Thursday

I admit it ... I was totally suckered in by "The Hunger Games Catching Fire" but still half way through I thought it was good they would have a resolution because I didn't know that I wanted to put up with the evil ways of President Snow (funny how his name would suggest all that is good and bright yet he is anything but ... in the eyes of some at least). I don't want to have to issue any SPOILER ALERTs so I'll keep quiet about what happens. The upshot ... I did enjoy it ... even though it didn't end the way I had predicted about half way through (or what I thought was half way through ... it's hard to tell in the dark). It was nice of An to come out to Nerang to see the movie. I hadn't realised how tired I would be at the end of it ... we went in at 6:20 and didn't emerge until nearly 9 o'clock!

Sooz's Mum was admitted to hospital today after her "shopper", who goes along to help her do the weekly shop and have an outing, noticed that she wasn't well. When they got back to the house, Je phoned Ju's doctor who suggested that it was better to call the ambulance and take it from there.

Sooz is out at the moment - having dinner at Mouse's with Da, his father, and his sister after their next meeting with the University to see what happens about his course. Given that it's almost my normal bedtime now, I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened there, if anything, and with Sooz's Mum ... and I can only think because there has been no call about Ju, it must be okay in that quarter. I hope so because I know Sooz will be beside herself with worry - especially since her mother is so far away. But at least she has let her brother know what is happening and if anything needs to be done, they can make a plan together.

It was a busy day at work again today - something to do with it being the end of month and time for the financials to be tallied again. You think that would be something happening the whole month through, but the way they work the accounts at Head Office, they usually come through in a huge batch ... you guessed it ... at the end of the month. Ideally, you want the invoices to come mid-month so you can work on the Claim to the client - and have that well in hand by the time you need to think about paying the subcontractors - and while the two are related ... and they are, this is a message our H.O. accounts people do not yet appear to have. Hopefully it will become better as the job progresses - although they only have 6 or 7 end of months before the project is due to wrap.

Be careful what you wish for ... it was dark when I turned into the lane this evening and it was scary to find witches hats up around the hole that's been cut in the road for them to do the Crater repairs ... and, luckily, that served as warning about the next one. I am going to go out on much of a limb here and say that it doesn't meet the Australian Standards, but, because it is on private land, it probably doesn't need to.

I meant to say the other day that M, although she had been less than lukewarm about going to the concert, really did enjoy Monday's performance by Raul Midón. He is well worth looking up on YouTube as an example of how talented one person can be - he plays guitar, bongos and sings all at the same time - and while that might be something you might expect to see on a streetcorner with a busker who is also clanging cymbals between their knees, this was nothing like that. Oh .. he also makes trumpet/saxaphone noises with his mouth as well - and if you weren't looking you wouldn't believe he didn't have an instrument!

Maggie was out again last night and despite persistent calls by me and by M when she arrived home, she had still not come in by the time we went into lockdown. But she did finally come in - just before 2 I was awakened by the sounds of a cat altercation and went out ... Tinka was looking out the front door and when I shooed her away so she wouldn't take the opportunity to go out, she took up a position on the table - looking out the window. I called Maggie and she came almost straightaway - although she kept looking over her shoulder, toward the garage, and in the end I had to scoop her up and carry her inside. She ran straight up the back and buried her head in her dinner bowl! Lockdown.

Wednesday

Christmas is definitely coming. The decorations went up in the Office this afternoon - a flashing Christmas tree (we are going to need more batteries!), red tinsel, and photographs of trees and wreathy things and, of course, the star atop the Xmas tree. AC certainly does know about all of this stuff, and despite all the things she's been through this year, she still rises to the top. She was telling me about some (mind you, just some) and it seemed more than enough for one family - illness, funerals, police interventions... the list went on. When you hear things like that, a quiet life isn't to bad a call!

Xmas - Office style

The girls had a busy day: as well as their normal Wednesday activities: Ferry Road breakfast, Bingo and Daniel Stuart lunch, M and Sooz went off for some health checks. Then tonight M was off to the Air Supply concert at The Big House. From her Facebook post she seems to have enjoyed it: At the fabulous Air supply concert at Jupiters!! They still have it!!!

Back at Latimers, Soog and I had a catch-up sitting out in the back area Watching the afternoon fade away. I was still out there when finally I could no larger see the keyboard (I was catching up with my letter-writing!) It was nice though - listening to the birds - even some kookaburras - and watching the valley disappear under the cover of darkness. I don't know if it makes a difference but I was glad it was night when they were taking a horse up the lane in a horsefloat. It obviously was not happy and you could hear it thumping in the trailer while it was still down at B's.

The girls came in when called this evening - Maggie right away and Tinka on the second call. I love having the sensor light out near the carport ... you can tell when one of the furries has walked on by because it comes on as they do ... walk on by. It makes it a lot easier to pinpoint where they are.

There was no further roadwork today and those huge potholes ... let's call them craters because that's what they are ... are still unfilled. Hopefully they will be soon ... and I say that because there is still road works machinery up by Da's gate that looks like it just wants to finish off one (possibly two) more little jobs.

Dolly went off to the trainers in Brisbane today - which explains why Choo Choo Ma Ma is hanging out with a brown horse in their paddock - when they took Dolly out I think they put another horse in ... so there is a "pecking order" to be worked out between them.

I haven't been down to see the new foals again since the weekend. Each time I go down at the moment, I have Pearl with me, and we all know she's not really allowed past B's gate. She's tolerated most of the time when she's on the lead but it's a habit it's best she doesn't get in to. And speaking of Pearl ... I think I have a new routine worked out for our morning walk. She really doesn't seem to know it's time for a walk unless you take her out the front way - or unless you show her the lead. So now I get the lead and have it ready out the back until I have my boots on (self-imposed rule: do not walk with work boots inside the house), then I let her see the lead, pop my stuff into the boot of the car, take her up to B's with me, bring us both back, then give her some cookies I have already stashed in the car, pop her lead away, and then, presto! it's done ... I've had my walk, she's had a walk and some cookies and we're all okay to continue with the rest of the day. Problem solved.

 

Tuesday

New road

Again, breakfast at Maccas - the difference today was I looked up and there was M - who had left the house early to beat the roadworks - they're laying the hot mix today which means we should have a real road by the end of the day - but until it's set, you can't drive on it - not without doing damage to your car! So she was out, and planning to spend the day out ... and it wasn't an issue for me because I was always going to be out by the time they started, and not home until they'd finished. Still, it was good to get a text from Sooz this afternoon telling me the road was okay to drive on. It doesn't look bad either - although there are still some monster potholes up near the road which need some serious attention. I'm not saying you could lose a small car down there ... but people around here don't drive 4WDs for no reason!

Forever Sharp

Sooz made a whole pot of vegetable soup for dinner tonight (and lunch tomorrow ... yum) and she cut up the vegetables using one of the new Forever Sharp knives. She loved it ... and said it will be good if they do stay Forever Sharp ... I'm still trying to work out how that can be ... that they don't go blunt ... but, if they do, there's that lifetime warranty which will give free replacement knives. I suppose if you're that sure of your product, you can afford to be that generous with your warranty!

M changed the lightbulb in the bathroom this afternoon. It should have been a relatively easy job ... but not so much without the instructions on how the light shade came off. She finally managed it though ... only to find that it was a screw mounting for the bulb rather than a bayonet mount ... she had plenty of the latter, but only one screw one - which was only 10W rather than15W - but she fitted it any way ... and it is great to have a light back in there. (Thanks M!)

Everyone was home this evening although it seemed to be a night of separate pursuits. I managed to watch the end of an episode of "The Walking Dead" and thought about watching the first episode of the new season of "Person of Interest" but I just didn't have it in me. I was tucked up in bed just after 9 - leaving Sooz to watch Part 3 of the Keating interviews, and M supping on some toast and working on Numbers. Neither of the cats were in when I went to bed but Tinka must have come in at some point because in the early hours of the morning, I went to roll over in bed, and there she was.

Monday

Checking out the roadworks

I don't think I mentioned that when we were on the way into breakfast with M, Syl and An on Saturday morning, we were lucky enough to see the light rail in action - a tram was at the station outside the old Gold Coast Hospital and as we went past, it started off in the other direction. It was very exciting - and something we had been hoping to see ever since they started the test runs. Ma had seen it the day before Mouse's birthday dinner at TBH and I know that both Sooz and I were very envious that she had seen it. Alas, no photo to be had - I don't know what the penalty would be for using a camera while driving - but since I'd be using the iPhone camera - I guess that would be $300 and 3 points ... and definitely not worth the risk - not even counting the safety hazards involved with reversing on a main road trying to keep up with a tram while taking photos. I know they'd do it in the movies ... but count me out on that one!

Nicole - never a cross word

The road from B's down to L's has been dug out and covered in (beware: technical term approaching) road sludge - so we drove on the grass next to the road instead. There was one witches hat at each end of the section - which might have been enough to let us know not to drive on it, but really it was M's text message that gave me the best clue.

Trivia tonight was ... different. Fl was off at a concert at the Powerhouse in Brisbane with Lu, Mi and M. M was hesitant to go - because she hadn't heard of the guy but off she went like a good cousin!

Of course, since Fl was not at Trivia, one of the rounds was "Do you recognize me?" - and straight away, even without looking at the pictures of celebrities, who had had one or more facial features distorted, we could have answered NO. We did manage to get 4 out of a possible 10 - and had very wisely not taken it as our bonus round. We'd been doing really well up to that stage as well. Maybe next week will see us back on the podium!

 

Sunday

We met We and Ma for breakfast this morning at Metro - a nice little coffee shop and eatery across from the railway station in Toowoomba. The others had bacon and eggs but, having been meated up yesterday from the BBQ, I went for something lighter - toast and jam ... and they even did that well ... and coffee of course!

Then it was back to Mum's to pick her up and go out to Ju's. We were hoping to catch up with both Rh and Ki - but no luck this time. Da and Sa were home but they had both worked nights last night - so they were tucked up in their beds, hopefully fast asleep but the time we arrived at 10.30 or so. Wooza, Ju's dog, is still with us but his back legs are really starting to be a worry. Ju says that as soon as he is unable to stand, it will be time to take him to the vet ... and we were sure to say goodbye to Wooza this time in case he's not there the next time we go.

Lunch today was at Mum's and everyone brought something - our contribution was chicken - and, when Coles only had 1 half chicken and 1 quarter chicken - I made the executive decision that a few Wicked Wings as well would be in order ... and luckily it didn't take us long to find the local KFC. It wasn't exactly were I thought it would be, but it was in the vicinity.

Back on the Coast, the Markets went on without us ... which reminds me, we'll have to apply for leave passes for next weekend as well - since we have something else on. Hopefully Fl will be able to go so they don't have to elect a replacement to do the coffee runs. Va and Ne were down from Brisbane for the Markets today ... and I'm sorry we missed them because they're not there every week now that they've moved.

We missed the storm that went through the Coast this afternoon - it hit while M was at her JP meeting, and the noise from the rain - and hail - was so great they were hard pressed to hear each other. There seemed to be no damage out at Latimers - and even better, it didn't look as though much of the exposed road had washed away with the storm. It will be interesting to see if the hot mix placement will be delayed because of it though.

We were spectators to lightning over Brisbane as we drove back, and we were more than a little pleased that we didn't have to drive through the storm - although it would have been just a bit nicer in the car if the temperature had dropped a few degrees. The good news was that we had planned the drive back well because there wasn't that much traffic on the road!

Saturday

We had an earlier-than-usual breakfast with M, Syl and An this morning before we set off on the drive to Toowoomba. The traffic was fairly bad all the way out of Southport and up to Logan - but it cleared up after that ... and we managed to make it to Mum's before 1pm.

We took her off to K-Mart ... she wanted to get some of the lollies that Mi likes. Yes, surprise! Dr, Te and the kids were in Toowoomba for the weekend as well.

Storm - light show

Within a couple of minutes of us walking into K-Mart, a message came over the store broadcast system for "all adult shoppers" ... but it was okay. it wasn't anything "adult" - they were just offering a free promotional gift - and all you had to do was go to the rep's stand and wait... and then listen to a presentation ... you had to be there for all of it - and then you'd get your free gift - and perhaps also buy the product being offered - which turned out to be a set of Forever Sharp Knives. I liked it so much, I bought the company ... remember that ad? I almost do ... in that I can't remember the product. Was it a shaving product? Electric razor perhaps? Well, I didn't buy the company ... but I did buy the knives! I think it was a good bargain ... and this afternoon when we were telling We and Ma about it, Ma went inside and came back with one he had brought earlier ... just the knife, not the full set. (I'm not sure whether to admit or not that when the presentation started, I thought it was the knife they were giving away as the promotional gift ... d'oh. The gift was actually the Chef's thingamabobby which you use for decorating radishes, carrots and the like.

We had time to go home, for Sooz to have a quick nap while Mum and I watched the end of today's golf, before we were packing up again and on our way up to We and Ma's. They were cooking BBQ tonight!

Meanwhile, back on the Gold Coast, M and Mouse were off to the races ... they had an invitation from TBH to go and watch from their Corporate Box.

Kado

Drew and Mikayla

Luckily, the huge storms that swept across SE Queensland today held off until this evening ... and it produced hail at Latimers, and a very spectacular light show in Toowoomba, knocking out the power in its northern suburbs - We and Ma lost power for just a moment or two but that was all.

It was great to see the kids again and they and their parents were all in fine form.

The other news of the day is that there are two new foals in the valley ... one of them born just this morning! They are real cuties!

Foal 1

Foal 2

 

Friday

I'm a bit tired at the end of another working week. The others went off to the pub for a drink to celebrate the end of the week and Paul's birthday tomorrow - I was off to the Post Office and then home - taking my leftover lunch for Sooz for dinner. It was almost exactly what she wanted - she had been thinking about having a hamburger - but she was very happy with a chicken burger and some raw veggies she chopped up to go with it.

Maggie made herself scarce this evening when it was time for lockdown. Luckily Sooz was still awake when M came home and after checking if Maggie was inside (in the wardrobe, her new favouite place), M persisted with calling until she did come in. I would have before I went to sleep but I wasn't sure if she was in or out and by that stage I had done the shift from tired to cranky-tired ... not a good look ... and I was just grateful that Maggie would get a second chance to come in (if she wasn't already) when M arrived home.

Tinka has been sleeping in with me the last few nights - and coming straight back into bed after she has had her breakfast. She seems very comfortable in there and does't seem to mind that Sooz says that I'm doing a "cat steal" - although, as I told her, all I did was ask Tinka if she wanted to come in ... and she wanted to ... and I only asked her that first time ... all the other times were her.

Pearl is her usual self although she doesn't seem to be coughing as much at the moment ... although she is still making the equivalent of an old dog's noise when she lowers herself to the ground. But she is still coming for the walks up the lane in the morning - and I haven't been taking her lead up of late ... if there's a car coming, I call her over and she comes now ... she's much better than she had been.

The road was scraped back a little more today and it really is looking like a road works site ... except for the huge cranes and excavators and the PCBs (portable concrete barriers). M had JPs again today - and then lunch with Mouse and Azra - as per usual. Sooz didn't go into town today otherwise I would have given her my new Coffee Club VIP Card to use ... as it is, I'll have to christen it another day.

Thursday

It's a bit scary to think that Christmas is almost upon us! The streets are starting to fill with Christmas trees, some houses are already illuminated, the decorations have been up in the stores for a couple of weeks now and even The Big House has flashing lights (more than the usual ones), reindeer and trees. It truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

M beat me onto ROM yesterday to whip around the yard and mow the lawn. It looks great - mowing really does make a difference - except for the deck which is producing an uneven finish again. M is going to check to see if one of the pins has come out - and if one hasn't, a more elaborate fix may be required. Hmmm ... just thinking, the last time It was doing that, it had a flat tyre - and I know M will already have checked that so I'm not even going to suggest that.

Sooz came down the lane with Pearl and me this afternoon and was rewarded with a chat with B who came out of the shed (he heard our voices) to give us a message for M about the progress, and extent, of the road works. While B had previously suggested that the new road would come all the way up to M's front fence, that isn't going to be the case because of the roots growing under the fence and under the existing bitumen. They said it was better it was dug up and some bushes or something be placed in there instead. If the new bitumen was laid, it would seal in the water on M's side of the fence, and that would not be a good thing.

As it is, the road is getting readied for the scrape back and hot mix application. When it all happens will ow depend on the weather ... there are storms forecast for the next few days but no-one knows at this stage if they will eventuate.

B was planning to go out to Zen in at The Big House this evening. He was looking forward to it too.

M and I were looking forward to the TBH as well, but we had a couple of stops to make along the way ... petrol for M's car and then to Sy and An's so M could put out their Green bin. Then it was off to TBH and straight to swipings (nada) and then onto the CSP table where both she and I finally walked away with most of our stakes, and then made our way to Spinners where the line up wasn't nearly as big as it was last Saturday when we almost went there after we'd been kicked out of Food Fantasy and Mouse's birthday celebrations.

Sooz was at home, still a little tired from the big night out last night at the Jessica Mauboy concert, but she wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was one of the best concerts she has ever seen and Jessica had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. Sooz was saying the support act - a young man who had been on one of the Australian talent shows, had not been nearly as good as Jessica was - especially with his audience patter - but it's all about practice and participation I suppose.

Wednesday

Agapanthuses

It looks like it's going to be a fine day today - that's what has been forecast - fine today, tomorrow - and then back to storms on Friday. That's okay - we need the rain (although not the very strong winds or the hail) and everything is looking lush and green since the rains started last week. The lawn is among the lush, green things and very soon it's going to be time to jump on ROM and do a run around it.

B and a group of men were near the upturned tank yesterday afternoon as I drove home and while they were looking at it, from the van that was there, I think they were actually going to repair the air conditioning unit which was torn off the window when the tank blew over.

I haven't seen Donovan (their pig) for a while and I'm wondering how he survived the storms ... and the horses, of course, since they really don't have that much protection out there in the paddocks. They can stand under the shelters but with the wind blowing so strongly there's every chance they'll get wet there ... and also the possibility that a tree will fall over on to the shelter.

Sooz's parrots have been around a bit in the mornings of late, but I still haven't managed to get a shot of them ... with the camera, of course, but that reminds me that I'll have to sit down with Syl soon so we can find a pistol shooting venue. Both she and I want to give it a go - in safe, controlled circumstances.

Sooz was off at work today - so she wasn't at Bingo with Mouse (I think she went), Em and M. Em and M were winners - but I don't know the details of their victories.

Latimers' roadworks

Sooz and M went off to Jessica Mauboy tonight in at The Big House (according to the FaceBook post by Jupiters - it was an "unforgettable" concert.) Sooz was going to have the Discrimination Special - Salmon and Skewers (of Prawns) - her first time for the November Special - which is quite amazing since the month is almost two-thirds over. That left me alone at home with the furries ... and they are quite companionable. Maggie made herself scarce later in the evening though - taking the opportunity to have a bit of a later night - and she was on her own with that!

Even though they're not as big as the ones at work, there are roadworks in progress along the lane. They must have had a grader today because the road has been scraped back to almost level in some places. I think people are going to be in for a bit of a noisy day tomorrow again!

Apple at work

The agapanthuses are out - some down at B's shed, others along the Gilston Road. I would swear that it's too early for them ... but there you have it ... there is no climate change just plants and weather doing odd things.

And how could anybody today not feel just a little bit sorry for Schapelle Corby ... on the brink of release from prison in Indonesia only to have Spygate erupt, leading to a downgrading of Indonesia's relationship with Australia. Will this jeopardise Schapelle's bid for freedom? Only time will tell.

But the question of the day - as posed by AC at work - how many people would you trust to shoot an apple off her head with an arrow? An interesting question ... and would the answer be any different if you were having them shoot the arrow off your own head?

 

Tuesday

80T Excavator

DavId will be back on the Coast next week to appeal the decision the University handed down last month. He, Katherine and his Dad will be up next week the hearing. Either way, they'll drive David's car back to Sydney.

Hopefully Mouse will be better by the time they arrive. She hasn't been feeling well the last few days - she had no voice the night of her Birthday Dinner - and even though she has been feeling a little better, she was unwell enough today to go to the Dr. She has bronchitis ... and now has antibiotics to take and hopefully she will lay low for the next couple of days to give her body a chance to get better. It will be interesting to see if she fronts up for Bingo tomorrow or whether she gives herself the day off.

Bridge works

Sooz busied herself on our first non-rain day for a while today with some washing - although she didn't beat M to the washing machine - M was putting on her first load as I was leaving this morning! When I arrived home, Sooz was out the back folding smalls - so the rain had managed to hold off! And just as well because there was no way AC, Le or I wanted to don that aforementioned rubber gear so we could go on our site visit.

We set out at 2:30pm and visited 1N first - where two crews were busy on drainage lines. We watched as Iain did a Safety Inspection and Safety Observation report - and then as he talked to various guys on site about things that could be done immediately to make the site safer. The real work done, he then drove us along the length of the project - and we stopped near the 30T Excavator with GPS - and while we were impressed and in some awe - Le and I couldn't help looking at the plant and equipment as an hourly rate. Of course, when we got to the 80T excavator, it was a slightly different story ... that thing is absolutely massive - so big, and so heavy, it actually leaves "tank" tread marks in the bitumen it goes over. Just as well those parts of the road are slated for demolition and rebuilding! It was good hearing about the environmental issues they are keeping in mind too - and incredible to think that the footings and surrounds they are putting in place to allow the building of bridges along the new sections will be completely removed once the head stocks (the things the bridges will sit/stand on) are in place. The Project also have an obligation to make sure that nothing leaves the site via the natural waterways so elaborate filters have been put in place to ensure that any water that leaves the site (via the creek and elsewhere) is actually "cleaner" than when it comes onto site. We stopped at BR70 to have a look at the head stocks and Robbie pointed out various things about the construction ... and that before he started on the job he had no idea that red-bellied black snakes like water so much ... they are apparently quite common where they're working. We didn't see any today though.

AC in the cab

 

 

Monday

We had another storm today and while we had thunder and lightning at the site, there was only heavy rain out at Latimers. The tank must just be about full - as opposed to B's - which is still resting on its top and tied to the power pole so it doesn't blow away! The storm, alas, meant that it was too wet to mow, but M kept herself occupied by changing a downlight in the bathroom and trying to remember how to get the main light fitting off so she can change that bulb (a casualty of the storm the other night).

Sooz has been very lucky in the kangaroo sightings over the last few days - she's seen at least two groups of them - just standing in the paddock off the side of Latimers Crossing Road - like pretend fence posts. It is fantastic they are still around given how much more development there is in the area than a few years ago.

Sooz hasn't been so lucky in seeing the new Christmas Vacation house along Gilston Road. M and I saw it the other night - and each time Sooz has been in the car since then, the house hasn't been on ... which is a shame because it really is quite spectacular.

Dinner tonight was at Mouse's ... a wonderful soup - blue cabbage and tomato - and it seemed to have some meat in there too ...but I could very easily be mistaken about that ... and spaghetti bolognese. Truly wonderful ... especially since there were leftovers to bring home and to take to work for lunch tomorrow.

Mouse was watching "The Black List" tonight with M and Sooz - and since I'm still at least an episode behind (maybe more ... who knew the father had been discovered?) I popped myself under headphones and concentrated on powering through the puzzles. I'd wanted to have them finished by the time we left so we could drop the entry into the postbox, but thats going to have to wait until tomorrow now.

We didn't go out on site today because of the rain ... so that was a bit of a disappointment. Our Safety Manager said we could go, but we'd have to wear rubber hats and rubber shoes ... and before he could say "and rubber suits" we stopped him and said it would be okay ... we could go tomorrow!

Tinka came in as soon as we arrived home tonight and after she'd had some cookies and was just sitting around, I suggested she might want to come in with me for the night ... and she trotted straight into the bedroom, jumped onto the bed, and started grooming. That's a cat you don't have to ask twice ... unless you're really trying to get her in for lockdown and she doesn't want to come.

I have to remember to take Pearl's post-walk "treat" with me in the morning. Once I have my work boots on, I don't like going back inside and this morning Pearl came on the walk with me and when we arrived back, I realised there was no treat for her. I'll do better tomorrow ... and no, I don't know if there's any truth to the rumour that I gave her a couple of cat cookies from up the back (and just an arm's reach from the backdoor).

Sunday

Markets today - and Azra had baked a cake for Mouse's birthday. It was amazing - and the very first lemon meringue cake I have ever seen. It is apparently Ne's favourite cake - which is one of the reasons we posted a photo of the cake on Face Book ... to help encourage Ne to come home!! The other reason of course was to show everyone else what a good cook Az is!

The cake Az baked

Ni was at the Markets today - and I think she was a little surprised that we were all still in birthday mode. Little does she realise that it's going to go on a bit longer as Mi has said she's planning a little something special for Mouse's birthday.

Sooz and I came straight home after The Markets, except for a brief stop-in at the Chemist and Coles. A familiar face greeted me at the Chemist - Brooke who helps Craig with the Monday night trivia at the Southport RSL. She's doing Pharmacy at University, works Saturdays at the Chemist (recently Sundays as well). She's not going to be at Trivia tomorrow night but that's okay because neither are we: FI will be taking Le to Brisbane Airport for the start of his three months of Arabic studies in Jordan. An will be away for a couple of days so she's a non-starter as well. The rest of us have therefore decided to have a night off!

I finally finished "The Hunger Games" this afternoon and was surprised that the heroine (Spoiler alert!) could manage to survive a fight to the death without actually killing anyone... oh, except the guy who killed Rue who she shot with an arrow. I'm now wondering where they'll take the sequel!

Cross-section

We had a massive storm here this afternoon - but it only lasted a few minutes. A lot of water was dumped in those few minutes though. Tinker stayed on her chair out the back throughout; Pearl was in the breezeway - and Maggie ... we hadn't seen Maggie but are fairly sure she'll have put herself in M's cupboard!

Sooz did a wonderful thing for me this afternoon - she kindly ironed shirts for me for this week. I'll need a clean shirt - all going well and to plan it will be in a picture of me in an excavator. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

Saturday

We had breakfast with Sy and An and M at Daniel Stuarts. M's Deep Water Running class had been called off early because of storms - or, more specifically, the concern about possible lightning strikes while they were in the pool. An hadn't gone to class - I garnered the distinct impression Sy had talked her out of it - because of the storm.

Breakfast was up to its usual high standard - in fact it was the best I've ever had there.

Syl in obviously in search of a Project - she keeps wanting to come out to Latimers to "do jobs" and while we have one for her to do - I need to do some prep work first. Of course, she wants to do jobs for M too but, like us, M has to be ready for that to happen.

I'm not sure what it was but there must have been something from the tsetse fly in my breakfast because after a quick visit to Australia Fair (finally my yellow watch has a new band and my heiroglyph watch has a new battery), and the drive home, I was exhausted ... put my head down for a minute and the next thing I knew Sooz was waking me hours later at 4:15pm so I could start getting ready to go out to dinner - Mouse's 88th birthday celebrations.

It was fantastic - which you'd expect at Food Fantasy at The Big House. We had two large tables - one for the boys, one for the girls, and there was plenty of food choices for everyone. Fl excelled by bringing over some already peeled and de-veined prawns to our table ... the pity was I had already just been to the buffet and was about to peel my own. They were amazing though, and the oysters were good too. I was just very lucky I was in a seafood mood tonight otherwise it all would have been a bit wasted on me!

Mouse's birthday cake

The birthday cake was magnificent! The chefs at The Big House had done an amazing job of transforming M's concept into reality. When they carried the cake out, it was one of the few times I have seen Mouse cry. She was obviously very touched by the love and care for her in that room - and around the world ... Melija and Hamdi skyped from Turkey while we were at dinner.

Az's pic of Mouse and her cake

Even though we had been told that we wouldn't have to hurry through dinner (we were at the early sitting), some of us hadn't even finished our cake before we were being told that they did, indeed, need our tables and we had no other option but to leave. That was the plan anyway, but as we were saying farewells in the foyer, a huge flash of lightning rent the sky, and an enormous thunderclap rumbled over us. We decided it might not be the best thing to drive home through the storm - so, when we couldn't get in to Spinners - the line for there was almost as long as the line for Food Fantasy - we moved upstairs to wait out the storm ... except for An who was off trying to separate The Big House from its money. It's not an easy thing to do ... the only one to win with the Great Card Swipings tonight was Mouse - fairly appropriate because it is her birthday!

Broadbeach wasn't the only place to get hit by the storm this evening. Latimers was on the list as well. The wind was so strong it tipped over B's tank that has been sitting, empty, on its side, against their house. When we arrived home, the tank was sitting on its top and B and someone else had placed a car next to it to try to secure it - or maybe it was to climb onto to secure it to the power pole with ropes. They didn't say there had been hail but when M arrived home after dropping Mouse off, she said it looked like there had been - because of the amount of leaf litter and the holes punched in the grape vine leaves.

 

Friday

There was more rain this afternoon and, to schedule, it started falling just as we were starting to get ready to go home for the weekend. But that wasn't going to stop the mass exodus from the site: as we all struggled to finish today (and, yes, I would swear that the clock was running backwards at one stage when I looked at it this afternoon) it was generally agreed that it had been a long week - especially when we found out just before lunch today that our Contracts Administrator had been made redundant and was leaving almost immediately. "You'll get used to it" AC and Le assured me - but I don't think so. It's part of an office revamp and cost-cutting exercise. As I write this, I'm remembering what AC and Le spent part of the morning doing: listing the people who had been on the Project and now, for various reasons, are not. It may be time to get my CV out to give it a dust-off - just to keep my options open. (An, watch out - I'm coming your way!)

Pearl and Maggie

AC continues to be a delight to work with - she is always handy with a funny anecdote and is great at sending herself up ... I'm still not sure if she really meant "Karaoke Chicken" as opposed to "Teriyaki Chicken". You never can tell when she's pulling your leg until it is too late and you've been taken hook, line and sinker!

Tinka, Sooz and Pearl

Sooz and I went out to the Italian restaurant that B told M about. It's Pagliacci's at Highland Park and I have to admit it was a very enjoyable experience. We certainly had our order taken and our food served much faster than we had at the Italian at Worongary a couple of weeks ago. Definitely worth another visit - especially since the food was great ... not so much the coffee but ... there was no way it was going to be absolutely perfect!

Meanwhile, M was out visiting Mouse and her friend Marion who's visiting from Toowoomba for a couple of days.

CPR training

I sat up for a while this evening watching "The Hunger Games" and am now just under half-way through. The sequel starts next weekend, I think, so I should be done by then and ready to see it with An.

By the time I went to bed, Sooz, Tinka and Pearl were fast asleep down the end - and not one of them stirred when I took photos of them, although a little while later, Tinka did come in with me and Pearl parked herself in the breezeway outside the door. Maggie and Pearl were cute earlier in the evening - both on the mat, looking very companionable.

The photos are in from the First Aid course yesterday. I'm still in awe of the amount of things I remember from the course-and not just the"fun"stuff. That's not the only reminder though ... my knees are still complaining about doing CPR training on the concrete yesterday.

 

Thursday

It rained a lot this today - so much that at one stage (just as I was packing up to leave) I wasn't sure I would be able to reach the car without getting saturated. It didn't help that I park as far away from the office as possible to get those extra steps in. Finally, when it appeared it wasn't going to let up, I packed my devices as dryly as I could and then packed everything in a cardboard box so I could make the dash to Lars when the rain let up a little. Suffice to say I was a little slow and had to wait for the second let-up!

Storm clouds!

Work put on a First Aid Training course for those who were interested and even though I hadn't managed to do my online assessment by the time the trainer arrived (a prerequisite for the course ... the online assessment and the trainer) I could still participate. It was great ... there have some things that have changed since last I did a First Aid course ... and the CPR refresher ... and seeing how defibrillators work - was an added plus. I learnt something too ... when they defibrillate someone - they are not starting the heart, they are stopping it, and waiting for the heart to restart itself. All this time of watching medical dramas, I had no idea that was the case. (It's a bit like morse code where the dots and dashes were the bits between the beeps rather than the length of the beeps themselves).

The Grape Vine is growing quite quickly now ... and I'm wondering if I'm going to have to prune it back a little more so it can concentrate on fruiting rather than producing vine leaves (not necessarily a bad thing - but it would be good to have both).

More storm clouds

I didn't find out until M and I arrived at The Big House for CSP tonight ... but CSP has gone off ... again ... and needless to say, the jackpot didn't go to anyone we know. That's a shame because even though it was less than $100k this time, it would still have been nice to share it around and still have something to jingle in your pocket. "Kissing Man" wasn't there tonight but Mr Drunk-ish Man was sitting next to me and the O-De-Beer was quite strong, replaced by the O-De-Whisky when he left and someone else arrived. They still aren't providing bottles of water at the tables - but when M and I went upstairs for a coffee, two bottles did come home with us.

After waiting more than 45 minutes for the meals to arrive tonight ("The Nasi Goreng is ready but yours [indicating M] looked like cr*p so they're remaking it") raised the question of whether it might not just be quicker and easier to stop in at the Q Centre on the way in for dinner rather than taking our chances with TBH eateries.

The storms were still around this evening - there were big lightning flashes over the coast - and more over the Hinterland on the way home. They had downgraded the storm warning though - so there were some people breathing a bit easier across the Coast tonight.

Pearl and Tinka didn't seem that perturbed by the storms this time ... but Maggie certainly was ... and laid low in M's room for most of the day.

 

Wednesday

More rain today and tonight ... it really is a nice change although, to be ungrateful for just a moment, it does tend to make it a bit muggy - and the PPE doesn't "breathe" all that well - and rolling up the shirt sleeves doesn't make that much of a difference! At least it wasn't just me feeling the heat yesterday ... and certainly AC was happy that it wasn't just her!!!

As soon as I arrived home this afternoon, while Sooz was finishing afternoon cat feeding, I took Pearl for a walk up the lane to B's. She was still puffing - even before we started the walk ... I think we may just have to get used to it.

M was busy this evening planning Mouse's birthday dinner ... it has changed venues a couple of times now, but it sounds like - many phone calls and discussions later - there has been a decision.

M went back in to The Big House tonight so she could meet the deadline for ordering the birthday cake! Now Sooz and I will just need to give some thought to Mouse's present - and get around to buying it before the dinner. Doable ... but we have to get our skates on!

Kathy came today and she was in good form. Sooz and M had a sit-down-and-natter with her after they arrived back from Breakfast at Maccas. There was no repeat of the blueberry-and-banana pancake kerfuffle of last week; when the lady sitting next to them saw their breakfasts, she went up to the counter in search of the same thing - only to be told that it's not something they serve (but they probably could!). Maccas do have a new line of Turkish sandwiches though - which apparently cause the staff some consternation because there are use-by-stickers etc etc - not something they usually have to deal with with the food fare there. It's Day 3, I think, and they seem to coping with it much better now - so much were they not enjoying it, there was some talk of the girls' leaving - which would be a real shame because they make the best coffee!

Maggie didn't want to come in tonight ... she let me coax her as far as the door then she just sat there. In the end, she did let me carry her in and I'm not sure where she settled after that ... Tinka was down with Sooz, Pearl was under the table (hiding from the storm) and Maggie was probably in M's room - possibly in the wardrobe again.

An's birthday puzzle

The Flavours of the World lunch at The Big House turned out to be the "Flavours of Five Countries including America" lunch. One of the countries was Japan but M said the queue for that was so massive that she didn't ever seriously think about getting in the line - even though they had some lovely goodies. The dessert table sounded good too. The most important thing is that she and Mouse had a good time, and it seems they did.

I spent this evening working on the second part of An's birthday present - to go with the pen she wanted. I was happy with it, and despite Sooz's protestations otherwise, I did not make her look at it tonight ... I was happy for her to wait until tomorrow!

 

Tuesday

Even though it isn't St's birthday this week he was still showing off a birthday "goodie" last night at Trivia - he now has his Seniors Card (where does the apostrophe go in this instance?) and becomes eligible for a range of discounts. He looked fairly chuffed about that ... and was just making sure it was a "real" card in the photo ... or was he intimating that it was "as good as gold".

Senior!!!

Finally we have had some rain here ... it's been a while since we had more than a few drops and the garden and lawns certainly needed it. We've had a bit more forecast for the coming days - and possibly into next week - which will probably mean the weeds will have a chance to grow again but ... that's the price you have to pay for having rainwater on the grape vines!

Sooz had a quiet day at home today - a little bit of washing, a little bit of research on a woman she saw featured on Compass over the weekend, a little bit of catching up on her television viewing. She seemed fairly relaxed by the time I arrived home - and ready to give up on the idea of a quiet evening in ... I know I don't make much noise but I am a presence in the house (hmmm ... that could be taken one of several ways) - and she had expected me to be out this evening, having dinner with Jo. I usually combine my appointment visits up that way with a Jo visit but, alas, because of other commitments - Castell's graduation (you go grlll!) - she'd had to swap shifts. No doubt we'll catch up soon though, and there's always texts to share news when we don't see each other.

Bingo is off tomorrow for the girls. Mouse and M are going to a "Flavours of the World" (I think that's what it's called) at The Big House and rather than just An and Sooz bin-going, they're trying to work out when they are all available so they can re-schedule. Staying in, though, will give Sooz a chance to catch up with Kathy - and I know they both like that.

Work was interesting today ... especially when the server went down for an hour - meaning we couldn't do anything on the computers. All our project files are hosted remotely - even more so since the directive went out at a recent Project Meeting to make sure no project files were kept on people's desktops. So, we all found different ways of filling in the time ... including AC and Le going for a walk around the block because Ced had strongly encouraged AC to get out of the office ... she was becoming a (more than usual) disruptive influence ... and that's saying a lot!

I was impressed with the furries this evening - not so much the bit with Maggie sleeping on the kitchen table, but the bit where they both came in early ... which I think had something to do with the approaching storm. When I went to bed the thunder was rumbling and the bedroom was lit up from time to time by lightning. I seriously considered unplugging the devices in case they were "zapped" but almost as soon as I had that thought, I was asleep ... meaning it was another night I failed to watch the first "Hunger Games"!

 

Monday

Today is Remembrance Day - when we remember those who fell and have been affected by War. A few of us at work did observe the Minute's Silence and reflection. Lest we forget. (It is amazing, though, that more people gathered to do The Melbourne Cup than Remembrance Day.) I didn't realised until much much later that it was also the anniversary of the Labor Government's ousting from power back in 1975.

Out on the town

Trivia tonight - and we were finally back to our usual team of six. And two of them (An and Ni) are celebrating birthdays this week! Sooz marked the occasion by baking a cake (banana) which we had at break time. That was, as it turned out, the highlight of the night - except, for me, being able to take a photograph of ... wait for it ... the top of an A4 paper box at the bar. I have been "looking after" a similar box-lid for our Community Officer at work, and each time she rings, I give her assurances that it is fine. (Those box lids are in huge demand as it turns out ... they're the perfect size for popping A4 flyers in for distribution.) I'll send her the photographs tomorrow of her box "out on the town". It should be good for a bit of a laugh.

It was a very slow game tonight ... the usual emcee, Craig, wasn't there, so we had Harry (aka Mumbles - but that's mainly because microphone is tuned to Craig's dulcet tones) and a female offsider. S...L...O...W... - yes, with capital letters. It was just as well Sooz had set Q&A to record before we left - it was closer to 10 by the time we finally arrived home.

The good news is that we were fairly reasonably placed this evening - not on the podium - but not far off either. There will be no post-mortem here ... but any of the others would be pleased to oblige. Even Sooz in the car on the way home was going through how we could have garnered enough extra points to put us over the line!

News of the devastation wrought by the typhoon in the Philippines continues - word is that 9 million people are affected, over 70% of homes in the path of the storm have been destroyed, and thousands have been killed. The scale of the aid effort is going to be enormous - but then, it will only touch the sides of the heartache and loss left in the typhoon's trail.

 

Sunday

Tr was late for the Skype call this morning - but only by half an hour. She had become confused because of Daylight Savings Time (it strikes again!). It was okay, I had been puddling as I waited, and I always like a good "puddle"! But it did cut down on the amount of news we could exchange ... but I was able to share Blingo and news of the party with her; she was able to tell me what was happening with the Friends (of her organisation) and to assure me that there was no "rest for the wicked".

The Markets were good and even though everyone had a "leave pass" because if you weren't at An's Party you were at The Wedding (at SeaWorld) ... most of us were there by 9:15am. We've learnt that even if you're not inside and seated at the table by the appointed time, you need to make sure you're seen by someone in good time.

M had stopped in at the Nerang Markets on the way and picked up some pide, cucumbers and watermelon (and probably other things but they were the only ones I noted), and they, together with the now usual fare of bread, butter, cheese and tomato, together with some sweets Az brought along (leftovers from an event - possibly The Wedding) had the table groaning under its weight.

Sooz and I went straight home after the Markets ... time for a bit of a relax following the busyness of the last few weeks (that "project for a friend" ... which was well received on the day .. had taken up some hours).

I finally caught up with "The Blacklist" and yes, again, I did greedily view every available episode - you'd think I would have learned by now that when I do that there isn't one "to watch later". But I do have some other series stacked, plus the first "Hunger Games" which I'm hoping to get to soon - so I can go and see the Sequel with An.

A dog with a bone

Maggie was scarce most of the day - I worry about her we don't see her because she's usually "somewhere" ... that "somewhere" today was one of the few places we didn't look - in M's wardrobe!

Pearl is still doing that "puffing" - even when she hasn't been for a walk, and we don't know what that is about. And ... I don't think I mentioned that we met the woman who trained Pearl yesterday at An's party ... and were able to show her a picture of her that I'd taken that morning - Pearl chewing on a bone out under the tree ... and then another, of Pearl, inside, just holding her bone - or what was left of it - in her mouth. (I wonder where that bone ended up.)

 

Saturday

Blingo

Saturday's finally here ... the day of the party! I had another look at the Blingo this morning, and I am happy with it. More than than, I am going to be more than comfortable wearing my t-shirt knowing that it meets the requirements for the party dress code: Gold Coast Bling ... which surely must be a combination of Bling and Bingo ... BLINGO!

Sooz had decided not to go to Deep Water Running with M this morning - and since M was breakfasting in Broadbeach (she had an errand to run afterwards), Sooz and I went off to breakfast at Luv-A-Coffee at Nerang. Little did I realise that Sooz had a secret mission in mind - Aldi had Manchester on sale - and she managed to bag a Queen Bed Sheet before we left the Centre.

Some of the party-goers

Then it was back to Latimers - Sooz had a rest while I packed the camera bag, and the Bling Bag, making sure I had some "no damage" adhesives to put Blingo up in case Syl didn't.

We were in good time when we left home for the 1 o'clock start, but when we reached the big roundabout in Nerang, had to turn round because we couldn't remember if the fans had been turned off - it was a very hot morning! So, by the time we arrived, the party was in full swing!

And it was a great party! There was a chance for me to meet (for the first time and/or again) a lot of the people featured in the DVD (the project for a friend) and to marvel at how many wonderful people Syl and An know. People came from far afield - Melbourne, Canberra - even San Tiago in Chile - to help celebrate An's 60th birthday.

Tr had come through with the music and she and her friend (who are Blu Crush) were amazing ... there is nothing like live entertainment (unless it's Wayne the organist who played at our Family's reunion in Toowoomba some many years ago) and they kept the place pumping and jumping.

 

Friday

Finally ... some inspiration for my Bling for tomorrow's party. I woke up singing a song which was the idea - and even though I wasn't quite sure how I was going to achieve it ... at least I had the idea. Breakfast at Macca's saw me surfing the interweb for what could be the various elements - depending on which way I did it - and whichever way I went I was sure that OfficeWorks or Bunnings would have what I needed. They did not disappoint. I called in there after work and, with photos on my iPad, walked the aisles - and interrogated the staff - as I gathered the goods.

Maggie and the Bling

I started work on it as soon as I got home ... my T-shirt which would be "Blingo-ed" and the an A3 laminated sheet (as done at work) which needed to be Blinged up and accessorised with Bling Things. Luckily I was able to keep it all manageable - what I'm calling clawed back from the extreme - especially since on the way home I realised I had missed some elements and while I thought about going back to get them, I decided I probably had enough! And if I didn't I could always go get them before I met Sooz and M for breakfast in the morning.

M was out to a Comedy Evening, at The Big House, this evening so she didn't get to see Maggie take up her position on the Blingo-in-progress. Why is it that cats are so attracted to things that are black? But she did look cute!

The furries all came in when called this evening - and Sooz and I had a relatively early night - although Sooz is still not sleeping terribly well at the moment. At least she had this week (and next week) off so she should be able to catch up on sleep if she needs to.

 

Thursday

Prickle bags

Jane came today and she and M spent some time down in the bottom paddock pulling out the prickles - weeds with giant thorns - that have grown along the line where the new power trench went down to the pump. Well, M spent her time pulling them out, Jane spent some of the time pulling out the other very similar looking plant which doesn't have the thorns and would be okay to stay.

I have not yet decided on my bling for Saturday but hopefully inspiration will strike soon.

Thursday Is CSP night and on the way into TBH M and I stopped in at the Q Centre and the Fast Wok - because it is! For dessert M had an Ice KaChang and she seemed to enjoy it very much - but why wouldn't you - an ice mountain flavoured with syrups and sitting on fruit and jelly.

We made it to TBH just after 8 which meant we missed out on the great Card Swipings - but there's always tomorrow! But I did manage to get a spot at the CSP table tonight - unlike last week - and came out $1 ahead. But I had a good game and hopefully M enjoyed watching the general goings-on and the table talk. Who knew you were supposed to sleep with a blue sapphire before you committed to it - and depending on whether you had negative or positive dreams you decided whether or not to keep it and have it set as jewellery. Well the man next to me - who kept kissing his cards before he looked at them each hand - did, and the woman on my right. The conversation started because kissing man noticed the dealer was wearing a blue sapphire ring.

Then it was upstairs for some coffee and to see if there was a roulette game to watch - and this Thursday there was four or five people in the middle of a game. I copied down some numbers and then - much to my own surprise - clumsily tried to place a bet. Thank goodness M's played before and could guide me through the process. Alas - it was not a winner but it was close ... and there's always next time!

It was a quiet day at work -most of the guys and girls were off at a Relationship Refresher - and while some of them popped in at lunchtime, they didn't stay very long. They enjoyed the afternoon Go-Karting Session more than the morning's talkathon - where the facilitator spoke in a very district and determined monotone.

Fl popped in to Latimers for a cup of tea and a catch-up this afternoon. He is okay but seems to be feeling the imminent departure of their boys - Le is off to Jordan for three months in a minute to study Arabic and Lu is off to Boston to study music. Mi arrives back from New Zealand this evening.

 

Wednesday

Melbourne Cup Day + 1 brought the news that one of the Race Field had been injured and was euthanised. This is one of sadder sides of racing - where a broken leg can mean the end to such a fine horse. Apparently, according to M, who knows more about these things than we do (and as relayed to me by S this afternoon) - there's only one leg they cannot fix ... the others they can put the horse in a sling and usually the break will heal. Alas, for Verema, the leg it broke was the one they can't mend. While it might be an argument for banning horse racing, it would be a hard call, given how many people are employed in the industry ... hmmm. I look out at the horses in the paddocks around Latimers and think how sad it would be to see one of them injured, and while injury can happen at any time, I'd have to think that racing could increase the risks. (That sounds like fence-sitting ... and it is!)

Update:  Well, I almost got that right ... it isn't the leg it's a bone in the leg - the canon bone (I think that spelling is right).  

You have to love "double click Wednesdays" at Maccas! You pay for two cups of coffee and your earn a free one. And, if Jo and Lynn make it, it's great coffee! Bonus. They had Sunrise on the main television this morning, rather than Today - and while I thought about getting the channel changed, I perservered - especially when I realised their captioner was as "interesting" as the one on Channel 9. I didn't copy down any of the "better" transcriptions, but I will see what I can get tomorrow.

It was Bingo for the girls again today ... and they had a modicon modicum (or perhaps a little more) of success. Mouse had several games where she was one-off (and very excited) and was finally rewarded with a line and a full house in the one game; Anita shared a line with three other people! Instead of the grapes M usually gets for the table, cherries were the choice of the day and, by all reports, they were very very yummy.

Sooz managed to get out to Labrador (thanks M!) to interview the person she missed last week (he was at Halloween celebrations or something I think). She hadn't rung to set up an appointment beforehand - but went there after Bingo ... and he was there, and okay to do the interview ... so she came home tired but happy.

Well, two days early (I had a delivery date of 8 November), I gave An's preso to them tonight - tested on both televisions - and everything went well. An sat down and watched it through and she seemed to like it! I watched it again ... for the 5th time - yes, I've seen it more than that, but I'm only counting the times when I've sat and watched the whole thing through from start to finish - and it still doesn't jar with me ... which I take as my own pat on the back. It has been good to be able to do this for An and Sy for the party - it's something I truly enjoy doing ... so much so that I'm now thinking about investing in a proper editing program for the computer where I can manipulate sound and images better. If I'm going to have to do the presos for my own 60th - still a couple of years away - I want to be able to have some more flexibility - although, that being said, the software these days is heaps better than it was for the last preso I did - for Sooz and I and the "20 ... 50 ... So long" party! Looking at that again the other day, after a while of not seeing it, I would love the opportunity to re-cut it and put some more "sparkle" in it. Not that it's not fine the way it is, of course!

An and Sy were kind enough to have us to dinner tonight - and that was good. An cooked Spaghetti Bolognese - very nice. She used some pasta from Zac's - a new shop in Southport (near the Ferry Road Diner) which could be the start of a new food precinct to complement Ferry Road Markets. Az told everyone about it at the Markets last Sunday - I'm not sure how she found out about it. When An went there today she was very impressed by the fare they had on offer - including 2L of milk for $0.99 - the same one I spend double that for at the local IGA!  And, at dinner, for dessert, we were able to test-drive the summer puddings Sy is making for the party.  Yum ... yum ... and triple yum!

The feline furries were outside when we arrived home after dinner - and Tinka, again, was the first one to come in. I confused Maggie though ... I know that was my fault ... rather than just standing at the front door and whistling her, I walked around the backto near the grapevine to see where she was ... and she started, finally, coming to me there. She at least let me scoop her up and carry her inside ... I told her I needed to because it was past my bedtime. It was nice that she complied ... and then went and sat on the junk mail An and Sy had sent home with us ... and Sooz reported that she seemed to have settled in there for the duration. It will be good to know if she slept there - or ended up going in with M or Sooz - because I don't think she came in with me! But at least I had Edmund to keep me company - even if he did jump off the bed at some point during the night.

Tuesday

Well that was fun! I've now done my first sweep and it was much easier once Paul handed me photocopies of the sweep page from the paper. It was good to see the colour of the jockey silks and to have spaces to write people names. (Darn, I meant to take a photo of the sheets up ... carefully placed over one shelf of the bookcase - but not the one that bit my thumb last week when I was checking how heavy it would be to move.)

The girls at the races

We hadn't realised until yesterday that there is no television at work - and the company internet policy is such that we cannot "live stream" and we are certainly prevented from reaching gambling sites .... yes, I know, I know, how are we expected to do Melbourne Cup without access to ... the Melbourne Cup! But the iPad did come to the rescue and I was able to tune into Yahoo 7 TV and live-stream the race. Of course, I'm hoping the big benefit from running the sweeps - besides getting a first and second in one, and a first in the other - no, no, really, it was a "clean" sweep rather than a "clean sweep" - is that I will remember the horses - so if a question comes up in Trivia about the 2013 Melbourne Cup, I'll be able to answer it correctly!

Meanwhile, back at Latimers, when I rang Sooz after the race to see if she noticed which horse came last, she was surprised to hear that the race had already been run ... she had just turned on the television in what she thought was in good time to be able to watch it. I was able to tell her the results and she was pleased to hear that she had successfully picked second, third and fourth. (When M came home she said we'll have to let Sooz do all the race tips from now ... it's not bad, and follows on from Sooz's similar success last year!)

M and Mouse had their Melboure Cup Day Lunch at The Big House. M posted a photograph of Mouse in her race gear to FaceBook much earlier in the day and while she did show us a photograph of she and Mouse later, my spy on the ground (Kath) had already sent through a photo of "the girls at the races" (as she captioned it).

Sooz cooked a wonderful pasta dish for dinner tonight - and while she was preparing that, I was testing some new software so I could transfer An's preso through to DVD. (The software I have previously used, as included standard with Windows Vista - and previous versions - had been left out of Windows 8). It did a good job and has the additional bonus of being a conversion program as well. All I can say is thank goodness for the internet - and user forums.

The grape vine seems to be doing well since I trimmed it back on the weekend. I am hopeful that it will produce some grapes this year - and that I didn't leave the pruning too late. What it desperately needs now (and the rest of the valley for that matter) is some rain!

The girls spoke with Can the other day and apparently the recently-returned Choo Choo Ma Ma is with foal. The gestational period for horses is about 10 months so there is a way to go yet - but it will be good to have a new little one in the valley.

Maggie was the one dragging the chain with coming in last night - just for a change. Tinka bounded in (possibly thinking there were nighty night cookies to be had) but not little Maggie. She finally appeared behind M (how? and from where?) while she was calling her from out the front. Good trick Maggie!

Tinka has taken to sleeping on Sooz's TV chair - even to the point of getting on there while Sooz is still there, snuggling in - and then using her four feet to push Sooz so she can gain a bit more room. She did come in to have a look round the bedroom last night - but, again, Maggie had already found her spot on the bed and made it clear that it was to be a "one cat room". I'm not sure when Maggie left, but a few times during the night I stretched my legls out and felt cat.

Well, it may be weeks away yet but the Christmas season is definitely upon us - as evidenced by the decorations on the big tree on the Alexandra Drive roundabout (near the service station) and the house with the Chevy Chase Christmas vacation lights that were turned on over the weekend!

 

Monday

Finally the light was almost right for the shot I wanted to take of the Jacaranda tree - the finished shot was a bit pale though ... not showing off the vivid purple of the bloomage ... but that's that photo editing is all about. This is the unedited shot :) Luckily no snakes made an appearance while I was there ... if I'd seen one they would have heard the scream back at Latimers! It was fairly busy on the road there though, amazing since it was only just after 6.

Jacaranda

When I was taking a moment to re-read what I had posted to the blog yesterday (looking for errors to correct), I chanced upon the comment about doing the Sweeps at work - otherwise I may have completely forgotten them. We decided on the prizes, which will be on a sliding scale depending on whether there are any scratchings (unlike most sweeps - you get your money back if your horse is scratched!). We're not doing a Special lunch or Insisting people wear fascinators or hats (or both). And speaking of hats, M was hard at work as a milliner when Sooz and I went to bed last night - getting her hat ready for today's Melbourne Cup lunch at The Big House. Good for her! Of course, I still haven't worked out what my bling will be for An's birthday party ... but there's still several days left before I have to panic!

Since Fl and St and Ni are away at the moment, An, Sooz and I decided to give Trivia a miss tonight ... and, instead, we ended up at the movies to see Sandra Bullock and George Klooney in the space "thriller" Gravity. It truly was edge-of-the-seat stuff in places as well as a study in misfortune ... and tenacity. Far-fetched? Yes, obviously, more than just a little but that's what movies are about ... the willing suspension of disbelief! Five of us went ... Mouse, M, Sooz, An and I. I think we all had different reactions to it - as you would think. I'm not sure Mouse enjoyed it that much but as M said, she'll go away and think about it - and then tell you what she really thought of it in a day or two.

I'd meant to mention the other day, when Sooz and I had been to the Indian Restaurant for dinner - when the waitress put our plates on the table, we must have looked what we were thinking, because she quickly said "They're not dirty ... they're just scarred".