UI think I would have enjoyed today more if I had spent it at Latimers rather than in the dentist's chair. Don't get me wrong - Jamie was exceptional - one if the best dentists I have ever had (if not the best) but over 5 hours in the chair having work done should be no one's idea of fun. The worst thing about it (and this may not be exactly true) is that when you have a dental dam in your mouth, it's very hard to speak intelligibly - even to a dentist. What I had wanted to say - and keep saying - was "it's safe" which I knew was from Marathon Man, the movie, but which also means "please stop because I have given you the answer you want". Maybe I will have a chance to say it tomorrow when I'm back there so he can do work on my bottom teeth!
It was nice of S and M to come in to drop me off - and to have a cup of coffee with me. And it was good of F to go up to Brisbane Airport to pick up M and little H who arrived from Turkey this morning. Ordinarily this was a run that M would have done - if she hadn't been on dental patrol instead (thanks M).
After dropping me, M and S went off to see them before M dropped at home. It could be "in sympathy" but for whatever reason, S also has a sore mouth - it looks like it's an infection of some kind - and as the evening wore on, the swelling became more pronounced.
Meanwhile, even M didn't get through the day unscathed - when she was clearing up some water on the bathroom floor (apparently the leaking windows have led to the creation of another place for the water to come through) when she felt inside her neck go funny. I looked for an answer on the net but didn't get anywhere really with strained epiglottis or broken epiglottis.
Hopefully everyone at Latimers will have a good night's sleep and return refreshed and on top of our individual and collective games tomorrow.
Did I mention that Pearl came home yesterday. It must be nice for M and S to know that there is now no question of either of them bounding out, barking, to greet me in the afternoons! (Not that there ever really was - but they could have played along!)
We are in need of rain. The electrician is supposed to be coming tomorrow to have a proper look/fix of the (back) water pump and if that gets fixed so it is reliable without having to go down and check it - that will be good - especially as the water tank is starting to get low. But at least it rained a little bit today and maybe it will again tomorrow.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday
Pearl is still away visiting Nana.
Doug did the slashing.
Keith working on one of L's horse yards. Lacey has been sold and will be going to Singapore which means she and Sweetie the foal are about to be separated. The whole valley will know when that happens because all the horses will be upset.
Doug did the slashing.
Keith working on one of L's horse yards. Lacey has been sold and will be going to Singapore which means she and Sweetie the foal are about to be separated. The whole valley will know when that happens because all the horses will be upset.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday
Why is it that having a fabulous weekend makes it harder to return to work on Monday morning? Although I'm not sure that it's not harder after you've had a less-than-fabulous weekend. Human perception is an incredible thing, isn't it - and mostly - well, okay, all - driven by us ... according to the trainer who took us through the Stress Management course at work this afternoon. It wasn't bad although he did seem to go through the material fairly quickly. He seemed like someone who hadn't done a lot of them so he was on not quite familiar territory. He was also playing to a fairly hard crowd - which may have had a little to do with his kilometre/mile-a-minute presentation style and/or his need to impart as much knowledge as possible in the shortest time possible.
M and S saw Mouse today and report that Pearl is well and happy and probably enjoying a great big gourmet dinner tonight because Mouse takes such good care of her. This will be Pearl's last visit to Nana (I think) for a couple of months. M's sister and her grandson are coming to stay with Mouse on Thursday so they are starting to think about a range of activities while they are here - including how to keep an almost-teenage boy entertained. Let's see if his idea of being let loose to wander around Surfers Paradise alone with just his skateboard for company is one of them.
M and S saw Mouse today and report that Pearl is well and happy and probably enjoying a great big gourmet dinner tonight because Mouse takes such good care of her. This will be Pearl's last visit to Nana (I think) for a couple of months. M's sister and her grandson are coming to stay with Mouse on Thursday so they are starting to think about a range of activities while they are here - including how to keep an almost-teenage boy entertained. Let's see if his idea of being let loose to wander around Surfers Paradise alone with just his skateboard for company is one of them.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday
There was no show for us today - but it was good that S had remembered - I hadn't - rather than realising after it was over. It's always good to have choices.
So after breakfast at The Big House, morning tea at the Markets, and lunch at the Groper and His Missus, rather than going off to the Mudgeeraba Show to have a Dagwood dog, fairy floss and/or CWA Devonshire tea (do they do that up here?) we made our way back to Latimers - and while we knew M had dropped Pearl around to Nana (aka Mouse), it still came as a bit of a surprise not to find her at home and for her not to run out, ball in mouth, to greet us!
The Markets were good this morning, although not quite the same without M who was delayed as she was going a phone intervention with S! It doesn't appear that much has changed in S-land although there is the suggestion that she will be able to join us for Saturday lunch (as opposed to breakfast) one weekend in the near future.
This evening, M and S listened to an interview with, and a talk by, the Dalai Lama. Both were recorded during his recent visit to Australia to speak (amongst other things) at the Happiness and its Causes conference in Brisbane (as attended by S). Judging by their laughter, he is a very entertaining speaker.
"Technical difficulties" appears to be the theme of the week. One of my hard drives has decided to be difficult and has stopped working. It's telling me that if I want to access information on it, I need to format it - which is a bit strange because formatting it will wipe any data there is on it. Hmmmmm. (Now who thinks I'm overcautious because I had backed that drive up - not recently enough but at least I haven't lost everything!)
M, S and I were all home last night - the only one missing was Pearl - so she's the only furry person who is not suspected of foul play. M found that one of the animals had had a chew on a bird (unfortunately it didn't make it). Suspicion is currently focussed on Beasley - because M doesn't believe that Maggie couldn't catch a bird although she would probably definitely chase one, and ... I'm not exactly sure why Tink was excluded from the suspect list.
MasterChef tonight was set on Matt Moran's father's lamb farm where the challenge was to feed a horde of hungry bush folk - who then had to decide, by putting small toy chickens in cans representing each of the contestants, who had prepared the best dishes on the day ... and by "best" they meant the ones they liked the "best" rather than the "best" prepared, most considered, well-thought out and presented offerings. Those not "best in show" - meaning the three scoring the fewest chickens - because of poor gnochi, potatoes not cooked through and not bush tucker food - will face an elimination round tomorrow night. (I am still waiting for the expulsion of Mat - reported in the media some time ago now - for having a smart phone in the house - not a particularly smart move if the reports are true - and they could be because they have now been reported in the gossip mags!
So after breakfast at The Big House, morning tea at the Markets, and lunch at the Groper and His Missus, rather than going off to the Mudgeeraba Show to have a Dagwood dog, fairy floss and/or CWA Devonshire tea (do they do that up here?) we made our way back to Latimers - and while we knew M had dropped Pearl around to Nana (aka Mouse), it still came as a bit of a surprise not to find her at home and for her not to run out, ball in mouth, to greet us!
The Markets were good this morning, although not quite the same without M who was delayed as she was going a phone intervention with S! It doesn't appear that much has changed in S-land although there is the suggestion that she will be able to join us for Saturday lunch (as opposed to breakfast) one weekend in the near future.
This evening, M and S listened to an interview with, and a talk by, the Dalai Lama. Both were recorded during his recent visit to Australia to speak (amongst other things) at the Happiness and its Causes conference in Brisbane (as attended by S). Judging by their laughter, he is a very entertaining speaker.
"Technical difficulties" appears to be the theme of the week. One of my hard drives has decided to be difficult and has stopped working. It's telling me that if I want to access information on it, I need to format it - which is a bit strange because formatting it will wipe any data there is on it. Hmmmmm. (Now who thinks I'm overcautious because I had backed that drive up - not recently enough but at least I haven't lost everything!)
M, S and I were all home last night - the only one missing was Pearl - so she's the only furry person who is not suspected of foul play. M found that one of the animals had had a chew on a bird (unfortunately it didn't make it). Suspicion is currently focussed on Beasley - because M doesn't believe that Maggie couldn't catch a bird although she would probably definitely chase one, and ... I'm not exactly sure why Tink was excluded from the suspect list.
MasterChef tonight was set on Matt Moran's father's lamb farm where the challenge was to feed a horde of hungry bush folk - who then had to decide, by putting small toy chickens in cans representing each of the contestants, who had prepared the best dishes on the day ... and by "best" they meant the ones they liked the "best" rather than the "best" prepared, most considered, well-thought out and presented offerings. Those not "best in show" - meaning the three scoring the fewest chickens - because of poor gnochi, potatoes not cooked through and not bush tucker food - will face an elimination round tomorrow night. (I am still waiting for the expulsion of Mat - reported in the media some time ago now - for having a smart phone in the house - not a particularly smart move if the reports are true - and they could be because they have now been reported in the gossip mags!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday
Some days are diamonds, others are gold. Today is right up there with them. We overnighted at The Big House, had a wonderful breakfast (although late since we didn't stir until 8:30) and then I took Nik off for a walk in the park outside to see what we could see. It was a different view of The Big House and of Broadbeach and I think we managed to take a couple of decent photographs although none of them of "wheels" which M tells me is the subject of this week's photography competition in The Courier Mail. Last week's theme was "rings" and the winner (which I haven't yet seen) was of onion rings.
"Kill me now - before I change my mind." So sang David just before he told us the Opera in the Park was about to end. So many songs are about love and loss, aren't they, although as the next song assured us ... "Love never dies ... Love endures."
The staging was quite good although I don't understand why the support services have pride of place at these events, especially as it would be possible to elevate the spotlight to the side and have the sound desk somewhere else. Hmmm ... or why the sound is better to the side of the stage rather than straight ahead - a question no doubt asked by those who had chosen their positions so they could see and, they thought, hear! Even though there was a tree between us and the stage it obstructed the view only a little but we had about the best sound in the park (as assessed while I went hither and thither taking photographs with Nik). Hmmmmm ... could it be, as someone has since suggested, that the sound was so good where we were because we had chosen to sit near the Sponsors' tent? But it was a different thing to do on a Saturday night and I certainly wasn't expecting to hear excerpts from my favourite musical movie ... The Sound of Music! And it was wonderful that M thought to and remembered to bring the chairs and berets from home ... she had thought of everything from top to bottom!
Did I mention that D has left the valley. During cat patrol (read: preparation for lockdown) one night late this week, M and I noticed D's ute reversing near the caravan and him hooking it up. The van was gone the next afternoon when I arrived home (I didn't notice if it had still been there that morning). It's not the same looking out there now and not seeing the caravan ... which reminds me, S and M were saying that A gave S a new caravan for her birthday! I wonder what they're going to do with the old one? We could play "Guess" with them to find out - we like "Guess" and had a fairly decent game of it today when M ran in to someone we knew and had us try to guess who it was! That the mobile network didn't deliver a couple of the SMS guesses in good time may have been annoying but it did have the effect of enhancing the game - to the point where I had exhausted my best guesses and had no idea who it was and hoping M wasn't showing them the texts because it sounded as though this person with whom I had worked had made such a small impression on me that I couldn't remember them at all. As it turned out, I had nailed it on the second guess!
CSP has not gone off yet - $196,769.
"Kill me now - before I change my mind." So sang David just before he told us the Opera in the Park was about to end. So many songs are about love and loss, aren't they, although as the next song assured us ... "Love never dies ... Love endures."
The staging was quite good although I don't understand why the support services have pride of place at these events, especially as it would be possible to elevate the spotlight to the side and have the sound desk somewhere else. Hmmm ... or why the sound is better to the side of the stage rather than straight ahead - a question no doubt asked by those who had chosen their positions so they could see and, they thought, hear! Even though there was a tree between us and the stage it obstructed the view only a little but we had about the best sound in the park (as assessed while I went hither and thither taking photographs with Nik). Hmmmmm ... could it be, as someone has since suggested, that the sound was so good where we were because we had chosen to sit near the Sponsors' tent? But it was a different thing to do on a Saturday night and I certainly wasn't expecting to hear excerpts from my favourite musical movie ... The Sound of Music! And it was wonderful that M thought to and remembered to bring the chairs and berets from home ... she had thought of everything from top to bottom!
Did I mention that D has left the valley. During cat patrol (read: preparation for lockdown) one night late this week, M and I noticed D's ute reversing near the caravan and him hooking it up. The van was gone the next afternoon when I arrived home (I didn't notice if it had still been there that morning). It's not the same looking out there now and not seeing the caravan ... which reminds me, S and M were saying that A gave S a new caravan for her birthday! I wonder what they're going to do with the old one? We could play "Guess" with them to find out - we like "Guess" and had a fairly decent game of it today when M ran in to someone we knew and had us try to guess who it was! That the mobile network didn't deliver a couple of the SMS guesses in good time may have been annoying but it did have the effect of enhancing the game - to the point where I had exhausted my best guesses and had no idea who it was and hoping M wasn't showing them the texts because it sounded as though this person with whom I had worked had made such a small impression on me that I couldn't remember them at all. As it turned out, I had nailed it on the second guess!
CSP has not gone off yet - $196,769.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday
Family and Friends Dinner! There are some days weeks when I just can't wait for Friday to arrive. Thanks to M we are staying in at the Big House tonight and as soon as I'm finished at work for the day (which may be delayed because we have a celebration event scheduled for this afternoon), I'll be the one racing home, packing my bag, feeding the animals and hot-footing it in to Broadbeach to join S and M.
Well, that was the plan and I finally arrived there two hours later than planned - but in the meantime I had a nice social catch-up at work (lovely mocktails in various flavors including strawberry) and then a lovely afternoon tea with The Great K who dropped in to Latimers (unannounced) to collect the book M had carried back for him from Sydney and the hard drives I have loaded with viewing material for him. He is well and thinking of a visit to his family in Sydney next weekend although he seems very undecided about this. His studies seem to be going well although he has been a little sleep deprived because assignments have been due. He managed three hours the night before last, and about the same again last night. Ah, to be young again and to be able to keep those kind of hours. These days double that is about half as much as I need to function effectively!
Dinner was great. At Zen again but with a few different dishes this time. We had the biggest table - even though there were only five of us - we could have fitted a few more in and still had room to spare! M is still in NZ (but not because she is stuck there with the ash cloud) and has now extended her trip but five days so she can catch up with people properly - which, as F says, she might as well do since she is already there! He will miss her though!
After dinner we went in to the Casino proper and F, M, Mouse and I jumped on to a CSP table that was just opening. They had three CSP tables open this evening - probably because so many people are keen to play - which have something to do with the jackpot still not having gone off - it's up to over $196,000 now. Alas, none of us won our fortunes, but it was the first time I saw someone dealt four of a kind - just a pity it was the dealer! That would have paid anyone else 20 to 1 (if she'd opened) and $500 from the pot. So close!
S was in bed by the time I arrived back in the room, but she did stir so I was able to tell her about our evening (post-dinner she had gone off in a other direction) and Mouse's first game of CSP! For 84, Mouse is amazing the way she is willing go try new things. (It took me ages to finally get on the CSP table once I'd started thinking about it ... yes, yes ... and now it's hard to get me off it - in fact I think I hear it calling now but I shall resist ... until tomorrow.)
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