Tuesday

Clouds

There were storms forecast for today and although it looked as though it might, it didn't ... but the rain did start just after 1, and brought with it just a little thunder and lightning (not very very frightening). At various stages throughout the day, folk wandered out into the carpark to have a look and check it out. As we later found out, the storms skipped SE Queensland and wreaked havoc on bushfire-ravaged NSW instead.

Pearl was wearing a new bandana this afternoon when I arrived home ... she looked very cute too. M had picked it up for her. She's not allowed to sleep in it though and had to have it taken off beforehand bedtime.

Turtle

It was a bit of a wildlife day though. Out at the works, they found a small turtle which had wandered onto site. It had its photo opportunity and then the boys sent it on its way - making sure it was pointed in a direction away from the piling works!.

Back at Latimers, the gigantic Huntsman spider on the wall in the office area may have gone unnoticed if not for M. Would that have been better or worse? As it was, M was incredibly brave - first approaching it with the spider catcher - but in the end, when that didn't work (it was huge!), she captured it in a teatowel and took it outside. She only lost it once during the exercise and while it seemed as though it might have tried to run outside through the closed French doors, after it jumped around the spider catcher, it was actually hiding in the plant ... which is when she resorted to the tea towel. Once caught, she carried it out and released it in L's paddock (just outside the Latimers front gate).

I'm not sure about the others, but I was certainly on "spider alert" for the rest of the evening ... just as well I had already finished tonight's session on An's preso because I would have been too busy looking over my shoulder to fully concentrate on it!

 

Monday

It wasn't a late night last night but this morning it feels like a truck has run over me. I hope it passes soon - and that I can stay awake once I get to work. It would be a bit embarrassing to fall asleep at my desk ... as though falling asleep at Maccas isn't!

It was, thankfully, a busy day at work - with no down periods. I have now sourced an auto-electrician to look at DP's flashing lighty-thing and he'll take it there tomorrow. I've made him a little map so he shouldn't have any troubles finding it.

It was a quick turnaround at home this evening as I prepared for Trivia. Sooz was ready by the time I arrived home and, for just a moment, I considered wearing my work boots out - but then I decided if I'm not prepared to wear them inside at home, I shouldn't be prepared to wear them inside anywhere else (except work of course, and anywhere between home and work). I cannot believe how long it takes for me to change from boots to shoes and vice versa ... although, obviously, I'm not doiing it at the same time.

Trivia was good - although we were again without Fl. He rang this afternoon to say he wouldn't be able to make it - he's flat on his back on his couch and unable to move. His back has been sore since he came back from Singapore - he thinks it may have something to do with the plane seats - and it is not getting any better. At this point, even with the visit to the doctor, and having a massage today, he is seriously considering putting off his trip to New Zealand at the end of the week. Which reminds me ... I saw a bumper sticker this afternoon which said "QueeNZlander" ... the best of both worlds one would think.

Notice how well I changed the topic from Trivia there ... not mentioning that we weren't on the Podium ... and wasn't Trudi just a bit cheeky asking if we were going to come last again this week?

Sooz and M called in on An on their way to Aqua this morning - they were running early. Sy was at work, but they did have a catch-up with An, who has been busy in the garden with Syl for the last few days.

M took Tinka to the vet today - she hasn't been totally well ... and she was even less well in the car on the way there. Kudos to M for cleaning up after her even when she wasn't feeling terribly well herself. Tinka is now on tablets and should be okay in a day or so.

We're expecting storms over the next few days so they put out a notification to start battening down the site to the work troops today. One of the problems is that now that we're "clearing and grubbing" there is a chance that top soil could be washed away before it is fixed in place. We have a contractural (and one would hope, moral) obligation to have soil erosion measures in place within 24 hours of disturbing a site.

The feline furries were still outside by the time we arrived home from Trivia and while Maggie came in fairly quickly, Tinka came to within a couple of feet of the door before turning around and walking away. I decided not to chase her ... I didn't want her running away ... so when I took the recycling over a few minutes later, I went to talk with her about The Tevs visit, and then scooped her up and carried her inside. She didn't put up much of a struggle, especially when her cookies mad an appearance!

I missed taking Pearl for a walk this afternoon, but she and I had had a lovely walk up to B's this morning. She was good, too, because when a car was coming, I called her and she came. That's a big improvement!

There's no word yet on how David went with his Uni stuff but hopefully we will hear within the next day or so. They were supposed to hear on Friday, or today.

Sunday

No Skype call with Tr this morning. I knew it was going to be a late night (no-one to supervise me and make me go to bed at a sensible time - since Sooz is away) so I rescheduled to next week.

Markets. There by 9:12am so I made it before the cut-off time of 9:15 - so no fine for me today. But surely they were only joking about that - I know, but after seeing Baba hand over his $5 to Mouse as soon as he walked in, it felt a little hypocritical not to be prepared to pay up this week! We started out a fairly small group - since Sooz, M and Mi (she's gone to New Zealand) were away. But Nu came, as well as Et and his family, and Um's Mum turned up as well, as well as Syl and An.

Syl and An were hard at work yesterday on the garden ... they are trying to get the house shipshape in time for the 60th which is now only two short weeks away. While Syl went off to Bunnings to get more supplies, I took An home so we could try some more video formats on their televisions - and the new one takes both .mov and .mp4 files, while the downstairs one reads neither of those formats. I'll try one more (.avi) with it, before we go to plan C - which is to burn a DVD. I've also picked up some new photographs from them, which I'll sort through once I get back to Latimers and transfer good ones to the appropriate files/presos. I showed them the "Friends" segment today and I think they both liked it - and I'll show it to Sooz and M when they get home today. I really do love doing this type of thing - and while An says she's concerned about the amount of time that's going into it ... when Syl commented that I could do this for a living, An responded that people have no idea how much time and effort goes into it ... so she does understand that time (as well as enough decent photos and a good soundtrack) is probably the most vital component.

Fl asked how we went at Trivia when we saw him at the Markets (the first time we've seen him since he arrived back yesterday morning from Malaysia and Singapore) and we stuck with the story about not telling him how close we managed to get to the Podium. When he tried to question us more, we changed the subject. But at least we had won drink vouchers for the team when we among the 3 teams to get the Baffler on the second question.

I finally made it to the carwash this afternoon and did some writing while they were working on the car. M is right, they have "gone off" so the car will be going to Espresso or somewhere else from now on ... but it was good to get it done today ... it has been too long but, as Anita said, it's a work car now.

Next stop, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary - and the Zarraffas there ... but they are no longer a Zarraffas. Still, the coffee was okay, although a little strong even though I had asked for my usual (telling them what it was of course, otherwise they may have served me anything ... and coffee is too important to take that chance). I stayed there until almost the last possible moment ... Sooz had texted to say the plane was leaving on time so I planned to be in the vicinity of the airport at 4.10pm. I'm sure it was their plane that flew over as I drove around the corner to the Highway. I only had to wait a few minutes for them to come out of the airport - they would have been sooner but they had to wait to reclaim the painting M had purchased at Hank's exhibition yesterday - which couldn't travel with them because the airline was strictly enforcing their "one person/one piece of luggage" rule. 

Sooz and M had a great weekend - and they made my day when they brought me back some fare from the Lebanese restaurant where they went for lunch. It was wonderful - I had it for dinner ... I was at least able to wait that long. The optimist in me thought there might be enough leftover for lunch ... but no. Sooz has now suggested that I had the leftover pasta from the other night ... which I will do. But the rice pudding I will have tonight!

Saturday

It was an early start all round this morning as we hurried to get ready to get on the road. Sooz and M had to be at the airport in time for their 8am flight to Sydney. They're off to the opening of their friend Hank's art exhibition as well as looking forward to catching up with a couple of their favourite eateries in their City of Sydney.

I stayed at home to work on An's birthday presos and to catch up on some other "jobs" that I just haven't been able to get to - refreshing the iOS on the iPad (which badly failed last time and took 4 hours to reconstitute ... and then missed some things) and on the iPhone, and resurrecting my photos (lost in the last iOS update). I needed the photos to look through to see if there were any more I could use for the presos - so it was all good and I felt like I was working to a common purpose.

I took regular breaks through - to check what Sooz and M were up to via FaceBook, and to check to see that Tinka was okay. M said she had some sores on her back which looked like Tinka had taken ticks out, and just in case this was what had happened, she wanted me to monitor her in case she became unwell. And then, of course, I had to spend time with Maggie (who spent the day asleep on the chair in M's room), and Pearl who was happy to be with me down the back as I worked.

It is quite different not having any other person around - "come and see this" doesn't work as well with the furries! But I will be able to show the humans when they return tomorrow.

Oh, yes, and I turned the dishwasher on, ran it through its cycle, and then emptied it ... so that was another little job ... and went out and had a look at the grape vine, deciding which two ... what do you call the individual growing things on a grape vine? ... to leave because the others have to go if the plant is to concentrate on producing fruit.

The litter box wasn't cleaned out early enough for Tinka ... she came down at about 7 to let me know that she wanted me to do it ... which I did - and made sure the unused litter box down near the office was well out of reach so she'd stop pretending she was going to use that one ... not a good look since there isn't any litter in it!

Mi and Az took Mouse to lunch at The Big House (Food Fantasy) today and they said it was very nice ... and from the way Az spoke it seemed it was much nicer than the buffet at the Sheraton they'd been to last week for Bajram. She was a bit flummoxed though when she had to put a dollar through a machine fear of losing points she'd amassed - and after trying without success, someone she knows through work happened along and assisted. She put in her card, put her dollar in - pressed the button for 10 lines (it was a 10 cent machine) - won $20 and left! Job done. Mouse won a $50 Food and Beverage on the great card swipings!

Choo Choo Ma Ma has reappeared in the paddock and the question we all have, since she went off to be serviced, is "is she pregnant?". We can't tell just by looking, of course, so we're hoping Candice will be able to tell us.

There were white galahs all over the back lawn at Latimers when I returned home from the airport run (plus breakfast, plus going to the Post Office) and I tried out the new camera lens on them but with only minimal success. Maybe I can find an instruction manual online for it. But whatever it is in the lawn, the galahs just love it! They were there for about an hour after I arrived back.

Friday

Who knew the Sisters Restaurant (Italian fare) in Nerang had closed? I suspect M had a clue because we offered to pick her up some dinner if she wasn't going out (she was) and when we told her where we were planning to go she said "if it's still there". Sooz really felt like Italian so when we couldn't eat there, and decided it was too far to go to the Italian Club, we decided to take our chances and see if we could find something over at Worongary. We were lucky - the Belvedere Restaurant is there and as soon as I saw the red white and green stripes (I'm not sure what order they're in) I knew Sooz was going to get her Italian afterall. Except she was going to have to wait for it ... as soon as we looked like sitting down, the waitress told us there was at least a 40-minute wait for the kitchen ... which turned out to be a 40-minute wait until she would put our order in. In the meantime, we ordered a garlic pizza to munch on as we chatted - and, surprisingly, by the time our meals arrived - there was no sign of the garlic pizza. It came a little later, and they didn't charge us for it;  but I was glad it did come because I needed it to make up my dinner - I was having the soup of the day - Minestrone. When we arrived, the woman at the table next to ours was having the Minestrone and it looked good - and it truly was - but not enough by itself to fill me up.

I don't think I mentioned that we'd had a fire drill at work yesterday. It was good - we were all out of the building and at the muster point within two and a half minutes - so you have to be pleased with that. They're going to have a mock emergency at the work site next week - and that would be really interesting to watch. Le, one of the other Site Admins, says that during her time with the Navy she took part in mock helicopter crash drills - and she wasn't even a medic! They were fairly elaborate too.

The cats were much more compliant this evening when they were called to come in ... and even though they did take a little while, they weren't as slow as they were the other evening. Tinka came in and jumped on the bed with me and stayed there until I had fallen asleep - although I think she was still there when I woke up around 3.

Thursday

It's amazing how much time work takes up especially when it's Team Meeting day. I do the Minutes (and this is only my second time since I've been there) and when we were talking about some of the environmental issues one person commented that we had to be careful because, since we are in the business of building roads, people think "we're in the business of rape and pillage".

Sunset

There was a brilliant sunset on the way home ... it lasted for ages, so I was able to take photographs of it from Nerang (OfficeWorks car park), from Gilston Road, and from Latimers Crossing Road as well.

Sooz did washing today (thank you). Alas, it looks as though my uniforms will need to be ironed. That's a shame! But talking about ironing ... I am planning a big wardrobe clean out - and decided that the clothes I was prepared to iron would be the ones I'd keep - and even as I was thinking this, somewhere else in my brain I heard a question about where you'd find people to come and do the ironing for you, and how much that particular service might cost!

Thursday is CSP night and we called in to Q1 for dinner at the Fast Wok before we went into The Big House. At Sooz's request, I'd picked up some lamb steaks for her on the way home (I'd needed to go to the shopping centre anywhere to get my hair cut) - and, by their accounts, both she and Pearl enjoyed them - although Sooz had to cook them this time.

M and I should have known better when we sat down at the CSP table (send us a sign?) when there was a problem with the first hand we missed out on which looked as though it could hold up play for a while. We went upstairs for a coffee and to watch one person playing Roulette, before we made our way back downstairs to see if the CSP Table was operating again. It was, and I took the only chair available (the same seat I was sitting at when we first arrived) and it was only a couple of minutes before a spot opened up for M. We should have known to walk away at the point when one of the first hands the dealer had was three Kings. The guy who had trips 4s on that hand must have thought he was in with a good chance ... but, alas, no. That set the tone for the rest of the time we were at the table - although M did manage to get trips which the dealer didn't beat and which he did open on.

On the way home we were supposed to pick up some milk for Sooz, and while we talked about it as we climbed into the car at TBH, neither M nor I thought of it again until we were turning into the laneway from the main road. D'oh. Ah well, at least there is some milk at home for Sooz to have - and M has offered to take her into Nerang for breakfast in the morning, and they can pick up some milk then.

 

Wednesday

Barbie

It was an interesting day at work ... we had a BBQ to mark the Milestone of "The Switch" and to recognise the efforts of three workers in particular. It is no doubt that it was a study in Orange! And it was all go-go-go to get it done in time for the 10 o'clock start - especially since there were still Certificates to be printed, signed and laminated as well as salads to prepare, meat to cook, breadrolls to butter, beetroot to untin etc etc etc. It was just as well I didn't have a big lunch because Sooz and I received an invitation to join Mouse, M and Mi for dinner this evening. M is staying overnight at The Big House with Mouse and they thought it was a good opportunity, with Fl and the boys still away (are they in Singapore yet?) to have a girls' dinner. And it was good to have dinner at The Big House, too, because M had a draw this evening.

More Barbie

Dinner was at Vivo and, it was, as always, very nice, although I think this time I made the wrong choice (Mouse too?) but it was good food, good company ... and the dessert was fantastic!

Even better though was that M won third place in the draw (yes, first would have been even even better). We were having a good time, waiting for dinner, all deep in conversation when I looked at my watched and saw it was 3 minutes to draw time. She made it there just as they were calling her name so, luckily, she didn't have to endure people tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, telling her that her name was called and that she missed it. Phew!

Both Maggie and Tinka were out when we arrived home and they refused to come in when I called them. In the end I went out and carried Tinka in ... and then went back out (as Sooz held on to Tinka) and carried Maggie in ... closed the doors ... and lockdown was achieved. If I hadn't gone out to get them they probably would have ended up staying out there the entire night. Sooz thinks it's because of the moonlight ... and that they're on the hunt! The watchdog was just ... watching ... when we arrived home and we had to encourage her to go outside to do what she does there (and that does not include going down to Fox Hollow or having a feed of avocadoes!). When I went to bed (much too late because I was looking at the photographs Syl had sent via An and M) and then I was foofing around for a while before finally making myself turn off the computer, ablute, and go to bed. Maggie was sleeping on the tiles in the corner of the bedroom, behind the fan, but once I settled she jumped up on the bed and then she ... settled. I left Pearl positioned in the loungeroom ... almost exactly half-way between Sooz and I. I think she was missing her mother!

 

Tuesday

You wouldn't want to be a Police Officer at the moment. The Queensland Police have just been issued with a more than 20 page "stay safe" document as the powers-that-be admit concern about retribution from Bikie Gangs following the introduction of new laws to crackdown on their illegal activities. Unfortunately, while the measures may be warranted in terms of countering their nefarious activities, the laws are an insult to civil liberties - actually a major erosion. The document suggests actions such as checking their private vehicles for bombs, and making sure they have their curtains drawn at night.

I went up to Ormeau again this afternoon and managed to sneak in another coffee with Jo at hers. She, Ke and the girls were all home. Ra was communing with her computer, and the photographs she had taken of One Direction at their concert last night. She had been to the Meet and Greet but photographs were not allowed ... so the shots she had - and thankfully she was quite close to the stage - were taken during the show. Her favourite - Harry - blew her a kiss and said "I love you" ... and she will carry that memory for years to come. The night was memorable for Jo and Ke as well - it took them forever to get up there to collect her, get out of the car park and then brave the Motorway road works to get home ... at just after 12:30am - they'd set out at 9pm.

I finally got to see photographs from their cruise this afternoon. It looked as though they had a wonderful time and they're still talking about the champagne fountain which both Ra and Jo took a turn at filling. Tremendous stuff ... especially when you consider they had something like 600 glasses in the stack and it managed to stay intact even though they had lots of lay-people close by and pouring bottles of champagne into and over it.

I cannot believe that Jo has already started her Christmas shopping. She's bought presents for Ken, Ra, and Ca so far - and knowing her, she's probably well on the way with others. She says she has to be organised since she's going to be away for the start of December - not getting back to the 22nd, by which time it's too late to do anything about Christmas shopping! (Little does she know that that's when I'm usually just starting mine!)

It was after 7 by the time I arrived back at Latimers; I don't think I would have been much earlier if I hadn't stopped in at Red Rooster to collect S's dinner - a Classic Pack. I don't know how these places survive - there were no other customers in-store and only a few cars went through the drive-thru while I was there. (Lars' driver's side window is being erratic so rather than risking it, I walked in-store.)

Monday

It was another busy day. First up was a trip to Ormeau and a catch-up with Jo over breakfast. All is well in her world. Je and Ad are back from their week-long visit to Japan and they enjoyed it very much! She has told Ke about the unavailability of seats on planes to Canada before Christmas and that she hasn't been about to get Ra onto a flight back with Je ... so Jo will be going with Ra. She (Jo) thinks Ra is too young to fly to Canada by herself. And, of course, they have just celebrated Ra's 16th birthday, and that including sending her and a bunch of her friends to the Q1 for lunch in the Pink Panther Hummer. Amazing!

Catch-up done, it was time with my appointment with the doctor. I had the first spot for the day - 8.45 ... and at 9.45 I was still waiting. Reception had phoned her before she arrived - and since it was a "pupil-free" day she had come in earlier, taking an appointment before mine. She was giving family-planning advice to a young couple - or specificially how to plan not to have a family straight away - and she felt it was important to spend the time with them to make sure she had discharged her responsibilities, and given them enough information to stay child-free until they made a conscious decision otherwise. While I understand the importance of such a notion, it would have been nice if I hadn't had to wait for over an hour!

I managed to get to work only three hours late when it was all said and done so ended up working a very short day (6 hours) ... and because of the shorter time, it flew faster than it usually does!

Sooz and I called in to see Syl and Anita on the way to Trivia this evening. I tried out the video file format I'm using for An's birthday presentation, to see if it would play on their televisions - and just as well, because it didn't. I'll have to try something else, maybe a bit safer, like MP4. But at least I had the "The Army Years" segment on the iPad and could show them that so they could see what my video/editing work is like. (Well done Sooz in helping me choose the music and for your patience in watching the various versions.)

Trivia was ... interesting but FI must never know how close we came to being on The Podium tonight! He is still away in Malaysia - which is a shame since there was a "Celebrities as Kids" photo round up first tonight - but we managed a solid 6 without him (much, much better than the last time when we managed a total of 4 for a people photo round).

We called in to the Bundall Post Office on the way home from Trivia. The one letter we didn't post there was Mouse's puzzle entry. As we sat waiting to see the doctor this morning, I asked Jo (who was keeping me company) if there was a post box in the shopping centre complex - and yes, there was, and it had used to right outside the surgery but had recently been moved to roadside. Honestly, just after that conversation, a LOL came in, clutching a handful of envelopes, and asked Reception where the post box had gone to. They explained it to her and when it was obvious that she was going there straight away, I asked if she would mind taking one for me ... and she did ... so well-done her. It was greatly appreciated.

Sunday

Air power

FI is still in Malaysia so, after offering Mick the opportunity to take control of the murse (aka kitty), and a no from him, I stepped in to do the coffee orders. I should have trusted my memory rather than pulling out my stylus to write the list on my iPhone - as soon as I had finished, and as I stood waiting for the coffee people to serve me, I realised I no longer had the screw-on cap for the stylus. D'oh. You really need the cap to protect the plastic tip that snaps onto the "nib"and allows the stylus to register on iDevice screens. M, Ner and Az joined the hunt and it was Az who finally found it ... it had rolled (as I had suspected it would) and come to rest up against the post near where we were sitting. Phew! I didn't want to have to replace yet another stylus! Afterwards, Ner pulled out his iPhone to show me that rather than using the stylus, you can just tap the order into the Notes application using your finger on the keyboard ... and that way there was absolutely no chance of losing the stylus! But ... where's the fun in that?

Beach erosion

Sooz and I had lunch at Main Beach, at the Southport Surf Life Saving Club. It was a good idea - because we soon found out that lots of people had had it. It turns out that there was a big bike race in the area (lots of bikes that is, rather than "big bikes"), and lots of them had met us with significant others and loved ones for lunch there! We ended up at a table inside with a huge seafood platter for 2. It's not often that both of us feel like seafood at the same time, but today was one of those days.

Afterwards we sat near the beach - the erosion is quite noticeable - and watched the ocean, and the surfers, and the seagulls, and the motorised parachute making its way up the beach.

I settled in to do some more work on An's presentation this afternoon. I am taking it round to try on their televisions tomorrow to make sure the format is right ... and I wanted to take around a complete section which will, at this point, be "The Army Years".

 

Saturday

Sooz and I had breakfast without M this morning - even though it is a Saturday. She thought S and I were having "date day" so she'd arranged to meet Mouse at Marina Mirage for breakfast after M had been Deep Water Running. It was meant to be though because just as Mouse was leaving home she received a call from San and Sar and they met Mouse and M for breakfast there. Sar would have been working but the weather conditions were too rough for him to take the boat out. They had a good time though, and M has now identified a new breakfast venue.

Sooz and I went to Daniel Stuart's which was open this morning unlike last time (the holiday weekend) when they were closed on the Saturday and, since we were already in Southport by the time we found out, we went to 42Fifteen instead. That didn't happen today though ... finally I had my favourite bacon and eggs again - and an excellent cup of coffee ... okay, okay, we all know it was a mug of coffee - but only the one!

Just as I was paying the bill, a woman started chatting with me. She'll be having breakfast there on Thursday ... her first time ever even though she has been availing herself of their coffee for some time. She is a "westie" and proud of it. She says that being from the other side of the tracks gives you a bit more character. I wasn't about to argue with her.

Then Sooz and I went off to Ferry Road to get bread and other provisions. I couldn't believe our luck when we were able to park right at the front door. While S was shopping, I, of course, fell into the Greenhouse shop again. Contrary to the name, it has nothing to do with gardening ... it is an upmarket curio shop of sorts - with loads of nice things to give as gifts - or to pamper yourself with.

Next stop ... Target at Southport Park to get someone to take out the anti-theft tags that were still firmly attached (two of them) in the pyjamas that Sooz had brought me for a present yesterday. That done, we did a spot of looking before Sooz took a call from M and we arranged to meet her for a coffee there.

The afternoon is a blur ... maybe because I spent so much time looking at the computer screen as I started work on An's birthday presentation. It is great fun, and with Sooz's help, I was able to find music for most of the "sections". There's some good stuff there ... and hopefully An and Syl will like it as well!

The furries are good!

Friday

I was sure the alarm had gone off earlier than usual this morning ... when I opened my eyes it seemed like it was much darker outside than it should have been. The sound of rain soon after cleared up that particular mystery ... but a light rain wasn't any reason not to go for the lane walk - although I think Pearl thought it definitely was. Luckily it only sprinkled gently as we walked down to B's shed and back.

It was TuckShop Friday at work again today - except with a difference. The nightshift boys had a BBQ last night - actually a sausage sizzle with some burger patties thrown in - and there was heaps of protein - and buns - left over ... so that's what we had. And it was wonderful. You just can't beat a cold sausage ... and then that's been gently reheated in the microwave!

Come to think of it ... it was a excellent food day ... because we had dinner at Mouse's. Fl is still away, and Mi was in Brisbane, so it was just Mouse, M, Sooz and I to enjoy Mouse's Pumpkin Soup with a Twist, Vereneki with special salad, and fresh fruit to follow.

Since it was only the four of us, we watched some television with dinner ... it's still easy enough to chat with it on when we're that few. "House & Garden" was on - and they're already showing Christmas Fare ... which I suppose is okay because the festive season is now only a couple of months away. The year is just flying!

Both Sooz and M had hair appointments this morning and seem very happy with their results - which they should because their respective people did good jobs. Sooz was persuaded to buy some "product" which, she said, at least did cost less than her appointment. Hours of fun ... as long as she likes it!

On the way home (thanks from driving M!), we thought we saw Mi's boys, until we remembered that they are overseas with Fl and Et. There is still no ETA for their return ... it seems they only bought one-way tickets. Let's hope they're having a great time!

Thursday

I sometimes think I don't hang out with women enough. We had one of the reps from one of our tradie providers drop in on us in the office today (bearing cups of coffee ... and home-made bikkies!!!) and talk turned to the pre-start meetings and how our boys seemed to be leaving the Site Office later than they used to. Finally, it was decided it might just have something to do with the new smoko van and it's driver ... the curvaeous brunette with the short shorts and ... well, you get the idea. The rep then talked about the smoko van that goes to another site she visits ... where the young woman is dressed much the same but has something called "hooker heels" (which I'm now trying not to think about) - and how the crew on site have a pool on how long it will be before she mis-steps on the gravel in their car park. Hopefully when it does happen - and they are sure it will - she doesn't injure herself. Nope, give me good old fashioned work boots any day! I was surprised how different are things are with the boots too. I tend to drive faster with them - they're a bit heavier than my runners and just resting them on the pedals tends to give a faster drive ... the police can just call me "boot foot" if/when they pull me over. Also, it's further to reach the floor to pick things up ... who would have thought they would make a person taller!

I'm sure things happened at Latimers today but I'm not sure what they were because I didn't have the opportunity to catch up with Sooz or M. I know Sooz watered the garden because she was doing that when I arrived home; and I know that M and Pearl did some tree-trimming, but that's about it. Oh wait, the technician (not our usual one - he's on holidays at the moment) dropped in to fix the Ratings box which hasn't been transmitting results back to base for a while. Hopefully that will work now and they'll be able to track our viewing habits again ... so we can help shape what the Australian public sees on their television sets!

The Cabaret ad was back on television this morning - this time with revised dates. The show goes on - for another week or so at least.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Nerang, Lars was off with the mechanics. It has been a while but Frank and Billy welcomed him back with open arms ... and gave him a service, new front brake pads, an oil change, and hopefully an additivie that will stop him from blowing smoke while he idles ... this is caused by hardening of the piston stem seals and will require a new head to completely fix the problem. I'll also have to do something about the whosey-whats at the front (I think my eyes did glaze over) but that's not urgent. And, said Billy, you'll have to be careful "not to over-capitalize". But we love Lars, I said, he has sentimental value ... so does my fridge, he replied, but when it stops keeping the beer cold, it has to go! You never know where life's lIttle nuggets are going to come from, do you?

Wednesday

Well, today's the day where I always have problems working out spelling. Our Muslim friends are celebrating Eid Mubarak today and one wants to wish them happy "something" but it's hard to know the spelling. I go through this every year so today, I thought, let's just ask someone and since I was at work at the time, I did. "Buy rum" said K1 helpfully - she had never heard of it so I took the opportunity to fill her in ... and then went off to the interweb which gave the same answer on the first three hits so ... Happy Bajram! M went off to breakfast at the Sheraton with the family and they must have had a good time because they were apparently still there at lunchtime!

M had taken Sooz off to research at Currumbin before she went to breakfast, so that made for a relatively early start for them both. It was a busy day for M, come to think of it, I'd only just arrived home after work, had a chance to say a quick hello, before she was on the phone and then, as I took the opportunity to take Pearl for a walk up to B's (steps, steps, steps) she was in the car and on her way out again.

Fin! Game over.

That left Pearl and the other furries on their own for the evening as Sooz and I were off to Syl and Anita's for dinner. Anita's birthday is coming up in a minute and I have agreed to put photos onto a video loop for them for display on the day. They were going to go M.O.S. (aka "silent") but they have now agreed that I can set it to music ... and we all know that that leaves the option of turning the sound down if they want to! Then, photo transfer and dinner out of the way, Anita brought out the Scrabble Board and we settled in for a game ... which turned into a surprisingly quick game so we were still away by 9:30 so I could still make my 10pm bedtime ... it is a school night afterall.

Well, those noodles from yesterday never did make it out of the fridge and into the car to come to work with me. I'd been looking forward to them though so when it turned into "Tuckshop Wednesday", they weren't getting any complaints from me! I've saved half of my lunch from today for tomorrow, and it's in the fridge at work, so as long as I remember it's there, it's all good.

Kathy came today - our first (professional) clean at Latimers for a couple of weeks - both Kathy and Jenny had, for various reasons, had to cancel their visits. M had stepped into the breach though and given the floors (and probably something else which I didn't notice) a good going over last week.

There was an ad for the (new) Cabaret show at Jupiters on television this morning - and even though it's the 15th today, the dates on the ad had it finishing 4 days ago. I wonder if they've extended the season and not updated the ad. Do people read the small print ... besides me that is, I read it because I was fairly sure the show was having a really short run and that it should have been well and truly over by now. It is supposed to be spectacular though so I might check it out and see if Sooz wants to go.

Fl is off to Malaysia today with "the boys" - his brother, his brother's older son, and Fl's two boys. That's going to leave Mi on her lonesome but I somehow don't think she's going to be at home crying into her pillow for the duration of their excursion. Fl wasn't sure how long they were going to be away but hopefully he won't be away too long ... Trivia's on Monday night and we need his help if there's a "facial recognition" round. The last time he was away and there was one, we managed four between the rest of us; we MMS'd him the photos after the round was done (no phones/iPad during play) and he just reeled them off - 8 of the 10 - just looking at them. We had to agonise over our four!! And he's pretty good at general knowledge too. He will be missed if he doesn't get back in time. And he'll be missed at the Markets ... we've been spoiled by him doing the coffee runs there (as well as at Trivia)!

 

Tuesday

Well, I was wrong. Pearl was home yesterday morning - M brought her home on Sunday night but I didn't see her. She must have been in M's room, probably sleeping still, after the excitement of being at Mouse's for the weekend. I think it was a late night on Sunday night as well ... Sooz was saying that after the Movie on Sunday night, M did an errand for David which involved going out to Mudgeeraba, then calling in to see Mi and Fl to have some scanning done, and then taking Mouse home (she went along for the ride) and then, finally, back to Latimers.

Pens ... and more pens

It was nice to arrive home this afternoon and for Pearl to come out to greet me, followed soon after by Tinka.

I finally made it to the new OfficeWorks in Nerang today ... I called in there on the way home this afternoon. It is amazing ... and the first time I have had a store (almost) between work and home. I have a feeling I am going to be a regular visit - if only to admire the "great wall of pens". Actually, there are three - and they have set it up so you can try the pens out ... which is how I came to buy two pens that I hadn't seen before. They are 1.0mm tips and ... oh, there are no words to describe the joy of how it feels when they lay down ink! I am looking forward to using them when I take the Minutes of a meeting at work tomorrow ... and I was even looking forward to doing paperwork at home this evening so I could use them ... even it was to write 'CANCELLED' on something.

Storm?

The new episode of "The Blacklist" is here and I greedily gobbled it up tonight. Maggie came to bed with me and started to watch it as well ... I was just sorry that the first bit she saw had a barking dog in it, but it didn't seem to phase her too much. I did notice, though, that she lost interest not long after that. ("The Walking Dead" is back, too, but there's no way I can watch that before I go to sleep - that's nightmare territory right there!)

Sooz had another big day with Jen on the research route and was ready for a rest this evening. I picked up NoodleBox on the way home ... and I must remember to take the leftovers with me to work for lunch tomorrow.

It looked as though we would get a storm this evening but I don't think it eventuated. It looked good though ... ominous is the word they use I think.

David and his family have gone back to Sydney ... the meeting with the University has been deferred until next week and they'll be back then for it. It must be very anxiety-making for him to be in this tertiary limbo.

 

Monday

Pearl wasn't home this morning and I didn't go for a walk without her. I should have but I didn't. Hopefully she will come home soon but in the interim I'm glad she's keeping Mouse company. Although David back will be back today - he has a meeting with the University tomorrow to see "what happens next" - and he has Maria and Katherine here as well to support him.

Nicole and Pie Bag

We saw evidence of Nicole's not-so-hidden talents and definitely her tenacity when she brought a tarte aux pommes along to Trivia this evening. She'd baked it this afternoon and she carried it in in the "pie bag" she'd made. She saw the pie bag overseas and, realising we had nothing like it here in Australia, she decided to make some. Fine ... you might say ... except Nicole had not sewn anything at that point - so she went out and bought a sewing machine, learned how to use it, and took it from there. She now gives them as presents (Secret Santa etc etc). What a great idea ... and a very good indication of what you can do if you put your mind to it. There is, I think, a lesson in there for all of us.

M made it onto ROM today and has done a very fine job. I don't think the feline furries would have been paying too much attention to her though - the wagtail chicks are now testing their wings, flying around the yard, and for some reason, Maggie and Tinka are giving them a lot of their attention.

It was Aqua day for Sooz and M today - and lunch at Ferry Road afterwards. Sooz was impressed with the two Japanese girls who had bought prawns and crabs from the seafood outlet there and were eating them with great gusto (although there was no mention of seafood/cocktail sauce making an appearance).

Sooz's tomatoes

I had taken a photograph of Sooz's tomatoes yesterday and posted them on FaceBook - using the new lens on the camera (I really do have to go somewhere to learn how to use it properly) - and she was stunned when she went out to look at them in real life because they were so small ... she said they looked much, much bigger in the photograph! That's what using the macro setting on a 300mm lens will do ... athough most of the fruit was definitely not in sharp focus (hence the need for lessons).

We didn't place on the podium tonight at Trivia even though we were back to our full team. Yes, there was a post-mortem, but we can save the details of that ... "what happens at the Club stays at the Club" could be a kindness to all involved. I think we made the right bonus round choices, we just let ourselves down with some of the answers. But it's all good fun - and since I get to write neatly, I'm happy (as always).

Wagtail chicks

One of the other Site Admins at work had her 30th birthday today so we went out to lunch at the Wallaby Hotel at Mudgeeraba to celebrate. They do a $15 lunch - with quite a few options - or you can choose from the a la carte menu if you wish. It wasn't bad, although it did take a while to come ... but they are busy, said one of the other K's (there were three of us with the same name) looking around the very nearly empty dining room! It was good though although I was champing at the bit a little to get back to get through the mountain of paperwork that had been steadily growing on my desk throughout the morning. We drove along the site route on the way back to the office, to see if they had done "the switch" yet ... which they haven't - it will mean the southbound traffic is moved onto the newly renovated middle section of the road - so the crews can start working on the upgrade of the south-bound lanes. That led to some speculation as to when "the switch" will happen - and since I had booked extra police for traffic control for this evening, I speculated that tonight might be the night. On the way home from Trivia I suggested to Sooz that we could go and have a look (to see if I was right) but by that stage I was a little on the weary side and decided I would find out in the morning ... that would be soon enough!