Wednesday 26 February

Was that woman wearing a pink dressing gown at Maccas this morning? It looked like it. It is some time since I saw PJs out and about - not since Crestwood Plaza when I was working out at Parklands - and regularly a family would pull up and pile out of a van, all of them wearing PJs.

Jo dreamt Mrs H, she and I as adults were working on a project. Small yellow snakes, a brown snake and a big green snake were somehow involved! Even I don't dream of Mrs H - our home room and business studies teacher at High School.

Sooz's coloured bird was on the gate near the garage for a moment this morning - not nearly enough to get the camera out, but it's good to see

it around. I'm not sure where the other one it usually travels with was because I didn't see it.

"And he was in drag" the caption said about the man who had stabbed police officers at a Palm Beach service station ... well, that's not something that happens every day ... but actually it didn't ... he wasn't in drag (the rest was right) ... he was just dragged from the scene. He looked to be shirtless though - which you would be after being tasered several times - and hit with capsicum spray!

Wednesday again - which meant meeting An for another session on my CV and job hunt. As a bonus I was able to see Syl and Max was well - and witness their signatures on the contract for the Palmers sale. When I left An she was deciding whether to pick up something for dinner on the way home ... or cook.

I had no such dilemma - Sooz and I had already decided to have Chinese and I picked it up from the Q Centre on the way home.

On the way home, I picked up Chinese for our dinner - and was very pleased to get home ... way after my usual time - and was just in time to say goodbye to M who was on her way out.

The furries were all in good form even though they had been home alone for most of the day. They'll have more company tomorrow!

Tuesday 25 February

Pearl was a bit stiff this morning so I didn't take her down the lane with me - but I did let M know so she can keep an eye on her. Hopefully it is just her arthritis playing up with the rain - although it would be better if she didn't have it at all. It was good too because the rain was a bit off and on this morning - and I wouldn't have wanted either Pearl or I to be caught in it (especially since I was wearing a freshly-ironed shirt - thanks Sooz!)

Ly was back at Maccas this morning. She's been away for the last couple of weeks on doctor's orders so it was good to see her back - even though she had told Jo she was perfectly well enough to come back last week. When Jo told me that last week, she accompanied it with what I think of as a wry smile.

Anyway, LY is back and what was taking three people (working the McCafe section) is now back to the two of them - and I think they both like it that way. It's good Ly is back though because her kneeling tall on a stool is the remote control for the TV with the captions!

I am missing the Winter Olympics ... but the morning programs are sometimes almost as good for captions. There were a couple that were very good this morning that I just wasn't fast enough to catch. Pity.

It was a busy day - I had a few errands to run outside of work and I ended up doing some of them at lunchtime so I wouldn't have to leave work early. And as it is almost end of month. it's pretty busy at work as well. I guess the trick is not to have too many late nights in a row!

M had jumped on ROM for a go around the yard this afternoon and she has done a fantastic job. So fantastic that Pearl went up to play with her and the mower rather than coming on a walk with me.

Sooz cooked dinner again tonight - lamb shanks! And word is that she also did my work shirts so I am feeling very well looked after indeed!

There's been no further word on C who remains in intensive care in hospital after a severe attack of pancreatitis. She is in an induced coma for pain management. While she has been fighting back they're not sure if it's going to be enough.

Monday 24 February

Monday - the start of the working week - and you just never know what the week will bring. Today it brought me a man with L O V E tattooed on the knuckles of his left hand. The knuckles on his right hand did not have the H A T E tattoo. It was the first time I have seen this is real life and I couldn't help but wonder how he had decided to get just one of the traditional pair. But then, why does anyone decide to get a tattoo at all - obviously for different reasons - but it surprises me when someone gets a tattoo - just for them - and then have it put on their back in a place where you need to be a contortionist to be able to see it. (I know, I can't talk - I can't even talk myself into getting my ears pierced - let alone getting a tattoo.)

It was busy on my way home last night - three stops including the Post Office, the Chemist and, of course, OfficeWorks. I arrived home just before 6, thinking S would be ready and we would just set out at the usual time for Trivia - but no. And it had nothing to do with me finding where one of the cats had been ill - and with the "you see it, you own it" ringing in my mind's ear (why is it that people only talk about seeing something in their "mind's eye"?) I pulled out the paper towels and started on clean-up patrol. When M came out - she had been doing cat litter patrol - and offered to do it, I declined. Rules is rules - and I know it wouldn't take me long to translate the help into conveniently "not seeing" it - maybe not next time it happens it at some point. And the good news is that I didn't go into gag reflex at all during the exercise!

After Aqua today, Sooz and M went off to The Big House to see "Philomena" - which they both enjoyed very much - as did Mouse. Then - lunch at Spinners - S had the Lobster & Prawn special (she had a banana at the movie while M and Mouse had chips) but I'm not sure about the others.

You have to be careful where you go into the water on the Gold Coast these days - AC was telling me she and her husband were strolling along the canal at Varsity Lakes the other day - and saw several sharks breaking water - and no, I did ask, and they definitely weren't dolphins!

There are now numbers on the new letterboxes - which makes them look a little better but there is part of me that thinks a nice bright stripe of paint wouldn't go astray. But that might just be me.

Trivia tonight - and, amazingly, with a score of 56 out of 80 (the questions were tough tonight) we were one off third! One of the questions we did get right though was what colour is the top left ring on the Olympic Logo. We picked blue - but not before we'd already decided on yellow and written that on the answer sheet ...but we hadn't handed it in yet. Fl. who was off getting the coffees at that point, was quite surprised when blue was the answer and we had it - he though we still had yellow.

Clafoutis

St and Ni, as well as bringing along a clafoutis to have with coffee, they also brought four visiting French teacher - from France. They played as a separate team called ... Frogs - and did well given some of the mangling of the English language in tonight's game - hard enough if English is your first language!

The lights were on when we arrived home ... M had had the night in - and was still ... and I could hardly believe this at 10pm ... washing!

 

Sunday 23 February

I managed to stay awake for the Skype call with Tr this morning - which is a huge improvement on last week's noddings off. Luckily I hadn't stayed up quite as late last night ... but it was late enough!

We were the smallest group I can remember at the Markets today - Mouse, Flam, M, Sooz and I. We only needed the one table - and then we didn't fill it up. It was just as well we were such a small group though ... the entertainment was in under cover with us (they were using the marquee for a boxing match later today and were constructing the ring - so that was a no-go zone). The entertainer (a singer with a guitar) was very loud - especially with his music bouncing off the ceiling and columns (there are no walls) - and if our group had been any larger, there was no way we would have been able to hear each other - even after he had turned the volume down (just).

Sooz and M went off to see "Frozen" this afternoon while I took myself off to The Big House to sit in Spinners and do some more work on my CV. Trish had told me this morning about the new "Capabilities Framework" that the NSW Government is starting to use, and that was a quite interesting way of looking at it. I spent some time looking through that, doing some editing of my (now three versions of) resume and wondering if there were any other things I needed to check with An when next I see her on Wednesday to go through what has been done so far.

When Sooz and M arrived at The Big House l met them at Spinners. The Spinners folk might have been surprised to see me back ... I'd only left 15 minutes or so before!

After a quick bite, Sooz went off to play the Five Treasures machine while M and I went upstairs to watch Numbers. There was a spot at the table, to play, but as we couldn't seem to pick the numbers when we weren't at the table, there was less chance that the numbers would come once we were there. We couldn't know that for sure of course, but it seemed like a reasoable assumption.

On the way home, Sooz and I called in to the Indian restaurant at Highland Park to pick up some pappadums and garlic naan to go with Sooz's curry. It was definitely a big success - her curry that is - and she'll hopefully be making that recipe again!

Remind me not to do iDevice updates after 8pm Sundays. I set the new update to run on the iPhone and it was still going after 10pm - way after my Sunday night bedtime. I decide not to update the iPad as well. There was no telling how long that was going to take.

Finally, leaving Sooz to watch something on her iPad - lockdown achieved, lights on outside (and inside) forwhen M arrived home, this litle black duck and Tink called it a night ... ready to do it all again tomorrow!

Saturday 22 February

l stayed up way too late last night watching the Sochi Winter Olympics. That's now coming through as a very common theme - and the only (almost) good thing is that tomorrow is the last day of competition. If there's no competition, the more likely I am not to watch it - although I have enjoyed the captions immensely and my favourite is still ''The Blade of Escape"!

Sooz and I went to breakfast at Nerang this morning. There was no Deep Water Running for her today as M was up and out and on her way early to collect The Russians for their transfer to the airport. It seems like only a moment ago that they arrived-and before that when we were saying "The Russians Are Coming" and now they are gone. They had a good time though - and managed many trips to the beach to swim. That was on the top of their list for the holidays.

It was warm for them while they were here - and Sooz and Pearl took the heat in their stride - especially yesterday when they locked themselves in M's room with the air-conditioner blasting the equivalent of cold Artic air. The cold does appear to have helped Pearl - she isn't nearly as puffy as she was before the chill-out session.

After dropping the Russians at the airport in Brisbane, M was back in time to join us for a coffee at breakfast before she and Sooz went off to do some shopping.

I spent the afternoon doing my homework - my resume revamp. The deal was that if I got "enough" done, Sooz and I would go into The Big House for afternoon tea and a break as my reward. Once we knew about Mouse's dinner invitation we deferred TBH plan and decided to go another day. (Sooz had made a curry at home this afternoon which will now become dinner tomorrow night.)

I was surprised when Prince greeted us at Olga's door - but if I'd thought about it, I would have realised that with Mi and Az away in Adelaide for the weekend, of course it meant that Mouse would be on Prince Patrol. It also explains how the Russians came into contact with Prince, so Prince could bite Kirill's finger. It had me puzzled for a while!

The good news is that even though I hadn't checked my calendar, I did remember it was Mum's birthday. It was just a shame that I didn't remember that yesterday was Tr's birthday! I'm not sure how that slipped off my calendar but I can see that I now have a job checking that other birthdays haven't done the same.

Friday 21 February

You would think I would learn that late nights and school nights are not suited - but still I never seem to get the message completely. Sooz said she walked by at some time after 11 and my light (and iPad) was still on - and she didn't want to say anything just in case I was in those last minutes of getting ready to go to sleep (some nights you do have to prepare yourself) and I wish I could have told her I was … but I stayed up for at least another half hour after.

Paranormal chairs

I paid for it this morning though … the late night and the humidity put me in a zone where I needed to be mentally challenged otherwise it was hard to stay focused and attentive.

I was able to do that during the Men's Cross Ski at the Sochi Winter Olympics - which I watched during breakfast at Maccas - where in one race three competitors fell as they approached the finish line - and they needed to have a photo finish to see which of them had skidded across the line first - into second place … and it was the one with the first body part over - it couldn't be a ski or stock. For some reason I couldn't help but think of Steve Bradbury in the men's ice racing at a previous Olympics.

And no, I don't know why it is that the chairs were on the table in the meeting room this morning!

Sooz and I almost went to see “Last Vegas” tonight but we just went out for dinner instead. While we were there she said she wanted me to order a book for her from Amazon …. the latest Ann Patchett. I listened - and then asked if she didn't want me to download it. She apparently hadn't given that a thought - and just in this instance she was happy to not have to “delay gratification” - although that can sometimes be a wonderful thing - waiting for the book to arrive by mail. I checked both iBook and Kindle - and took the cheaper by $5 option. It's always good to check the competition!

When we arrived back at Latimers - it was still only just after 7 - yes, we definitely had the early sitting at dinner - we settled down together to watch “The Living Room” before Sooz went off to read her book and I settled in to watch some more of the Olympics - the Women's Cross Ski. I must admit I now have more of an appreciation of how long (or short) a micro-sleep is - or I was dozing my way through whole races. Finally, not able to stay awake a minute longer, I dragged myself into bed - being careful not to rouse Tinka sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed, Maggie who was on M's bed, or Pearl asleep in the breezeway.

Today is the last day of the Russians' visit. Tomorrow they jet back to the HomeLand - hopefully having had a wonderful time. The boys are no longer sunburn bright red on their faces … which you would expect them to be given they have spent so much time in the water during this visit. They loved the waves!

 

Thursday 20 February

Cut her Achilles' tendon with the blade of escape a few years ago. That for me was the caption of the day and I can't help but think there is more that could be done with "The Blade of Escape"'

We had dinner with the Russians and the rest of the "family" tonight at Pomadoro's in the new Isle of Capri complex. It was good although we are still trying to decide if the oven was "wood fired" or gas. The waitress (from Italy) did a great job of serving our very large table and the only thing that would have improved it is if they had served the kids first.

The kids enjoyed the ride in Et's sports car - he took both Kirill and Egor separately so they could have the front seat on the rides. There is no doubt that you can hear him coming - it revs up with a good deep, throaty roar which you can hear long after he is out of sight.

Am had his new car there as well - it has been on order for 18 months and arrived today. Since Am is only on his L's he won't be cruising in it any time soon.

M was going to take Vo to The Big House after dinner but in the end he decided he was too tired. He's running out of opportunities now - they leave on Saturday morning to go back to Russia.

As dinner ended,Mouse stood up to give a thankyou to the group - her Russian family, and her Australian "family". She also did a special thank you to M for her help and time with the Russians while they've been here.

Teeth

Rappers ... or Wrappers.I was telling Sooz about a mate who had gone to Brisbane today to see some Rappers and she looked at me quite strangely ... and then asked "what kind of person would want to go off to see rappers" - but then she realised I meant "rappers" not "wrappers". And now - for your entertainment pleasure ... we bring you the best wrappers in the world. Ah ... Az would have to be on the drawcard for that one ... she is a master wrapper thanks to her time at Daimuru while they still had a store here on the Gold Coast!!!

It's always good to have nice meaty subjects to get your teeth into at work ... but today was not one of those days ... today it was get your (lolly) teeth in and see how big you can smile.

 

Wednesday 19 February

Bingo Day. An and M were Winners/Grinners but the others had no luck. There's always next week of course but it's always better to win this week!

While they were out, Kathy came and she would have been surprised to find Pearl finally home after her stay in with Mouse.

I met An in at Zarraffas this afternoon (and where is my Zarraffas card?) to talk about my CV and reworking it as I start my search for a new role (hopefully permanent - or as permanent as anything can be in this day and age).

Pearl was very hot today - I wonder if she misses Mouse's - and the air-conditioning! Mind you, Pearl isn't the only one feeling the heat. Sooz has been sweltering the last few days. She says it would be easier to take if there was some relief at night - but there isn't - and yes that was Sooz having a cold shower before she went to bed the other night. I couldn't do it - not without knowing I was going off to a bed with many blankets.

The good news is that the fire over the back if b's stables seems to be finally really be out.

Tuesday 18 February

The Girls had breakfast at Maccas this morning but I didn't get to speak with them because they were arriving just as I had to leave. It was a big day at work especially as I was taking the minutes for this morning's Project Leadership Team Meeting. While I had seen the players come into the office over the months, the best I could do in terms of identifying them for notes in the minutes was to have AC draw up a diagram of the table and place them around it - which was a good plan until they changed seats before I got in there - although AC had captured that on her disgram. Then until they actually started calling each other by name - I took down notes in what they were wearing, colour of hair, amount of ... any identifying marks. The good news was that as they engaged more in discussion, there was name calling - or people calling each other by name, and I was able to correctly identify them. Or that's what I thought at the time - but we'll only know for sure when I write up the Minutes.

Sooz was a bit concerned today as the fire is still ablaze on the far side of the stables. She said the fire had spread during the day and she was worried lest it get away from the firefighters (working on the assumption that they are still on site).By the time I arrived home, it was back at the same place it was yesterday afternoon. What I don't understand is where is all the fuel coming from to keep it alive.

M took the Russians to Mt Tambourine today and believe it or not there were more rainbow lorikeets there than they'd seen at Currumbin Sanctuary. The Polish Place has lorikeet feedings in the afternoon so it will definitely be work the trek to see/photograph them!

Three cheers ... Pearl is finally home again - and will be right for the first day or two because Mouse sent food home with her. It's great to have her back and I am looking forward to having her join me on the morning walk to B's shed in the morning ... it has been a while!

Monday 17 February

Well this may be an issue ... I started reading Stephen King's not-so-new-anymore-book "Doctor Sleep" last night and I realised after the appearance of the first "spirit" that I will not be able to read the book at night-time ... so it looks like it might have to be a very early morning read - or saved for the weekends!

Letter boxes

I don't think I've mentioned yet that the letterboxes have been replaced. They're quite different from the other ones - but as long as there's somewhere for the postie to put the mail, and it's difficult our snake friends to get in to, it's all good.

And speaking of snakes, I did visit the stables yesterday to see if I could see the resident python but he wasn't out and when I delved further, it turns out I was looking in the wrong wood pile!

But that's okay because I was able to see one this afternoon. I found it - a tree snake - in the shed with the boxes - and the blow-up bed I was getting out to loan to Syl and An. I don't know who was more startled - me seeing it - or it seeing a mountain of orange coming towards it as I was still wearing my work clobber. It took off further into the shed and I left him to it - grabbing the bed only when I felt for sure he wouldn't be working his way into it!

M brought the Russians home this afternoon and I missed them by a minute or two. We passed on the laneway. M had already fed the furries and given Tinka her shot - so all I had to do was change my shirt, collect the bed, and have my snake encounter.

Trivia

St scribed at Trivia tonight. Ni had baked another cake - apple and cinnamon. Yum. Where does she find the time now that she's back at school?

Ni went up hiking on the Mountain yesterday - very hot - would have preferred to be in their pool - but in all good conscience she couldn't leave the teachers visiting from France to take their students (also visiting from France) take a hike without knowing where they were going. Yowie (or the Australian equivalent) country? If I wasn't working tomorrow and if I'd thought of it earlier, that would have been quite a practical joke to play on them.

It rained at the site today but not at Latimers - which work out quite well because it meant Sooz could get the washing dry ... which means there are now work shirts to iron again. That might be a job for tomorrow while I catch up with a series or two.

As I was driving home this afternoon, I saw a fire burning over in the middle distance - and it was still ablaze and bigger as we drove into the valley after Trivia. Sooz checked the news and fire crews were in attendance so at that point we seemed to cease to worry about it. Was it a bushfire or a brush fire?

B(r)ushfire

There was another busload of star-gazing tourists on the main road this evening - yes, they were down near the snake drop off point, but if none of them could see the sign, it wouldn't have been an issue. I think the buses are getting bigger.

 

Sunday 16 February

Staying up late last night was a bit of a mistake. I probably would have been okay had I not picked up my book when I climbed into bed ... because, finally, half an hour later - and with only thirty minutes left to read - I finally pulled up the covers, turned off the light, said goodnight to Tinka and went to sleep.

I had also, just to be on the safe side, set the alarm a little later - to squeeze in fifteen minutes more sleep before I needed to get ready for the Tr Skype call. They did go to the "This is Eugenia" event at the Museum of Sydney on Thursday night - and enjoyed it very much. It was done in the form of two plays - from different points of view - one by Mark Tedeschi has written a book on his/her life. Eugenia was born a girl but chose to live her life as a man. This was only discovered after his/her second marriage - when s/he was arrested for the murder of his/her first wife. (Pronouns can be difficult sometimes!)

Happy Birthday

There was a full complement at the Markets today - including the Russians. This was good because there were more people to sing "Happy Birthday" to Mi.

Syl and An are back and were at the Markets too and after the Markets (and a quick visit to JB Hi FI) we met them at the new complex at the Isle of Capri. Very nice and it was great to catch up with them.

Then it was on to The Big House for the great Card Swipings - which M has been doing but she was off with the Russians - who were off at Et's as he was taking them jet-ski-ing. We remembered when we were already on our way home from lunch so Sooz agreed that we had to go back in - and rather than having the 30c soft serve we had planned to get at Maccas on the way home - we decided to have a Spinners' Showboat - which we would pay for with the Casino Dollars we won on the swipings. It always pays to have a plan - because that's exactly what we did - the one winner in six swipes was Sooz who won $25 Casino Dollars - more than enough! I had hoped we would win something for someone else ... but not to be this time. On the good side though, I did hear a machine call my name - and when I saw it was a 10 cent machine I hesitated, especially since I only had a $20 note but decided that if I listen to the air con while I'm playing CSP, I had no reason not to listen to a machine ... and it knew what it was talking about - on the third spin I managed 4 of a kind - $50 - so I pressed "COLLECT", took my ticket, and walked away.

 

Saturday 15 February

We were all up early this morning: me to go to Surfers Paradise to photograph some of the entries in this year's Sand Sculpture championships (they started working on them yesterday) and Sooz and M to go to Deep Water Running.

Sand man

The Sand Sculpting has changed a lot since I last went two years ago. The entries are now under portable gazebos - which must be great for the competitors since they are not stuck shaping sand in the sun all three days of the competition and their work is protected in case of rain. This looks much more workable than the plastic orange sheeting they were using to protect the works then and also meant early morning people back then couldn't look at the works because the sculptors usually didn't take the covers off until 8am. There were lots of people looking at them today though - and I think they would have noticed the change to the "People's Choice" voting - each sculpture had a voting box - and people aren encouraged to vote via a gold coin. I wonder if the ultimate winner gets to keep all the "gold coin" or what you get is what you keep. It wasn't a bad idea and because the boxes are clear perspex, it means you can see how your favourite is currently placed.

Then, with questions still buzzing around my brain ... but not what type of sand they use, what happens to the sculpture at the end, how heavy the sculptures are, what they spray on them during the course of the competition - and why - I set off to Marina Mirage to meet up with Sooz and M for breakfast before M zoomed off to meet up with the Russians and take them to MovieWorld for the day. I wonder if it holds little attraction for them because the icons the rides are based on (assuming an icon can be a superhero) are not familiar to them because they were brought up in the east. (Update - well how wrong was that supposition? It seems like it really is a small world afterall and Kir and Ig are well aware of superheroes and culture outside Russia because most of it is now inside Russia!)

While M was off with the Russians, Sooz and I were having a quiet afternoon in - which translated to a big sleep for Sooz and a couple of nana-naps for me because I refused to give in to the heat and general tiredness and was working on the iPad outside instead of retiring to bed. But it was hot.

I finally went online to look at the SMH Benefits we get through our subscription. As well as more "print" content, we have access to something called "smh.tv" which has documentaries ... and feature length moview. I watched something called "The Behemoth" this afternoon and can say that someone could truly have saved their money by not making it. The only good thing was that it had "cigarette smoking man" from the X-Files who seems to have avoided being typecast by that role!

Sand (wo)man

We saw Pearl this afternoon - and we didn't have to kidnap her to do it! Although this morning I was saying I was prepared to ... maybe that part slipped my mind - as well as when I agreed to call Syl to arrange something for this evening (they were due back this afternoon) and it was only when I asked M what was happening with them ater this afternoon that she reminded me that I had agreed to call them. I had absolutely no recollection of it - and it makes me wonder how many other things I have agreed to do - but not. Anyway. I had promised to pick Mouse up this afternoon - and I did remember that - so that was good. Probably not too amazing, because she has such a great memory, Sooz said she remembered M having asked me to do the Syl call.

Gruff stuff

Pearl seemed happy to see us - but not as happy as we were to see her. The cats are missing her too we think - they are spending a lot of time hanging out which each other and not every encounter ends in fresh scratches on Tinka's nose!

Putt Putt with the Russians was ... interesting. The boys hadn't played before and did manage to get the hang of it ... before we moved across the road to Sizzler for dinner (thanks Mouse!). The queue was not small when we arrived - which would have been fine - had the air conditioning been working.

Even though there was the option of a second round of Putt Putt after dinner, it seemed everyone was happy to go home.And after we had dropped Mouse off at home, we went straight home ... not via the dance ...although we did stop at the Service Station because I wanted some milk and Sooz wanted a paddlepop - it was quite late by the time we got there but the highish temperatures of today were still hanging around.

Once home - and despite my early rise this morning - I settled in front of the television to watch some Winter Olympics ... but, I had to make myself promise that I wouldn't turn on the captions so I wouldn't still be there at sun-up.

 

Friday 14 February

It was a murky morning this morning - a bit overcast, raining off in the distance ... but still there were to balloons out - somewhere over Carrara. It's a while since I've seen one but now that the mornings are getting darker - and they are - our schedules might start to coincide again. I couldn't tell which two they were - that murkiness prevented it - but I hoped the passengers could see further afield than people in Nerang.

The Winter Olympics are still on but I didn't watch them this morning as I was trying to catch up with some correspondence (no, not the Xmas/Valentine letter that Sooz and I are exchanging later today ... that's finished, printed out, and sitting in an envelope at home).

But I did catch one caption: I don't need a crew shan't ligament. (The only way it could have been better if it had been "kneed".)

Otherwise it was a quite day at Maccas. Lynn hasn't been around for a couple of days and if she isn't there next week, I'll ask Jo what's going on.

Despite M's best efforts to get them there, the Russians chose not to go to MovieWorld today ... but M may be able to get them there tomorrow. They have 28-day passes to all the Worlds so it would be a shame if they didn't get to see them all. I hope the boys like rides because they would have their socks knocked off by the Green Lantern ride. Little Hamdi loved it while he was out.

Sooz and I had been planning to see "Last Vegas" tonight but in the end we had a quiet night in, exchanging and reading our letters, and having Mouse's Fried Rice and some fresh Chineses food (from Highland Park - really much better than it used to be). And even though it was a repeat episode of QI, it's always good.

The Xmas letter has now officially been changed to the VD letter - it's a good suggestion Sooz!

Je came today and Sooz ended up making her a cup of tea ... when she arrived she told her she had the letter to write - I don't know how Sooz does it - just sitting down over the course of a day to write her letter (12 A4 pages this time) where I have to do it over the course of a month or so! The difference is that she can write it in her head - and retain it - while I have to write it down to remember it. It's good that everyone is so different really ... there's nothing quite like diversity!

The good news is that a chance reading of the local Gold Coast Paper revealed that the annual Sand Sculpture competition starts today - and is judged Sunday. If Sooz and M are off to Deep Water Running tomorrow, I'll take myself off to Surfers Paradise to have a look. Hopefully they won't have the orange plastic protective covers on them before the day's official start time - 8am - because I'll just be getting ready to pack up and take off by then.

Maggie spent a fair bit of time on the back of the couch today - interrupting it at least twice though to help Sooz with her meals. Sooz had leftover spaghetti for lunch and Maggie appeared at her side - "but you won't like it Maggie ... it's not green" - but Maggie said she would so Sooz gave her a taste of the sauce on her finger - which Maggie licked, licked her lips, licked again ... and then almost chomped into Sooz's finger. She manged to get her finger away from her in time ... and then let her have more sauce. She loved it!

Tonight she rolled up for dinner as well ... which she couldn't have because it was a bit spicy for her. That didn't prevent her from being our new best friend until the bowls were washed up!

I haven't mentioned it before but L's daughter Ca is currently in hospital, in ICU, in an induced coma, after a massive attack of what they think is pancreatitis. They are keeping her in the coma because of the pain (anybody's who had trouble with gallbladder knows a fraction of what it's like - apparently it is much much more severe). They don't know when she'll be let out but at this stage she haa a team of five trying to work out exactly what the issue. At this stage they do know she has a very strong heart, and a bit of weakness in the kidneys. Poor kid!

Even though the Russians are in town, M went to JPs today ... I'm not sure if there are other plans ... given MovieWorld was a no-go.

Thursday 13 February

The kookaburra was back again this afternoon - this marks his second visit in two days. I think he's a young one but I'm no kookaburra expert! And, of course, even though I've managed to get the camera out both days while it's been there, I still haven't captured "the" shot.

We weren't the only ones looking at birds today ... M took the Russians to the Currumbin Bird Sactuary - but not before they'd been to the lookout at Point Danger, and swimming at Rainbow Beach. This left them a little behind schedule so by the time they drove there, bought tickets etc they had missed the Crocodile Show but they did get to do a lot of what else was on offer - except riding the little train (they walked) and feeding the lorikeets (they didn't come).

That wasn't all the wildlife for today though ... M told us tonight that we have a resident python - it's living up near ROM in the shed. M saw it the other day ... sunning itself on the concrete outside the shed and apparently (I wasn't home at the time) managed to stifle a scream and then ... she got the shovel and ... carried it away from the shed so it would get the hint and move on, but no, it didn't ... M carried it away from the shed another couple of times but each time it ran back (not literally of course, because snakes don't have legs ... but you get the idea). So, when both Sooz and I were home last night, she told us - so it wouldn't come as a super surprise if we chanced upon it. It wouldn't do to scare the poor thing.

CSP tonight ... except it wasn't. Last week I finally gave Roulette a try. And I have to say, it's a totally different experience when you're sitting at the table with chips in front of you trying to work out which number might come up next. We fronted up there again tonight ... and even though it wasn't as rewarding for me as it was last week ... I can see where improvements can be made and that I have to (a) work on my betting strategy and (b) listen to that little voice in my head when it tells me to/not bet. The more I see M play it, the more I realise how much time she has put into understanding the numbers and how they work together.

There was no shortage of numbers for me today - I am still working on the spreadsheets as we try to identify the "anomaly".

Je was supposed to be here today, but she's going to come tomorrow instead.

M told Pearl that we are missing her but that we do understand that she would be enjoying Mouse's gourmet cooking; which we'll enjoy as well because Mouse has sent some Fried Rice home to Latimers!

Wednesday 12 February

Bees and tree

It was an interesting walk down to B's shed (the old one ... not the huge one that's just about finished further down in the property) this morning. When I arrived there I could hear buzzing - like bees - and sure enough, the tree there was covered with them. Between that and the commotion of a flock of cockatoos flying over, it was a loud wildlife wake-up call. Love it! The horses weren't out yet ... except for the three in L's paddock and, there are no prizes for guessing this correctly, Choo Choo was in the shelter ... windsucking! I hope the others don't pick up the habit from her.

Maccas had the Sochi Winter Olympics on again this morning and, after checking out the photograph of Jo's son in the paper - he plays for the Brisbane Lions, I settled in to work on "the letter" - trying not to be distracted by the sport or the captions:

• First crash in the training rub.
• Her ride was subsuppesh.
• She'll fight for good ear.
• It doesn't translate out tonne the flat.

(I really have to stop watching the teletexts for the errors.)

Has anyone noticed that the Winter Olympics - especially the half-pipe events - is a bit like the Hunger Games ... no, not because of the injuries - because if it was the Hunger Games there would be lethal injuries aplenty - but because of the huge screens which show head shots of the competitors as they are about to start their runs. (Na and An-Ma thought so too.)

Even though I thought Maggie had settled for the night last night - she didn't stay asleep - when M arrived home Maggie decided it was time for a play - and I don't know what kind of rough-housing the two of them were up to but M texted today to say that she hoped that it hadn't woken us. (That being said, I can report, from my being up at 3.30 am that at that stage everyone was sleeping soundly (huck-phew, huck-phew) except for Tinka who was purring (also loudly) but, surprisingly, not asking for cookies.

Sooz cooked again tonight - from Monday's meat tray. I thoroughly enjoyed last night's sausages and rissoles with veggies (and again for lunch today) ... and tonight was beef curry! We finally opened the Daniel Stuart Chutney which almost made it to being a Christmas present but, in the end, we're going to be the ones to enjoy it.

It was heads-down all day at work as we continue on the search for "missing" dollars. The great thing is that most of my Excel learnings are coming back to me [=subtotal(9,U203:U700)] and I'm realising that I want to learn more: for example, a formula that would result in IF Cell1 equals Cell2 then let Cell3 be the same as Cell4 - which could then be applied over the 50,000 rows of the spreadsheet - or for Supplier A subtotal the Cost Codes ... ouch, my head hurts just trying to figure out how you would describe this ... which means I am a very very long way indeed from being able to apply Excel logic to it.

The girls made it to Bingo today but there were no "Winners are Grinners". Afterwards, rather than lunch at Daniel Stuart, they met the Russians in the Australia Fair Food Hall. This is the first time Sooz has met the Russians and when I asked her what they were like, she didn't tell me ... saying she would let me decide for myself. Hmmmm. I don't have much time to do that ... they're leaving Saturday week. But Mouse is planning to do a dinner ... not quite sure when ... so that might be when I get to meet them ... unless we putt putt or something before then. They're off to Rainbow Beach, Currumbin Bird Sanctuary and possibly one of the Worlds for the rest of the week!

Maggie cuddled up on me on the couch this evening after dinner ... she seemed very comfortable and it was a shame but I eventually had to move her so I could do the cleaning up (why is the dishwasher not doing a good clean these days - I made sure I had it on the regular cycle) and finish watching the latest episode of "The Walking Dead" (TWD). I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been a bit ... psychological ... yes, I know there is a place for that in some programs but not in TWD.

 

Tuesday 11 February

Speed skating was on the television at Maccas this morning ... and I couldn't help but think of Steve Bradbury (one of the commentators) and his Gold Medal win in the last Olympics! As someone had said the other day ... oh wait, it was him on 92.5 Gold FM, he may have won by being in the right place at the right time, but he still had to get into the Olympic Final to be there!

The wig at work.

Work was busy today - especially since there had been a "Night" last night - and some of the boys were still a bit weary. Ia was one of them and at one stage came out of his office, spied something on the floor and proclaimed "my wig" and put it on. He was actually quite fetching (in a way).

M sent the Russians off on an extreme boat ride today ... hopefully the boys enjoyed it. It's something I've watched with interest from the shore, but it holds little attraction. They went off to SeaWorld yesterday - I haven't spoken with M so I don't know if they managed to get in some time with the polar bear cub ... he's not out all the time (the bears are in an "open" exhibit - which means they can go "backstage" whenever they want) so you sometimes have to visit Polar Bear Shores sometimes a few times to get to see him. It's well worth it though.

Pearl is still staying in with Mouse - and Sooz and I were saying tonight how much we miss her when she's not around. Part of that is because Sooz has such a low startle reflex ... and when I arrived home this afternoon, she didn't hear the car, and when I said hello to her from the corner of the house, it scared her. If Pearl had been there, said Sooz, she would have barked and she would have known. Fair enough. I just have to keep this more in mind ... and ring from the car, or whistle as I approach. Of course, as far as Pearl being away is concerned, neither of us minds not having to distract her when the cats are having their meals. Pearl can be very quiet, and very sneaking, when she's a mind to ... and that's usually when there's food involved.

Maggie was a great help tonight in making M's bed - actually putting the doona cover on - that would be Sooz and I, not Maggie, although she was right in the thick of it. At one point I thought she was going to jump into the cover with the Doona, but at the last moment she didn't. She settled down on top of it as soon as we were done though ... while Tinka came in with me.

 

Monday 10 February

It's ebbing treamly cruel. I think that was a comment that related to one of the competitors at the Sochi Winter Olympics - but I can't be sure because while I'm copying down gems like this, I have to take my eyes off the screen ... ad I lose it.

It's going to be hard to fit Winter Olympics in over the next little while - Sooz has offered to tape them for me and I may have to take her up on this - once I know what sports I am most interested in.

The girls made it to Aqua today (Mouse was dropping the Russians at SeaWorld for the day) and to Ferry Road for a quick lunch.

M managed to get some more ROM in as well some time today because by the time I arrived home this afternoon, all the back area was mowed as well as the front. It looks great! And there must be something in the lawn because the willy wag tails were hanging around there this afternoon. There have been a couple of days over the summer when the birds didn't follow the mower around ... that's when you know you need rain.

St wasn't at Trivia tonight - he had an early night, Ni said he had taken himself off by the time she was ready to come to Trivia. An is still away so there was no help from her tonight ... and we could have used both she and St for the first round ... Timeline ... aka which year was this. They gave us a list of the years, and photographs of various events, but the best we could manage was ... hope everyone's sitting down for this ... 2 out of a possible 10. Needless to say, we didn't climb onto that podium tonight - but, amazingly, we weren't that far off. The good news is, though, that Sooz won a meat tray - and since her ticket was the first one out, we were able to choose what we wanted - which was the tray I picked but they didn't bundle it correctly so we ended up with something else - which is now living in the freezer.

And speaking of freezers, it was about -25 degrees when the Russians left home last week - so they are enjoying our mild but sunny weather here - and the kids are spending almost every spare in the pool!

And I don't think I've mentioned yet that David (aka The Great K) has had word on his degree. It sounds fairly positive - but he has to repeat the last Semester (starts September). In the meantime, he is looking for employment.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Kyogle morning

I can't help but hope that Mouse and the Russians caught the Opening Ceremony last night. I definitely stayed up a tad too late watching. It was good ... obviously too good - and by the time I crawled out of bed this morning, I was ready for another quick kip before I showered and got ready to go "down the town" so I could make the call to Tr where it wouldn't disturb Sooz, and where I'd get the bonus of a cup of coffee. Just as well I knew the barista at the cafe was having a lend of me when she asked "where's the hat" because she had noticed I had arrived in good ol' Lars - and we do keep a hat on the back ledge - but for decoration purposes only - and because some others drivers expect it. Do I drive like a Volvo driver? Hmmmm. You'd have to ask someone else.

Channon Chooks

Breakfast was good ... we'd had mince pies for dessert for dinner last night (Christmas) and Easter (hot cross buns) for breakfast today. I guess that means we're officially between seasons!

Psychic on patrol

It didn't seem to bother the crowds at The Channon Markets though. There were all manner and make of things there. If they don't have it ... nobody probably wanted it. I wasn't planning to buy anything but when I saw the multi-coloured leather satchel, I couldn't resist.

Everyone was extremely careful of where they were walking in the car park - which is a cow paddock the rest of the time.

Flat out at the Markets

The good news was that we went the other way to The Channon Markets this time - and I finally saw Nimbin. We were going to stop on the way back to have a walk around (and probably be disappointed when we weren't offered some hash cookies or something) but we ran out of time - and had to have the car and the kids back so Chau could do the weekly shop. She usually goes into Lismore looking for bargains rather than staying in Kyogle.

Tumbulgum was good too ... Sooz and I stopped there on the way back to Latimers and had a late lunch of fish and chips as we watched the water, the boats, and the ramp activity. We were also stunned by the mark showing the 1954 (?) flood levels - which would have had us underwater.

M has mowed the front section of the yard sometime over the last couple of days - but hadn't managed the back section (I think she's planning to do that tomorrow). Sooz was funny though - she commented that the grass out the back had already grown a lot again - not realising it had not yet been mowed this time.

Pearl is still staying in with Mouse - but the feline furries were there to greet us (they did look up!).

M spent the day at Wet'n'Wild with the Russians and she was still out by the time I left Sooz to "lockdown" the animals and I took myself to bed so we can be ready to do it all again tomorrow.

 

Saturday 8 February

M should have been long gone by the time Sooz and I were ready to even think about getting up - the Russians are arriving today and she needed to be up at the Airport in Brisbane - together with Mouse and Az - to collect them. But, as sometimes happens, the plane was delayed which meant she didn't have to leave quite as early.

Still, she was gone by the time we were ready to leave for Kyogle, so it was only Tinka who saw us off from her chair out the front. Maggie was still inside - and it didn't look as though she was planning to move - she had settled in for the day.

Just after we reached Murwillumbah, M rang and directed Sooz's attention to a photo from yesterday's lunch that Az had posted on FaceBook. She looked on my iPhone, and couldn't see anything of note ... certainly nothing that warranted a phone call to get her to look at it.

T-shirt

We stopped for breakfast at Uki - but not at the Uki Cafe because we weren't aware that that has re-opened. We had it at the "other" cafe, and it was quite good - very yummy and generous portions.

While we were stopped, I had a look at FaceBook too and when I saw it, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Sooz looked at me as though I was quite deranged ... until I pointed it out to her. I hadn't seen it the first time I looked ... but now every time I look, I can't help but see it.

The Uki Markets were on today - in the hall as they normally are - and Sooz secured some very nice green beans, leeks, and a banana bread to take with us to Kyogle. For a moment there it looked as though the cake was going to be Apple and Walnut - but a quick word in her ear about the walnuts, and a change was secured.

Mt Warning was at its glorious best this morning - partly-shrouded in cloud but looking much clearer than I have seen in a long time. .Sooz noticed that too - it must have been the lows moving around the State,bringing with them high winds that have blown the murk away.

After lunch, Pat, Lo, Sooz and I piled into the Kluger and off to Lismore where Lo wanted to find a present for her good mate An. I think there was also a search for black lipstick for a "cosplay" (whatever that is). She'll have to go back for both through because the only thing we managed to do in Lismore was get some more stamps for her Baskin & Robbins card (one ice cream for each of us equals four more stamps) so she now has enough stamps for a free ice cream.

This afternoon, while Sooz had a nap, I turned on the television and started watching the Sochi Winter Olympics. I am still trying to work out what "Hot.Cool.You." means ... and hopefully I will be watching when they explain it. Sooz and I fronted up again after dinner to watch part of the Opening Ceremony. The staging was stunning - but I can't even begin to guess how Nikki Webster - our own girl on a wire during the Opening of the Sydney Olympics) felt when she saw another young blonde girl reprise her role. The horses flying through the top of the stadium were amazing - the stream locomotive too. I am mesmerized by the whole show ... and hopefully I will be able to pull myself away from the television - and stop imploring Sooz to look at this or that - so I'm in a reasonable shape to drive down the road early in the morning for the call with Tr.

 

Friday 7 February

There went that forty minutes sleep! But it was good to have an early morning texting session with my sister We - whose first text arrived forty minutes before the first of my three alarms was due to go off. I had planned to have a bit of a sleep-in because I was late getting to bed last night after the excitement of Roulette at The Big House - but not meant to be this time.

Still, if I hadn't made the earlier start, I would have missed what I thought was the best caption of the morning at Maccas on one of the morning show: You're the ledge end. I sometimes wonder if the captioners ever see their work back, or have anyone comment to them about it ... as you know, I love what they do, on so many levels ... and some translations are just much much better than others.

The snake

Work was good - although most of it was spent head-down in spreadsheets trying to work out why some figures weren't showing up where they should be - while others were showing up where they shouldn't be. Unfortunately, they did not cancel each other out ... and the hoped-for epiphany hadn't come to any of us overnight.

There were kangaroos in the paddock across the way on the road home, and a bevy of galahs where the letterboxes used to be (no new letterboxes yet - except for L's.) But that wasn't the only wildlife of the day ... as I was talking to Sooz on the phone at lunchtime (she had gone into Broadbeach with M for an appointment and to do some errands) I happened to look under the site office - and there, not moving, was a green snake. Sooz could tell I was distracted by something, but not what ... as I went in to get our Environ Expect, Tom, and ask him about it. He was good enough not to laugh out loud at my concern over the plastic snake some wag had put there!

The Great Card Swipings are again underway at The Big House - and Sooz and M swiped cards while they were there today. Unfortunately I was not a winner - but Sooz did manage to win Casino Dollars to go with the real dollars from the other day. Only time will tell if Az and Mo will be the big winners again this time around.

There was music coming from somewhere on the other side of the creek this afternoon - it was repetitive enough for me to think that there was a band practicing - even though there was no "and a one and a two and a three" preceding each play. I think I've heard it one time before - so perhaps it was the music was being carried on the wind.

 

Thursday 6 February

It was a very busy day at work ... we were dissecting the financial system and spreadsheets looking for missing and/or multiple entries. We haven't found it yet - but that's not for want of looking ... and we know there will be more of the same tomorrow. Hopefully, and this is what both Le and I are willing to happen, someone will have an epiphany about it overnight and then, in the morning, the answer would appear as if by magic!

I joined Sooz and M for a cuppa out the back when I arrived home, and as we sat there, we watched a gentle miss start to fall in the valley - bringing with it a temperature drop of a couple of degrees. Sooz had managed to get the washing off the line earlier in the day so we didn't have to do a mad dash to get it in. As we sat there, it dawned on me that I haven't seen Hermes for a few days, but then I'm not sure whether they are still taking the horses in during the day as they were during the hot phase a while ago.

Well after the relative non-luck at CSP - and it is all relative because we have been managing to keep our stake (mostly) even if there hasn't been that much take-home money, I finally tried my hand at Roulette - at the table. Armed with my coloured erasable pens, cards and chips - and M of course, there was no way I would have been game to do it by myself - we fronted the table, changed my $100 chip to $5s ... and I wondered, just for a second, what was I doing! But the nerves calmed after a while (what's that - it's after 10pm?) and I managed to put on a couple of winning numbers ... and was very very happy with that as a first result! I'm not sure how surprised Sooz was when we arrived home and I gave her a black chip - especially as when we've talked about Roulette previously, she's always said something about why didn't you do it rather than just talk about it ... and it's good to think that finally I have. Yes, I could have done it a little quicker (what's that ... 10:30pm when we arrived home?)

Tinka came in with me again tonight - and settled on the other side of the bed, but stretched out as much as she could. I don't mind as long as she leaves me a tiny tiny bit of the bed. I know other people say "move her" but she isn't really that much of a nuisance and I do think her snoring helps put me to sleep.

Wednesday 5 February

"Did you have a day off yesterday" he asked when I arrived at Maccas. "How did you know?" "Because you weren't here." Which is a shame because I'm sure there would have been some good captioning then as well. I only caught two small samples from Today (or was it Sunrise?):

• Left the man paralysed from the baft down.
• Boot root on your burger
  

The big excitement today was when I was trying to work out which way to put labels in the photocopier. An easy enough task you might think - except it proved to be more difficult than I could have imagined. I wrote UP on a piece of paper in the bypass tray - and sent it through just as I realised I hadn't put anything to be copied on the glass. Not to worry - I could send it through again. But the strangest thing happened - when the piece of paper came out ... my "UP" was gone. I checked both sides (more than a couple of times) and checked to see if my piece was stuck in the copier somewhere ... but no! I did it again ... same result - although this time I did remember to put my Maccas coffee card in to copy. When I realised what happened - I couldn't help but laugh. I had written my "UP" with my Frixion (erasable) pen - and the heat from the copier had done what the eraser does - applied enough heat to erase it. Hmmm. I called AC over to show her ... and then announced it wasn't gone forever ... and put it in the freezer for a couple of seconds and ... viola ... words came back. (Note that I said that WAS the big excitement for the day!).

I don't think the others had much more ... oh, no, wait ... they did. The power went off at home which meant they were facing bottled Spring Water sponge baths - because the water pumps don't work if the power is off. Kath, arrived in the middle of the outage, which meant her hands were tied as far a clean was concerned, so she turned around and went off to do Le's first this time. Luckily, the power did come back on before the girls had to leave and they managed a real shower - and Kath must have started back as soon as she heard it was back on because she wasn't at home when the girls arrived back this afternoon.

Mouse, M and Sooz (and Em this time) enjoyed their usual Wednesday Brekkie and Bingo (but not Aqua this morning as it was not pleasant weather). M was the only Winner and Grinner today - she shared a Full House but had a Line to herself ... so the lunch kitty is looking pretty flush now.

We are all missing Pearl who will be in with Mouse for a few days yet ... and Mouse was even saying that she thought the Russian boys might like to have Pearl around to play with. Ah well, we have the cats to keep us company ... but, you know, it just isn't the same without Pearl.

 

Tuesday 4 February

Some mornings you just need those extra couple of minutes sleep - and even though it hadn't been a late night last night, this morning was one of them.

Tink was with me for at least a part of the night. At one point she was at the foot of the bed between it and the cupboard - a tripping and trampling hazard - but for the rest of the time she was actually on the bed. We both survived the night!

Breakfast this morning was in Ormeau as I waited for my doctor's appointment. Four Beans is under new management - now making their own food so people know what's in it. They are doing a good trade - and they like the range of customers they are attracting. The good news is that they still do a decent cup of coffee there even though the usual barista no longer seems to be with them - or perhaps it was just her day off.

Sushi Train

Pearl had gone off to Nannas by the time I arrived back at Latimers. Mind you, I had a couple of stops along the way including SuperCheap Autos (or something like that) - and they do have some wonderful things in there - and my favourite store ... OfficeWorks. I really should be escorted whenever I'm in there ... if only because my companion could help me carry the purchases. Today they were selling Frixion (erasable) pens for $1.82 - $1.06 cents cheaper than I have ever seen them and half the price you can get them for most other places. I bought a couple (if you call a couple more than10!) - and I will now divert my old ones to Trivia (where I now will not have to worry about nibs being treated less gently than I like).

Sooz and I went off to Sushi Train for lunch - our first time at the one in Nerang - and it was very nice. I love the way the staff are always so excited when you walk in the door!

Then it was off to Bunnings so Sooz could buy some seeds and seed-planting accoutrements while I waited in the car (thankfully we managed a park in the shade) and did some more reading of The Atlantis Gene! I still have a couple of hours to go (Kindle is counting down the time for me).

 

Monday 3 February

Another wildlife sighting! Sooz spotted a kangaroo in the cow paddock across the road (the same one with the sign about not releasing snakes there) on the way in to Trivia this evening. I wished I could have looked, but I was keeping my eyes firmly on the road in case other wildlife jumped out at us ... or perhaps a car coming in the other direction.

Even though we didn't have An with us for Trivia again tonight (I wonder if they are still battling snakes down at Palmers), we did manage to put in a reasonable showing and even though they misreported our score at the end of the day and were hesitant to give us England for Great Britain, we came in on the Podium - in second place. It's nice to be back there ... not just for the kudos but also for the voucher ($30 this time) and the entry into the big cash draw! Oh, and the Meat Tray that Sooz won in the raffle before Trivia. I can feel a BBQ coming on.

Ni had baked again today - even though she is back at school - and while I didn't think I would like ricotta cake, I was wrong and gleefully had seconds - and then watched as St cut off smaller and smaller halves so he wouldn't take the "last" piece.

Not Devil's Peak

I haven't yet had any responses to my call for "have you seen this landmark" - following Wa's trip between Kyogle (NSW) and Warwick (Qld) where he seems to have travelled roads which prefer not to be travelled ("These roads destroy tyres"). He took a photo of the landmark - which will be familiar to anyone who has seen Close Encounters - while it looks a lot like the Devil's Peak featured in mashed potato and in the movie (and who for a moment thought that that was a real landmark?), it differs a little bit, and, as we tried to assure him, we're pretty sure that they didn't film the movie here in Australia. I'm considering ways of finding out what his landmark is though, and I think Sooz's brother Mi might be the best bet in the short term as he has travelled a bit in that part of the world. Otherwise ... well, they still do topographical maps don't they?

M went off tonight to see Last Vegas which she said she really enjoyed. The writing is good with some fantastic one-liners and she recommended that we see it as soon as it hits the cinemas.

 

Sunday 2 February

There was no call with Tr this morning but we were up early (but not as early as Mum and Wa) ... and ready to take ourselves off to the South Toowoomba Bowls Club for their buffet breakfast. It was good, too, with folk out in the kitchen slaving over hotplates to keep pace with the crowd ferrying out eggs, bacon, lambs fry (it's been a while ... and it will be a while longer), sausages ... the list goes on.

Brekkie at the Bowlo!

Then, we were off to Ju's where Ra was using a ride-on mower to do the lawn - or was until there was a problem with the steering. He fixed it but the next time around the yard, it happened again. Wa went over to have a look with him and determined he needed a new "whatsit" which Ra went in search of, but since it was Sunday late morning, the chances of finding it then were remote. Ra ended up finishing the yard with the push petrol-powered mower.

Talk turned to wildlife at one stage - something that Ju's dog Wozza is no longer well enough to chase. He is still with us, although he did have a turn a couple of weeks ago but recovered. His back legs are badly affected though so we made sure we said a good goodbye to him before we left in case he's not there the next time we visit. (We are very lucky to know some very nice dogs and Wozza is definitely one of them!)

Ju said she thought it would be cute to have a bandicoot - but now she does, she's changed her mind. None of the neighbours like them either but at least they're leaving them alone to get on with it.

We called in on Jo on the way back to the Coast ... all is not well there but she is coping and we will just have to wait and see what the coming chapters hold for her and Ke.

Having tested my gag reflex yesterday, I was given the opportunity to test my other reflexes on the way into the valley tonight. A fox streaked out of the underbrush at the side of the road, and straight in front of us. Had it been going any slower, and us any faster, I fear it would not have lived to see another day ... but luckily I smashed on the brakes and slowed in time to watch it run off. I'm always on the look-out for kangaroos in the road, and now I'll add foxes to the list.

Down at Palmers though, they were having wildlife encounters of another kind - involving not one, not two, but three red bellied black snakes Syl and An found under a piece of corrugated iron during their great cleanings up. There was good interest in their property at the Open House though ... and hopefully that will translate to a good dollar value for the sale!

And, when we arrived home at Latimers, we realised Ra hadn't been the only one mowing over the weekend ... M had been at it as well ... and she's done a great job!

 

Saturday 1 February

Poor Pearl was sick this morning - just a little ... but it showed that my gag reflex is alive and well. By the time Sooz offered to do it, I was already over most of it, and had remembered the advice I heard somewhere ... it's harder to be physically ill if you're smiling. I wonder how people work these things out ... the last thing I feel like doing in the middle of a clean-up like this one, is smile!

Out on the main road, the burnt out BMW is gone - removed sometime over the long weekend we think. I wonder why it took so long for this one to be taken away - and who is responsible for these things. The last burnt out wreck - which we were there to see burn - was gone the very next morning.

There were heaps of roadworks on the drive to Toowoomba - which is good because it is obviously keeping lots of people employed. I enjoyed pointing out pieces of plant and suppliers: we use them ... that's a ...! Alas, I didn't have an answer when she asked how many people it takes to hold up a sholvel as we passed one patch where they had just cut out a section of the old road and about 30 people were in the 100m stretch sweeping, shovelling or just being there.

We stopped at Laidley (The Coffee Club) on the way ... it was a massively long line ... but we had to go there - this is the first chance I've had to use my VIP Club loyalty card and if I don't start using it soon, I'll feel like it's money wasted - even though I only have to buy 5 coffees over the course of the year to pay for it.

Newly-baked bread!

It was great to see the family again, especially Wa who I haven't seen in over a year ... and a lot has happened to him during that time, including a split with his wife of 30 years. The details are a bit tacky - involving his best friend - so we're not going to go into that here. He's good though - rebuilding his life and starting to look forward to the future although you can tell the hurt is still there.

We and Ma hosted a BBQ this evening ... good times! But it wasn't just a BBQ - they had both been trying their hands at baking and Ma had made rolls and a savoury loaf, and We had made a caramel/chocolate pie. She also tried her hand a making butter ... oh wait, that was supposed to be whipped cream. It was certainly a lesson in how quickly cooking can turn on you! Well ... the second time at least ... and by that time there was no more thickened cream left so - saying it would have been way too indulgent to have had it - we made do without cream on top of our pie!

 

Friday 31 January

Pearl and I had a great walk this morning. She certainly has more energy these days and while M might race her up the lane and back, Pearl knows that if we were to do that, she would win every time.

How did it get to be the last day of the working week so quickly. I'm not ready for it yet - but anything not done today just has to wait until next week -which, scarily, is already February. Where has the year gone?

I made a quick trip at the Q Centre this afternoon to pick up some Hainan Chicken for Sooz for dinner and (and this was a mistake) Honey Chicken for me.

Sooz showed M and I a clip Mal had sent through today. It was a very focussed 5-year-old whose special subject had been "US Presidents" - and when he was interviewed the first time, he had met Al Gore. This time his special subject was Countries. He was good ... very good. Sooz was telling us that that was what she was like when she was 5 - she and her "cousin" Rodney would compete with countries and capitals!

I am enjoying the book I'm reading now ... The Atlantis Gene. I'm reading it on the Kindle app on the iPhone and iPad and I was surprised to see today that it shows you how much longer it will take you to read the book ... or the chapter you're on. Where on earth and I going to find the 3+hours left to finish reading it in the next few days?

Thursday 30 January

Trust me, I'm not going to hurt you - said AC to Le, just before she had her stand facing away from her - and gave her a quick sharp and just a little harder than gentle shove forward. When Le asked the equivalent of "What The ..." AC explained that that was how you could tell which foot you would lead off with when you were water skiing - I suppose, in hindsight, that that was the natural next step since we had been talking about "dominant" hands.

Kung Hei Fat Choi Horse

Earlier in the day, AC had done the rounds of the office and the crib room with her "Honeycomb bouquet" offering milk-covered honeycomb to the troops - with the bottom of the packet scrunched in her hand and the top of the packet spread wide. You had to give it to her ... it did look like a bouquet.

Today marks the start of Chinese New Year ... The Year of the Horse. In at The Big House, they had Lion Dancing (although, really, they do look like dragons!) in the Foyer, in the Casino, upstairs ... but only for a short time for each. Hopefully this will mark the start of an auspicious year all round (although, reading some of the Chinese horoscopes, especially the one in The Sun, this is not likely to be the case!).

Alas, it may be that it's going to start tomorrow because we did no good at CSP - we should have listened to the guy who had already been there - a frequent player who said that everyone who approached the table today had walked away with their pockets lighter!

Dinner tonight was at Spinners. M and I shared Trio of Dips, Stir Fried Vegetables and Chips. In retrospect, we could have done without the chips; I only felt like a taste but, of course, they don't serve "a taste" of chips.

It rained several times at work today but it wasn't one of those days when the Heaven opens and it buckets down in the minutes leading up to quitting time.