Making the bed ...

Prince is still staying with us and appears to have adjusted well to the Latimer routines. I'm lucky enough to take him for a couple of laps down the lane when I get home from work - which is great because it's helping me get my steps.

There have been no Free Passes awarded yet-but there may be tomorrow unless I can manage to get 6000 steps in this evening; with the very late night yesterday and the dentist after work today, my routine has suffered. But there is still time ... and the treadmill and television at home.

H's Show Day here tomorrow and I am Very much looking forward to the long weekend this affords us. I'm not sure what's on the cards yet, but it will be good to have a little lie-in and be able to take Prince and Pearl for a morning walk as well.

I don't think S is as keen to go to SeaWorld and Dinosaur Island as I am but I'll mention it just in case she has been harbouring a secret desire to play with the reptiles. Of course, if Clive Palmer had his way, it might be possible to play with the real thing and not animatronics.

The cats seem to be mostly used to Prince but they still give him a wide berth. M has been trying to convince them that he is more scared of them but they aren't convinced. If he wasn't so excited sometimes (read: yappy) it might be different.

The big news of the week is that M has made a great start on the vegetable garden down the back, and sprucing up the ones at the front. It's good too because as well as providing some homegrown produce, it's something the whole household can be involved in; I'm getting a bit better at pushing the wheelbarrow with the dirt!

Mouse seems to have settled back in after her time in Turkey, We still have to watch the Russian television show with her so she can translate for us. (And we still have to see the rest of M's holiday snaps!)

Night out ...

Thank you M for getting tickets to Barry Humphries' farewell show - Eat Pray Laugh- for S's birthday. It would be fair (and a bit of an understatement) to say we enjoyed it - although it would have been better if S didn't still have the lurgy hanging around - she did very well to be able to laugh and breathe! And she managed to get through without having a coughing fit - so that was good for her; given how acerbic and inclusive Dame Edna and the other personas can be, you can understand why you wouldn't want to do anything that might draw Barry's attention. It was the first time I have seen him perform - and the difference between his stage presence and the man we saw at breakfast the other morning is incredible. Mouse and F came as well, and afterwards we adjourned to Spinners for a cup of coffee before heading home - tired but happy! It's sad to think this is his farewell tour, he has brought a lot of joy, wit and laughter to this corner of the world.

Weekend at Jupiters

What a fabulous weekend we've had ... (thanks to M) S and I had a night in at Jupiters, which has now stretched to two as she is at home doing furries patrol. It's funny but even though we have only been here for just under 30 hours now, it seems like a very, very long time indeed. I guess because we actually started before yesterday afternoon, with breakfast in at Koi (at Broadbeach) with F and M. As we sat there, M said "look, there's a chicken" and we all looked - and yes, it was, a very large chicken, which turned out to be a "Bride to Be" (according to her sash) out on her Hen's Party (don't mind me, it only took me until today to put that together) ... so it was someone else - that would be S - who commented that it looked as though F was "picking up chicks". Of course, that photo had to go on FaceBook, together with that comment, so Mi would see how much F is really and truly missing her.

Dinner last night was in the room, because that's where they serve the Nasi Goreng - and it is a truly amazing dish. Yes, they do do it downstairs in Spinners, but it doesn't look anything like it when they serve it down there. S had that while I had the Soup of the Day (Chinese Chicken and Corn) - and M, who had arrived to visit just after we'd ordered - had naught save for a cup of tea before she and I went off to the gaming floor to have a game of CSP (now up to $163k) and Roulette. Great fun! S is still not well and elected to stay in-room and rest ... and it worked because she was feeling a bit better today - and to come to the Markets.

There's no doubt that M was up much earlier than us today; I had the call with Tr on Skype but didn't get up until well after 7, by which time M had already picked up F for their trip to Brisbane Airport to collect Mouse on her return from Turkey! They brought her straight to the Markets. It's great to have her back - and she seems happy to be back as well. N and one of her friends came to the Markets as well, so even though M and A are away, and Mi, we were still a respectable number - and as homage to the Indian Spring we're having today, we sat outside, some of us in shade, the others basking in the sunshine! It doesn't get much better than this!

Then, after M dropped Mouse home and settled her in for the afternoon, it was off to Bumbles for lunch (and a walk along the river for me - as I strive to get those 10,000 steps a day).

Yes, it has been a fantastic weekend (starting with the Mahler on Friday night) and I feel as though I'll have to go back to work for a bit of a rest now - and get back out to Latimers so I can take Prince and Pearl for a walk with me (it's much more fun with company!).

Busy ... busy ... busy

Yesterday was a busy day at Latimers: Jungle John and his significant other came and helped M put in some garden beds. When I was looking at the photographs this morning, it occurred to me that there are three of them - room for lots of produce. Of course, that isn't the first thought I had just then but that will have to do for public consumption.

We have started "Free Pass" - which is a way to help me reach my required 10,000 steps a day and is based on helpful competition. M is modifying a behaviour as well which is good because you can't really play by yourself ... and S will play once she is over her current lurgy - which, thankfully, she finally went to see the doctor about - and this morning she said she was feeling considerably better - it's amazing what increased puffer usage and a dose of steroids will do! But it's good she's feeling better - she's been under the weather for over a week now and it's time she was up and about because there are things to be done/places to go on the weekend ... which is to say that she's missed out on taking Prince for walks long enough! But back to Free Pass. Players nominate what they are going to do and if they don't reach that goal - they award a Free Pass to another player - which they can choose to use the next day - or bank for up to a week. The Free Pass means they get to do/not do the behaviour they are trying to change ... if I got a Free Pass it would mean I wouldn't have to do the 10,000 steps in a day - which I know I need to but we all know I would rather not. Of course, the beauty of the system is that because you have elected to help the other person/s on the road to their own behaviour modification, you are going to try not to give Free Passes. It will be interesting to see how effective it is.

This means, of course, that I am taking every opportunity to take Pearl and Prince for a walk and yesterday, while M went in to feed Soxie, I took them for two laps down to B's. We would have done more but Prince seemed to be quite tired on the second lap (no, that is not a projection!) and it was starting to get dark by then. After the doctor's visit, S and M joined me for a coffee at Zarraffas (very nice) so we were home a bit later than usual ... so as the darkness gathered outside, and after feeding the furries, I jumped on to the walking machine to make up my remaining steps for the day - watching an episode of "Eureka". I think I'm going to get to watch a bit more television over the coming months!

Enter Prince ...

Prince (of Persia) has come to stay at Latimers and it has heralded a period of adjustment for all of us. Prince is a Silky Terrier - very cute, but not quite socialised when it comes to furries - but he's getting the hang of it. It has to be hard for him being away from his humans, and in a strange place but M is doing her best to help him feel as comfortable as he can ... she has a way of doing that for pets and people.

Poor S is not terribly well - she has managed to catch the lurgy that's going around (possibly from N and S at Trivia last week) and while I was down for a day with something, I have been lucky enough to be back on deck after only a day in bed. But it's not good for S and I'm concerned that it may go to her chest (she's never been good with respiratory "stuff"). I'd like her to go to the doctor with it, just in case there is something else happening, but she's fairly confident that it is under control. It's just difficult to hear her in distress.

It's still a bit chilly here in the mornings and there was an incredible mist in the valley today (partly smoke haze, partly fog) and against the backdrop of the pink of the dawn sky it was pretty amazing. As I drove in, I just hoped M who was setting out for a walk with Prince and Pearl as I was driving out the front gate, was awake enough to appreciate it. I know that Tink wasn't - she spent the morning standing in front of cupboards and when I opened them she would have a look inside, a bit of a sniff around, and then move on. In the end I found her one with some space and let her get in there ... and although she didn't stay too long, she did seem to be less restless when she emerged.

Sleepless in Latimers

There was a lovely mist in the valley this morning which also means it Is,,, COLD. But it's also getting to be quite light by the time I leave. As 1 drove along the Southport-Nerang road this morning I was treated to the most magnificent sunrise! It was blood red and set against the backdrop (or would that be foreground?) of the Southport Skyscrapers which sounds slightly more poetic than the "Southport high buildings".

It would be fair to say that none of us had the world's greatest sleep last night. S is not well and banished everyone from the bedroom so she could try to sleep - and not risk sharing her lurgy. M had three of the four furries in with her and they were up and down all night. Even though I was sleeping down the back, I didn't hear any of it - except for the 4 o'clock session. I did manage to get back to sleep but wish I hadn't because I was plagued with nightmares after that and when I was finally rescued by the alarm, I was exhausted!

The outlook was quite different this afternoon. There are fires in the area and a thick pall of smoke is hanging just behind the Motorway, and the rest of this part of the Coast is under a thick veil of smoke. It would not be good to have respiratory issues today.They must be planned burn-offs because even though it was as thick at lunchtime as when I left work, there has been nothing on the news about it.

I don't think mentioned but Big Brother (based at DreamWorld) started broadcasting again this week. I tuned in last night but tuned out again within a minute as we were treated to a close-up of one of the contestant's dreadlocks and voiceover saying how nice people thought it/they smelt. The word "lemon" may have been mentioned. No, better I spend my (rare) time in control of the television watching something else!

The furries were difficult to settle last night. I must have opened the door for Maggie to come in and go out about a dozen times. The others* also went in and out a number of times but at least they can let themselves in and out ... and this was before M came home - and we know they continued to be "restless".

*It's amazing how much more sinister the furries sound if you refer to them as "The Others". What a difference a capital letter makes!

Tommy Emmanuel

We had an amazing time on Friday night! M had scored tickets to the Tommy Emmanuel concert at The Big House - and it was fantastic! It was the first time I had seen Tommy but before I went in I made sure I looked him up on the internet so I could at least try to appreciate the show. Which I think I did, but not nearly as much as others - especially those with guitar skills like L who would have loved it had he been there rather than over in the States auditioning for a scholarship with the Berkeley School of Music! He won't find out until November whether he was successful but F thinks L is so determined he will go anyway, even if he doesn't get the scholarship, and work so hard in his first year there that they will give him one. I think F was saying that they are quite generous with their scholarships - something like 40% of students get one although the amount varies. We're keeping our fingers crossed for him ... which is something I don't think even Tommy Emmanuel can do when he's playing! I was absolutely stunned when he trotted out a song he has just recorded - Secret Love - which some of us remember Doris Day singing in Calamity Jane! Even though the concert was supposed to be finished at 9:30 Tommy Emmanuel was still going strong at 10:30 and we would probably still be there if the house lights hadn't gone up at the end of the encore. I'm not the only one who thought that they might have just kept on playing if they hadn't. I was thinking throughout the concert that there isn't much you couldn't learn from him - passion for what you do, enjoy who you play with, don't be afraid to share your knowledge, and give people more than they expect ... and that's just for a start!

Winners are Grinners

There was a frost at Latimers this morning - and this isn't the first one we've had. I know that now because it has just "clicked" that that's why the grass is brown. I'd wondered if it was because it hasn't been raining - but no, it's because of the frost. I wonder how the horses cope with it - and the general coldness. Lars' thermometer said it was 4 as I was driving out of the Valley this morning. About the only place it isn't cold is in the sauna masquerading as M's bedroom. I had to sneak in there this morning to give Tinker her shot - and once I was in there I could see why Tink was in no hurry to come out!

It's supposed to get warmer towards the end of the week, I am still stunned by how much lighter it is in the mornings though. I was a few minutes later leaving today but still it wasn't as dark as I picked some lemons for one of the work folk. She was saying how tasty they are - she's been squeezing juice onto their salads - and then licking her fingers because it's so yummy!

I meant to say that I saw a kangaroo the other day (Sunday, as I drove back in to Zarraffa's after doing the lawn). It Was wonderful but definitely too long between sightings. On the same day, M saw the rabbit along the same stretch of road.

We had Trivia again last night and managed to tie for second and then win the tiebreaker to give us the $30 Voucher (our coffee and dessert next week). C and M joined us tonight as S had something else on. N, loaded to the gunnels with Tiger Balm was also there even though she had a massive headache; but the salve, the painkillers she popped and the company must have worked because at half time she was feeling much better.

On the way home we managed to break with tradition and buy petrol for cheaper than if we'd bought it on the way in to Trivia, so we're counting that as a win too!

Market Day

The day was fine and after inflating ROM's tyre on Saturday - and it still being up yesterday - I did the mowing. It was good, too, because we had come straight home from the Markets so I was on the mower just after 12 and finished by just after 2, leaving me with a couple of hours to zip back into Nerang and go to Zarraffa's for a well-earned coffee and some work on Samagrams - which turned into reading episodes of QI (as hosted by Stephen Fry) after stumbling on them as I tried to find verification of Houdini's 91 minutes underwater performing an escape way back in 1926. I never did ... but QI was great .. giving a fact by fact breakdown of what had been in each show!

S's parrots were around again this morning - but as non-cooperative as always: each time I saw them (twice) and went to get the camera, they had flown away by the time I got back! But they are amazing to look at. I was telling S that I thought I had seen a notice about lost parrots somewhere recently (it takes a while for me to put things together in my head) - so I'll see if I can find it again - it was at one of the shopping centres I think - and see if they are their birds. Also, on the bird front, M was saying that the white galahs (not to be confused with the more common white cockatoo) were back.

Hermes was over at the fence as we were leaving this morning and he is, as M said, "looking good". She gave him some carrot, before picking some lemons for distribution at the markets this morning.

We were a reduced crowd - F was off golfing, Mouse and Mi are still overseas - but we could have been even smaller; F had told M and A that the markets were off and they had been not going to come until M rang them and assured them we were still going, even if F was unable to make it!

It's still cool in the evenings and I think the heater even made an appearance last night - which should have been enough to guarantee a gathering of the furries - but they were nowhere to be seen (except for Pearl and Beazley) when MasterChef All Stars was on. And no-one was hanging around - the main lights were off and everyone was in bed by 9:30 (all the better to get ready and recharged for the new week!).

Cupboards ... and cold!

M did an amazing job while we were away for the weekend: she tackled the kitchen cupboards - throwing out a whole lot of stuff that was out of date, and making sure you could clearly see everything else. It has, according to S, made cooking very much easier, and given the cupboard doors are glass, it's also vastly improved the look and feel of the kitchen.

Someone has neglected to tell the folk who are in charge of the weather that it's supposed to be getting warmer... not colder! And there is no doubt it is getting cooler. I even had to have the heater in the car on this morning, and for the first time in a very long while, l found myself wondering how I could not have followed up on just how to turn the in-seat heating on. It was something I'd not had to think about using until now but it is an idea whose time has come. And it was definitely a three-cat-night at home - and S sent both M and I a picture to prove it - of Maggie, Tinker and Beazley all on the bed! The good news is that Tinker's paw seems to be better - she was putting weight on it tonight and didn't seem to be saving it, so that's good. Not so good is that the sore paw now seems to have transferred to M who is fairly sure it isn't broken but that doesn't mean it's not sore, painful and "catching".

S had the house to herself last night as M and I went back to CSP at The Big House. It has been a while - but the same players are still there and while the 10% (straight flush) has been won a few times, the pool is still in the $150,000 range so well worth winning! Alas, last night was not our night but we came out of it with our stakes intact, and a few small chips to pass on to S! And we'll all be back at The Big House in a minute because we're back there on Saturday for lunch to celebrate A's birthday.

Holly and Dolly have been moved (as suspected since they weren't in their paddock earlier in the week). It was too dark for me to see on the way out yesterday morning (and too dark when I got home last night) but S says they have been moved up to where Sweetie was but they are in separate paddocks.

The full moon is brilliant at the moment! And thinking about it, this goes a little way to explain the King Tide which has left more erosion on the Coast - to the point where they have been bringing in sand and "sculpting" at least one of the beaches.

A quick visit

Gold Coast radio is as good as ever. I am still getting used to the fact that Mayor-elect had a deeper voice on the ads before the election than afterwards (maybe it was something they did in the editing studio?) - and now to find out that one company here has overseen the installation of "over 18,000 solar systems" is enough to blow me away!

Today is 1 August - the horses' birthday - which means Dolly is now a yearling and she and Holly will soon be separated. That's what S was saying yesterday (as told to her by M). I was wondering which of them would be moved from the paddock. But when I took Pearl for a walk down to B's yesterday, neither of them was there. I wonder where L has put them. It's not the same going down there and not seeing them!

It was freezing on the way out of Latimers this morning - Lars said it was 6 degrees - and I believe it! But the most amazing thing is that it's almost light in the mornings when I leave home - not "light" light but not totally dark! It's a nice change and means Winter must be almost over ... Spring is only a month away now. Not that it's been a particularly harsh winter but it has had its moments and even I'm grateful when I slip into those warm furry ugg boots in the morning!

Tink appears to have done herself some injury to her left front paw and has been hobbling around. M's had a look at it and can't see anything obvious so we'll continue to monitor it. It did seem a little less painful to her last night.

Otherwise all the furries are well and doing their best to enjoy the MasterChef All-Stars. They haven't had much of a chance to watch the Olympics yet but hopefully they will in the next few days. Duck at the Door is still there and seems to be enjoying its life on the farm!