Sunday

It's a good thing to take time out to remember people we have lost along the way. Today is 29 April and had L still been with us, we would have been celebrating her birthday today.

M was out early this morning, in search of one last ingredient for the helva/halva she planned to make; a Turkish tradition - it is cooked and served on someone's death - and when remembering them.

L's brother S came to visit for the day and the plan was to visit the cemetery and then have lunch - and that's what we did; although we made sure we took S on the Markets visit first - where we were a very reduced crowd. Mi is still away in Melbourne, M was at work, thinking that F wouldn't be coming because he still had his friends over from New Zealand (they went back last night) and he didn't want to be the only man there - but of course he wouldn't have been because N was there - and S. As usual, we closed the markets, although we may have competition next Sunday because the markets will be closing at midday (our usual leaving time) instead of 11 and while we may love the Markets, I don't think we're going to want to stay that extra hour!

Mouse came to the cemetery too and I travelled with her, and didn't mind when she relinquished the wheel and let me drive. It was fairly quiet there (with only a few other people visiting loved ones while we were there) but very pretty and I couldn't not remember how L had been involved in picking out where she wanted to be. It was a good choice ... under a lovely old tree and with a view.

Then we were off to Bumbles at Budds Beach for lunch, and a look at the water, and more remembering, before making our way back to Latimers - where the rain has finally stopped but it's not yet dry enough to take ROM out.

M went out this evening and S and I had an evening in; I spent some time going through photographs ... yes, there is something about making the time to truly remember folk and how much they mean to us.

Saturday

It was an early start to the morning first time around when I was up and doing the cats - some feeding and some shots - and then I quickly crawled back into bed and made myself go back to sleep - and then didn't wake up until after 9:30 - quite unlike me. It could have had something to do with that the rain is still falling, quite heavily most of the time, and bed seems like a great place to be. Except there are things to do - but most importantly a breakfast to be had.

M was kind enough to offer us a lift and we all ended up at Robina Town Centre for a very late breakfast and then a wander (she is still looking for presents for their June trip, I was on the lookout for pens and vests and S usually ends up with a book). We would have stayed longer except there was some kind of ruckus at the Centre - which M described as a case of mass hysteria - while she was waiting for her juice a woman and children came screaming by - literally running by and screaming - and then others came racing by. She and the man she was talking to, also waiting for juice which he had to take back to his children because if he didn't they would murder him, stood back against the stall so they wouldn't get trampled in the rush. She heard that there was someone with a gun, and that there had been gunshots.

She made her way back to our agreed meeting place thinking that we would make our way there once we heard the commotion - especially as shops around the Centre were starting to go into lockdown. Of course, we knew nothing about it ... and it was only because I was going to the Apple Store then that I chanced upon her. She had tried to phone us but couldn't get through - as I couldn't when I tried to get on to S. (Don't ever rely on the phone networks in an emergency!)

We went off in search of S at her last known location - but by the time we got there, and I could finally raise S on the phone, she was back at the Apple Store - where we met her and then quickly left the Centre before the whole place went into lockdown as they continued to look for the lone gunman who had, near the Sony store, shot a bikie in the shoulder and a female bystander in the pelvis. Both victims were taken to hospital and are in a stable condition this evening.

Friday

It was raining this morning and it stayed raining all day. Just as well M managed to get some mowing of Hermes' paddock in yesterday before we went to Jabberwockeez because there will be no mowing around here for a couple of days, especially as the rain appears to be set-in now.

I took the four wheel drive to work today and it was quickly dubbed "The Beast" by our nurse/first aider who drives something just a bit bigger herself. It wasn't bad driving it in - although I did wonder how I was going to park it at Crestwood Plaza especially if the carpark was full. I had joked with S that while my image at work might change if I was seen at the wheel of a four wheel drive, it certainly would if I missed while I tried to manouevre into a parking spot and took out several vehicles. But that didn't happen, and it didn't happen when I went to the supermarket this afternoon. I would have been going into Broadbeach - which would have been even more "fun", but the dentist was sick and cancelled. I can't say that I wasn't relieved.

M took Mi to the airport this afternoon (she's off to Melbourne for a few days) and had been worried that the Friday traffic would make the trip to the airport difficult - but she needn't have worried because it seems that Mi has a way of charming the universe so the traffic parts and the airport queues dissipate as she approaches. Of course, that doesn't work for some of us who have to leave oodles of time to get there, checked in and drop off the luggage.

Thursday

We had a big day today because M had managed to get us all tickets to the new show at The Big House - Jabberwockeez - Müs.I.C. It turned out to be a combination of dance, music, and light show. The staging was absolutely wonderful and you could see where Jupiters had spent some of the $20 million reported to have been invested in the revamp of their Theatre. They have installed a floating wood floor which is very good for tap dancing and when it comes time to call for an encore by foot-stamping, it will be loud ... very loud. The seats seemed to be a bit of a miss though. I'm no expert at this but they don't appear to have been tiered at the correct intervals/pitch meaning it is easy to have your view blocked by folk in front - especially if they are children on booster seats. The story about the drink holders being placed so they could take out an unsuspecting shin, I will leave for another time.

It was great to have the opportunity to go - even though, and we soon came to understand what it was the person who had said this meant - it was good, but it wasn't for everyone!

The Tian Ran, on the other hand, is for everyone. We went there for dinner before the show and this time we tried the Sweet N Sour Fish. Yum. It was a bit strange though because even though I knew it wasn't fish, I still hesitated because my brain knows I'm not the biggest fish fan! Go figure.

Wednesday

ANZAC Day. We did spare a moment to think of the men and women who have gone to war in the name of peace - and wondered if the powers that be would ever find another way to do war which didn't mean that people lost their lives. As we had our breakfast, we listened to the radio and a piece about a young soldier writing home to his loved ones from the First World War to tell them he had shot his first German. She wrote back to say she would rather not hear about that, so he started writing about the landscape instead. How hard it must have been for the soldiers - to be in a life and death situation and not be able to share it with the ones they were doing it for.

The Big House held a lunch today and M took Mouse. All the attendees received a ANZAC badge as a tangible reminder of the sacrifices made over the years. The meal itself was wonderful - with great choices, and figs!

S and I had a quiet day in with the furries and the only time I left Latimers was to drive up to the road to investigate smoke S had seen. It turned out to be a controlled bonfire (like the ones B sets down the back of Latimers) and not a threat to houses or other property. It is amazing how deceptive distance can be though, because it really did look as though the fire was on the lane.

M arrived home not long after - bearing very wonderful and much-appreciated cups of coffee.

Tuesday

The Pump Man came ... finally ... he has been expected for a while. He had an offsider too and while you often see folk at Zarraffas wearing a badge that suggests they are in training, the offsider could have done with one. In the end he was assigned the role of turning the water on and off, to help with the work being done on the bore pump, but he didn't seem to be incredibly proficient at it - but I suppose we all had to start learning somewhere!

I was a bit disappointed with Lars this afternoon. After what seems like a couple of months of there being no car trouble (ever since I changed to high-octane fuel), as I came round the Gilston Road/Alexander Drive roundabout this evening, the car cut out ... without a hiccup or any warning at all. Luckily there was enough power to roll it out of the roundabout and to the side of the road - and I am still thanking my lucky stars that I had not tried to cut my way into the roundabout - it would have been very difficult if another car and I had been trying to occupy the same space at the same time. I was able to get Lars started again - several times - on the way home and I have now booked him back in to Frank the Mechanic to see if he can find the problem. I have decided that between now and the second week of May (the first available slot with Frank), with M's help and the loan of a vehicle, I am going to try not to drive Lars unless I have plenty of time (and more courage - because it can be pretty scary not knowing if/when the engine is going to cut out!).

The good news was that I was still home in time in case M needed me to drive Tink in to her vet's appointment - but M did make it and was on hand when the vet told her Tink's insulin dose was to increase again. Poor Tink.

Mind you, Tink wasn't the only one seeing the doctor today - and I also came home with the news that my meds would be changing!

And the Baffler answer: Passport.

Monday

The Pest Man Cometh. He arrived as scheduled - which, I think, is one of the reasons M booked him - he has been to Latimers before. M and S were up early getting ready - making sure that everything that could be contaminated by his treatment were safely moved, covered or tucked away. This is what they had talked about but since I wasn't there, I'm not absolutely sure what they did - although what I do know is that S wasn't feeling well when she woke up this morning. Luckily she improved during the day but it wasn't looking good to start with. Just as well it happened before the Pest Man because otherwise it could have seemed as though it was a reaction to his treatment - which, amazingly, didn't leave a chemical smell, and didn't require a "clean up" afterwards. The whole field seems to have come a long way in the years since we had a house done in Charters Towers many many years ago and there were huge puddles of stuff left throughout the house. It was not a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve - but that's another story!

M and S were able to keep the animals out of harm's way by moving them to places where he hadn't been yet, or to places where he had been, but long enough ago for it not to be an issue - especially as the treatment is not toxic to animals or pets!

Then, M was off to a lunch, and S settled in to a quiet, recuperative day with Emma who was happy to do nursing patrol and spent a fair amount of the day sitting on or beside S.

Luckily S had fully recovered in time for tonight's Trivia - where our team - which has swelled from the three of us - F, S and I - to five - N and S - and then 7 - C and J-L, to 6 - C went back to France - to 9 - three French teachers visiting from France - attracted a two-point more-than-8-on-the-team penalty. Our final score - 70 (read: 68) was not enough to get us in the place-getters. Note to self, and others: we are never doing This, That or The Other as a bonus round again! We are much better at straight answers rather than multiple choice! But we did earn some drinks vouchers (one for everyone at the table) when we successfully answered the Baffler question (first round - as did two other teams): it's a hassle when you lose me. (I'll post the answer tomorrow).

Sunday

Will we ever win a draw at The Big House? We were there again this afternoon for yet another one and while we were happy for the three people who each walked away with $5,000 we may have been happier if it had been one of us! Ah well, there's always next time! And even though we didn't win, we still had a great time and were very appreciate of the nap in the room between the 3pm and 5pm draws (I attribute the need for a nana-nap to last night's late television viewing!)

That time, though, could have been spent in going across the road to the Gold Coast Convention Centre to see the fantasy expo - Supernova. It was amazing to see the folk who did go; they had spent a lot of time and/or money on their costuming - there were a couple of Caped Crusaders who looked better than the original (hmmm, which original?)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I left S in bed while I went poolside to do the weekly call with Tr. We had only just started when the leaf-blowing man arrived, but by shielding the microphone in my hand, I was able to cut out most of the noise! Having tried to do the call on 3G before, we decided not to push it and try video so it was a voice call - well, almost, I could still see her. That seemed to work well and we were not plagued by the technical issues that usually overtake us when I try to make the call from "out".

Then it was on to the Markets and some more video footage of Mouse. It was funny to see the reaction of the group when I was doing the filming too, and in the end, I had to tell them to pretend I wasn't there! It was a good day for doing the video too - everyone was in fine form; but I missed the rousing rendition of Happy Birthday (which is just as well because that could present copyright and royalty issues) for V and N who celebrate their birthday within a couple of days of each other. (It was N who saw David Hasselhoff in Sydney recently - which must have been while he was in town to film Celebritry Apprentice which is just hitting our (well, not actually ours) television screens now.)

After The Big House draws we made our way back to Latimers so I could at pretend to try to get an early night - and hopefully a good start to the week - especially since there's Trivia tomorrow night!

Saturday

Pearl was very sad this morning when she realised she wasn't invited to breakfast because she knows it's Saturday and that means she should be coming with us. I think she must have realised very early too, because M invited her to have her breakfast cookies - and Pearl is smart enough to know that she gets motion sick in the car if she goes driving after she's eaten. She would have liked it too - we went to Bumbles and Mouse joined us before she and A went off to watch N's friend's wedding; N was a bridesmaid.

While we were at Budds Beach we took the opportunity to start taking some footage of Mouse and M for the television show. It was an interesting exercise, especially as I haven't used the movie function on Nik before. It didn't turn out too badly and I'm planning to do some more at the markets tomorrow.

We met M in at The Big House for afternoon tea - we shared a vegetarian pizza - so we could pick up the hotel room key. S went for a swim and I followed her down so I could do some more practice with Nik (which included downloading the manual and reading up on how to best use the viideo fuction).

S and I did stay overnight at The Big House (thanks again M) and it was good. We had a late start to the evening, we were watching New Tricks in the room, before we went downstairs to meet M (fresh from furries patrol and dropping The Greak K to the airport - he's taking himself and a bucketload of books - actually two bags-full of books - back home forthe holidays. He's apparently planning to do some study - and perhaps even some role play with different members of the family) - and after having a bit of a play, we re-met for a Spinners dinner - paid for by S who had had some luck on the Vampire machine!

Friday

Funny how you can sometimes be just a little bit tired at the end of the working week. S and I were thinking about going to a Vegetarian restaurant I heard about today. I'd tried to phone them to make a booking but the number I found on the interweb was disconnected. I did find another one on a Facebook page but that went through to a messagebank but I didn't leave one. By the time I'd finished at work, I was ready for a nap and even though I did have one, I woke up more tired and, in retrospect, a bit peopled-out and not at all like driving into Surfers Paradise. So we decided to postpone our Indian Vegetarian dinner to another day/night. And we decided to send our apologies to Mouse who had invited us to dinner - even though Family N Friends was postponed until next week. M went though and she and Mouse watched the Royal Command Performance.

S and I pottered at home - and I finally had the chance to have a look at the computer to see why it has been running so unpredictably - which is not what you expect from a computer. I did a disk clean-up and then a defragmentation which looks as though it's going to have to run overnight - and then, depending on how it goes, it might need another one! I also managed to catch up with a couple of episodes of some series I've been meaning to watch - so all in all it was a good night, although a little late, and it was nice to spend some time with the furries.

Thursday

The Great K came over this evening. He is having to repeat his internment which will put him back 6 months on his studies but if it makes him a better therapist, it will have been worth it. And it looks as though it has been helping with his general, in-the-real-world interpersonal skills as well - bonus! As to why he had to get two-thirds of the way through the Semester before anyone identified there was an issue - he may never know.

Finally a fine day and it was dry enough to mow - although, I was surprised at how much darker it gets earlier now. I'd done one errand on the way home (not Zarraffas - that's pleasure!) and jumped on ROM as soon as I got in, and still I managed to get it all done - although I would have been hard pressed if ROM didn't have headlights! And just as well I remembered to turn them off.

While the Great K was here, we took the opportunity to catch up with an episode of a new series, and it was wonderful! The furries were much better with being inside with The Great K tonight so they must be getting used to him being around.

Wednesday

While Wednesday is usually Bingo day, M and S didn't go today because Mouse had had a better offer. She was off to Brisbane with Mi and E. Mi had a job up there this afternoon and I think the plan was that they would have some lunch and do some shopping. (There is still much shopping to be done for the Russian trip).

Instead, M and S went to see a movie at the Gold Coast Arts Centre - and then had some lunch there. Cauliflower Soup. S had wanted to see the Jung/Freud movie but the timing didn't work (it's not on until the evening) so they went to see Salmon Fishing On the Yemen - which they both thought was a great movie and that the rest of us would enjoy it.

Tink was off to the vet this afternoon for her next check up - and M brought her back with the news that she is now on 1 unit of insulin more morning and night - taking her to 3.5 - which you could see Tink really didn't want to start this evening. As soon as she came home, she took off under one of the cars and stayed there until we took her out some food (she finished just about all of it and Beazley and Maggie let her - with some gentle encouragement from us) and eventually she came out in search of a drink - which was when I quietly walked up behind her, scruffed her gently, and gave her the shot.

M and I went off to CSP after that, leaving S and the furries to have a night in - and Tink did come in eventually.

I wonder how R got on tonight. Speaking with one of the work colleagues, she had heard that some people at a recent concert who had bought tickets through eBay had been refused entry because they were using scalped tickets. Hopefully R's ticket is okay because it would be heartbreaking and incredibly annoying if she couldn't get in. I wonder what recourse there would be with the seller on eBay if the ticket was refused at the door?

Tuesday

I finally caught up with J today - for a coffee at Crestwood Zarraffas. She was on her way home after work and we had arranged to meet there so I could loan them the camera so R can use it tomorrow night at the concert. The concert ... one of the hottest tickets in Brisbane - maybe in Australia. One Direction. R (14) had bid for the ticket on eBay and won - for just under $600. I was horrified when J told me - why on earth wasn't she taking charge of her on this, especially as J kept getting the message that R had been outbid? It was her money, J told me, as though that made it okay. I suppose it was a big lesson for R to learn - especially when she realised that she couldn't just say that she had changed her mind at the end of the process and withdraw her last, winning bid. J had to make up the last $60 or so and the rest of it wiped out the money that R had set aside. Hopefully it will be worth it. But the good news is that she has a ticket to One Direction ... and on the weekend she starts orientation at McDonalds.

I didn't make it home in time to do the mowing - and I think it was still just a little bit wet. Better luck tomorrow!

Monday

S and M went to Montville today as M had a funeral to attend; S went to keep her company and was able to have a walk around the village while she waited.

It's a couple of hours drive from Latimers to there so they weren't back by he time I left for Trivia at Southport RSL, thinking that one of us had to make an appearance. We could have done with S there though; if we had had one more point at the end of the game we would have come second outright, rather than having to go into a tiebreak with another team. The question: How many children was John F Kennedy one of? (That may not have been exactly how it was worded but that was the general gist. ) Our answer: 7. The answer by the other team - one member of which has just finished writing the definite John F Kennedy biography: 9. One of their team came over and apologised afterwards - but that's the luck of the draw. Next time it might be: how long was the Berlin Wall: 96 miles. So we came in third - which is a $ 15 voucher (next week's coffee fund) and an entry in the cash draw.

The rain was pouring down as I drove home (I was glad M and S were already there), and it was so heavy at one point I seriously considered pulling over - and would have it I had been sure it would stop soon.

Sunday

S and I were up early having breakfast with the family before the drive back to Latimers. L (fresh from her thespian success) was, uncharacteristically up, as were P. Apparently, over the holidays, they hadn't been rising much before ... was that noon? C had cooked fresh scones for breakfast and they were very yummy (and no, I don't think I'll be doing comparisons between L's cupcakes yesterday and this morning's scones!).

It would be nice to be able to say the rain had stopped - but it's still happening. A lot. I had been hoping we would be able to say that it turned from teeming rain to brilliant sunshine when we crossed the border from NSW back in to Queensland (as it did many times when we drove from Sydney to Queensland on holidays) but it wasn't to be this time. But it had stopped raining enough by the time we arrived at the Markets that we didn't need to get the umbrella out of the back of the car - which was just as well because just about everything else was on top of it.

C is still out from France (she goes back on Wednesday) and she and N have been busy since we last saw them. They couldn't wait to show us the website they've been working on - complete with links, photos and embedded map - for N and S's house in France. It looks marvellous (both the house and the website). Also travelling with them today, as well as C and M, was J-L, also visiting from France. (He may be coming to trivia with us tomorrow.)

Then it was on to Mi and F's where M was witnessing some paperwork for F (he is a small stone's throw away from his QBSA licence); S caught up with her sleep on their couch, and I futzed around trying to set up some email accounts for them (no success - there were a few settings supplied and while it would start working, sending and receiving emails) the accounts would soon come up with an error message (Port 463 cannot be used). I hadn't to admit failure on it ... but sometimes you just have to. Especially if you have a date at the Big House for a draw. Alas, despite many redraws, none of us won and I left S and M there while I went home to feed and spend time watching television with the furries. I think they enjoyed Friends and Heart & Souls nearly as much as I did.

Saturday

I love mornings at Latimers, especially when I get to sleep in ... and this was one of them. I was up early doing the furries (insulin shots and cookies all round - except for Maggie) - and then, because I don't think I had enough sleep last night, I went back to bed for an hour and a half - I would have stayed there longer but there was packing to do and other preparations for the trip to Kyogle. I had told them I would be down by mid-morning; that would give us time to go for a walk down the main street, do some lunch, have a chin-wag, and be ready for the half-hour drive out of town to the Lynchs Creek Hall where L's play is. Half-an-hour out of town is nothing ... now we know that the next performance, in a fortnight, will be at a hall two hours drive out of Kyogle. Going north, that would put you on the Gold Coast, so I'm not sure which direction the two hours is, although it's probably not East - because that would put you into the Pacific Ocean. The group, the Village Hall Players, specialise in taking plays to remote areas and because there is usually a pot luck dinner as well, it turns into a very social occasion. And there was a great turnout - we estimated about 100 folk. The play was good too and Louise remembered her lines - we knew of the two she had in the first act - "Hi" and "Always".

But we're jumping ahead. When I arrived at Kyogle, L was in the middle of making cupcakes, actually mixing up the chocolate (?) icing, I know children are supposed to have a better hearing range than adults but from her comment ("it's glowing green"), I'm beginning to wonder about their visual acuity as well.

Meanwhile, back at Latimers, M was in charge of things (including the furries). We weren't sure if she was planning to stay in town or not, I think there was some talk that Mouse might have a night in at The Big House, but that was still awaiting confirmation.

Friday

Family N Friends dinner was at the Tian Ran (S was sorry to miss it but at least she was there earlier in the week). We tried some other dishes tonight - I had thought we might, especially since I had found myself wondering if non-pork-eating-folk would be able to eat a non-pork dish if it was called Sweet and Sour Pork! They answer was"no"- as I had thought it might. Part what we did have was excellent -although I'm not sure how the others managed to eat the chilli sauce. I had a couple of drops on a Shanghai dumpling and that was more than enough!

The Great K would have liked the night, but he couldn't make it. Today was the due date for a major assignment and he managed to submit on time (he usually goes right to the wire) and by then he was fairly exhausted and just wanted to rest.

M and I had talked about stopping in at The Big House for a few hands of CSP after dinner - but tiredness overtook M (I would never admit it) and we made our way straight back to Latimers instead.

It rained again today and while I am usually unhappy about that because it means no mowing, it's okay at the moment (no ... the grass hasn't stopped growing) but because there is a problem with the bore pump, M has switched us over to tank water - and it's good that it's being replenished so quickly!

Thursday

S did get away today - I think she said that P (on his L's) drove for part of the way up. Apparently he isn't allowed behind the wheel with other people in the car. I tend to agree with that - otherwise there are too many distractions. And while there will no doubt be distractions all his driving life, better he practices without at least until he has his licence.

Tink just wanted to go out this morning and even though we were looking at having all the cats (all three of them anyway) have their shots at the same time (6), I didn't have the heart to make her wait. I discussed it with M and we decided to trial an earlier shot time in the morning - which will mean an earlier time in the evening as well. This-isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we'll give it a go and see what we think.

M and I had dinner at House's this evening - they were planning to (and did) put in a call to Russia to confirm they will now come in June (not May). But, said M, they will still need the invitations as soon as they can get them. I don't know that she was certain/hopeful that their Russian contact has yet "got" the message!

It wasn't a particularly late night - but a few not particularly late nights in a row do tend to mount up(even though M did a fantastic job of having me home at a reasonable hour, my downfall was in starting to play with photo-finish applications as I brushed my teeth then somehow, a moment later, over an hour had passed!

Wednesday

S is off to Kyogle tomorrow so we went out to dinner tonight at one of her favourite restaurants - the Tian Ran at Mermaid Beach. Just for a change we didn't have the Beef with Cashews tonight - we had Sweet and Sour Pork instead. It was amazing - and still we can't fathom how they make vegetarian fare seem like meat - the right consistency, the right flavour. But it does again raise the question. how do vegetarians produce such dishes? Surely dish creators would need to know what they were replicating?

I cannot believe it is still raining in the afternoons... no ROM for me!

Tuesday

Poor Tink! It looks like she's following suit and is about to be diagnosed with Diabetes! M and S have various theories about what might have caused this - but we'll wait and see after Tink has some more tests tomorrow; but the real test will be whether we can keep her confined to (in?) the house until it's time for her to go. Hopefully she will be a little happier about it than she was today; she cried all the way in even though M had covered the cage with a towel!

There is still no sign of The Great K. M is going to contact him to see how things are progressing and check how he's travelling. We really did think we would have seen him again by now! But not so. Ah well, he knows where we are!

Beazley took himself outside early this evening (no doubt thinking he would be the next one bundled into the cat cage for a visit to the vet!) and not even the high wind that came up (thank goodness M had put the net over the trailer load!) could get him inside. We know he was determined to stay out because not even rattling the cat cookie container was luring him in and usually he can hear cookies at a thousand paces. You have to admire Tink's sense of "fairness" though - she came while I was calling Beazley and marched straight over to where he was hiding under the trailer! You could almost her saying "take him ... take him ... back to the vet"!

M spoke with the Russians - who have still not forwarded that all-important invitation. It looks like the production company shoots in both April and June so Mouse and M could will probably go in June - which will take some of the pressure off especially since the planes are chockers (ie very full) and fairly expensive in the next couple of weeks in the lead-up to Anzac Day. If they could travel after that, that would be better.

Monday

I am trying very hard not to wish the weekend away - so I've decided to see if I can convince myself that today is yesterday - meaning there are still two more days to go before returning to The Big Work House. And what better way to do that than taking us off to breakfast in Broadbeach (at Alto).

We were a hairsbreadth away from making the tip trip this morning, but decided to postpone it to later in the day - which would have been a good plan except that M was delayed doing Russian-errands with Mouse - but never mind, there's always the weekend, and in the meantime we can see if we can fit some more in!

"I can be big or small" was the first clue to the Baffler question at Trivia this evening and, amazingly, even though I somehow managed to guess it first go - we didn't ever put "dinosaur" on the answer sheet. During the next rounds ("I can be mean or nice", "I can and sometimes do fly" and "I'm in films and books") we suggested other things - planets, dogs, dragons - and when finally they announced they had the winning entry, S, especially, was very excited, sure that the one team who had won (sometimes there are more) was us with our "dragon". Alas, no, it was someone else with "dinosaur". "But there weren't any nice dinosaurs" suggested S - and I couldn't help but remind her of Dino in The Flintstones - and there are probably others! And they're right, it may be a while before I forget to talk about this! Of course, it may also be a while before I trust myself to just put dinosaur if I think it's the right answer!

M did the furries while we were out - and noted that Tink had been sick - so it's off to the vet for a check-up (and vaccination) with her tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

I was surprised that we didn't see anything of The Great K (except for Friday Night dinner) over the long weekend. Hopefully he was busy moving into a new student household rather than head down-tail up with the books and computer all weekend.

So, Monday, and the Russians don't have a public holiday. Will they be in touch overnight about the invitations for Mouse and M's trip? As the catchphrase in Ultraman used to say: (because of Earth's polluted atmosphere, Ultraman can only maintain his giant size for three minutes) ... time is running out!

Sunday

We did make it to the Oracle Markets at Broadbeach today and they were quite different from the Bundall Markets - although one thing was the same - and that was that all of us were there - mostly anyway - M and A couldn't make it but we did have a few ring-ins from Melbourne, friends of N and V. They seemed quite nice - and seemed to cope with all of us quite well.

There was such a buzz around the Markets - but not as much as there usually is - because they were, one of the stall holders told us, about 20 stalls down on their usual number. And it was a lovely day for it - not too hot, and since it was in the shadow of the Oracle, it was incredibly bearable.

Afterwards, we lunched at The Big House where their current special is Pork Loin. S had it and enjoyed it very much - and the chip she had from me seemed to hit the spot as well.

Then it was back to Latimers for some more Easter relaxing. It has been fantastic and while I was disappointed not to catch up with whirlwind-tour L (visiting from the States), I didn't really mind not being on the roads over the break. And it's certainly given us more time to spend with Em - I don't think she's been outside this much for a while.

Saturday

Poor Pearl. No outing for her today, except for the walk down the lane she went on with M - and then one later in the afternoon with me.

It was another late start for me - M and S were both up and at them before I had even stirred. I like this sleeping in thing - but it does make part of your day disappear - although if you're picking it up at the other end (remember those late nights?), I guess you're not really losing it.

We were back out into the world today and had arranged to meet Mouse at Robina to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". F and Mi had already seen it and said it was worth seeing. Understatement. It was amazing - I'm still tearing up every time I think of some of the scenes, which is incredible because it was definitely a "feel good" movie - more so, I think, than Slumdog Millionaire which also starred Dev Patel. It's good to see a movie which doesn't manufacture false conflict and which doesn't need car chases and explosions to carry the action. I read some of the audience reviews (after we'd been) on the movie site I use and one of them said "Fabulous movie! One of the few I would see again, immediately. Makes you feel great. Don't miss it." That sums it up! Definitely recommended!

It will be time to ROM the yard again soon - probably tomorrow - but for today there was just talk of M jumping onto the rubbish already in the bin so we can fit some more in. We still haven't made it to the tip - not quite sure of its opening hours over the Easter Break - but soon ... very soon.

This evening we were all in - S watching television and knitting; me reading, catching up on some of my series viewing, writing - and doing a calendar countdown of the last day for the Russian visa application - destined for the Russian television station so they can see that M has real reason for concern about when their invitation will arrive; the furries lounging, okay, they were inside and out; and M tidying up paperwork (although we are still puzzled why she was doing it tonight and not on the night before she leaves for overseas).

Em is still spending time in her litter box but she is also demanding to come outside, so we are taking that as a good sign. She is back on insulin and we are now moving her to every third meal she has a shot, but S wants to move that to every second meal now ... and I'm not going to argue because she does seem better on insulin - as long as she's feeling okay to start with.

We're off to the Oracle markets at Broadbeach in the morning - the Bundall markets are not on. It will be interesting to see what they have - it will be our first time there.

Friday

What a magnificent day! Most businesses were closed today and we took the opportunity to have a day where we did nothing much in the way of the outside world - in fact we even closed the Latimers gate and now we may never know who the person who came down in the big white ute (they had already turned around and started driving away by the time we realised they weren't parking. M tried to catch them - waving after them as they drove up the lane - but they obviously werely looking - or turning - back).

It wasn't to keep people away that we closed the gate ... I think I mentioned before that with the new people arrivals at L's place, there is also a new dog - a cute black thing (really ... I'm not good at "what dog is that?") - and when I was taking out rubbish to the bin this morning, I turned around and there it was beside me. Hmmmm. Luckily Tink and Emma (the only cats in the yard at the time) didn't see it - although I'm not sure what they would have done if they had - but without knowing how the new dog is with cats, it seemed best to keep it on the other side of the Latimers fence. Of course, it has probably been visiting since it arrived - but you just don't know.

One of the businesses not closed today was Zarraffas and I did a coffee run late morning to pick up a few. I don't know why, but they tasted better than they normally do.

Family N Friends dinner was on tonight at Mouse's. We had additionals too - The Great K came, and M and A, and, of course, there was the usual crowd. And it what a sumptuous repast it was - with the focus on seafood (smoked salmon, prawns, salmon) because it's Good Friday.

There must be something about it being a holiday weekend because it was a late night again tonight. Last night's did catch up on me - or maybe it was just relaxation taking over - but at one point this afternoon while I was out in the desk area doing some computer things, I must have nodded off because I almost fell off my chair! Mind you, I wasn't the only one squeezing in naps today, although, to be fair, it would have been better if M hadn't been feeling off-colour.

Thursday

There's something about being near water and I was lucky enough to have a work team breakfast at the Southport Surf Lifesaving Club at Main Beach this morning. Before I turned up there, I took myself for a coffee at Surfers Paradise (they have free parking until 9 am) and then for a quick walk along the promenade to try out some new panorama software which seems to work well on vistas that aren't moving (eg the ocean) or maybe I don't know all the tricks yet! Breakfast, on the Club's balcony, was glorious! And a fantastic way to start the day... and I wasn't the only one who could easily have not gone back to work afterwards.

So, starting the day with breakfast at the beach - and ending it with Bingo (Southport RSL) and with a mall crawl through Australia Fair as well - it doesn't get much better! It was interesting doing evening Bingo - it has quite a different ambiance - and (the girls said it) seemed a fair bit more mercenary than the daytime version - which could have something to do with the prize money on offer: one jackpot is worth $1500. We didn't manage to have any "Winners are Grinners" in our crew but it's on again on Saturday morning if we're up for another game. We'll wait and see what happens.

It shouldn't have been but it was a fairly late night tonight - we were up keeping the Neilsen box company.

Wednesday

I stopped in at Zarraffas on the way home this afternoon (the lawn would not welcome another cut in the next couple of days) and spent a little time catching up with my mother on the telephone, and then did some blogging and some blog-hopping to other entrants in the Blogging A-Z Challenge. There are currently 1903 participants but this number is shrinking just a little at the co-ordinators discover sites that are not really blogs and remove them.

Pearl was a bit low-key when I arrived home - not even getting up and coming out to say hello. Tink was good though and came over to have a nuzzle and a pat before settling back on the driveway.

But no matter how low-key Pearl is, she could never be as low-key as Em was today when K came for her fortnightly visit. Em has taken to sleeping and/or just being in the litter tray of late and when K arrived, Em was there, and not moving. The first thing that K did was ring me - and she was quite upset - obviously trying to work out how to break it to me that Em had "gone" - but not so, because just as she was working out which words to use, Em moved!!!!! While we all know it will happen one day - and K says she can see that Em has definitely gone downhill in the last month or so - none of us want it to happen - and certainly we don't want it to happen "on our watch". S and I have talked about how long we will let her go on and certainly at the first sign that she is in pain or has given up, we will do the right thing by her. It won't be easy but we owe her that much - so that her passing is as good as we can make it for her, the same as we've tried to with the rest of her life with us.

The Great K called over again today - he'd had a busy yet non-productive day he said, and it seemed as though he just wanted to "hang out" - and he certainly picked the right place for it. He was still at Latimers when M and I arrived back from The Big House (there were cards to swipe for the Great Show Stopper promotion and a CSP table to get on to ... and I think The Great K would have enjoyed it if he had chosen to come with us!)

M managed to get to Brisbane today (she hitched a lift with Mi who was going up for a translating job) and did pick up her passport. Stage 1 done. She also managed to speak with the Russian embassy so knows the timing for them too. And she's sent scans of her and Mouse's passports so the production crew can issue their invitations - because it's only with them, and with paid travel tickets, that she will be able to apply for the visas. It all seems a bit Catch-22-y - so that makes it hard enough - without having the time constraint (including Easter holidays) being thrown into the mix as well. At this stage, M is talking about physically delivering the applications, invitations and passports to the embassy so she is on the ground and can troubleshoot any problems there rather than waiting for documents to go backwards and forwards by mail and/or courier - especially since mail apparently only leaves the Russian Embassy on a Thursday afternoon! Just over two weeks to go and counting ...

Tuesday

A is for Anzac; B is for Baking; and C is for Cookies! S made Anzac Biscuits today and they are very yummy indeed. She was a bit concerned that they were too soft when they first came out of the oven but they have settled down nicely - even to having a soft and chewy centre. I'm trying to decide whether to take a batch into work tomorrow: to share or not to share - that is the question.

There was more mist through the valley this morning, and more cyclists. I'm not sure what they're training for (are they training for something?) but there was a mix of males and females and they all looked ultra-fit. There was no way of telling where they'd ridden from this morning - but it didn't look as though any of them was even raising a sheen of perspiration. And speaking of fit, as I write this, I'm sitting outside while The Great K is working at the kitchen table and S is catching up with some television (the Neilsen people will be happy) inside. Over at his place, in the shed, L is going through the paces on the treadmill - keeping up a fair speed, and not looking ready to stop! Meanwhile, back here, I'm not sure what it is but it does sound like there's some type of critter on the roof - and as long as it stays there, it will be okay. If it comes down, it will have Beazley to contend with - he's outside (rare for him) because The Great K is inside!

As I drove down the lane this afternoon, N and J, and S, were out feeding the horses and I did a bit of a double-take when I looked in the wheelbarrow which they had pulled to the side of the road to let me pass - to see, along with the empty buckets, a small blonde child and it seemed to be having a wonderful time!

Pearl seems a bit restless this evening - not at all worn out enough by her walk up to B's shed this afternoon (as she attended to business along the way), and a play with the ball when we came back. She does seem to be moving around more freely and perhaps not puffing quite as much so it seems like the regime M has her on is working. Let's hope we can keep it up! Of course, we haven't been as successful with Beazley's regime - everyone seems to give him cookies - working on the premise that it's best to keep him as happy as possible!

Monday

The mornings are still chilly here at Latimers and I don't leave home without a vest these days. It didn't come off until lunchtime yesterday but this really had nothing to do with the duelling air-conditioner remote a couple of desks over - would J leave it set at 24 degreees (as V wanted) or take it back to 18 again?

The lawn looks much beter since it's had the chance to grow overnight. It's just given it back a bit of bulk (probably more to do with it springing back from where ROM compressed it!) but it could still do with a shorter cut and hopefully I'll get around to that in the next couple of days - and that trip to the tip.

The moon is about half full at the moment and the Southern Cross is also high in the night sky and I'm hoping that L (visiting from the US) will finally get to see it - she's been wanting to for a while but it's a bit difficult (okay, impossible) to see from the Northern Hemisphere.

We never tire of the stars and the big open skies here. It is always amazing how many of them you can see - clear through the Milky Way and beyond. It's enough to take your breath away.

There was a light mist hanging over the Latimers valley this morning - and oodles of bicycle riders about - not necessarily a good mix if you haven't seen the cyclists first. I'm never quite sure how far away from them I should flash my lights to warn approaching drivers.

M stayed in tonight (doing embassy business in preparation for her and Mouse's trip) while S and I went off to trivia with F yet again. It was a good night and although we were equal first at half time (missing out on the tie-break $15 voucher because we couldn't correctly guess the year the Oxford Dictionary was first published - we and the other team had both been two years on either side of 35 - how old was Mozart when he died) we came in 5th - three points away from the leaders - such was the closeness of tonight's competition. We are resolving to get more players for our team - we're doing okay with just three of us to the other teams five to eight, but we need to cover some more knowledge areas.

Tink was the only one still out when we arrived home and she dutifully followed us in - no doubt regretting it almost instantly when we locked her in. M was still working on the computer and I was able to help her finish off some correspondence (it really is amazing how difficult technology things can be if you don't get to do them that often) ... and now it will be interesting to see how fast they get back to her.

Sunday

I wasn't really expecting the pinch and the punch which S landed on me this morning but it wasn't totally out of place - it being the first of the month and all. I did resist responding with a hit and a kick for being so quick though - primarily because it would have seemed a bit petty but also because I couldn't remember exactly what the correct response was - and I would have been wrong as it turns out because it is really a "flick and a kick". Then there's the whole "rabbit, rabbit" thing which I won't go into here ... although there's no doubt that all of us could use some luck - but not at the expense of others.

Sunday again. It seems to come around awfully quickly these days - but not quickly enough that it meant I could comfortably ROM the yard on the 2.5 setting as planned - before the rain thwarted my afternoon mowing plans last week.

The Markets were great this morning - although a little shorter than usual because the closing time has moved an hour earlier because of the end of daylight savings in NSW (where some of the market folk hail from). A had cooked - the most fantastic biscuits from one of her mother's recipes - and whenever she makes them she remembers her. It's a wonderful thing to do. And speaking of mothers ... well, actually daughters, N was there too - so we were able to wish her safe and happy travels - she's off to New York later this week for work but hopefully she will get some play in as well - this will be her first time to The Big Apple!

S and I took ourselves off to Peter's Fish Markets for lunch afterwards - looking forward to sitting, eating the best seafood on the Coast, watching the water. Well, we did, but it was after a longish wait as we weren't the only ones who had had that idea. The line was literally out the door and the Security guy was doing serious people traffic control at the door. But it was a good lead-in to the afternoon which including a quick power nap for me (17 minutes), mowing, some blogging (the Blogging A-Z Challenge started today), and some trivia practice (thanks to the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" app on the iPad.

M was off with Mouse to a formal dinner at The Big House this evening. She posted a photo on FaceBook and it looked amazing - and according to the remark with it, the food wasn't bad either.

Meanwhile, back at Latimers, the furries were lounging wherever they could find a spot and spending time coming in and out of the television viewing area (just as well they're not being tracked by the Neilsen box too!) - thankfully none of them were there for the 60 Minutes segment on the teenage girls who are exorcists - that would have been way too scary for them!

Saturday

I have to stop having late nights if I actually want to be able to function in the morning. After Trivia last night, we were a little hyped up and not ready for bed when we arrived home ... so S went off to watch some television (we are piling up the Neilsen hours) while I went to do some more "work" on the computer. It is the start of the Blogging A-Z Challenge tomorrow and I've been working out how to put code on to the blog I'll be using for the Challenge, so I could show D how to do it as well. All done now - except for the actual Challenge. (Take a hop over to Musings if you've a mind to look at the Challenge entries and also to blog-hop to others doing the A-Z).

It dawned bright and sunny this morning - which was good news for Pearl because that meant she would be coming out to breakfast with us. And it was one of her favourites - Sisters in Broadbeach. She usually finds other dogs, people or children (not that children aren't people - they're just different) there to have a chat with. Mouse joined us there as well - and she had news from the Russians - they now want them in Moscow in about three weeks time for filming the reunion show. That is just a tad (read: a great deal) earlier than Mouse and M had thought - but it is still doable! It's all very exciting, and S and I have offered what help we can give to help them meet the timeline. We must also remember to talk about whether they want to take any photographs with them - and what format they should be in ... just in case they need any pictures of Mouse in Australia.

We managed to fit in a walk around the dog park (you can thank us later Pearl) after breakfast and before returning to Latimers.

The Great K came round this afternoon for a few hours, to talk about his Course and how he's going with the recent feedback he's had regarding his performance. He was quite good and ended up asking us to do role-play with him - which is good, because we've done it before and quite enjoy it. It was a bit tiring though - and even though S and I really felt like vegetarian Chinese from Mermaid afterwards (we had talked about it) we decided to stay in instead and ended up having something quite different for dinner. It was a good thing too (the not going out) because as I sat on the couch I found myself drifting off to sleep and I finally gave up trying to keep my eyes open just before 9; I took myself off to bed - leaving S to put Latimers into lockdown which hopefully wasn't going to be hard because the only one still out was Tinky - and she's getting much better at coming when she's whistled.

Friday

Where has the year gone? It seems like only a moment ago it was Christmas and New Year and now next week it's already Easter! (Small pause for much excitement as someone realises the next two work weeks will each be four days only!!! Plus small groan as the same someone realises how much there is to get through in those short weeks!!!)

It rained again at Latimers today and while the grass was almost dry by the time I arrived home, I resisted the urge to get on ROM and give the lawn a short same-length cut all over and chatted with S and M instead. But ROM did get a visit ... I looked over towards the stables later this afternoon and it appeared that the headlights were on - which couldn't be so since they would have flattened the battery overnight had they been - but best to check ... so I went over to investigate . . . and, of course, the headlights weren't on - they were just reflecting the afternoon's setting sun. It must have been an amazing angle though, because it didn't seem they were in a straight line!

Trivia tonight was good, although we really enjoyed dinner beforehand - which was quite unexpected - we arrived an Mi and F's early (traffic wasn't as bad as I had expected) and they insisted on feeding us - mousaka. Yummmm. Then it was on to Southport Golf Club. What an amazing Club House it is - like stepping back in time. We were Table Six and by the time we arrived, S, N, C, and C were already seated and waiting for us. Group dynamics is always interesting and we managed to finally get ourselves seated just before the competition started (although I noticed we did manage a seating change during the course of the evening).

In life, there are people who can set trivia questions ... and the people who put them together for tonight. Truly, too hard, obscure or silly questions can just suck the fun out of an evening and we had to work very hard to keep "jolly" about the fare we were being offered. Now, that sounds like someone who wasn't from the winning table, some "sour grapes" ... but it isn't - we won! We won ... because we were lucky enough to be 3 points ahead of the rest at the end of the evening - thereby taking out the one prize on offer - the door takings (everyone who played paid $5 entry fee). I don't think I've seen F as excited for a while - except when we took out second at our first showing at the Southport RSL last week. The more I play Trivia though, the more I'm beginning to understand that it isn't just about what people know, it's about how groups work, and where each person fits within that group - do you trust yourself with an answer more than others? How quickly do your doubt yourself? Īf two people believe they're right, what does the person who's writing the answers down (very neatly in erasable pen) put? Does it go to a group vote? And if the others didn't know an/the answer, how do they decide whose answer to vote for? And will any of us forget what a perfusionist is (hopefully none of us will never need one to operate the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgery!)? Or that a baby is born with 300 bones (which become 206 by the time they are an adult)? And why do they call it trivia?