Monday

Can anyone smell something burning? That would be me after leaving the electric blanket on 3 (it's top setting) as I fell asleep last night. I'm not sure what time it was when I woke up - turning off the blanket, and thinking about moving to another bed until my side cooled down.

It continued warm generally though ... it was so warm this morning I felt silly putting on my Sydney coat to take Pearl down the lane. But there was a bit of a wind blowing so I thought it was better to be safe than sorry ... or cold! I didn't keep the coat on much longer than the walk though - and even though it is usually freezing in the office, there were no coats - okay a couple of vests - but most of us were just in our oranges.

Ms Windsucker - UniP - was at it again this morning as Pearl and I walked by. It really is an amazing noise she makes - and I definitely wouldn't want to be alone, in the dark, late and night, when I heard it not knowing what it was! Scary stuff!

Trivia was good tonight. 19 teams and 91 people I think Craig said. We managed only a fourth with 71 points! But it was a good game ... especially since Ni was back, however briefly, from France. She's heading back over there on Thursday ... so it's really a flying visit. So, all up we were five, with the only one of the usual team missing being St who is still in France and, according to Ni, is living the dream - cycling, golf and good food!

She came carrying goodies too - French cheese - and some French gingerbread ... and we are still working out what to do about the next bit ... as she unwrapped the cheese and Sooz and An were each having a slice, someone on staff at the Southport RSL Club came over and said "you can't do that" - meaning, as he went on to say, that you can't bring food into the club. Ni tried to say that it was a treat she had just brought back from France - but he was adamant that if he let us, everyone would want to do it. He would not even listen when we tried to explain that we weren't depriving the Club of any revenue ... four of the five of us were having Club meals. It just wasn't good enough really ... and Sooz and I are talking about whether to and how to take it further. At this rate, I said to Sooz, it means you wouldn't be able to bring your own birthday cake into the Club! Well, you could but you wouldn't be able to eat it there!

And just back onto Trivia ... Murray Grey is a type of cattle; the MX5 and CX5 are types of Mazda ... and even though we could go on, I'm not going to.

Broadbeach Sink hole

The big news on the Gold Coast yesterday was that a huge sinkhole has opened on (and closed) the Highway at Broadbeach. It may be three days before it is fixed! We missed it completely, even though we were about a stone's throw from it when we were at The Big House yesterday. Thank goodness we had gone the back way! And that we hadn't chosen to go to the GCAC via the main highway!

We now have a copy of M's and Mouses' itineraries for their trip home - and it won't be long before they're back. It was great to get a letter with the itinerary too (thanks M!).

 

Sunday

Top Twins

I was suitably impressed with the Top Twins the other night and as well as their act itself, one of the reasons was the staging. It was incredibly simple but allowed for them to do costume changes right there on the stage as we all watched on. Their changes were done behind a screen - lit from behind so all we saw was their shadows. As Sooz said later, it would have been good if they had done something "more" with this, and by "more" we know she meant "naughty". Having seen their act and the amount of naughtiness in it, I definitely think it was a missed opportunity!

We had a quiet morning at home - not missing the Markets really until we received a call mid-morning-ish from Mi letting us know she had just had a call from the newly-returned from Fr Ni who was sitting with Ca out in the sun at an empty table at the Markets with a plate of French cheese and no-one to share it with. There is a definition of sadness!

Sad French people with cheese

We were at The Big House for lunch. Sooz had the Osso Bucco Spinners Special; I had the All Day Breakfast. The place was packed too and, even though I had thought there might be, there were no "missing gamers'' posters to be seen. The Swipestakes, due to end an 7 July, has now been extended to month-end and there is a new promotion running on Sundays in July where punters have a chance to win a new car or take the cash ($20,000) instead.

Sooz made it to her movie this afternoon - this is the one she would have seen yesterday morning had it not been too cold to get out of bed. "Gardening with Soul" is a movie-length documentary, with very good reviews, about a 90 year old Nun who ... gardens - and gardening as we know can be a metaphor for many things. Sooz loved it!

Tasted nicer than it looks!

We're still getting used to looking out the front gate and seeing horses there! The boys seem to like hanging out just near the fence, no doubt wanting to keep an eye on the girls over in the next paddock, and share any excitement the Latimers' furries have to offer.

It was a bit cooler when we left the Arts Centre this afternoon - and the furries were just a little hungry (we were running just a bit behind their schedule) by the time we arrived home. They were good though - we survived getting into the house with our lower extremities intact. After their dinner, the kids gathered with Sooz to watch the news and get ready for MasterChef where the special guest chef for this week is Heston B.

We're not sure if Syl came out today or not - it was too dark by the time we arrived home to be able to check for changes ... I think she may have still been a bit tender from her Friday - helping Mauz with her trees ... it was a full-on day apparently and she only had time to finish helping, drive home, shower and then jump in the car for the drive down to Twin Towns for the Top Twins.

 

Saturday

Sooz poked one toe out of the bed this morning and decided it wasn't for her. Not that I could blame her - it was pretty cold - the coldest morning we've had all week (and about 103 years apparently) And people don't just have to take my word for it ... Lars saw it too ... or 2! I wonder if he shows negative temperatures as well? That would be one reason to visit Toowoomba - according to the Weather app, it was -5 there this morning!

Lars ... 2!!!

If Sooz had been with me she might have seen the hot air balloon drift to earth and then the balloon crumple slowly in on itself. Magnificent from a distance... I can't imagine what it would have been like up close, and with a view uninterrupted by trees.

Shooting was great! We did NRA Kindy again - with Rob. It is such a safe, well-run session that you would be hard-pressed to find anything better. Now that we have done NRA a couple of times, I am feeling way more confident about doing "gun talk" - and today I correctly identified a Derringer in the gun display case - although it had an extended barrel and a lady could find this one difficult to conceal in a delicate little clutch or in a silk garter.

The focus for me today, thanks to my Safety Officer, was trigger control. We were shooting double-action revolvers (again) and the trick is keeping the gun steady while you aim and shoot. If you "pull" as opposed to "squeeze" the trigger, it can have a dramatic effect on whether where you aim is where the bullets hit. I was pleased with my impromptu coaching - and out of 48 rounds, managed to hit an X (the black circle in the middle of the target) 14 times (17 if you could the three which penetrated on the line) - and this was from a variety of stances (left hand, right hand, both hands - and thank you but, no, I won't be lying down) and distances!

I saw something printed with a 3D printer for the first time today. It was a "doover" for fitting to a gun to ... well, I think I heard them say what it was for but I am none-the-wiser. It goes near the breach.

There was a recipe on the net this morning for slow-cooker Apricot Chicken. AMc (whose birthday it is tomorrow) and I, when we shared the flat in Double Bay, would call it AC/DC Chicken - because it was cooked two ways - how we did it anyway. And that's what Sooz and I had for dinner tonight. It was definitely way better than we used to make!

Sooz resisted all efforts to get her out of the house today - she did washing and pottering, while I did computer stuff and then had a nap. It was good Mi phoned, otherwise I would probably still be asleep - I had already slept through two alarms. She rang to say she couldn't meet us at the Markets in the morning, so it looks like we're not going again. We are missing it - the ambiance and catching up with folk. It's a nice way to starHerd the week.

M Skyped this afternoon. All is well over there and she is looking forward to coming home. We caught a glimpse of Mouse too and she is looking much better.

Full moon comes around quickly and there was another fantastic Super Moon this evening. It was or would have been a great hunting moon... if it wasn't so cold! The furries were all tucked up early... together with the humans!

 

Friday

I don't know what it is about that paddock (the one Choo Choo Ma Ma was in) but of the two horses in there now - one of them (not Admirealady) is a windsucker. It was biting onto the fence and taking long, quite noisy, sucks I guess you would call them. I hope it's not teaching the other one bad habits.

Meanwhile, closer to home, in the paddock next to La's, the two boy horses were engaging in ... horse play. It seemed a bit rough but I don't think any of the bites or hooves actually landed.

Based on earlier this week, we had near tropical weather this morning but Lars wasn't having a bar of it. He said 2 and was sticking to it. You can't trust the weather reports on radio either!

Sooz commented tonight that it wasn't like us to be out on a Saturday night - and she was quite right except for the part where it was Saturday ... given it was still Friday! It as been a good while since Sooz and I have been to Twin Towns - we couldn't remember when and who with - just that it had been good. I would go so far as to say that the Club has had a major refurbishment since last we were there. Syl and An beat us to the venue by a couple of minutes - not bad since the Motorway was like a parking lot from Mudgeeraba to the Burleigh exit where we finally came off. deciding to take our chances with the Highway traffic instead.

Sooz had given the Top Twins a tremendous wrap - they are a favourite from way back when - and both she and Syl were very much looking forward to catching their show again. I wanted to go because they are supposed to be funny - and I never want to pass up the chance for a good laugh.

So after dinner (very nice - An and I had some of the best steaks we had had for a long time, Sooz had ... lamb cutlets, and Syl had fish) the rest of us trooped upstairs leaving An to find something to amuse herself with in the rest of the club. The general consensus was that she would find enough to keep her busy!

While there was much good about the show, Sooz and An had been right about not getting seats right up the front and certainly about not volunteering for any kind of audience participation. It pays to be with people in the know!

By the time we arrived back at Latimers it was almost midnight and the furries seemed very pleased to have us home... someone has to turn the electric blanket on!

Horse play

 

Thursday

She can read! She can read! Tinka can read! She ate the cookies that said "eat me"! I would do it again, but this time spell out "don't eat me" but we all know that even though Tinka might understand it, she wouldn't take any notice ... she would just eat them anyway.

Tinka: Reading

How is it that I can reset the alarm for 20 minutes later and still leave the house 10 minutes earlier (than 6:30 - I'm not usually able to leave by a quarter past these days).

I don't know if I would have heard Tinka and Maggie having a heartfelt discussion about who should be on the bed at 2:45 this morning had I not already been awake. And had I not been trying to fall back to sleep quickly I may even had had words with them saying there had to be a way to work it out so the could both be on the bed and not have to see the other! But they sorted it out amongst themselves - without resorting to fisticuffs but I fear it is a discussion we will need to have to tide us over until M returns - at which point our bed won't be anywhere as near attractive to the furries anymore!

The smoke from yesterday's fire was still hanging over Nerang this morning. It seems to have spread overnight and there was a distinct smell of smoke in the air.

I was home later this afternoon - we have moved on from EOM to preparing for the coming month's end when the financial package we can't get good reports out of more often than not becomes the corporate reporting and forecasting tool. So, until then, and working as fast as we can, we're working on"cleaning up" the double-ups, duplicate reversals and other idiosyncracy issues we've found since the cutover to the system.

It was a night of "half-wild" winds tonight - so I did finally close that kitchen window. We went into lockdown early too - there was no way anyone was going outside unless they really had to! And ... just for a change, it was an early night for everyone at Latimers!

 

Wednesday

Hump day! It has come around quite quickly this week although when I spoke with Mum yesterday I remember I mentioned I was glad it was the end of the week - and then I realised it wasn't. Talk about wishful thinking! Still, only two days to go now - and yes, there is a bit more that needs to be done.

Advancetown Hotel

There have been a few fires around lately - and the biggest so far was today - just on the hill over from Zarraffas. There was a huge pall of smoke visible at lunchtime and it was still there this afternoon. It may be that it is a controlled burn-off but there's really no way of knowing for sure.

Fire

What I didn't mention was that as part of setting up the new iPad (which still doesn't have a name) I put on a new screen protector - the one I was given for my birthday. It is absolutely fantastic! As advertised, it went on without a hitch - not a single bubble. And it is wonderful to write on - a real pleasure! I'm just hoping it's resilient and able to withstand the stylus wear and tear. So - thanks guys - it is a fantastic gift - even better than the putty! And we all know that's saying a lot!

I was thinking about Big Housing tonight - but by the time I had had a wind-down at Zarraffas (where they are getting to know me again ☕️😀) I didn't feel like driving in so I called Sooz and coaxed her into another round of Lamb Cutlets at the Advancetown Hotel. She wasn't hard to convince. I had the roast again - and while I expected it would not be as utterly fantastic as last week, I was still disappointed when it wasn't. We'll have to try again another night .

At some point, Sooz has opened the kitchen window. I'm not sure I'm a fan of that but I'm not going to interfere with it unless it turns windy. Fingers crossed.

It was Aqua for Sooz again today and An kindly came out to collect her. Surprisingly An is still determined not to come to the Top Twins with us later in the week. I'm amazed Syl hasn't managed to talk her around - but that may not be the way they do things.

Invitation to Tinka

TimKa is still watching MasterChef with us; Maggie's now running straight into the bedroom after dinner to reserve her space! I would just like someone to explain to me why her spot is on my side! And, no, we don't turn the electric blanket for her until just before we're ready to go to bed ourselves.

Pearl hasn't forgotten her "high fives" - she gave me some this evening as I was giving her her supper cookie.

There's new research out that suggests that cats can differentiate between two spoken languages. This raises enough questions in my mind to send me off to the research rather than just reading about it in other press pieces. In the meantime, I'm checking to see if Tinka can read - we'll know if the cookies disappear!

 

Tuesday

I can't believe I have fallen so far behind with the blog ... it's not as though I haven't been making notes and trying to get to it ... just that I've been doing a couple of other things. Sooz's iPad is now mostly set up with all her information and required applications, and mine is getting closer although it still has a little while to go yet.

Maggie - enjoying the Electric Blanket

This evening, though, was given over to the last episode of "Breaking Bad". I would have finished it this afternoon but I wanted to do a "Lucky Dog" run for Pearl's treat/supper cookies ... and there were a couple of other things we needed too - and I don't think the walk around the supermarket did me any harm at all. It's been so busy at work and I've been so knackered at the end of the day that I have let my 10,000 steps slip (yes, yes ... and the blog).

There was a decent frost at Latimers this morning and I couldn't help but worry about all the furry creatures who live out this way and how they cope with the cold. Not to mention the horses ... I can't see how they don't get cold! And how the frost is going to be cutting down on their available grass! I was also thinking about the big red hare Sooz saw in the driveway, that's a couple of years ago now, and what ever became of it.

MasterChef continues and they are now down to the Final 10 - actually it was the Final 10 - now they are down to the Final 8. It's amazing that people have their favourites - and this year Sooz has three - which is based on their ability to pull out all stops when it's needed. One of the judges last night called it "resilience", Sooz called it "guts". (House Rules is finally over ... Sooz's favourites didn't win it ... d'oh.)

Sooz had a call from our solicitors in Sydney today. They are putting the final touches on the calculations for the settlement so it all appears to be going ahead as planned. I can't believe that this time in a week it should all be "done and dusted". Then we'll really have to start thinking hard about what we're looking for - in a property and in a updated vehicle. Choices ... choices.