Question.

Don't you think that......stretching...
..is one of the most underrated pleasures on the planet?

And New Zealand breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Who-ho! We're through to the finals of the Rugby World Cup.

Phew. Looks like we'll avoid any rioting in the streets as I had feared.

While it would have been nice to have been up against Wales in the final, I did point out that we'd get a lot more satisfaction out of beating France.

You blow up one boat...

You know you fly alot when...

...the airport parking guys not only know your name...but they also know your car's number plate.

Surprises.

Some very old friends of mine who have been living in the U.S and Canada for the last ten or so years are out for the World Cup and, with them, they've brought their Nearly-Three-Year-Old.

It's the third time I've met her since she was born and she's growing into a very cute wee person.

Just one thing I wasn't prepared for.

The fact that if you're born in the States and you grow up surrounded by Americans, you will have an American accent.

'You've got an American accent!' I squealed.

Nearly Three-Year-Old gives me a Welcome-to-State-the-Bleedin'-Obvious-Productions look.

'Yes, she has, hasn't she?' Says her mother.

'It never occurred to me!'

'Yeah, but you're a fool.' Says her father.

I love my friends.

It's Serious Stuff.

A woman at work was telling me that she could hear her husband speaking on the telephone on Sunday. She said he was sounding deeply distressed.

'OH NO! No, no, no. Fuuuuuuck. Please say it isn't so. No. NO. NO.NO!'

My colleague said she was beside herself. She was desperately motioning to him to tell her what had happened. After was seemed like a lifetime to her, he hung up.

'What's happened? Whose died?' She asked her emotionally truamatised husband.

'Dan Carter's out of the World Cup.'

Clang! Did I just drop something?

Under the heading:Entertaining Texts to Get.

One from one of your very old friends telling you that he's just been at a black tie fashion event at The Met where he was mixing it up with Ban Ki-moon and Martha Stewart.

My only thought was, I wondered if Ban Ki-moon enjoyed the fashion event ?

A Treat.

As I wait for the second of three flights for the weekend I thought I'd treat you to a bit of Awkward Family Photo action. I haven't been lurking around the interweb much of late, however having a few hours to kill at an airport is a nice wee window of opportunity.

Let's just say, it never fails to disappoint.

I thought I'd kick things off with the family who likes to stay connected. Either that, or Grandpa invented the mobile phone.

For Christmas Santa gave gingham...
And I'm not sure what the sparkly leaves/acorns/pinecones represent in this photo. Maybe how he'd feel if he won Lotto?
All I'm saying about this one is that I'm really hoping Dad was off to a fancy dress party.
And saving the best for last. I think the children have the 'we-haven't-seen-our-sister-days-and-we-think-we-know-where-she-is' look of fear in their eyes.

However, I looked at this photo and I looked and looked again. It looked vaguely familiar. And then I realised.

Have a great weekend!