I went to collect movie tickets (he and I were off to the "Green Lantern" while the others were going to see "Red Dog"). M, meanwhile, was back at The Big House collecting a free $50 each for everyone who had given her their card. I think we're planning to have seafood buffet at The Big House for Friday night dinner this week with the proceeds. Thank you Big House. The bad news, M announced whenn she joined us, was that the Golden Dollars jackpot had been close - but not close enough.

(Phew ... we were busy today!)

After the movies, we had a Max Brenner fix (hot chocolates mostly) before setting off for The Spit where we were lucky enough to see a golden full moon rising over the ocean. Just magic - and I think even H who had said he wasn't interested in seeing the moon, thought it was "okay".

We finished the day with fish and chips at Peter's at Main Beach - an old favourite which brings back many memories - as do walks out on The Spit thingy - hmmmm, there must be a proper name for that man-made structure made of rocks and concrete that is built out into the ocean - and it must have been built for a reason!

Little H is spending the night out at Latimers - and he and Pearl were very pleased to see each other. He was also happy when he was able - finally, after much patient trying - to give Tink a pat and a "chuck under the chin".

All in all, it was, simply, a marvellous weekend!

Saturday

We had made today's plan last night - so we knew we were having breakfast somewhere - which turned out to be at Sisters. If we had been thinking, we could have taken Pearl with us, rather than leaving her at Latimers. We were picking up Me and H from Mouse's so we could have left Pearl there for the day because Mouse wasn't planning to come with the rest of us to ... drumroll please ... MovieWorld!

M had taken H there earlier in the week and they had concentrated on the rides rather than the shows. Our aim was to be at the first stunt show (11.30) and then spend the rest of the day seeing what else this World had to offer. Well, we missed the first show by a couple of minutes so we went straight to the Batman ride - which is similar to DreamWorld's Big Drop - but which also yo-yos you up and down the tower. This is the first "ride" I have been on as long as I can remember ... actually I do remember, it was at DreamWorld nearly 10 years ago ... and a person ages a lot in 10 years! "I don't think I can do this" I told Me and M when H took things back to S to hold while we were on the ride ... better to say these things while the youngest member of the group is out of earshot - no point in disillusioning one so young! But I did go on and it was amazing ... how one's leg can turn so much to jelly and still be capable of holding you up.

But that wasn't the only ride of the day - certainly not for him. He did Lethal Weapon (by himself), Superman (by himself), Scooby-Do (first with Me and M and then with me) and ... there was another roller coaster in Kiddy Land (what were they thinking!?!). Of course, he went on the rides multiple times each - but I think he was disappointed (in retrospect) that he hadn't come to the 4D show - so they will go back to that another day - which will need to be soon because he and Me return to Turkey in 10 days or so.

After MovieWorld, it was back to Latimers for animal feeding and dropping S off - she decided to have a quiet night in rather than coming to The Big House with M, Me and I.

On the way to The Big House we called in at Mouse's to drop off little H, and to have dinner - a wonderful repast of soup and stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes. Absolutely yummy. We almost became too involved in watching Tim Burton's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" - the first time I have seen it - and by the time we were ready to leave it was after 9.30pm.

CSP jackpot is still climbing and it remains difficult to get a seat at the tables. When we arrived there were only two tables working - and one of them had a "seat up" where you push your seat forward to "reserve" it while you wander off - and as I stood there the dealer asked if I wanted to play - and to take the chair ... "he's been gone too long" he said - and the $10 in chips that had been placed there by someone else to reserve the spot (should the original player not return) was moved to one side because he also had been "gone too long". He came back soon after I sat down - of course - and his chips, as set aside, were returned to him. If he had been really interested in staying and playing, another seat opened up at the table not long after, but he was nowhere to be seen.

We eventually made it home ... despite the smoke hanging around from a fire somewhere in the hinterland which has now been put out ... and the other good news is that we have a plan for tomorrow.

Friday

Little H went to the movies with Uncle Flam and the boys after Mosque and saw "The Green Lantern" - and has declared it "the best movie" he has ever seen. What makes a film so? Is it because of the film or is something that the viewer brings to it and/or something which resonates in them?

Family and Friends dinner was back at Mecca Bah tonight. I don't know what they've done there but it was much noisier than I remember - almost too loud to be able to hold a decent conversation with the people sitting next to you let alone around the table. But the food (ordered by Mi and M - thank you - great choices) was fantastic as always - and everyone seemed to be in fine form. Sometimes though, I do wish Friday night dinner could be on another night - and not at the end of the week - especially if it has been a tiring week. But, I guess that's what Family & Friends dinner is about - just being able to "be" at the end of the week rather than having to ... well, anything besides that. It's good to be able to do that especially with such good folk.

The Great K wasn't there tonight - I think he may still be knee-deep in his studies - which he seems determined to do well at. He has semester break coming up and I think he has already spoken to M about giving him a lift to the airport as he intends to go home to Sydney for a couple of weeks. He's going to come back the week before semester starts as he has to do some training so he can do his psychology clinicals next time around. And I must let him know that I have those movies for him.

Thursday

M and H went off to Infinity ... and beyond ... today - we know this from a posting on FaceBook (an amazing social tool for keeping up to date with what's happening out and about with family and friends). It looked like fun although S and I are still wondering why M and H were wearing white shoes and gloves in the photo! Maybe it's like the special shoes you need to wear when you go bowling!

S and I were closer to home and went to Advancetown Hotel for dinner. We had been planning to go to Main Beach/The Spit and have fish and chips from Peters Seafood but by the time I arrived home, a wind had come up and we both decided it was going to be a bit cool to eat "out". And, as it turns out, if we hadn't gone to the pub, we wouldn't have played the spot question in trivia and we wouldn't have won a six-pack of beer. Talk about decisions! You get to pick your own six-pack and since neither S nor I is a beer aficionado we were a bit lost. Suggestions by a woman who was trying to be helpful were falling on uneducated ears until she mentioned one that S and I recognised from advertising - and that was it. It's now safely nestled in the back fridge waiting for someone to visit who drinks beer, or Summer and shandies (mmmm ... Beer and lemonade), or to take to a something-or-other where people drink beer!

The television repair people came today to take it away and give a quote on it's repair. It certainly is different without it there - both in terms of how different the room looks without it and because you just can't watch television there. So, since S couldn't watch lifestyle programs, she decided to read in bed. At some point we realised that, just like S, the cats had also vacated the living room so we have surmised that they like the television and/or sitting with S on the couch! But they all came in as called for lockdown!

Wednesday

Finally, there was a chance for another nerf attack this afternoon when M brought little H home on the way through to Jupiters where he is staying tonight. He likes it so much he has been called, in passing, Mr Hotel Lover. I think it's the robes he likes most of all because he doesn't seem to like Cheeseland as much as the rest of us, although he doesn't really get to go to Cheeseland as he is too young - but he can go to Cheeseland when it is Buffet Breakfast.

H had spent most of the day "helping" M with errands and then they came back to Latimers for a while. S, who was with them, phoned to let me know they were on the way back and while I had originally wanted to know so I could meet them there, but then I realised if I beat them back to the house, I could "surprise" them. And it worked well. Although I hadn't counted on H having his new possession - a stealth nerf - which fires only one dart and which is air-pumped and very quiet.

We went into The Big House tonight as well. M had tickets for us for "Stomp" - and it was an amazing show. We loved it very much - and were stunned by how much noise people can make with the simplest of every day items. One of the most amazing parts of their act was when they did fairy lights with cigarette lighters. Simply stunning. It convinced S and I that we need to see more live theatre.

After the show, we had coffee with M, H and Me who were just having their dinner. It is the first time I have seen a young person have a rare steak - and he persisted with ordering it even though M and H tried to gently persuade him otherwise. But he ate it and seemed to relish the "sloppiness".

While it would have been nice to stay on and have a go at winning the CSP jackpot, I have work in the morning so we had a relatively early night. I think the furries were pleased about that too because they all trooped in and we had lock-down within a few minutes of being home.

Tuesday

Well, I'm not sure what the most disappointing thing about today was ... that the national Census seems to be flawed or that the television went on the blink/fritz/stopped working just when "Modern Family" was coming back on? Well, at least S isn't missing "MasterChef" ... how disappointed would she have been if the set had stopped working on Sunday night when the final was on? And as someone asked on radio - what's the difference between a Final, a Grand Final, and a Grand(e) Finale? Tuesday 9 August

National Census Day was today - where everyone in the land stands up to be counted ... or in our case, sits down at the computer to lodge their eCensus online. S had put her hand up for the task - and while she would have preferred to have done it on the iPad, we weren't sure that the eCensus website had been optimised for this technology - so she used the PC. Which is strange because the Census form and questions weren't ... PC.
[SNIPPED]
Otherwise, all is well at Latimers. Doug was here this afternoon doing some work in the back shed - and did he mention poison? - and we were able to ask after his SO who he says is well and happy. He is going to send us the photographs she took on the night they came to dinner at Mouse's (we are still looking for photographs of Me and her necklace).

Monday

We awoke to a gentle rain falling on Latimers which turned into a downpour by the time I was ready to leave for work. It's good to see the rain - we can always use some more water in the tank!

But it did fine up - and fined up convincingly so I was not surprised to find that M and little H had taken themselves off to MovieWorld for the day. H went on the rides - and was saving the shows until we could go along as well!

MasterChef only finished last night and already S is missing it. We did get used to having it with our evening meal and now that it is over for the season, we will need to find something else of interest. But it was good while it was lasted (and so much better because the result was as it was).

I almost did ROM this afternoon but decided to finish watching a movie instead. It was a big weekend and even though I had a relatively early night last night, I was still just a little on the tired side this morning. The lawns can wait until tomorrow - especially since it appears that the frosts are now over for the year.

I don't know if it would have been more or less alarming if I had been mowing when S called me out the front - to see there was a fire in the long grass just outside L's end paddock - literally just across the road from the front fence. (Had anyone else noticed that the number had fallen off the fence?)

The smoke was so thick that you couldn't see Larry and in the moments before Larry said he was there and had water - S and I were already unwinding the hose reel in case he wasn't there. Full marks to S for thinking to get a longer hose when they got the new hose reel - because it would have reached. She said she thought it was important should there ever be a fire at the Latimers house - because a short hose would never reach.

H and Me are staying in at The Big House tonight and word is that little H didn't get to wear the hotel robe - but he did get a JP Collectible Doll - or was that the phone taking liberties again and it was a Harry Potter Doll rather than one dressed like a Justice of the Peace and carrying a bag of little rubber stamps?

Sunday

I was up and out early again this morning - back to Broadbeach to look at the water (no surf boat this morning) and have breakfast. But there was an added bonus - the Broadbeach Markets were on - and I went for a walk around the stalls. Little did I realise that I would be spending most of my day at Markets - first Broadbeach, then our usual Markets, and then the Carrara Markets. They are all very different - and we will probably need go back to Carrara Markets because we certainly didn't see all there is to see there. I think they're open on a Saturday and a Sunday.

But back to the Bundall Markets. F couldn't make it because he was taking his brother E to the airport so we gang-pressed N (still here from Canberra) into doing the coffee run - which was not without its moment of excitement. I had given her my iPhone with the coffee list on it - and when she returned, the phone wasn't with her. She raced back over to the coffee stand - as I started the "Find iPhone" application on the iPad so we could track the phone if it had decided to go home with someone else. Luckily the stall owners had realised it was from our table and were just about to bring it over when N arrived looking for it. (This is one of the benefits of being a "regular").

The Kettle Korn people were there again this week and H bought a bucket this time. I think he likes it because he was enjoying the free samples he'd brought back with him as well.

After the Markets, it was time for a late Beef & Bug lunch at The Big House. And it had to be there because they were giving away money today too. Anyone with a Casino Absolute Rewards card need only put it in a gaming machine and activate it to have $50 Casino Dollars added to their account. Not surprisingly, it was the busiest I have ever seen the car park - and it was made slightly more difficult than it needed to be because they have been installing a "car finding" system which has led to some areas of the car park being reconfigured - but there is no signage to let you know that where there was a through way, there is now a dead end. At times like this, when you're trying to go back, you can't help but wish you had a smaller car to make the 13-point-point-the-car-in-the-opposite-direction turn - into a 3-pointer.

And, because that wasn't enough excitement for the day (we didn't win the draws - and we didn't make it to MovieWorld again today), we took ourselves home to watch the season Finale of MasterChef. Much to S's joy and pleasure - because she really, really, really didn't want to see Michael win it - Kate took out the title of MasterChef 2011.

Saturday

Pearl knows when it's the weekend and gets that "hang-dog" look when she knows she isn't coming out with us. She couldn't this morning because we were off to Bumbles Cafe for Azra's Birthday Brunch. And it was wonderful - especially since they put us by ourselves in the Blue Room which was beautifully decorated in blue and white and quiet enough so we could hear each other's conversation. We lingered over brunch until it was almost lunch before we made a move - back to Azra's so I could check her internet connection and wifi setup (which appeared not to be working as well as when I had left them) - and to have some of the leftover cakes from Mi's from last night.

In the meantime, the "men" (F and M) had taken little Hamdi "nettle picking". The nettle is sorrel and it can be dried and used as a tea which is apparently a very good iron tonic. According to F and M, they have cornered the sorrel supply and will have enough to keep them all going for quite some time.

By the time we had finished at A's it was deemed to be too late to go to MovieWorld, so we decided to go off to Putt Putt instead. Except then we decided it was time for H to eat, so we took him to Subway at Benowa - where he shared a very good meal deal with S. Then we were going to Putt Putt - except it was getting closer and closer to pet-feeding time so I suggested we come back to Latimers to do that and those who wanted to could have a walk (and take Pearl with them). So off we went - back home - and finally made our way into Putt Putt at Mermaid Beach after walks were had, pets were fed, and Me had Skyped big Hamdi back in Turkey.

Putt Putt was good - we decided to do only two of the three courses - WaterWays and FunLand. The Jungle experience will wait for another day. Who knew that S was harbouring secret Putt Putt skills ... apparently M ... who remembered it from the last time we played - which would have been a few years ago now. She, S, was consistently doing 2 putts per hole.

The rounds were punctuated by dinner - at Sizzlers - because there is no better place to feed a growing teenage boy. I was very pleased we had gone with him because he reintroduced me to Spiders - ice cream and soft drink - which I had completely forgotten about but used to love when I was growing up. Yummmmm.

At the end of the evening, on our way to drop little H and Me back to Mouse's, we stopped in at The Big House so M could collect her "free" money - $50 just for coming in and activating her card in a gaming machine.

Friday

It was Family & Friends dinner tonight and we celebrated Lu's birthday even though it's not until Sunday. Mi and F are going to Brisbane then, so we pulled it forward (back?) to this evening. E and his family, and F's father, came as well so we had a fair-sized gathering. Two-year-old La, who is still not talking, was there also and his father had him doing practice martial arts training moves - and as he executed the moves, E would throw balls to him. And there were lots of balls. La keeps a huge bag of plastic coloured balls there and he likes tipping them out and throwing them to people. He has a good arm (but I don't want him playing cricket E told the assembled throng).

Mi, ever the hostess, as well as preparing stir fry for dinner, had prepared two cakes - cheesecake and a gluten-free chocolate cake - for the birthday celebrations.

The Great K didn't come to dinner but he did ring M (or was that yesterday?) about her giving him a lift to the airport when he goes home on semester break in a couple of weeks time. He continues to be very busy with his studies - and pulling some very long hours which leave him quite tired.

The Latimers animals are all well, and being very good about observing lock-down.

Thursday 5

I finished setting up A's iPad 2 this afternoon and even though there were a couple of difficult moments as we tried to secure the WiFi network we had just created with their new Airport Express, it was all a great success. you would expect that on A's birthday!

But the iPad is not the only thing she got ... M and N had planned a surprise - with N visiting, unannounced from Canberra for a "long" weekend. a had no idea she was coming - I know this because tomorrow when I asked her when she was seeing N next, she said 20 August. I am just thankful I didn't give it away. I would have loved to have seen the look on A's face when N was revealed hiding in the pantry cupboard!

I called in on Mi on the way home from A's to talk secret birthday business and Mi will, now we have finished conferring, buy the gift tomorrow ready for us to give it to A on the weekend. (Thanks Mi.)

My friend J's birthday is tomorrow, and I had an SMS early this evening asking if we were free to go to dinner. Noooo .... This presents a dilemma ... doesn't she know that Friday is reserved for Family & Friends dinner? I wonder what The Great K is doing and whether he will phone seeing what we are up to? (Must drop those files he was after onto a stick or a card and let him know they are done.). So F&F dinner remains and we'll catch up with J soon (and we have already booked next year's birthday celebrations in!)

M has started talking about plans for Saturday. After breakfast, there is some talk of MovieWorld and then a game of putt putt in the evening, depending on what little H wants to do. It sounds like a plan. It has been an age since we've played putt putt - and hopefully we'll make a better fist of that than we have at bowling!

There is another pedometer challenge at work which starts the day before the Global Corporate Challenge ends. I'll just have to wear two pedometers that day.

Tink was the only one in last night - but the others came in, when called, at 9:30 - so lockdown was on time!

M beat me home this evening. While S and I had NoodleBox (rather than going out for dinner - and it was good we didn't because by the time I had finished with A and M it was well after 7) she had a Shepherd's (?) meal that Me had prepared - meat steamed in bread with a salad on the side. That description doesn't do it justice of course!

M had posted some photos and videos of yesterday's visit to Wet & Wild. In some of the videos you see of different theme park rides, they superimpose a black box with the word "Choice" over people's mouths so you can't lipread the single word they say over and over again - and, of course, they remove the offending words from the soundtrack as well. H wasn't using the one I used on the Velociraptor all those years ago (Choice) but he was using one. At first M thought he was saying "Cramp, cramp" because he had one ... but that wasn't quite it!

Wednesday

Except for me, I think just about everyone at Latimers had a slow start to the day. Little H, who had slept over, was woken by a very happy Pearl who jumped up on his bed and gave his face a thorough licking. I'm not sure that's how I would want to be woken up in the morning - especially as it was only last night that little H was suggesting that maybe there were doggie breath mints.

It was no surprise that H was up late - he was up late last night watching "Land of the Lost" - and it was just as well that neither S nor M had seen it because during the course of the day, H gave them a blow by blow description of what happened in the film.

M, S and little H went off to the Wet & Wild theme park today and according to S it was. It was also cold - even though the water is supposed to be heated to 20 degrees - which it was, in the few places in the Wave Pool where the jets of warm water were. I don't think S and they were in the same place!

M went on the rides with little H - she's good like that - and I'm looking forward to seeing the photos from the day. They were on M's camera, which was in the iPad bag, which was dropped back to Mouse's with H at the end of the day.

They didn't think that H wanted to go home. When they arrived back at Latimers, to drop off S en route to Mouse's, H came inside and had an afternoon snack - a bowl of leftover spaghetti from last night, and then a big bowl of ice cream. He apparently asked in about twenty different ways if he could stay - but since M was going out to The Big House for a draw, and since S had plans, there would be no-one to look after him. So he couldn't stay - but he will come back for at least another night before he goes back home to Turkey.

I went off to A's this afternoon to help with the set-up of their new iPad. They ended up getting the 64GB 3G model and they were very happy with the purchase - even before they have any Apps loaded. I can't imagine what they will think of it when it has lots of functionality.

Afterwards I met M in at The Big House. Unfortunately they didn't have many spare seats at the CSP table. The jackpot is now over $250,000 but still there was a young person - was she old enough to actually be playing? - who wasn't putting their dollar up front to have a chance to win the total. M did get a seat at one of the tables but didn't win the jackpot ... this time. Hopefully it's still there next time she's there!

Tuesday

Little H came to stay tonight and I think it was interesting for him. He likes Pearl and wanted to keep playing ball with her - which was okay except for during MasterChef since they were using the squeaky pink ball that she loves. The cats were not so sure about the visitor and while Tink and Beasley did come in for a while, later in the evening, Maggie was nowhere to be found. I think I heard M coax her in after everyone had gone to bed but I didn't see her this morning as I was getting ready to leave and usually she's after someone to open the door for her - she doesn't like using the cat door - or to give her a lift up to her cookies (which are placed well out of Pearl's reach).

H had a good time looking through our "at-home" moving collection and finally settled on "Land of the Lost" which he was going to watch in bed. But he didn't get to go to bed until there had been a game of "Nerf" - made all the better because M had invested in more darts so you could reload without having to go and find the darts just fired. It made for a much quicker game although I am still a little disappointed that the guns keep jamming - and that they can be so difficult to clear - especially when someone is bombarding your with soft foam rubber projectiles. They don't hurt but you still can't help but take up a defensive stance!

S made H's favourite for dinner - spaghetti bolognese and he seemed to enjoy it very much - even though it was a little spicy. He and S are a bit alike - both of them smother the bolognese part of the dish with tomato sauce. And while there were no hidden vegetables in the dinner (or so S told us) there was a very healthy, tasty salad made by M.

M spent the day mostly in today which was probably a nice change for her as she has been out visiting or entertaining little H almost since he and Me arrived a month ago.

I was reminded yesterday of one of the great things about living out of the suburbs - on the way home it was like that scene out of "Australia" (the movie) where Hugh Jackman is driving Nicole Kidman out to the property and there is a kangaroo bounding along beside their truck. Usually the kangaroos along the road home stand there and bound away over the nearest paddock but this afternoon the roo bounced along beside the car for a bit, then crossed into the middle of the road (I was going slowly enough that it wasn't a problem) before finally taking off over a fence. It was such a thrill to see! But much less of one later that evening as I drove back into Broadbeach and found that a kangaroo had been hit by a car further up Gilston Road. I was sure mine had been going in the other direction but in the hour between sightings he could have made his way back up to the main road. This is one of the down sides of not living in the suburbs - because eventually the suburbs are creeping out this way - destroying native fauna and flora habitat on the way. They call it progress but I'm not so sure that's the right name for it.

Monday

The start of another week! And, of course, it wouldn't do to forget that today is the official Horses Birthday. Hope Hermes and the other horses around Latimers aren't planning to party too hard! And that they remember to let Sweetie (who seems to have settled well) know what the commotion is about.

S and M were out and about today doing various chores and then spending time with little H who was under house arrest, with privileges revoked, for ''bad behaviour" this morning.
That's one of the good things about not being a parent - you don't have to decide on the appropriate disciplinary action or when it's called for rather than just talking with them about something which crosses the line! The good thing about boys through is that they tend not to hold grudges - once it's done with, that's it.

That, too, could be seen as one of the takeaways from tonight's movie session at the Big House. The film was "Win Win" about a lawyer who falls on hard times and takes over guardian duties for a client so he can collect the $l500 commission each month. That would be fine but instead of keeping the client in his home, as promised, he puts him into on aged care facility. Karma catches up fairly quickly and you realise that some acts can lead to complicated circumstances even if the protagonists are decent folk who make a bad choice because they see no other way out of a situation!

Post-movie, S, M and I had dinner at Spinners. Christmas in July has finished now and the August special is "Beef and Bug" - so we all had it (S had my Balmain Bug) and it was very nice. Even the coffee was great this evening.

Then, off home for us while M lingered for a while to catch up with "stuff". We were in search of photographs of Me who has lost her necklace - and we were trying to pinpoint when she last had it - based on the photographs. It seemed she was right - while the photos from Family and Friends dinner were inconclusive (she was wearing a scarf) and Vapianos seemed to not show the necklace (but she was also wearing a scarf but draped lower this time) we could definitely tell that it was not in the photo of her at SeaWorld (the speed of the ride she was on had blown her scarf away from her neck so we had a good view - and with my photo program I was able to blow the shot up to 300% normal size so there was no doubt about whether the necklace was there or not). She was fairly sure she had been wearing it on Friday night - so thus suggests she lost it on Saturday and she has been busy retracing her steps to see if she can locate it. Hopefully she will.

Sunday

I was up and out early - but not as early as M who went in search of Voldemort's wand for little H's Harry Potter collection.

I set out to go to the markets to be in place, with my coffee, in case my brother came online at 8 so we could Skype. But as I drove in, I thought I could do with a spot of "ocean" so instead took myself off to Broadbeach and watched the waves rolling in - and the surf boat practice. I have never seen surf boat practice before - or really taken a lot of notice of what happens when a surf boat launches ... and it was fascinating. There is a crew of five, and to start, they stand - two to a side and one at the back - with the boat in the surf and at some point - I was too far away to hear if there was conversation about what that "point" was - the guys do a standing jump into the boat - all at the same time - it was amazing, especially when they did it as "one". I could see why they have to practice that bit. The guy who steers at the back (cox?) was amazing too - at least the other four get to sit - he stands in the back of the boat with just the rudder to hold on to bouncing over the waves - you've have to have good balance to do it!

Next up was the Markets and the weekly Skype call with T in Sydney, which (the call not Sydney) was plagued by technical difficulties and was not at all satisfactory. Ah, well, next time ... but the Markets themselves were good - especially the new stall selling kettle pop corn which was sweet and salty all at the same time.

It was the usual crowd at the Markets table - and it is N's last week for a while as he is jetting off to meet up with his wife overseas. He's not the only one traveling in the next little while - M and Z are off at the end of the month and Ma and little H will be flying back home the week before that.

But in the meantime, we are still playing with them and this afternoon we went off to SeaWorld where it was basically a ride-fest for little H. M went with him on the Sea Viper and the Jet Rescue rides - I think they are definitely part of the "thrill" category of rides ... the Jet Rescue goes really fast - faster than the Sea Viper, and looks very scary - especially since the riders appear to be perched on their "jet skis"! Who comes up with the ideas for these rides?

I was dismayed to see that the Bermuda Triangle ride is no longer operating, and there was no swimming because that part of the park is "seasonal". But we had great fun at Castaway Bay - I had read reports and seen photos of the water canons - but in real life they are fantastic ... a great way to get soaked through - and no, none of our lot took advantage of the $5 body dryer! H was very brave and went on the ropes and beams section of Castaway Bay - at height. There is no way anyone would get me up there ... but M said she would probably give it a go next time. S and I will be keeping our feet well and truly planted on terra firma!