Do excuse

Do excuse me if I have a stiff drink while I write this post, but I've just spent the day at the Ekka with 90 five-and-a-half year olds.
I have a suspicion Peach's teacher doesn't like me very much because he gave me a twin to look after as well as Peaches of course. I outwitted him though, I immediately wrote the twin's name on her hand, thus ensuring I returned to school with the correct child and not her double.
I heard an awful lot of whining during the day, which is probably what gave me the idea to have one when I got home, a wine that is.
Mims' class didn't go to the Ekka so I brought her this Kewpie doll and a piece of Rocky Road so big we nearly had to get one of the Clydesdales to pull it home.

Speaking of Clydesdales, this is one running round in circles in the horse pavilion. I think they're beautiful.

I've never pretended to be a horse whisperer, but I think this Apaloosa pony really, really wanted to just go home.

The animal nursery was a hoot. We bought a cup of feed for the babies, but I didn't manage to move more than a metre from the counter before we were set upon by a hoard of hungry miniature farm animals. They were like the Papparrazi on Katie Holmes. The cup was knocked to the ground and that was the end of it.

Back at the ranch - our neighbours have the most beautiful rose bush. It must be fifty years old or more, it's old school. They tried to dig it out once but it's sought revenge by growing back bigger and better than ever. On the weekend I noticed the most magnificent flower on it. Using all my cunning, I observed that the neighbours went out for the day. I knew this because they took their boat. I was planning on leaning over the fence and snipping it off, but must have gotten side-tracked. Later that day my lovely neighbour came home and cut the rose and gave it to me. I think there's a lesson in that for all of us, or maybe just me?

It's a deep red and has the most delicious fragrance. I snapped it next to some oriental lillies so you can see the size. I know the rose is in front of the lillies and linear perspective dictates that of course it's going to be larger because it's at the front, but it really was larger than a lilly.

Just enough time for a couple more During and Later Ons.

I like the floors light too, but we had to replace so many boards that a lighter varnish would have been a patchy finish.

Excuse the messy kitchen, below, but this is a house in full domestic flight.

Friday tomorrow!