On the road

On the road again - this time to Toowoomba to help Mum celebrate her birthday.

We weren't the only ones on the road. From just before the Ipswich Road we saw the signs saying there was a truck convoy ahead - and as we drove along we wondered if the signs had been posted prematurely as there were people at the side of the road at various vantage points, obviously waiting. And they would be for a while - because just before Gatton the traffic slowed and, stretching out in front of us, for as far as the eye could see (and further as it turned out) were the trucks - hundreds of them - all shapes and sizes, flying the Lights on the Hill flag - remembering those in the transport industry who had perished.

We saw the children this time as well. Ka is just about ready to crawl! He's doing the "battle crawl" - on his stomach and pushing himself along with his elbows and knees - building up his muscle strength and practicing the movements. Watching him at "work" really made me think about how amazing it is that baby animals can stand up and walk within minutes of being born. It's incredible that they can do that - especially when it takes humans months before they crawl!

Amazingly, there was mowing at Latimers over the weekend. M managed to do the yard around the house on Saturday - and when we arrived home on Sunday, B was out on his ride-on doing Hermes' paddock. I'm glad he'd made the call because I was thinking about doing it - and decided it was way too wet.

Of course, days later, it is still raining. I'm thankful that it eases long enough for me to scurry out to the car in the mornings.

The visitors had a scare yesterday when Me thought she had lost her wallet! H's bad enough when that happens at home, but when you've thousands of miles away - it's even worse! But, the good news is that she found it, intact, at home. The bad news is that she was put through the worry of where was it, had it been lost/stolen at the shopping centre, what was in it - and how difficult would it be to have all the cards and other contents replaced? I'm getting anxious just thinking about it so I can't imagine what it must have been like for the others in the throes of it! But it was good she did find it because it was Swipe day at The Big House yesterday (and today). Neither S nor I had any luck yesterday; and we weren't sure about the others as M was overseeing them.

 

Friday!

Friday! Finally! It's strange how some weeks are definitely longer than others! Of course, more happens some weeks than others - and this has been one of the "more" weeks although I would be hard-pressed to say what that more was although it did involve doctor visits, dentist visits, visits to the movies, Bingo and catch-ups (including S having a long phone call with Sa who has been laying low of late). On the whole, it has been good although M still has to do another doctor visit in a couple of weeks and hopefully that will provide some answers! S shouldn't have to go back to the Russian (sting, sting) skin doctor - they look to have taken enough of a margin when they did the excision last week. It has healed well and the stitches came out today. All going well, S should be fine to go back to Aqua next week.

Tink has been ravenous this week, eating special cookies like they're going to run out in a minute - which they most certainly will if she keeps eating at this rate! We're hoping it's just an aberration, not a reaction to the insulin. She's due back to the Vet in a couple of weeks, so that will give us a chance to monitor her. Meanwhile, Pearl was unwell last night and M stayed up with her trying to make her comfortable. It was a shame it was last night though - M had taken herself off to bed early as she was still recovering from her own medical intervention. They both seemed okay today though - and Pearl was definitely not shying away from food - although that would have been understandable given the night she had. Do dogs experience nausea the same way as humans?

Maggie is keeping fairly much to herself and is spending a lot of time in M's room - which is pretty much what she usually does. I haven't noticed either she or Tink out in the yard doing that snake patrol but I did see M has invested in an electronic thumper (the first of several) to deter other snake visits. Since they didn't have enough in stock, M is ordering the others online - from the original snake thumper peopIe. But, you know, I can't help wonder if they will be better than burning leather shoes (which we haven't done yet but I would probably be prepared to donate a pair).

But the wildlife has definitey been out - which could have something to do with that it is still wet here - and is supposed to continue to be. The wildlife doesn't fare well in the wet - especially not on the roads. Are motorists less safe in wet weather? It certainly seems so.

The grass continues to grow as we wait for it to be dry enough to mow. I'm not saying it's really wet but we are staring to get a magnificent crop of ... toadstools - I preferred it when I thought they were mushrooms - just off the back area!

Someone managed to do part of the lane today but you can tell it was wet when they did it. (I've learned a bit about lawns since we moved to Latimers ... who would have thought!) D is due again in a moment I think - so he should have plenty to do.

It's raining now - a nice steady gentle rain drumming on the roof and starting to lull us to sleep. Yes, it's been a long week - but a good one.

The week's off to a good start ...

It's raining ... raining in Nerang - and there's more (150mm) predicted to fall tonight. But that isn't enough to stop us coming out for Trivia at Southport RSL. I think the furries would have preferred we had the night in (or is that just projection on my part?) but we have left them well-fed and cozy and with the run of the house. Hopefully they will not abuse the privilege and run amok! I was sorry I didn't get to take Pearl for a walk before we left but I couldn't time it between the downpours so she would stay dry ... and while there is nothing as friendly as a wet dog - she doesn't need to spend the evening damp - especially as it has turned a little chilly with the change in the weather.

We were six for Trivia - with A, a teacher from France, and friend of S and N's coming along. Unfortunately we were one off the podium by evening's end but I think she had a good time anyway - especially as she was kept fairly busy throughout taking notes of English idioms and other oddities in her rapidly-filling notebook and "looking forward to the Mixed Bag" (one of this evening's categories). She knew some of the answers as well - always a bonus - as is having a television set showing greyhound races when the question "How many greyhounds in a greyhound race" comes up. "I was just watching greyhound racing" said Fl - who thought it might be 8 - and this was confirmed within a few minutes as the dogs were led into the barriers for the next start. Judging by the giggles from at least one adjoining table, I don't think we were the only ones to have noticed the television fare.

But while we might have missed out on the money on the night - over at The Big House, M, who had called in to change some accommodation, found herself passing the CSP table just as a seat became available. You'd have to sit down wouldn't you? And it was good that she did because on her third hand she was dealt a straight flush! Yippeee!!!!! Although she says that at first she didn't notice what she had, when she did, she was just "beaming". Good for her! I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see the look on her face when she realised it - and, like her, I'm sure I would have needed a nice hot cuppa to help calm me down afterwards. Heaven knows it took me ages to get to sleep after she told us (although that could have had something to do with the way she told us ... when we arrived home from Trivia, she had left a little something for each of us on our pillows! Thanks M!) And, while this is probably just a coincidence, it was interesting to note that she (of the snake sighting at Chinese New Year) was wearing her red Chinese dragon tee-shirt at the time!

Happy Chinese New Year - Year of the Snake!

We're just back from the weekend at Kyogle and visiting the family to celebrate Chinese New Year (Year of the Snake). It was a quick visit but a good one, and they were all in good form. And, amazingly, we still made it back to the Markets this morning, even though we had already sent our "leave pass" request through yesterday - not the requisite 48 hours notice - but enough! And it was just as well we did make it - numbers generally were way down. That might have had something to do with the weather - it was fairly wet there and not a good day for sitting outside in the sun (what sun?). Mu and Za had managed to keep themselves busy - helped by the big bunch of helium-filled 21st birthday balloons Za had found! It was good they played with them there because there was no room in the car for them to go home with them.

After the Markets, we went off for an impromptu yum cha lunch in Broadbeach. (It's odd to think we'd been in Broadbeach only yesterday morning for breakfast. It seems like a very long time ago!). There were a few other folk there as well, which may have something to do with Chinese New Year still being in full swing!

Then it was home again - ostensibly to do some "work" but it turned out that it was actually to have a big nap. There's nothing like an afternoon nap! Especially when its raining outside and you don't feel guilty about not being out on ROM. And there is a need to keep that grass down - especially since M spotted a snake (not a big one though) between the house and the bohemia tree while we were in Kyogle. She has ordered some snake thumpers (as used by Sy and An at their place in Yamba with great success) and they should be in early this week, (Thanks M!). She's threatening to lock Tink and Maggie out during the day so they can be a "presence" in the yard - neither of them has taken over this role since we lost Beazley. I'm concerned that Tink (who I've always considered to be the more outdoorsy and adventurous one) may decide to take a snake-watching role to heart-and then want to share that interest with the Latimers' humans. Heh heh - I guess that since it is the Chinese Year of the Snake - it's probably very lucky that M saw the snake!

The week that was

Well, I wonder how Mu went on his first day in school here in Australia. I hope Me took some photographs of him in his school uniform ... he's bound to have looked a bit (ok, a lot) cute. Hopefully he didn't find it too difficult, and that he had a great time ... and that he wants to go back! That's always the real test. It apparently hasn't been too bad for him although, according to what he was saying to his mother the other day, he's not getting enough food in his lunch box to cover all his breaks ... The other kids, he told Fe, get full lunch boxes!

The weather, although predicted to be cooler here, has actually been quite warm. But still wet in patches (geographically and chronologically). It's funny that - how it doesn't rain on all of the Coast at the same time.

Bingo was on at Wednesday - although it was without E again as she is still overseas and will be until Saturday. They had a good day though - especially S who was a winner! They all went off to lunch at Southport Park Yum Cha afterwards - and were met there by Fl and Mi! They seem to be preferring that one over the one at Australia Fair at the moment ... not sure why!

This evening was Aquarobics but S had to sit this one out because she is nursing a wound on her chest where the skin specialist has cut out a cancer. She has several stitches and she will have them taken out next week - so she should be a starter for next Wednesday's Aqua - but she will have to miss out on Monday's.

We went from the swimming pool (where I picked her up) to The Big House where they were having a promotion where 1 in 10 wins. Alas, neither S nor I was one of the one in 10 although I think Me and Az were among the winners. But we did have dinner there.

Sunday

It was a busy day at the Markets - and we were a decent-sized group again thanks to the addition of the Turkish component as well as Sy and An! It's a long time for the little ones to sit as the adults catch up over coffee and a table that was all but groaning under the weight of food - some purchased, cooked at the Markets but lots of it home-made! And all of it was yummy. E is still away so we were surprised when Ba arrived! He hadn't made it last week so it was good to see him and to have everyone make a fuss over him. But the biggest fuss is reserved for the children, Mu and Za. True to last week's "toys" (the balloons which we all enjoyed) Az had a ball each for the little ones this week - a yellow one for Mu, orange for Za; and to make them extra special, Az had each marked with something - I especially liked the robot on Mu's. But the balls had to wait their turn - for some reason (which I can totally see) the children seemed to prefer playing with M's iPad and iPhone - that kept them entertained for a good while (was it really an I hour?)! As usual, we were again the last ones at the Markets; it could have been because they were having too much fun trying to get their balls into the (very clean) garbage bins - and chasing them around the markets when they missed - but this wekk the children didn't cmment on that we were the last ones there!

I think they were off to Robina afterwards. They were there yesterday and, judging from the photographs, Mu and Za had a great time in the big bubbles there - the ones where the kids are sealed inside and released onto the lake!

S and I stopped in at Baskin & Robbins Nerang for a cold treat before making our way back to Latimers. I had some inside work to do (now, where are those bits of paper I'm looking for ... and the camera charger!) before finally getting back on ROM to do part of Hermes' paddock. Even I have to admit that I've come a long way since we arrived when I would do anything not to be in the paddock alone with Hermes! Yes, yes, I know he's lovely but it's my stuff - and, admittedly, it has more to do with the horse that stood on my foot when I was six! And probably the cattle that used to be in the paddock between the house and the school bus when we lived in the country when I was around four. Now, I have to admit that I'm more cautious about snakes being in the paddock ... although that might be lucky given that it's now Year Of The Snake! Happy Chinese New Year!

Down on the farm

It rained again today. not very heavily but fairly consistently for a while. This is good because it keeps topping up the tank (the bore pump still isn't fixed). Oops ... I can't believe this week has gone by so quickly! It has rained almost every day - different times, different quantities - but still rain.

D came the other day when it wasn't raining too much. He was at Latimers for five hours or so and did a really good job of tidying the place up - there are some places you just can't get to on ROM. It did fine up later that day as well (was it Monday?) because B had a fire going (it is B after all) and M and I dragged some of the refuse from D's efforts down to it. Pearl was also allowed in the creek - which is still "up" from the storms, and as they continue to let water out of the Hinze Dam. It's quite impressive that M has water views so close to the house at present.

Well, despite a false start, both Mu and Za have been enrolled in school. There was no trouble enrolling or placing Za but there were problems with Mu and at one stage there it looked as though he might not have easy access to schooling here in Australia. But after interventions from M, and others, the contact at the school greeted them on Friday (?) with open arms proclaiming "Good news! Good news!" as though she hadn't been the one who had identified the insurmountable (my word) problem with enrolling Mu. His first day is next Monday and it will be interesting to see how he approaches the day ... especially as he announced that he was "very happy" to find out earlier in the week that there was a chance he may not have to go to school here.

Hopefully, though, he won't have caught the lurgy that both Za and his mother have by then! M took them to the doctor the other day and antibiotics (and bed rest?) were prescribed. It can't be any fun for Fe!

The good thing about rain it that it washes all the rubbish from the air - and that leads to brilliant night star views. The Southern Cross seemed amazingly bright this week. (That reminds me, I don't think I've seen the moon for a while!)

The Big House is having a promotion in February where you can swipe your Absolute Rewards card between certain hours on a Tuesday and Wednesday and have a one-in-10 chance of winning a prize. That's not bad odds - and seem to be true. Me won a portable DVD player on Day One, and Az scored $20 Casino Dollars the next. We'll be fronting up there again both days next week. It's not too bad, especially when you can combine the trip in to The Big House with the Spinners Special - this month - in honour of Chinese New Year which starts on the 10th - a Chinese stir fry for $9.90 for members. Non-members have to pay more! M and I did make it to CSP this week - the jackpot is up to over $110k, and while that would have been nice to give a home too, we weren't able to this time around.

Even though it has been raining here, we must still be in drought in the fruit-producing areas. They tried to charge me grapefruit prices on my navel orange at the supermarket the other morning - mind you, it was the size of a grapefruit!

Otherwise, all is well here. The girls did Bingo on Wednesday (M won enough for lunch); S and I did Trivia on Monday night - but, alas, failed to place on the podium this time (first time in five weeks!); and M has visited more than a few shopping centres with the family.

Oh, and I saw one of the balloons flying over Latimer - the lowest I've ever seen it. At first I couldn't work out what I was hearing (it wasn't the mower which had already been going since 5:30 somewhere over toward's B's) - until I realised it was balloon burners. It was quite exciting, and a little bit breathtaking, especially when it looked as though they wouldn't clear the trees ... but they did (phew). I thought about chasing them to take a photograph when they did land, and even though I started to, I soon lost them - d'oh ... these things could be so much easier if there was a spotter in the car to watch them while I watched the road!

Lottie is having a bit of a spell from racing and has been moved into the paddock with Choo Choo Ma Ma and Holly. It's odd to see three of them in there - but that may not last. M was saying she'd been speaking to L and he was saying that CCMM cannot stand Lottie and gives her the "evil eye" and actively chases her.

 

New arrivals

M's sister, niece and her two children have arrived from Turkey! M, Mi, Mouse and Fl picked them up from Brisbane Airport earlier today - and amazingly they were all awake enough to come to the Markets.

It is always illuminating to see the world through a child's eyes (another wonderful reason to have them around - besides that they are great fun!) ... as the morning progressed towards the close of the Markets, little Mu (4) commented as we sat drinking, eating and catching up that everyone else had gone and "why are we still here?" Ah, the young know little of tradition ... and that we have long been the ones to "close the market". He'll get the hang of it next week!

I was impressed though with how child-focused different folk are - like A who had balloons for the children (and adults) to play with ... because it is a long time for little ones just to be sitting around - and even though different ones took them for walks to show them different things, it is still a long time!

After the Markets, S and I took ourselves off to The Big House - to go to The Food Fantasy buffet. While we were there, at least a mystery was solved. We had noticed the previous day that part of the foyer area had been cordoned off ... S thought it was to corral people, I thought it was because the carpet in that area had been saturated in the recent storms (when their roof leaked) - but as it turned out we were both off the mark - although S was closer than I ... they must have had a big group in because they were using the cordoned off area for luggage - and lots of it.

But, back to Food Fantasy ... it has been on my list of things to do for the last couple of weeks, but we just haven't managed to make it. Alas, we weren't the only ones with that idea and the place was practically full to bursting. But, still, it was good and we had a nice relaxed lunch before going off to pick up M from Mouse's - where the children had already been put down for a nap and Me and Fe were doing their best to stay awake but it seemed to be a losing battle.

Back at Latimers, there wasn't a lot of outside work to do - but even though M had mowed earlier in the week, and I mowed yesterday, there was still some patches to do - so M went off on ROM, S settled in for some quiet time, and I continued JobFind activities. There is always something to do!

Since ROM had the new deck fitted, it's been cutting much better but it still isn't a perfect cut. But as the mechanic suggested it might take a few cuts to take out the imperfections left by the other deck - but at least the new one isn't gouging furrows out of the lawn!