Smiley Saturday - You've got to acc-entuate

Advance apologies for me not doing too much commenting in the blog-o-sphere - I am at Granite Glen and other far-flung realms until Tuesday. Now, I know in this technological age that far-flung doesn't mean off the radar, just means the radar operates t-h-a-t m-u-c-h s-l-o-w-e-r...

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However, a quick post, and I tip my hat to Lighteningfor hosting:

Here are a few smiles from our day:

Before heading over here this morning, 'Salina played softball. There was one unusual time-out called during the game - when a goanna wandered through the field of play.

Of course, if I was another person (like my sister) I would have had fantastic shots of the 30 eager children and 20 eager adults attempting to muster the goanna to the end of the mesh that protects the spectators from fly balls (and apparently goannas) but I am not, so you are again going to have to just imagine it, waddling along getting more and more agitated, checking every few feet to see if he could get through the mesh (he couldn't) and the adults trying to get the kids to stay behind the goanna (they didn't) so he wouldn't double back (he did). Eventually he got back to the batting plate and so our team opened the gate through to their dugout for him to go through to the bushland behind the folding-chair flotilla of spectators.

Still, two weeks ago we had time-out while a mob of kangaroos cruised the diamonds.

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The three hour drive from Paradise to Granite Glen has its moments - of extreme static and cursing at the piece of crap radio that has only one speaker working (and yes, that would be the one farthest from the driver) and only one direction of its high-faluting controls guaranteed to work - which would be the volume control to lower the volume.

It has not be proven yet that the only way to increase the volume is to swear loudly while holding the button firmly in the up position after the 60millionth attempt - but nothing else works every time!

As a result, sometimes (when you have moved past the "static" or swearing zone) silence fills the car.

There are good times for silence - but I often demand that my passenger fill the void. If it is not organically filled with games suggestions or song requests I have been known to even pester said passenger with questions - curly questions about school and stuff that we-don't-always-like-to-talk-about.

I must say, however, that 'Salina outperformed herself on the ducking these questions - and she even got the volume to increase enough to be out of the firing line.

Some report was on about the financial crisis in Asia, and a very English journalist was giving it.

"Americans sound funny," observed 'Salina.

I was too busy holding back the splutter to correct her on (a) the nationality of the jounalist or (b) the non-pc behaviour in singling out others for differences.

"In fact, everyone sounds funny because they have accents." she went on. "Its good we don't have accents."

"But we do have accents, honey" I told her.

"Oh yes," she agreed "when we are talking to Americans we have accents - but otherwise we are just normal."

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Pop over and check out Lightening's story and the linky for others participating.