Day 20 (Friday)

Latimers is lovely during the day; I can see why S loves being here so much. That day off finally did eventuate: let's call it a mental health day – and it was exactly what the doctor would have ordered. I had a proper sleep-in for the first time in ages and by the time I surfaced, S had already breakfasted and done the washing. The kids were in their "morning" spots – and not about to move – even if they were in someone else's spot – which they do often. All we need is some music and we could easily be playing "Musical Chairs"! I spent some time at the table outside our room, dozing, soaking up some Vitamin D and relishing the opportunity to have unstructured time at Latimers. (I had agreed with myself to have the day off not to just use it for doing "jobs"!)

What a wonderful evening we had! We are just calming/coming down before we can even hope to go to bed and sleep. Francophile N, daughter C, and husband S were all in good form this evening when we met at F&Ms for dinner (chicken curry and chocolate cheesecake). We managed to find a respectable Pinot Noir (Oyster Bay from New Zealand) as our contribution. Good food, good conversation - and a clearly defined word to get us out of there at the end of the evening. But what's missing from this picture ... because somebodies are!

M is still very excited about the coming trip, although a little disappointed that she won't be accompanied for as long as she wanted by the other traveler! Amsterdam may be off the itinerary at this stage but it still seems pretty packed - as will M's suitcases when she starts loading it up with pressies for the rellies although, this may not be the case, because F knows that everything you can get over here you can get over there (can't you?).

Whales are making their way past the Gold Coast in massive numbers and the SeaWorld whale watching folk are guaranteeing a sighting or your money back. Looks like its time for us to get out there and get up close and personal with some mammals. I am practising my "whale speak" as last done, unsuccessfully, on the balcony of my room looking out over the sea at Cape Town. It worked for Dory so here's hoping it's not that hard to can get the intonation right - and that the practice in the interim helps.

Las Vegas on the Gold Coast - this may be what TabCorp has in store for Jupiters if they can get the go-ahead for more machines from the State Government. They have to do something to recoup the 10% loss they announced yesterday for Queensland operations in 09/10. We're still scanning the notes accompanying the reports to see if anyone we know is mentioned by name!

The search is on again, yes, yes, it's in NSW, but let's not let that detract from the story, for "big cats". A stool sample taken from the Brisbane Water National Park near Woy Woy has tested positive for cat - and it has to be a fairly big cat, because it included wallaby fur and bones. They're on the hunt for it - and others like it in the Blue Mountains - using a can of cat food (which attracted possums), and T-bone steaks (but that trap didn't work). No way are we letting Beasley out at night. We wouldn't want anyone to start searching for the "big cat" here.

'Geldiler, bastılar, vurdular'. The kolbasti has been in the news of late. New Zealand police arrested a Turkish man for assault - after they caught him doing the kolbasti with his wife. A judge has told the arresting officers to study a video of the kolbasti before he decides whether to proceed with the case. Thank you YouTube for educating me ... who knew ... until the two young dancing women (why was I thinking of our young N?) started mock slapping each other around the face. Interesting that, according to legend, the "kolabasti" comes from nightly police patrols of the seaport of Trabzon to round up drunks, who made up a song with the lyrics: 'They came, they caught us, they beat us'.

Isn't research wonderful? Who would have thought speed cameras, when sighted, cause motorists to drive erratically - as they take their eyes off the road to check their speed - and slam on the brakes, risking rear-end collisions? Seems that if the police were really serious about safety, they wouldn't use them. Not that we're worried about that though ... although, that being said, Mr Blue Van has only been sighted once in the last three weeks. Must be almost time for him to come out again.

Weather here is still gorgeous ... although just a little on the chill side in the evenings. Looking forward to it being fine weather tomorrow and on Sunday so more mowing can take place - although not too much - have to leave some grass for Hermes to eat. He is being well looked after and we are planning to do a complete do-over of his water down this end - emptying what's there, cleaning out the "trough" and refilling it with fresh water - tomorrow.

Day 19 (Thursday)

Pick a number ... any number - oh, wait, that should be "take a number". M rang this evening to see if she and C could come over and have a shower as their gas hot water system had decided it no longer wanted to work. Since it is Thursday, we had plans to go to the local where J would meet us for a meal to celebrate her birthday. By the time we got back two hours later, M and C hadn't made it over and we had been home only a few minutes before they arrived. Not quite sure what Pearl thought she was doing but she was curled up on the lounge, fast asleep - and snoring - when we arrived home. She did have the good grace to bark when M & C arrived. Should have asked when UB is next running.

J did not turn up today which is a bit of a shame as S had already spent some time this morning on the pre-cleaner clean! Still, how lucky was that - given our unexpected visitors this evening? I had heard of people who have done this - pre-clean preparation but I had never though S would be one of them.

S listened to yesterday's Phillip Adams interview with K Rudd and was very impressed with K's performance. She thinks he has "learned the lesson" and is more humble than he was before the upset. He is throwing his weight completely behind Ms JG and the Labor effort to re-win Government and even though he had taken some personal hits, he was sure the country would be condemned (not his word) to ruin if Tony Abbott takes over the reigns.

J's brother David came to dinner at the pub too, as well as Daughter No. 1 and her boyfriend, and it was a lovely evening. Talk, naturally, led by me, turned to the Yowie and D told me that someone had hit one with a car - but that was in the '70s he hurriedly clarified. I told them about the scare I gave myself on rubbish night with the lights in the rear-view mirror and he said he had had a similar experience some years ago when he was attending the Ag cottage. He and some mates were out walking near the lake on a moonlit night and had seen three bright lights reflected in the water. They ran all the way home. They did find out what they were from ... F1-111 after-burners - not bad given the base is 60km away! (S said by this point she thought D had lost some of his credibility!)

Wonder how many sightings in the just-released British UFO files were put down to aircraft - experimental or otherwise. S was saying that there is one case that Winston Churchill (of the false teeth who would flick them across the room and the further they went the worse the war effort was going) did not want released because it would cause mass hysteria in the public and shake their faith in the church. Those files have (not surprisingly) disappeared.

Closer to home the Gold Coast's newest hotel is on track for a November/December opening. The Surfers Paradise Hilton had the first of its towers "topped off" this week and is now waiting for fit out. Sales have been good so far - but an apartment in the complex may not be the first thing on the shopping list for the Gold Coast's latest Gold Lotto millionaires - alas, not us. The latest winner - one of two this week - was a woman from Labrador, who bought the winning ticket from Parkwood Plaza News while she was picking up coleslaw (which even I think, while handy, would not necessarily be the best place to get coleslaw).

Ms JG is denying claims she's deliberately slurring her speech in order to call the opposition leader "Mr Rabbit" instead of Mr Abbott. Hmmm, only this morning I was having my usual rant with S that they should all just grow up and get on with contesting the election on policy issues -not doing schoolyard bickering, brawling or bullying. And John H can stay out of it as well - no-one wants to hear his opinion that Ms JG is worse than K Rudd (although, to be fair, there was some suggestion that he was saying it based on policy and performance).

The traveller's message and call were well received as they set out for the heartland of Russia and the land of the extremely expensive internet communications. We'll keep the home fires burning although me thinks that what's really needed is someone to give some relief to the heat wave situations over there which have left the peat swamps dried out and burning, forest fires, and so much smoke that visibility is down to 100 metres. Did someone say it was a lovely place for a holiday - and that there is nothing to this global weather change theory? Thank heavens the Russians are saying they have removed all their uranium waste - and when S asked how they had moved it, I told her "with a big boat" - hopefully not the travellers'.

Beautiful weather here again at Latimers and hopefully it will continue tomorrow.

Day 18 (Wednesday)

Don't drink the water! Australian Water Solutions has distributed a pamphlet offering a "free" water purification package to local residents after identifying that water "in your area" contains heavy metals, chemicals and carcinogens. Isn't it great we're not on town water! Allconnex Water assures all those who are that the water is potable and complies with all necessary guidelines.

The Ekka starts tomorrow, as does the Eisteddfod, with the former being flu-mask free for the first time in three years. This is largely due to an overall fall in the number of flu cases this year in the GC/BrisVegas area - down from 14,687 last year to just 632 this year.

Why do they call them "parties" when there appears to be little fun about them? No objections have been received by the state electoral commission to the registration of a new one - The Queensland Party.

Move over Jessica and the Pink Lady. Fourteen-year-old Laura Dekker has set out on her practice sail to Portugal before beginning her quest to be the youngest solo around the world sailor. She has recently won a 10-month legal battle against child protection authorities in Holland to allow her to attempt the two-year journey. Elsewhere, 16-year-old Justin (hair flick) Beiber continues to deny reports that he is writing his autobiography! HarperCollins will however publish a "behind-the-scenes" on tour book in October; and he is set to star in a 3D movie about his life (so far).

Well, it was/is tomorrow (actually just before because the reading continued last night until the last virtual page was turned) ... and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" has been archived - and has made way for "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". So many questions one could ask author Stig Larsson if he had survived to see the Salander series published. Of course, there are ways of finding out what other think about it and it's time to tell S that she would enjoy the reads and ask her to please do so so I can get her unique insight into the characters and their goings-on. In the meantime it might be time to read what people have said on the net.

Nyet net. The old ways can sometimes be best. According to Alan Chan, a Singaporean academic who visited a minute ago, Chinese idioms can help with modern Western life. Harmony brings conductivity. Aspiration remains clear in Spartan lifestyle. Ethics before benefits. To retreat is to advance, to give is to gain. In safety, do not forget potential danger. It is better to see once than to hear 100 times. Mindfulness in solitude.

Ms JG is starting to sound a little like K Rudd - she has taken to repeating key phrases as he did - yesterday's being that Labor had a "better economic plan ... a better economic plan.". K Rudd has also assured people he is right behind Ms JG (and not with a knife) and that it is not he who is leaking to Laurie Oakes. He did not, and perhaps this is the cynic in some people speaking, discount that any of his family, friends and/or colleagues are doing it on his behalf.

S made a spectacular lamb shanks dinner tonight - incredibly yummy and the last in an impressive line-up of dishes so far his week. She attributes it to having the time to think and read about cooking - and having some very good appliances and tools at her disposal. Not that she's been using them all all of the time though; for the first week Ramen Girl did not make an appearance with the stove-top as S managed to do all the cooking in oven and/or microwave.

The computer was busy yesterday as S did her first solo Skype - although I guess the very nature of Skype means you can't do it alone. (She loved it!) You also can't do face-to-face with iPhone 4 unless you're on Wi-Fi and talking with someone else who has an iPhone 4. But I suppose that's why it also has a "phone" component. Skype has not yet released a new version of its app for iPhones etc which could add "pay for calls on 3G" functionality - but, wait, they may have already coded a switch off free calls date into the current versions. A bit like the BBC revision that came through yesterday which would fix the bug that prevented advertising showing. Can't imagine how many people would have chosen to download that!)

Even though Ms JG has avowed she is an atheist, she is going along to the Mary MacKillop fund-raising dinner at the Town Hall tomorrow night. it is not known if she will go as the "real" JG or someone else. On the issue of whether we are seeing the "real" Julia, Barnaby Joyce had this to say: "Well, a bit like football but more like Sesame Street. We started off with real Julia , or we had pretend Julia , now we've got real Julia. It's like Big Bird and Mr Snuffleupagus, and, you know, which Julia killed Kevin?". This could be why some people don't read The Australian - and why others just can't wait until tomorrow!

Day 17 (Tuesday)

Pinot Noir and some glasses. What a difference a day makes in one's outlook.

"Bring some Pinot Noir" said M after I pestered and pestered about what to bring to Friday night dinner. (Alas, no time to call in at the V&B shop and pick up a little something.). Hmmm ... I can do Pinot Noir - surely there will be something on the label - like a gold medal to suggest which is a "good'un" or perhaps the shop assistant will have some information (besides what is on special) ...or there's always the net. And of course, I've now worked out where a bottle shop is (downstairs from the office!!!) so three days should be enough time to get this sorted. All bets would have been off if the optometrist hadn't had my new glasses ready yesterday though. Those naughty missing reading glasses are still missing.

One of the little ones was not obviously apparent the other day and, as S told me tonight, she decided to check if they were in the traveller's room (not sure how they would have made it though the closed door but stranger things do happen - Homer once de/materialized himself out of a locked room). No-one was in there but S's attention was distracted for a moment and she thought she saw a flash of colour streak into the room. Well, that was the start of it. She spent the next little while getting first one cat then another then another then the other (you get the idea) out of the room - but, finally, they and she satisfied that it was empty, the door closed behind them. They say animals never forget - and obviously that's true for the first 2.5 weeks at least.

The election campaign is becoming tiring, or is that trying? When will these folk starting a bit like adults and start debating policies rather than the size of Ms JG's earlobes. Tony apparently finds burqas confronting ... as if the same couldn't be said for his choice of swimwear! (But, I wonder if he realises that the burqas are better at Hungry Jack's - as someone noted in The Bully yesterday?) The Labor and Liberal campaigns have yet to officially launch so we are still waiting to see a policy from both. But it does appear that Queensland is going to play a key part in the election - isn't it good we moved here?

Ross came and did whip-a-snipping today and had a cuppa with S. The visit was well-timed and he was able to tidy up the corners that I still need someone to show me how to get to on the ride-on. Cue Colorbond man.

Council, or whomever is responsible for the row of huge shark's teeth on the Motorway, have finally taken action to cover up the growing graffiti with grey paint ... providing a very useful "canvas" for the next lot of graffiti artists who have, of course, been through already.

The big news down Ashmore way is that a new Maccas is opening there on Monday week. Wonder what time they choose to "open" a store? 6.30 am, 10.30 am ... or will they go outside the traditional menu changeover or opening times. Staff for the new outlet are currently being trained at Nerang - and hopefully they will be ready in time. We are losing one of the better baristas to them - so I hope those people in Ashmore appreciate our sacrifice. Mind you, GJs at the Lakes is due to open on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see if this little black duck changes over to them instead in the mornings.

And was it a little black duck - or any kind of duck - or another kind of birdlife, that was responsible for Beas racing across the yard earlier today, tail straight in the air, over to the garage. S has never seen him move so fast. She went out to investigate but couldn't find anything that might have scared him ... but she did note that Tink was nearby and looking concerned for him.

We're off to the A'Town pub later this week to celebrate J's birthday. She is about to invest almost six grand in R's braces and there's still more to come with four teeth to be extracted by an oral surgeon. She's had three quotes and since they're getting more expensive each time, she's decided to quit while she's ahead. She's already getting ready for J's 21st birthday - with the gift being a trip for two to Bali. G and S are giving her a new step-sibling.

Mayor Ron Clarke has denied reports that the GC is in "diabolical shape". And it shouldn't be ... because it continues to have "perfect winter weather". If this is winter, what is summer going to be like? Accompanied by an order for an air conditioner would be my guess.

But who can complain if the sunsets remain as glorious as they were today - a pink tableau against an azure sky. I would have preferred to be sitting out at Latimers watching it than squinting into the afternoon sun on the drive home, but there will be time for that on the weekend - from the ride-on doing half of Hermes' top paddock - or is that the bottom paddock? But only if The Girl ... Fire is finished. The end of that particular book is nigh. Tomorrow?

Day 16 (Monday)

I could use an American about now. Given they spend 55 minutes a day looking for things they know they own but cannot find, it seems they would have found my missing reading gasses sometime early today. I am still looking for them and it is starting to be very, very irritating. We've been through "where did you have them last" etc etc and I even asked my sub/unconscious to help, but no-go. Hopefully SpecSavers will have my new glasses ready in the next day or so and I will be better able to concentrate on analyzing articles suggesting Ms JG is trying to "woo the clucky country" by having "nappy snaps" taken with baby after baby (33 so far to Tony's 2) on the campaign trail. Some suggest the only kiss she should be concerned about is the "kiss of death" to Labor's chances if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates at its meeting tomorrow.

S was kind enough not to point out - although she did agree when I mentioned it - that I have been a bit like the Colorbond ad man since I mowed the lawn. I can often be found standing looking at how lush and green and neat and tidy it looks - especially with the grey water sprinkling gently over it.

It was good to have it done before the Kyogles arrived yesterday to pick up S on their way to Tambourine - taking the elderlies for a drive to show them something different. They missed seeing Em who was off visiting Auntie Fiona and having her glucose curve test. As expected she's fine and although there was some talk about doing her blood glucose levels at home, S and I are still discussing that.

Rubbish and recycling day went off without a hitch, which is good given it was happening in the dark. I did scare myself witless at one point, with all the dogs in the area howling and my imagination just ran off with me as I remembered J's Dad's encounter with the Yowie ... but I managed to calm myself and finish the garbage (unhook, untie, align) and then when I was back in the car, I checked the rear view mirror and there were three huge lights behind me - yes, I'm immediately thinking "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or perhaps "Duel" - and then I realized I hadn't turned off (or taken off) my headlamp. This is definitely a daytime job!

Pearl may be going swimming this weekend if the weather is fine enough. And if not that, then to Sisters and the park so she can have a proper outing. She is getting plenty of, but not too much, exercise -chasing the ball up the yard and then bringing it back for the next throw. She has now learned a variation of the "No deal" arms-crossed sign to know when the game is finished. I have learned not to do "just one more" after "No deal". Good training can work both ways.

Tink has now taken to sleeping on the other lounge during the day time and early evening but is always good about going out - and (mostly) coming back in. For those times when she's tardy, S carries her in from the "man chair" (still in use) later in the evening.

We continue to be amazed at Pearl when she starts barking at "nothing" which, we have found, sometimes means that she wants us to open the door so she can go and drink "outside water" which, we know, is the sweetest tasting water of all. It is quite astonishing because S regularly changes all of the waters, so it's not as though this one is fresher - although it may have more "rain" in it than the others. Hmmmm, something to think about. This could be why all of the animals like it - although Em is still making a beeline for the shower whenever she can.

We have finally solved the puzzle of why Pearl never smelled like a dog before. We think it has much to do with that she had been doing regular swims, and hasn't been lately (hence the aforementioned plans for this weekend).

A couple of car dealerships have started advertising the giveaway of an iPad with the purchase of a car (even secondhand in some instances). Who would have thought a standalone device could be such a deal sweetener. Wonder if anyone will start offering the new iPhone 4? Still haven't seen one or held it in my hot little hand ... most importantly, still haven't bought one.

There is talk of a second debate between the leaders of the key parties, well, actually only Labor and Liberal, but at this stage Tony's dance card is way too full to even contemplate it. Other election news - there is a possibility of a large new medical complex in Moncrieff if Labor wins.

Kevin's gallbladder was indeed removed; and given his known predilections one could wonder if he has kept the stones for passing on to a Chinese apothecary. Does this increase one's fortunes? Who knows ... but, to quote Vivien Leigh/Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" ... tomorrow is another day.

Day 15 (Sunday)

Wash the dishes, dry the dishes, turn the dishes over. Except in this case substitute "Pearl" for "dishes".

The day dawned bright and sunny, a good thing since we had both decided that Pearl was in need of a bath ... to see if we could help her with her itching problem, and because, and maybe this has something to do with all the rain we've been having, she had started to carry a slight fragrance of "eau de dog" with her.

But first things first ... no Skype with T as she had "accidentally" used her "massive" download limit by halfway through the billing cycle. Hope she shares whatever she's been up to ... the next part of V would be good. So ... a sleep-in ... if one doesn't count the usual early rise to feed the various animals and make sure they are in/out as they want.

Even with the late start, we were still in good shape to make 10am market call - until M phoned to chastise us for not texting the meeting time. Huh? Hadn't that already been decided and agreed on Thursday when Friday night dinner was called off? Well, yes, but no ... always good to check on the day.

We ended up with quite a group - neighbours, French teacher and daughter visiting from Amsterdam, Nooriden who was traveling alone as his wife is currently traveling, Debra and we four. M is doing what she usually does to prepare for Prishtina but at least managed to have one croissant corner. Markets were the busiest we've ever seen them.

I'm not sure if the betting shop was as busy yesterday as we didn't quite make it there ... now that's a true gamble. Not sure if it was the 8 or Barrier 13 - or that we were so engrossed with the Kyogle visit that we didn't quite get our act together. In any case, the result was not good. UB came in 7th.

S is cooking spicy noodles, singing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and declaring that she's very happy when she's cooking. I tried to not think of MC Claire, especially her tears during the finals. S didn't cry when she hit her head on the fridge tonight (stood up too quickly) but you could tell it smarted.

We didn't make it to lunch by the water, but we did manage to do yard work - and Pearl washing. That girl is so clever! I was doing toy patrol before the mow, thinking I had it all under control, and was up to opening the garage door when she came over and dropped an avocado at my feet - as if to say "didn't you forget something?" She had no way of knowing that Sooz was doing dropping patrol and other pick-ups down that end while I started near the round yard, so no danger of avocado seed projectiles - but I was ultra-impressed that she'd thought of it! And she was so good while we gave her her bath! I thought that as soon as they were clean, dogs were supposed to run off and roll in manure or whatever disgustingly-smelly stuff they could ... but I was wrong!

How long did we think the new grey-water hose would last? We're up to two weeks and still going strong so that's a great start. Love that sprinkler function!

Maggie's has spent a couple of nights in her hidey-hole on the other side of the bed; and I've seen Tink go down that way - and then disappear so she must have a spot there somewhere ... but I haven't been able to find it yet.

No Glee at JB Hi-Fi but they did have the bargain of the decade - Heart and Souls for $6.98. Thank goodness disorganization rules sometimes or I would have already ordered it from the UK! I will now save it for a rainy day - and am looking forward to that very much. (Do you think Google does "rain dances"?)

Half-way there and Ms JG is upset at news that some senior Labor figures are betting on the Coalition to win key marginal seats in the upcoming election. "I think it's pretty crook to bet against your own team" she is quoted as saying. It may trigger a ban on political party insiders betting on elections - thereby taking some of the fun out if it, and them. And the Greens were the first party to officially launch their campaign as Senator Bob Brown (hasty correction there as I realized I'd referred to him as Bob Greene) outlined their policies in Canberra today.

"Anna Bligh - balloon hater" (that's what the photo caption said!) is reportedly proposing a ban on helium balloons at government and government-sponsored events from next year. This measure is part of the Queensland Waste Strategy 2010-2020 Waste Avoidance and Recycling Consultation Draft (catchy title - and each time it's said you can fill 12 normal balloons). There is no suggestion that helium balloons be banned totally; children (and some adults) everywhere breathe a huge sigh of relief and celebrate with songs sung in artificially high voices.

A tornado swept through Penola, SA, yesterday causing millions of dollars worth of damage. The 50m wide tornado left a 3km path of destruction in it's wake and we're still waiting to hear if the Mary MacKillop Centre survived. It was in Penola that she - an outstanding young teacher and later Saint Mary of the Cross, and Father Julian Tenison Woods, billed as a priest and brilliant scientist, founded the Australian Sisters of St Joseph to give local children a Catholic - and hopefully catholic - education.

And who knew there was no direct Thesauras equivalent for: tomorrow.

Day 14 (Saturday)

The Kyogle crowd were in good form when we visited them today, including S's Mum and Auntie (Margaret and ELizabeth). P was talking a mile-a minute-filling us in on his trip to Sydney for his school excursion, and Air Cadet camp. L was a bit quieter than usual but that could be pre-performance nerves in the lead-up to Thursday. We asked for a preview but that wasn't taken up so we will have to wait to see the video P is shooting. We suggested he might like to borrow a tripod from the school photo club - and now that he knows what a tripod is and what it's for, he seemed more willing to think about it. I have confidence in him especially seeing his pics and camera video from his trips - he really has a good eye.

C sent us home with spicy noodles - or more precisely, all the (non-fresh) ingredients and detailed instructions on how to make them. That will be dinner tomorrow night - after what is looking to be a full day of markets, lunch by the water, Pearl-washing (if it's a nice day) and lawn mowing (ditto). I may even make the effort to do shelf-tidying which would make S especially pleased. One doesn't set out to be untidy but somehow one manages it very well!

It was a good trip down and we stopped at the little fruit shop/cafe where we have stopped previously to pick up some goodies for soup-making should the Kyogle's come up during the week. We were very careful to check the bottoms of shoes before getting back in the vehicle as we feared a repeat of our last stop there. We had also stoped at Uki where they have a small markets in their community hall. A lovely lady sold us some "moist fruit cake" a "giant Anzac biscuit" and a jar of home-made "banana jam" (this because I am trying to show S that I am not "rigid" - because how could that be true if I am willing to try new things?). (Must remember to get it out of the car.)

A new cafe has opened there as well - less than 100m from The Uki Cafe. It's called the Lounge Lizard Cafe which seems a little odd because the very nature of the name suggests they would get no clientele - unless they do home-delivery. Although perhaps that's what "The Friendly Jamacian" moving truck was doing out the front ... of the other cafe. Devonshire Tea anyone?

The general public have/has started to chip in about the political situation and how the fourth estate is/are covering it. As Brett Jack of Bonnyrigg Heights comments: "Is anyone else sick of the media whingeing, without the slightest hint of irony, about how shallow and puerile the media coverage of politics has become? You sell us the cult of celebrity, where style triumphs over substance at every turn, then complain about serious issues being reduced to the seven-second soundbite." Them's almost fighting words.

We did manage to visit the yellow runes on the way down - and we had a "sit down" so coffee could be consumed - and it is only know that I realize that If I had taken the thermos mug we could have used drive-thru ... S could have managed with hot cakes on her lap. Alas the line-up was huge - never seen it so big. Without a word of a lie the queue was back out of the entrance, and then some. I also showed S the trick of using the McCafe counter for the food orders. (She assures me she is getting out enough.) Also managed to have an iPad conversation with a Dad who had his son for the weekend. He (son) was using a really cool application which illustrates and details the Periodic Table.

The SMH has a feature in it's travel section today on the Great Train Trips of Europe. A Google search of "smh great train trips Europe" will find the article, which seems to have been published in a number of publications all over under the title "Your Carriage Awaits". Who knew there was a "The Man in Seat 61" (and a book!) dedicated to train travel in Europe? Looks like fun - and pretty informative to boot. Wonder if F the trip planner has heard of it? And how excited is M? And we're fairly excited for her too (if a little envious as soon as Paris was mentioned ... and truly, ask S, one day is definitely not enough!)

Back at Latimers, Fiona called to say she'd like Em to come in for a glucose curve on Monday - which sounds like a reasonable idea. Hopefully S will get up earlier to help with the wrangling as Em can be dropped off from 7. We haven't and won't tell her until she's in the car - no point getting her upset before hand.

While one of us continues to be fascinated with Wife Swap, Celebrity and otherwise, the other one has started downloading songs from "Glee". Having watched all the episodes on hand, there is a psychological tussle going on now - whether to go out and by Glee Season 1 Part 2 (grrrrr .... why would they not sell the entire season as one set - and don't think "profit" is a good enough reason) or ... oops, there isn't really an option here. Look out JB Hi-Fi, here we come! Can hardly wait until tomorrow ... such is the low impulse control of some Pisces.