It was raining this morning - a nice gentle rain whose job it is to green up the valley and to add some water to the tanks. It's just a shame that the plover chicks have now hatched - they have been sighted - and have a rainy, wet and cool day in front of them. The plover parents are working overtime to protect them - to the extent that they have now moved them one paddock away from the house which may not be a bad idea given the cats who live here - especially since they are no longer spending time around the front waiting for swallow babies to tumble from the nest.
M thinks the swallow parents may be getting ready for another clutch of young. They have been working on repairs to the nest but I'm not sure if the other little ones have left home yet. I haven't heard them for a couple of days but that doesn't mean they aren't there.
We were going in to Broadbeach and The Big House for dinner tonight but after an early start and big day at The Work House I was feeling a bit on the tired side and not really wanting to drive in to Broadbeach and back. S understood -So we gave up the prospect of Two-for-one dinner at Jupiters to have Two-for-one dinner (we had a voucher) at the AdvanceTown Hotel. And Thursday night is Trivia Night although it was a bit of a poor turnout this evening - which may have been because it was a cold and rainy evening and it would've been fairly easy for people to have chosen to stay in rather than braving the elements - although, I do wonder if a gentle Spring rain really is/are "the elements".
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wednesday
Nothing left to say. Wouldn't that be funny. Actually, it's quite difficult to put anything after that. Is this what a self-fulfilling prophecy is?
Pearl was pleased to see me home this evening and even managed to find her way outside to greet me. It's lovely when she does that and something I really miss When she's on sleep-overs with Nana. She may not get to go on one for a little while yet though as Nana is still looking after Prince while M and A are overseas. He (Prince) is enjoying his sleep-over and has even changed his sleeping habits ... no more very early rises for him - and yes, he has been known to sleep on the bed with Mouse and Soxie (the cat). The three of them all go off on walks together - no doubt causing a surprised glance or two from those they meet along the way.
It was Bingo today and Mouse, M and S took themselves off to the Club to try their luck. And S and M didn't do too badly with S in particular winning on two full houses. It is perhaps a sign of a worsening economy that attendances and prizes have both been cut but as S tells me each week: winners are grinners! I certainly enjoyed the opportunity for my CSP fund to be increased from her winnings!
The CSP Jackpot has grown to just under $300K. It's getting harder to get a seat at the tables especially as they seem to only have two operating during the week and one of those doesn't usually open until after 8PM. It still surprises me that anyone would choose not to put $1 in for each hand to play for the progressive jackpot. There's an eclectic bunch of folk there - but mostly there are familiar faces from week to week.
Pearl was pleased to see me home this evening and even managed to find her way outside to greet me. It's lovely when she does that and something I really miss When she's on sleep-overs with Nana. She may not get to go on one for a little while yet though as Nana is still looking after Prince while M and A are overseas. He (Prince) is enjoying his sleep-over and has even changed his sleeping habits ... no more very early rises for him - and yes, he has been known to sleep on the bed with Mouse and Soxie (the cat). The three of them all go off on walks together - no doubt causing a surprised glance or two from those they meet along the way.
It was Bingo today and Mouse, M and S took themselves off to the Club to try their luck. And S and M didn't do too badly with S in particular winning on two full houses. It is perhaps a sign of a worsening economy that attendances and prizes have both been cut but as S tells me each week: winners are grinners! I certainly enjoyed the opportunity for my CSP fund to be increased from her winnings!
The CSP Jackpot has grown to just under $300K. It's getting harder to get a seat at the tables especially as they seem to only have two operating during the week and one of those doesn't usually open until after 8PM. It still surprises me that anyone would choose not to put $1 in for each hand to play for the progressive jackpot. There's an eclectic bunch of folk there - but mostly there are familiar faces from week to week.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday
M tried out the new blower-vacuum in the yard today and it works a treat! I can't wait to give it a go! Although we have to do burr patrol before we can get to the fun stuff (although, I do remember a recent occasion where a decision was made to eat dessert before the main meal and that turned out all right!).
I met S in at Carrara this evening (thanks M for dropping her off) and after visiting the pharmacy there, we decided that yes we would have dinner out as we had mooted, but that we would have Chinese rather than Big House Food Fantasy buffet (we are saving that for later in the week because S is feeling that she wouldn't do it justice this evening). Alas, our first choice, in Nerang was closed when we got there, but with a hankering for Chinese we could not go anywhere else but Chinese - so off we sent with Worongary. I can't get over how we never used to be able to find it while M was away overseas but we have no trouble finding it now - even when we're not using the GPS.
Going a bit further afield for dinner meant we weren't home early so we will need to adjust the insulin times for both Beasley and Emma for the next day or so until we bring them back to 12-hourly at 6 o'clock. Beasley seems (to S and I) to be a bit calmer since he was started on the insulin - but the jury is still out as to whether he is making it outside every time to go to the 'loo. Em also seems to be okay at the moment, except for a nightly fur-ball (?) attack which is easily fixed by picking her up and stretching her out. She usually just settles back to sleep then - which is great because it usually happens in the very wee small hours of the morning. Usually it's S who does the stretching, and, unfortunately - which is a shame, she tends not to settle again as quickly as Em.
The colder weather is still with us - which means there is mist over the valley in the mornings - and some spectacular scenery like this morning when the cows were foggy bovine silhouettes as the sun rose over the ridge behind them.
We don't know why but Tinker has started sleeping in the living room rather than in with M - not that M is complaining because it seems Tink is not the most restful bedfellow but M does worry that she will be lonely. Maggie seems to be enjoying being the only bedroom cat for the moment - although not the only bedroom pet as Pearl was firmly entrenched in there this evening even before it was time for lockdown.
I met S in at Carrara this evening (thanks M for dropping her off) and after visiting the pharmacy there, we decided that yes we would have dinner out as we had mooted, but that we would have Chinese rather than Big House Food Fantasy buffet (we are saving that for later in the week because S is feeling that she wouldn't do it justice this evening). Alas, our first choice, in Nerang was closed when we got there, but with a hankering for Chinese we could not go anywhere else but Chinese - so off we sent with Worongary. I can't get over how we never used to be able to find it while M was away overseas but we have no trouble finding it now - even when we're not using the GPS.
Going a bit further afield for dinner meant we weren't home early so we will need to adjust the insulin times for both Beasley and Emma for the next day or so until we bring them back to 12-hourly at 6 o'clock. Beasley seems (to S and I) to be a bit calmer since he was started on the insulin - but the jury is still out as to whether he is making it outside every time to go to the 'loo. Em also seems to be okay at the moment, except for a nightly fur-ball (?) attack which is easily fixed by picking her up and stretching her out. She usually just settles back to sleep then - which is great because it usually happens in the very wee small hours of the morning. Usually it's S who does the stretching, and, unfortunately - which is a shame, she tends not to settle again as quickly as Em.
The colder weather is still with us - which means there is mist over the valley in the mornings - and some spectacular scenery like this morning when the cows were foggy bovine silhouettes as the sun rose over the ridge behind them.
We don't know why but Tinker has started sleeping in the living room rather than in with M - not that M is complaining because it seems Tink is not the most restful bedfellow but M does worry that she will be lonely. Maggie seems to be enjoying being the only bedroom cat for the moment - although not the only bedroom pet as Pearl was firmly entrenched in there this evening even before it was time for lockdown.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday
There was a mob of kangaroos in one of the paddocks down near the road this morning; must have been about a dozen if them - just sitting (one on the lookout) and others reclining. It was a lovely sight - reminding me of how close to nature we can be out here - and quite unexpected.
Almost like the hot air balloon which seemed to fill the sky above the road as I was turning on to Gilston Road the other morning. I would have loved to take a photograph of the balloon Ptolemy effect but the only place it would have worked was in the middle of the intersection and that seemed as thought it might be a bit of a safety hazard. Still, it was a magnificent sight which I'm hoping will be repeated someday when I have a camera at the ready to capture it ... that is if it is possible to capture the Ptolemy effect with something other than the human eye.
The lawn still looks good today although I still have to get round to the front to give that a go with the push mower.
The nestlings are still there - and the plovers around the back are being even more protective of their nest area so there must be chicks by now!
Almost like the hot air balloon which seemed to fill the sky above the road as I was turning on to Gilston Road the other morning. I would have loved to take a photograph of the balloon Ptolemy effect but the only place it would have worked was in the middle of the intersection and that seemed as thought it might be a bit of a safety hazard. Still, it was a magnificent sight which I'm hoping will be repeated someday when I have a camera at the ready to capture it ... that is if it is possible to capture the Ptolemy effect with something other than the human eye.
The lawn still looks good today although I still have to get round to the front to give that a go with the push mower.
The nestlings are still there - and the plovers around the back are being even more protective of their nest area so there must be chicks by now!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sunday
What is Telstra doing with its mobile network? Each week when I make the Skype call to T it is getting worse. Does this mean that more people are switching across to it - decreasing each person's available bandwidth - or is there something else at play here? I'm in roughly the same spots each week - so it's not my location - unless it's because there are more people moving in and out of the area - which suggests Telstra's infrastructure is in dire need of assistance.
It was the usual Markets crowd although we were there an hour earlier this week given the onset of Daylight Savings (in NSW) and the organisers' immutable decision to open and close an hour earlier because some of the stall holders come up from Northern NSW. We never have really understood this and still don't. For some reason, the cold weather persists and it was cool and windy both inside and outside at the Markets - and, quite out of character, we decided to sit outside so there was at least a chance of some warmth from the sun. And if we hadn't been outside, we wouldn't have seen the long line of chairs that a young lad had constructed along the pathway. It had at least 30 chairs and luckily for the other market-goers, he constructed it just about the time the Markets officially ends - although he was asking before he removed the chairs from their usual places around the tables. Very impressive.
M went off with Mouse after the markets, and. S and I took ourselves off to Nerang - only because we couldn't quite decide what we felt like for lunch or if there was anything special we wanted to do - except the mowing! It was great to be back on ROM and to finally able to get the lawn looking a bit like its old self after that extremely bad cut a couple of times ago. I took M's advice and mowed in a different pattern from that which I normally do and that really helped with the end result - definitely a Colorbond moment!
It was the usual Markets crowd although we were there an hour earlier this week given the onset of Daylight Savings (in NSW) and the organisers' immutable decision to open and close an hour earlier because some of the stall holders come up from Northern NSW. We never have really understood this and still don't. For some reason, the cold weather persists and it was cool and windy both inside and outside at the Markets - and, quite out of character, we decided to sit outside so there was at least a chance of some warmth from the sun. And if we hadn't been outside, we wouldn't have seen the long line of chairs that a young lad had constructed along the pathway. It had at least 30 chairs and luckily for the other market-goers, he constructed it just about the time the Markets officially ends - although he was asking before he removed the chairs from their usual places around the tables. Very impressive.
M went off with Mouse after the markets, and. S and I took ourselves off to Nerang - only because we couldn't quite decide what we felt like for lunch or if there was anything special we wanted to do - except the mowing! It was great to be back on ROM and to finally able to get the lawn looking a bit like its old self after that extremely bad cut a couple of times ago. I took M's advice and mowed in a different pattern from that which I normally do and that really helped with the end result - definitely a Colorbond moment!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday
After my overnight visit, S and I made it away from Kyogle this morning at 9:30 as planned- the first time - and by 10am the second time. Unfortunately we had taken the motel room key with us and when they phoned we knew we had to go back. I was just pleased that they phoned while we were still only 10 minutes out of town - although on that road it is just a bit difficult to find a safe place to turn around. But we did - and as I told them when we pulled up - it was great to see them all again because I didn't think we would be back so soon!
It was a good drive back up the coast and we were at Bumbles in good time for lunch with S and A who were dropping off their dogs Coco and Max with friends who will mind them while they (S and A) are overseas. They are off to the US for five weeks including Boston, New York and Austin. It sounds as though they are very much looking forward to it too. It was good to see them again - it's been a while since I saw S and more of a while since any of us had seen A.
I was tidying up my desk this evening and when moving the nerd gun, turned it on unintentionally. How I miss that sound - although admittedly more so when I'm setting up an ambush rather than about to be the subject (or is that "object") of one aka the innocent victim.
Not quite sure who is responsible, but the winter weather is back first as we're farewelling the first month of Spring. The wind is blowing a gale and it's chilly enough that all the furries are in this evening without us having to call them. I think they're also glad to have S back as she's the one who most consistently has cuddle time with them in front of the television.
M rang from Turkey this evening and missed M who was out. She knew that we hadn't had Friday Night Family and Friends Dinner last night (because Mi went dancing, S and I were in Kyogle, and F was taking it easy after a few days on the tiles - literally. (The other "on the tiles" means having a good time and this didn't sound like that at all.))
It was a good drive back up the coast and we were at Bumbles in good time for lunch with S and A who were dropping off their dogs Coco and Max with friends who will mind them while they (S and A) are overseas. They are off to the US for five weeks including Boston, New York and Austin. It sounds as though they are very much looking forward to it too. It was good to see them again - it's been a while since I saw S and more of a while since any of us had seen A.
I was tidying up my desk this evening and when moving the nerd gun, turned it on unintentionally. How I miss that sound - although admittedly more so when I'm setting up an ambush rather than about to be the subject (or is that "object") of one aka the innocent victim.
Not quite sure who is responsible, but the winter weather is back first as we're farewelling the first month of Spring. The wind is blowing a gale and it's chilly enough that all the furries are in this evening without us having to call them. I think they're also glad to have S back as she's the one who most consistently has cuddle time with them in front of the television.
M rang from Turkey this evening and missed M who was out. She knew that we hadn't had Friday Night Family and Friends Dinner last night (because Mi went dancing, S and I were in Kyogle, and F was taking it easy after a few days on the tiles - literally. (The other "on the tiles" means having a good time and this didn't sound like that at all.))
Friday
It was an extremely busy day at work but it was made a little better because J was able to go out and fetch lunch for us. We're still having problems with the financial systems at work which makes it very difficult to rely on them - and even more so to try to get anything done to a pre-determined deadline because uploads fail seemingly randomly now. Ah well, it will still be there on Monday.
After work - it was off to Kyogle to meet up with S. I admit I could have planned the drive better. I had thought it would be good to drive down in the late afternoon - thinking I would be heading south. That would have been fine, except for that I was actually driving south west and the setting sun proved to be quite a problem. I stopped in Murwillumbah to dig my sunglasses out of the back of the car - which helped a little but was still not ideal. But it was worth it for a look back over Mt Warning and the surrounding hills with the red sky behind them. I imagine it must be a little bit like it is on Mars!
The Kyogles were all good and in fine form. They had been off for a day of sight-seeing in the local area - including to the Murwillumbah Art Gallery which I still haven't managed to visit, and to a picnic area out the back of somewhere in a lovely bush setting. There were a couple of groups of people there including them, but it was they that the 2-metre-long goanna approached first looking for tidbits - it can smell my lamb sandwich P said - and he may have been right. Apparently as it approached its little (?) tongue was flicking backwards and forwards - and that is, so we're told, how they smell. They didn't wait around to see what it would do - although there was some discussion that as the tallest one, it would probably chose P to run up if it was frightened and was seeking higher ground in a "tree".
L's saxophone playing has turned a corner and she managed a B+ in her recent exam - beating her brother who gained a B. I suggested she might be competitive - but, she assured me, the only one she had wanted to beat was P. It is a bit scary reading through a teenage girl's music book - she said she had been bored one day when she had written comments about the "Lean On Me" song - and, it would seem that if one was in a position where one needed to, L should probably not be the first choice.
P's trombone was silent while we visited, but he did let us watch him on his flight simulator - as he lamented that every town in the US seemed to have an airport!!!
After work - it was off to Kyogle to meet up with S. I admit I could have planned the drive better. I had thought it would be good to drive down in the late afternoon - thinking I would be heading south. That would have been fine, except for that I was actually driving south west and the setting sun proved to be quite a problem. I stopped in Murwillumbah to dig my sunglasses out of the back of the car - which helped a little but was still not ideal. But it was worth it for a look back over Mt Warning and the surrounding hills with the red sky behind them. I imagine it must be a little bit like it is on Mars!
The Kyogles were all good and in fine form. They had been off for a day of sight-seeing in the local area - including to the Murwillumbah Art Gallery which I still haven't managed to visit, and to a picnic area out the back of somewhere in a lovely bush setting. There were a couple of groups of people there including them, but it was they that the 2-metre-long goanna approached first looking for tidbits - it can smell my lamb sandwich P said - and he may have been right. Apparently as it approached its little (?) tongue was flicking backwards and forwards - and that is, so we're told, how they smell. They didn't wait around to see what it would do - although there was some discussion that as the tallest one, it would probably chose P to run up if it was frightened and was seeking higher ground in a "tree".
L's saxophone playing has turned a corner and she managed a B+ in her recent exam - beating her brother who gained a B. I suggested she might be competitive - but, she assured me, the only one she had wanted to beat was P. It is a bit scary reading through a teenage girl's music book - she said she had been bored one day when she had written comments about the "Lean On Me" song - and, it would seem that if one was in a position where one needed to, L should probably not be the first choice.
P's trombone was silent while we visited, but he did let us watch him on his flight simulator - as he lamented that every town in the US seemed to have an airport!!!
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