That bloody cat again! Realised this morning that while we were making sure it was comfortable for the trip to Toowoomba, we forgot to pack something and left behind our extra step that makes the difference at our front door if we are on a less than level surface. It was a stepping step from the exercise department of Big W (cost a whole $20!). Went to the Kawana Big W today when we realised we need it and that it had been lost, more bad news, no exercise steps. Cindy the wonderful had one in her little home gym out there in her shed (much more expensive too) and has generously lent it to us until a suitable replacement can be found. Bugger that cat!!! Just got that step worn in. It was surprisingly just the right thing, not only the right height but also was exactly the same length of the caravan steps.
Woke early this morning and watched a mob of bush turkeys wandering around the caravan park. There was also ibis and willy wag tales as well as many other species of native birds. Quite a chorus between them.
We had dinner at Cindys again. The eldest daughter came home from dance class and gave us an impromptu dance display. Most impressive and very gymnastic as well. Our thanks to her. Tomorrow we are invited to dinner again but this time I need to take a casserole of some sort. That will keep me out of mischief. By the time I do that and put a Nice & Easy in my hair and paint my toe nails, my day should be used up.
Himself is going for a drive to Gympie to get a new element for our hot water service...we hope.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday...30 May 2011
We had a huge thunderstorm last night out at our little wayside camp. Bulk noise and bulk water. When we got up there was a fair size puddle under the van, and most of the ground around it looked fairly soggy. The bloke in the next van got himself bogged trying to leave the park.
A nice easy drive into Caloundra this morning, we were only 80kms out of town. Got in early and set up camp then Cindy and Steve came for coffee and took us out to lunch before we went to watch their eldest in his school tennis team play inter school tennis.
We had dinner with the family and came home fairly early to let them sleep. They have school and work tomorrow.....we don't!
Forgot to tell you, mostly because of that bloody cat, anyway not the point, the point is that on the day the cat found us, Himself went for a walk while I tried to take an afternoon nap. Actually fell asleep. Was woken by lots of loud voices after no more than ten minutes sleep. Got up, staggered out the door..... right into the arms of 18-20 Chinese tourists off a coaster tour bus. They had pulled into our little stop to use the public toilets and insisted they be allowed five more minutes to come and take photos of our little home. Guess they do not have many fifth wheelers in China!
They asked question after question, most politely and some very taxing ones about the load capacity and what we were using to power the van. They were told battery, generator, electricity or solar depending on the location and availability. The answer that most pleased them was the solar panel.
I have now gone to China on several video cameras as well as digital cameras as they just kept clicking. Some even posed in front of the van and some even insisted on posing with little old me.
I guess that was my five minutes of fame folks!!!!!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday...29 May 2011
Right first up the blessed cat! After eating us out of house and home it curled up on my outside camping chair and went to sleep, we threw an old towel over it and it was still there in the same position still asleep at 8am this morning. It woke about the same time we started moving around and went off to do its business then came back and said, right, whats for brekkie? Some soft old bugger gave it a can of sardines and some soft old girl gave it water then milk. That all seemed to pass quality control, it all vanished rapidly.
Then we packed up camp and put the cat into a cardboard box and set off down the road. It did not like the box, meowed a lot, so I let it out and it she sat on my lap most of the way into Toowoomba, about 80kms. It was much happier that way and did not run around anywhere, just sat and panted and said meow a bit. We were not actually planning to go to Toowoomba, we were going to Kingaroy to see peanuts. Never mind. When we got to Toowoomba I rang the RSPCA and told them the story and they were happy to take it off us. I know someone will love it to bits. It is a beautiful animal. So all those worrying about the cat, the problem is solved satisfactorily. The RSPCA will get it vet treatment and then re house it.They do not put them down until they really have to and she is so cute someone will take her, just not us, we do not have room for an animal. I have been scratching all afternoon so maybe I have a few extra animals on board after all!!!!!!
Tonight we are in Kilcoy and tomorrow we go to Caloundra which is where our eldest daughter lives and three of our grandchildren. Will be wonderful to see them all again, and yes Steve you too!!!!!!
We are parked over the road from a motel which has a good sense of humor. It is a Moooootel.
Not sure why the cow has two wooden legs, maybe the owner is short of cash and needed to eat! One way to keep the customers from complaining about the freshness of the milk........
Then we packed up camp and put the cat into a cardboard box and set off down the road. It did not like the box, meowed a lot, so I let it out and it she sat on my lap most of the way into Toowoomba, about 80kms. It was much happier that way and did not run around anywhere, just sat and panted and said meow a bit. We were not actually planning to go to Toowoomba, we were going to Kingaroy to see peanuts. Never mind. When we got to Toowoomba I rang the RSPCA and told them the story and they were happy to take it off us. I know someone will love it to bits. It is a beautiful animal. So all those worrying about the cat, the problem is solved satisfactorily. The RSPCA will get it vet treatment and then re house it.They do not put them down until they really have to and she is so cute someone will take her, just not us, we do not have room for an animal. I have been scratching all afternoon so maybe I have a few extra animals on board after all!!!!!!
Tonight we are in Kilcoy and tomorrow we go to Caloundra which is where our eldest daughter lives and three of our grandchildren. Will be wonderful to see them all again, and yes Steve you too!!!!!!
We are parked over the road from a motel which has a good sense of humor. It is a Moooootel.
Not sure why the cow has two wooden legs, maybe the owner is short of cash and needed to eat! One way to keep the customers from complaining about the freshness of the milk........
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday...28 May 2011
OK people I am angry! I am exceedingly angry. I am beyong describing how angry I am.
We left Goondiwindi this morning, had a simply wonderful drive down the road in the sushine to a little tiny place called Cecil Plains. Now we only stopped here because it was recommended to us way back at Moree by the people in the next caravan with the lovely little Jack Russell terrier..
It is a wonderful little free camp place in the middle of nowhere.
We made camp, then lunch, and took our lunch outside to sit in the sunshine. While we were eating out of the bullrushes beside the river, comes the most adorable ginger cat, all fluff and skin and bone. She (not pregnant) promptly fell over by the look of it in a dead faint. When it recovered, we called it and when she very timidly came to us we fed her some crusts off our lunch. She was starving! This poor cat has not eaten in a long long time. She managed a few crusts then water then a bit of ham. After a while (about an hour) the food must have given her energy, she killed and ate a finch. Then she came back into our camp and said rightyo you are my new humans I will stay with you..
What in Gods name am I gonna do with a cat???? I am not equipped to travel with an animal of any description! Have decided to check with the local constabulary to see if any one has lost her while free camping otherwise we need to find a way to take her to the big RSPCA place down near Calondra.
She has the very distinct mark of a collar on her but no actual collar, so wonder if someone lost her or god help us she was dumped!!!! OR she is part of the tragic aftermath of the inland sunami. Maybe she was washed down river in that awful wall of water, rememeber she will not drink out of the runnin g river beside where we are camped!
Tomorrow will be an interesting day, I will NOT leave camp until the problem has been resolved. Right now I am worrying because a truck has pulled in with a very large dog (pig dog ) wandering around and our new friend is under our van sound asleep on one of our chairs. If the pig dog finds her..........
We are camped beside the Condamine river beside a weir with the sound of the water flowing over a weir, lovely noise to go to sleep besdide.Well it would be if I was not so worried about the cat! and I do believe I was told that stress will make my shingles worse.........
Meantime we had a lovely time in Gundy, our very best thank you to cousin Beth (and Brian) for their help and hospitality, we had a lovely time. PS start being mean to us ........otherwise we will keep coming back!!!
Keith really enjoyed his day out in the cotton fields learning the process that makes millions of dollars a day. He even got to ride in a cotton harvester and he bought me home a whole cotton boll straight off the plant! It looks like a little bundle of cotton wool balls on stick. Most exciting.
We left Goondiwindi this morning, had a simply wonderful drive down the road in the sushine to a little tiny place called Cecil Plains. Now we only stopped here because it was recommended to us way back at Moree by the people in the next caravan with the lovely little Jack Russell terrier..
It is a wonderful little free camp place in the middle of nowhere.
We made camp, then lunch, and took our lunch outside to sit in the sunshine. While we were eating out of the bullrushes beside the river, comes the most adorable ginger cat, all fluff and skin and bone. She (not pregnant) promptly fell over by the look of it in a dead faint. When it recovered, we called it and when she very timidly came to us we fed her some crusts off our lunch. She was starving! This poor cat has not eaten in a long long time. She managed a few crusts then water then a bit of ham. After a while (about an hour) the food must have given her energy, she killed and ate a finch. Then she came back into our camp and said rightyo you are my new humans I will stay with you..
What in Gods name am I gonna do with a cat???? I am not equipped to travel with an animal of any description! Have decided to check with the local constabulary to see if any one has lost her while free camping otherwise we need to find a way to take her to the big RSPCA place down near Calondra.
She has the very distinct mark of a collar on her but no actual collar, so wonder if someone lost her or god help us she was dumped!!!! OR she is part of the tragic aftermath of the inland sunami. Maybe she was washed down river in that awful wall of water, rememeber she will not drink out of the runnin g river beside where we are camped!
Tomorrow will be an interesting day, I will NOT leave camp until the problem has been resolved. Right now I am worrying because a truck has pulled in with a very large dog (pig dog ) wandering around and our new friend is under our van sound asleep on one of our chairs. If the pig dog finds her..........
We are camped beside the Condamine river beside a weir with the sound of the water flowing over a weir, lovely noise to go to sleep besdide.Well it would be if I was not so worried about the cat! and I do believe I was told that stress will make my shingles worse.........
Meantime we had a lovely time in Gundy, our very best thank you to cousin Beth (and Brian) for their help and hospitality, we had a lovely time. PS start being mean to us ........otherwise we will keep coming back!!!
Keith really enjoyed his day out in the cotton fields learning the process that makes millions of dollars a day. He even got to ride in a cotton harvester and he bought me home a whole cotton boll straight off the plant! It looks like a little bundle of cotton wool balls on stick. Most exciting.
From here we head to Kingaroy to see Peanuts growing, I can't wait, I used to think that they grew on a tree like walnuts. Now I know they do not but I want to see it for myself. And of course I want to taste test them.
From there we go to Dickie Beach Caravan Park just down the road from Cindy!!! YES, Whoopee.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday...26 May 2011
Not a lot to tell today.
Himself drove back down the highway to Moree to go on a day trip thing that was to include a tour of a cotton gin. Tour was cancelled and they could not bother to notify the people who had booked it. Now why do they insist on getting your name and a mobile phone number when you book if they are not going to bother letting you know if they cancel something. Apparently Himself gave them a lecture on how to make a call to a mobile phone in a none too friendly manner after driving all that way in the early part of the day, having got up at sparrow fart, and all for nothing!
He went back to the Moree Caravan Park and said hello to the people we were parked next to when we were there. (Do not be fooled folks, that was just an excuse to visit their wee doggie for a pat and a cuddle!)Then he went out of town a bit to the Cotton Industry Field Days and came home loaded down with all manner of give aways and informative reading material.
I spent the day with his cousin who tried to get me a doctors appointment, no luck but maybe tomorrow, I need a refill of the antiviral pills I have been taking to ease the shingles. We did manage to get an appointment to have my nails redone so am feeling better about that. Now if only it also made my typing better..........
I hear also that the eldest grandchild got his L's today......way to go young man, you really are on a roll now.
The evening was spent eating beef stroganoff and watching hilarious UTube videos of Mrs Brown!!
Himself drove back down the highway to Moree to go on a day trip thing that was to include a tour of a cotton gin. Tour was cancelled and they could not bother to notify the people who had booked it. Now why do they insist on getting your name and a mobile phone number when you book if they are not going to bother letting you know if they cancel something. Apparently Himself gave them a lecture on how to make a call to a mobile phone in a none too friendly manner after driving all that way in the early part of the day, having got up at sparrow fart, and all for nothing!
He went back to the Moree Caravan Park and said hello to the people we were parked next to when we were there. (Do not be fooled folks, that was just an excuse to visit their wee doggie for a pat and a cuddle!)Then he went out of town a bit to the Cotton Industry Field Days and came home loaded down with all manner of give aways and informative reading material.
I spent the day with his cousin who tried to get me a doctors appointment, no luck but maybe tomorrow, I need a refill of the antiviral pills I have been taking to ease the shingles. We did manage to get an appointment to have my nails redone so am feeling better about that. Now if only it also made my typing better..........
I hear also that the eldest grandchild got his L's today......way to go young man, you really are on a roll now.
The evening was spent eating beef stroganoff and watching hilarious UTube videos of Mrs Brown!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday...24 May 2011
Happy birthday to my best friend, my sister Ellen.
The great aussie, Slim Dusty said, Looking Forward, Looking Back, we have come a long way down the track..... Yep I been doing a lot of looking inside today.
We have been living 'the dream' for one year today.
Hardly seems that long. I can remember with vivid clarity that first day on the road like it was yesterday.
So I guess this means some of you are out of the betting on how long before we give up and go back.!! Those who said we would be back in Perth for last Christmas were most definately wrong.
Today we packed up camp and moved from Moree to Goondiwindi, from NSW to Qld. Sunshine here we come. PS where did you hide it????
Not a very big drive, only 124kms so not much to do, but we did see the last F1-11 to ever fly in Australia on a truck being taken to a museum of some sort in South Australia. The truck had pulled up at a big truck stop at Boggabilla which is on the NSW side of the McIntyre River which marks the NSW/Qld border in this area. Pretty special.
Planes seem to have been the subject of the family lately. One son-in-law is moving to a FIFO job from an original on site position and we now also have another son-in-law who will be doing FIFO at the new Gorgon Gas Project. Congratuations to both.
The great aussie, Slim Dusty said, Looking Forward, Looking Back, we have come a long way down the track..... Yep I been doing a lot of looking inside today.
We have been living 'the dream' for one year today.
Hardly seems that long. I can remember with vivid clarity that first day on the road like it was yesterday.
So I guess this means some of you are out of the betting on how long before we give up and go back.!! Those who said we would be back in Perth for last Christmas were most definately wrong.
Today we packed up camp and moved from Moree to Goondiwindi, from NSW to Qld. Sunshine here we come. PS where did you hide it????
Not a very big drive, only 124kms so not much to do, but we did see the last F1-11 to ever fly in Australia on a truck being taken to a museum of some sort in South Australia. The truck had pulled up at a big truck stop at Boggabilla which is on the NSW side of the McIntyre River which marks the NSW/Qld border in this area. Pretty special.
When we arrived at Gundy we went straight to see a cousin and I spent most of the day chatting with her while Himself bought the caravan over to the caravan park and set it all up by himself.
Following a trip to the club for a after work drink with the cousins partner we came home to the van to cook and eat our celebratory dinner. We opened a bottle of Moet given to us at the start of the trip by a very good friend and thawed some prawns. Does it get any better???
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday...23 May 2011
Up nice and early thanks to Himself who has an internal body clock second to none! I cheated and deliberately did not set an alarm last night, to be up early enough to take my pills, I figured one day of being lazy would not do too much harm to me or my shingles. But no, right in the middle of a perfect dream, tap tap thump!! He of course then rolled over and went right back to sleep.(No I am not going to tell you what the dream was about!)
Spent the morning going through cupboards just rearranging and sorting and restacking, was actually trying to do a proper clean but the weather and company were against me. It rained last night, quite a bucketing apparently, I did hear rain, sort of sat up, said to self, its raining, then went right back to sleep, thus missing one hell of a storm so they all tell me. Very soggy outside this morning and our awning was squewiff, looked like it had been to the pub!
Talking of pubs, us and the couple in the next van, went to the pub just over the road from the caravan park today for lunch. Just another local pub but the food was OK and the company was very pleasant. Outside the hotel near the kids playground is a PNG Defence Force Dakota DC3. Bit of a talking point and very hard to miss when you have a plane that big parked at the front door. The exciting bit for the men was that they and any other responsible person can enter it and sit in the cockpit etc, every instrument is still in the thing, put a tank full of fuel in her and technically she could take off if she wasnt tied to the pub and rusting with old age.Fascinating.
We all played the pokies for half an hour and then came home as the folk next door had to take their car in for some repair work. After it came back from the repair shop, us girls took it to go shopping at the local supermarket. They are lovely people and they have the most precious little Tri-color Jack Russell dog called Mia. Mia does not bark and she is ultra smart, she can make humans do what ever she wants them to!! Her owners are from Tasmania and are on their way to work in Qld. Who knows one day our paths may cross again and while it will be nice to chat to Chris and Helen the big attractiion of course will be precious little Mia.
We all went down to the thermal pools again tonite, then came home and had home made apple crumble made with apples supplied by my sister and topping made and cooked by me in the turbo oven, cream supplied by Helen. Not quite perfect but the flavour was there.
Yesterday I used my food dehydrator to dry some sliced apples and today I did beef jerky. I am a very popular girl right now.
Tomorrow is moving day.....Gundy I think but lets wait to find out together.............
Spent the morning going through cupboards just rearranging and sorting and restacking, was actually trying to do a proper clean but the weather and company were against me. It rained last night, quite a bucketing apparently, I did hear rain, sort of sat up, said to self, its raining, then went right back to sleep, thus missing one hell of a storm so they all tell me. Very soggy outside this morning and our awning was squewiff, looked like it had been to the pub!
Talking of pubs, us and the couple in the next van, went to the pub just over the road from the caravan park today for lunch. Just another local pub but the food was OK and the company was very pleasant. Outside the hotel near the kids playground is a PNG Defence Force Dakota DC3. Bit of a talking point and very hard to miss when you have a plane that big parked at the front door. The exciting bit for the men was that they and any other responsible person can enter it and sit in the cockpit etc, every instrument is still in the thing, put a tank full of fuel in her and technically she could take off if she wasnt tied to the pub and rusting with old age.Fascinating.
We all went down to the thermal pools again tonite, then came home and had home made apple crumble made with apples supplied by my sister and topping made and cooked by me in the turbo oven, cream supplied by Helen. Not quite perfect but the flavour was there.
Yesterday I used my food dehydrator to dry some sliced apples and today I did beef jerky. I am a very popular girl right now.
Tomorrow is moving day.....Gundy I think but lets wait to find out together.............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)