Last we wrote we were up near Bundaberg so will fill you in from there.
29th JanuaryToday we had a drive to Brisbane to see the hearing centre for them to do a screen of my hearing. The family keep telling me that I am missing conversation and I KNOW that I can’t hear with my right ear when on the telephone. So the specialist referred me for a hearing assessment. We left Bundy at about 6 am and got to the appointment at 11.15 and had time for lunch before being tested.
Well it seems that my hearing has decreased dramatically over the past 6 years and it is recommended that I consider hearing aids. The family say that this is NOT new news J. I have to go back in 4 weeks and make a decision about types and get measured up etc.
We returned to Heather and Brendon’s, arriving about 7.30pm. We were so glad to have left Brisbane as soon as the appointment was over as there was a nasty prang on the Bruce highway which we were just in front of.
1st February
Today was not a good day. Meniere’s raised its ugly head and I had a spinning day in the bed. We have been having some really hot days and nights over the past week, which haven’t helped – I don’t think. L
5th February
Today we went into Bundy to see Fiona and Neville Owen and we had lots of little showers of rain – which have been very welcome. We headed to the chemist to get Darryl’s scripts filled, but have to come back tomorrow as they have to order it in and on the way back to the car we found a fabric shop which has some great fabric for a quilt for Mr Lucky Last. We were running late for our lunch date, so decided to choose fabric tomorrow. We had a great lunch at Grunske’s with Fiona, Neville and our friend Debbie Hall. Was so great to catch up with them all.
6th Feb
We headed back into Bundy to get Darryl’s tablets and to choose the fabrics for this quilt. I will do another ‘quilt as you go’, so that the panels are easy to manage in the van. We also got the wadding and the backing fabric. Whilst in town we went to Bunnings and picked up Peter’s saw – a huge box that took some juggling to get in the car, but Darryl managed.
10th Feb
Today was a sad day as it has been 11 years since Uncle Bill Moore passed away. Time for remembrance and thinking about a great man.
12 Feb
Today we left the farm and headed to Caloundra. We have had to get the clearance lights repaired on the van as they weren’t working. We had had some LED lights installed in the indicators and parkers on the car BUT when we have the lights on we can’t pick up the radio stations. L So Shane and Peter are putting in a booster for the radio to see if that will help. We then travelled on to Kilcoy for the night as we have to be in Proston tomorrow to join the ACC MBD (Morton Bay Drifters branch) for a week long muster.
13th Feb
Arrived at Boondooma Dam at Proston and it has been a very hot day. Where we are – at the Lookout Campground – is way up above the dam and about 4km from the boat ramp. We are close to the amenities though. We go for frequent wanders with Buster dog but mostly we are trying to stay out of the sun. We have some great games of Finska/Klop which has taken on an obstacle course around the guy ropes of the awnings. Makings for a very interesting game.
Unfortunately for this muster, two of our members had bad falls in the past week and have injured their backs and are unable to attend.
On Monday 17th three car loads of members made the trip out to Boondooma Homestead, which is on the other side of the dam and about 60km one way. Was well worth the trip though. A very interesting history was told by the caretaker and then we were given a cup of tea (included in the $5 admission fee), then they made us toasted sandwiches for lunch. This was topped off with a piece of cake to follow. $5 for lunch per person. Not bad at all. AND they even had gluten-free bread as one of the volunteers has Coeliac disease. Bonus for me. The only disappointment for the day was the reports that people coming through on the tours have had to vandalise or thieve from the property. Pieces of the intricate wood-work around the fireplaces and door-frames have been stolen and one of the very old records was stolen about 4 weeks previous.
This week we have had very HOT temperatures, up around the 37 – 39 degree mark every day. The poor fridge in the van is JUST keeping things cold.
On Monday most of the members packed up and headed home, so tonight there will be 6 members still camping.
Tuesday another couple of vans are heading off. John and Anne are going out to stay with friends and John is going to help build a shed – but he is having trouble with the vision in his right eye. He says that half of it is ‘just black’. Everyone left has recommended that he get it checked before getting up and down the ladder but he says he will wait till he gets home. We received a message late in the afternoon to say that John had his eye checked this afternoon and is back in Brisbane for surgery tomorrow. He has a detached retina in his right eye.
Wednesday 19th Feb
Today we are moving on toward Brisbane. We left Proston at about 11am and made our way toward Gympie and will head south. We got as far as the Matilda service station, south of Gympie and have decided to stop here for the night. A nice stop beside two lovely billabongs, and quite shady. Not a lot of noise from trucks or coaches – even though it is a major truck stop.
This evening we heard that John’s surgery went well and not only did he have a detached retina but a macula drift as well. If not treated he could have been blinded in his right eye. He now has to rest with his head down for three weeks to allow the eye to heal.
Another of our members, Wayne, had a stroke today and is in hospital in Brisbane. We wish him a quick recovery.
20 Feb
Today we have to be in Brisbane by 12md for my follow-up for hearing aids. I have now been measured up and the aids will be ordered when we are on our way home so that I do not waste the initial warranty period. After the measurements we headed to Jimboomba and staying with Beckie, Matt and the Children overnight.
21 Feb
We had a great night last night with the family and were able to pick up another script for Darryl before making our way to Sydney.
We are still having some hot days and the fridge is not coping when running on DC as we travel. We have got it turned up to MAX but it doesn’t seem to be helping. L
Today we have travelled up through Cunningham’s Gap to Warwick and on to Coolmunda dam. We turned off just after Cobadamana and headed south to Texas. There is a nice free camp at the river but Darryl wants to continue to Bonshaw weir. We travelled the extra 21km, through a herd of cattle on the ‘long paddock’ and found the weir. Unfortunately – to us – it wasn’t very welcoming, so we turned around and headed back to Texas. Here we found a level-ish spot on the river bank and settled in for two nights. What a great area. Not noisy from trucks whether you are up near the new bridge or back near the old one.
23rd Feb
Today we are heading to Tingha in NSW just south of Inverell and we are already running an hour late – because we forgot about daylight saving time – but anyway we have reached Tom and Sandra Smith’s farm at just on midday. What a lovely property. Tom and Sandra are excellent hosts and we had a great chat most of the afternoon, and then they invited us to join them for Dinner when Peter and Sue would be joining us. Peter and Sue are the proud owners of a Billabong Grove caravan and are members of the ACC. Tom is Chairman of ACC and Sandra went to high school with Darryl in Quirindi. Because of the problem with the fridge we will only be staying one night, but we look forward to coming back and spending more time with them.
24th Feb
Today we have headed to Guyra after leaving Tom and Sandra at about 11am. We are going to Kootingal north of Tamworth to get the fridge checked. Arrived at Kootingal at 1.30pm and the problem could be that because the fridge got VERY hot and we have been running it at MAX, it hasn’t had a chance to cool down properly. Tonight we are going to stay in the Kootingal Kourt caravan park and run it on 240V and see what happens.
25th Feb
The fridge managed to get down to -3.3 degrees at about 6am and the fridge is set on level 8. All good so far. Now to rule out any problem with the gas supply, we have to run it on gas tonight.
We travelled to Wallabadah, east of Quirindi, to the memorial to the First and Second convict Fleets. What a great effort by an amazing man. Thank you to the Liverpool Plains Shire Council for their foresight in allowing this wonderful structure.
We arrived at Gulgong Showgrounds late in the afternoon and ran the fridge on gas overnight. It took until 6am to get down to 6 degrees Celsius. Hmmmm Not so good.
26th Feb
Contacted the chap from Kootingal and he says to stay put for 36 hours and see what it does on gas. Well – we are only 2 hours from Trevor’s at Wallerawang, so we are going to travel there and start it on gas and let it go….
Arrived at Trevor’s at 10.30am and set up the van near the house and have the fridge running – so will keep recording temperatures and see what happens.
27th Feb
Whoo hoo, the overnight temp got down to 15.4 degrees Celsius and the fridge has started to cool down.
2nd March
Last night it got down to 11.6 degrees outside and the fridge is sitting at -2.8 on level 3. MUCH better and we now know that there is nothing wrong with the gas lines or the power to the fridge. We will have to look at getting some extra fans to put in the back of the fridge to get the hot air out of the cavity and keep the air moving to enable the fridge to work at its best.
Today we drove to Padstow in Sydney to meet up with some of Darryl’s relatives. We left Wallerawang at 6.50am and arrived at Padstow at 8.50am. We stopped at McDonalds for a pit stop and a coffee before going to the Davis residence. This turns out to be about 5 minutes up the road. We surprised Aunty Margaret with our early arrival, but we had a chance for a quick catch-up before other family members arrived. We had a great day with Robert and Joy, Gail and Peter, Aunty Marie and Uncle David, Aunty Deanna and Uncle Tony and Aunty Margaret and Uncle Wally. We left at 6pm and arrived back at Trevor’s at about 9pm. A long day but a lovely one.
8th March
Today we left the mountain and headed into Homebush Bay where we are going to see the live show of Mrs Brown’s Boys.
What a FANTASTIC afternoon. We had a side-splitting afternoon and was a lovely birthday.
We then went to the Mercure Motel at Parramatta and checked it. We then got ready to go to HOOTERS for dinner. This was a short walk across the street and the carpark. This was also a fantastic night and we were kept entertained. The staff had been warned that it was my birthday and they were asked to ‘embarrass her’ – well they sang me Happy Birthday and put a bib around my neck with ‘Birthday Girl’ on it – but I wasn’t embarrassed – I had a fantastic night.
Back to the motel and drinks on the Terrace before heading up to bed.
9th March
Down stairs for breakfast before heading out to Penrith, to the Akira Teppanyaki Restaurant, to celebrate Andrew’s birthday (which is tomorrow). It also happens to be Andrew’s girlfriend Megan’s, birthday too. So we will have a double celebration. We had a great time. Lots of good food and they even catered for the fact that I was gluten-free. Some of the options I could not have but they adapted others for me.
By the time we got in the car to head home we were as full as googs. No need for dinner tonight.
10th March
Today we were up and left ‘Wang at 7 am to get to Illawong by 9.30am. Ooops didn’t work that way. There was lots of traffic on the way and more road-works and we did not arrive until after 10.30am. We had a lovely day with Emma and Liam and Uncle Tony and Aunty Deanna. Would have been nice to see Garth and Kasia and children but understand that life is busy. Emma’s husband Chris, had flown overseas that morning and young Lochie was at School. Maybe next time we will get to see everyone.
12th March
Today we left at 7am to get to Castle Hill at about 10.30am. It was a nice drive along Bells Line of Road to go through Richmond and Windsor to visit Darryl’s Aunty Margaret Mason. We had a lovely time at her little apartment and then went to the local café for lunch. It was very nice indeed. We left Aunt Margaret at 4pm and headed back up the mountain. We stopped at Kurrajong North at “Pie in the Sky” for a coffee and got a family sized apple pie for dessert tonight. This went down well with all that could have some J.
16th March
Trevor’s Birthday…. Whoo HOO a big 52!!! Today we had a brunch to celebrate before heading down the mountain to Leura to the Fairmont Resort for High Tea. Never having experienced this before – it was lovely. A lovely setting in the Blue Mountains, and a great time with family. Again – by the time we left we did not want any dinner…..
17th March
Today we pulled out of Wallerawang and headed towards Orange. We arrived at 11.00am and set up in the van park, before heading down the town to meet up with my dear school friend, Sandie Smith. We have kept in contact over the years BUT it was the first time we had met Face to Face since Ben was 2 – so 30 years ago. It was as if we had only seen each other last week. We could just pick up where we had left off. It was so good to see her.
18th March
Today we went into town and spent the WHOLE day with Sandie and met her sister Jenni as well. We went and spent time in Cook Park for lunch and then it was time to head back to the van. We said our goodbyes but will keep in contact via media and catch up again on our next visit south.
19th March
This morning we pulled out of Orange and made our way to Condobolin. Two and a half hours later we pulled into the driveway of the house on the research station, and after confirmation of where to park, we set up the van. Now to relax with Ian and Wendy and do the final preparations for the combined birthday party on Saturday.
22nd March
Trevor and Sharon arrived yesterday, and people have been arriving all day for the celebrations this afternoon. We have got everything ready and the party is to begin – The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – and everyone has been requested to come in costume of some sort……
Darryl is going as a Koala --- with a lairy shirt and a Koala hat.
I am going dressed in leopard print shiny leggings, a webby blouse and a white and black cow hat……
Holly is to be forest nymph, Wendy is the door-mouse and Ian is St. George and his Dragon.
Trevor is the Mad Hatter, Karen is Queen of Hearts, Sharon is the Tea-lady, Andrew is Popeye and Megan is Alice in Wonderland. Raylene was dressed with a garden on her hat and Barry looked like a typical Aussie with his umbrella hat.
Peter and Ken are Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Jenny is Pocahontas, Lyn and Meghan are members of the Heart Cards Army, Charlotte is a Pink Fairy, Jaden is Batman and Jason is dressed with a funny large hat.
Eva was dressed as a Hobbit, Harley was dressed as Tigger, we had a Queen of Hearts and a Policeman and we also had a bogan.
We have got lots of Mad Hatters – in various colours, we have got lots of Wizards and Witches and there is one of the Musketeers and a ‘lady’ from the Middle Ages. So many great costumes and everyone having a great time. Before long it was nearly midnight and people were beginning to leave. Some did not get to bed before 2 and others were said to still be up partying at 6am.
23rd March
Breakfast started at 9am – BBQ sausages, Bacon, eggs, toasted muffins and lots of tea and coffee.
Lots of our campers (yes we had tents and camper trailers set up around on the lawn area) began to pack up and head on their journeys home before starting the working week tomorrow.
Cleaning up was – mostly – completed by about 2pm and then we all adjourned to watch The Block and Downtown Abbey before hitting the sack……
25th March
We got all the washing done today and the ironing as well and then tonight we had a shower of rain. Ohh it smelled so fresh and with the Condobolin Garden Festival on the 5th and 6th April – it will just freshen up all the Open Gardens.
26th March
It rained all day today. Heavy and light showers but very nice indeed.
27th March
Not a good day for me. Wobbly and spinning and headachy and nauseated all day. It is also 12 months today since my Uncle David Menz went to heaven. It is hard to believe (at times) that it has been 12 months. But then you remember that almost three months of this year are completed and you freak a little…..
29th March
Today we helped two of Ian’s friends move from in Condobolin out to a cottage on the research station. Was a hot day but we got them moved in – which was the main aim.
30th March
Where did today go….. it was supposed to be a rest day but we got a lot achieved before night fall.
Ian rearranged the shed so he could fit in the camper-trailer, Wendy and I did the shopping and the washing, Holly finished off her art assignment and Darryl helped out here and there.
We were all so tired that we had an early night :D
Well, there you have it…….
I am sorry for the present-tense and past-tense throughout the above pages. But at least you know where we have been and what we have done.
Hoping you are all keeping well.
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