Saturday

Morning came around incredibly quickly today. It seemed as though I had only just put my head on the pillow when the alarm started going off. Of course, I had figured this might happen (since it was way after 12 when I called it a night; and we were due to start getting up at 4:45am) so I had set four alarms. I sprang out of bed when the first one went off - but M was already up and at them. S and I have a sneaky suspicion that the scrunching noises continued all night and that M hadn't actually made it to bed at all; she did mention something about having kept Pearl up most of the night. But there will be plenty of time for her (and Mouse) to sleep on the plane on the way to Seoul today.

We were at the airport in good time - especially as we left on time (yes, I know technically we were three minutes late but in the big scheme of things - that's nothing!). Not surprisingly, it was dark when we left home (at 5:33) - and will the days will continue to get shorter until the Solstice is upon us on the 21st. (Did anyone else notice that I called Winter early this week - it really only started yesterday!)

The check-in went well - so well in fact that Mouse and M were able to have all their luggage sent through - even what could have been cabin baggage. I wasn't within earshot for the conversation with the check-in service personnel but it apparently went something like an episode of Vicar of Dibley - no, no, no, no, no, no ... yes. The travellers were ecstatic! Especially since they were also getting a GST refund on the way out of the country!

We didn't stay to watch them traverse the concourse to their gate but we did give them a heartfelt farewell at the departure point. Here's hoping they have a fantastic trip.

Then we had to decide what we were doing for the rest of the day and after hanging around the bookshop/news stand we decide F and Mi would join us for our trip to Ikea and the sale! Their local knowledge helped find a possible breakfast venue ... The Coffee Club is right next door to Ikea so we thought we could breakfast there before tackling Ikea (not due for another hour). But when we arrived, they were open - or at least the dining area was - and we all had various versions of breakfast (Swedish Meatballs with hot breakfast, Vegetarian Breakfast, Hot Breakfast, and Pancakes) plus coffees all round - for under $15!!!! I'm still trying to work out how they do it for the price - and why the conveyor belt for the trays and dirty kitchenware wasn't working.

We had a leisurely stroll through the Swedish giant (Lars felt incredibly comfortable in the car park), I signed up for the Ikea family (another card for the wallet), and managed to contain our purchases to small items of a storage nature. The bigger item - the Expedit and the storage cubes - will have to wait until next time. I need to purge and containerise what I have before making a finally commitment to a piece of furniture with a name!

It rained for most of the afternoon and the furries spent varying amounts of time with us. I went to take Pearl for a walk this afternoon but C was out doing the horses and had their four dogs with her - and, I may be calling it wrongly here, but I didn't think it was a good idea to have Pearl and Ebony in the same area with both of them unrestrained. Back inside we went - and Pearl, who had already attended to business inside the yard, was okay to come back inside and nestle on her bed, at S's feet.

It continued to rain heavily into the evening - making it a perfect day for having the afternoon off - catching up with some television viewing - including, finally, the second episode of Touch. I didn't think they would be able to do it again, but they were able to bring together all the disparate strings into a satisfying tale of coincidence and destiny. S says she will watch it - so I'll let her catch up before we move on to Episode 3.

M Skyped from Seoul to let us know they had arrived safely and were at their hotel. I forgot to ask if breakfast is included - because M loves a good hotel buffet breakfast!

S was in charge of putting the various furries to bed tonight (I managed the lockdown on time) and when she went to put Pearl into M's room, Maggie marched in there as well - she must have wanted a change from the day bed which M made up for her in the towel cupboard.

Nighty night Latimers (there's nothing quite like falling asleep with the sound of rain falling on the roof).