Tuesday

Word is that S had a toasty breakfast in bed this morning - with Pearl on one side of her and Maggie on the other. It was certainly the right weather for it. S was right; it did rain today, and it's supposed to continue until later this week. Add a little chill factor to that ... and it's perfect bed-tea weather! Although we did want to, it didn't seem the right night to be trekking up the M1 to Ormeau to meet J's new beau, but that's what we did. As we drove out of Latimers (12 hours - almost to the minute - since I had driven out on the way to work), it was raining and chilly and while it would have been nice to think that meant fewer cars would be on the road - not so. It seemed that quite a few of those extra 50,000 cars the Census reported have found their way onto Gold Coast roads over the last 5 years (a 50% increase) were wanting to use that stretch of the Motorway tonight. Luckily, they were going the other way.

Will the Gilston Roundabout never be finished? They've made the actual works area larger over the last couple of days and each time I go through it I am tempted to complain bitterly - which I did this evening since there was someone to listen, although I'm fairly sure I do it even where there isn't. S's reply was fairly restrained, something like "Lucky you're not in the car Tinker".

K (J's new man) seems nice enough. He's older than she is (a year older than S) but it seems to be a good match. Even though they have known each other for a while (he's a friend of a friend), they didn't click until earlier this year - while spectating at the Sand Sculpture Championships at Surfers. We had a good chat with him over dinner at the local (Stapylton?) hotel, where they have some decent specials on a Tuesday night. K had PAWNS ... they had just re-done the board to get it "right" so one can only guess what they had there before ... and S had the fish of the day - which we had to take back because they had battered it rather than grilling it. The rest of us, J, R and I had the $10 steak special. Very yummy ... and we're not just saying that.

We finally got away just on 9 so we were home in time to watch the recording of tonight's immunity challenge on MasterChef. Everyone took up their positions - except Maggie who was meowing - and when I went to investigate, I found her outside our bedroom door, (not so) patiently waiting to be let in. At this rate, we'll have all of them in with us by the time M returns from faraway places. But back to MasterChef - and it was no surprise that they had run over again and just as they were about to announce the third dish (best two out of three - both teams with one each so far) that the recording ended. But S had it covered ... she had set the next program to tape even though it was Being Lara Bingle - the one where she finds out that old boyfriend Michael Clarke has just married a woman riding a horse. Great work S!

"We're smarter than they are" S assured me, and I certainly hope she's right. It came about because Pearl had brought a bone in. I'm not sure if she is forgetting her manners, or the rules, because I can't remember her ever bringing in a bone with M here. But at least this one wasn't all covered in dirt so it wasn't freshly dug up ... so S's fears that there was now a big excavation pit in the middle of her garden were unfounded. But, I'm getting ahead of the story. So, there's a bone inside which Pearl sets upon and is steadily gnawing away at; Tink, Maggie and Beazley are in - when we came in Tink followed us so we closed the doors - so we are in lockdown. The question ... how to get Pearl's bone outside and then get me back inside without opening the doors and risking Tink or the others escaping? "We're smarter than they are." I'd like to say I decided to go out through our room straight away ... but of course I didn't ... but the important thing here is that I eventually did!