Green Peas

We have left Moree by car and tonight, Sunday 22, we are at Narromine.
The reason for our earlier than usual departure is due to Tatum, eldest granddaughter, obtaining a double degree from Monash University.  We are very proud of her and wish her great success in her marketing promotional business, 2 Minds Marketing, which she runs with her boyfriend, Adam.   Her graduation will be on Sept 26 and we will be there to rejoice with her.  
Steve will return to Moree by train, to pick up the truck and caravan and bring them home.  Meanwhile. I will stay in Melbourne with the girls.  

As we are going early, THE GREEN PEAS are not quite ready.   I was a little worried about them for a while, as they seemed to have powdery mildew but they remained very healthy looking,  They have just developed lots of pods and there are many more flowers.  Les is going to water them and Marion and Richard will give him a hand and help to eat them.  I am waiting on word of their first meal so that I can savour every mouthful.

I think I've solved my problem with the blog by using Google Chrome instead of Firefox browser.   That's a shame ---- Firefox served me well and I loved it.

Now go ahead and admire my peas.  They're very easy to grow from seeds and while not a dwarf variety, they don't grow very tall.

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A Man and his Bird

It was a long, long, long nesting season for the magpies this year.  I'm sure that they spent longer than usual building their nests ---- which they lined with coconut fibre --- from my potplants.

The parents were so diligent at keeping humans away from the nests.  I tried to tell them that we intended no harm but ........      They dive bombed on people as we walked to the pool, all along our road, 150 metres and around the corner to the office, another 50 metres.  They hated Steve being on his bike and attacked vigorously.    He painted eyes on the back of his helmet and stuck in vertical spikes of cable tie.  These proved to be too short for comfort, (for snapping beaks) so he replaced them with much longer cable ties.   Still they attacked.
Then he decided to tire them out ---- when he returned from his long ride out on the open road, he circled our area of caravans, over and over, with birds swooping, until they wobbled tiredly away!  When people stopped to talk to him, he told them that he was taking his bird for a walk!

Even after the 3 baby birds were flying, the parents still snapped at Steve whenever he went outside.  They almost came into the annexe to get him.    They never came near me!!!!   One day recently, Steve stopped wearing a cap and put on a battered straw hat and the maggies kept away.  Now we are leaving and their babies have left, what will they do for their daily exercise and entertainment??
                         
               You might have to look closely to see how close the parent gets to Steve.

Why won't my photos line up?   I'm having all kinds of trouble with this blog.  I might have to give it up.

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A precious gift. A surprise flower. A drama.

 A precious gift

When I opened a parcel last week, there was a lovely handwritten note from Indy, our youngest of 7 grandchildren.  He has just had his 9th birthday and is in Grade 3.   At this stage, I used to give children their "Driver's licence" to join up their letters and write with a pen.  Indy's carefully formed letters seemed to also have some copperplate characters in them!  Beautifully done, it said, "Dear Nana, It has been so cold lately.  I fingerknitted this scarf and returned your blanket.  And I know you like purple.   Love Indy xxxooo
What a great scarf, what a lot of work and what a lucky Nana!!!!  Thank you Indy.   

A surprise flower

The first of my flowers to come out were the hyacinth bulbs.  They gave me a lot of pleasure and their beautiful perfume lasted for ages.    When the flowers had all died, I stopped giving them water and put the pot aside.   To my great amazement, I found that the pink one had a second flower starting to grow.  I cut off the rotting stem of the first pink flower, to give it more room and up came another full sized gorgeous flower.

When all first flowers were out ---- the pink one is at the bottom.  

Here is the second pink flower.

 

  A drama

Steve provided some excitement for the neighbours on Thursday, August 15th.    After having had a colonoscopy two day earlier, he suddenly developed severe abdominal pain.  It worsened rapidly and he had other rather frightening symptoms like a terribly high BP, so I called the ambulance.  After a night in hospital, lots of tests and a running river of morphine, the pain stopped suddenly, with no cause being established.  Gall stones were found in a CT scan but the doctor felt that the pain was not caused by them.

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A Visiting Poet

On Monday this week, we had a lovely visit from a travelling poet and her photographer/roadie.
Nerelie Teese is an ex-Leitchville girl, who attended school with Steve's sister Deb.  Steve met her through Deb in the late sixties and I was introduced to her in the late seventies when she was living in Beaudesert, Qld. 

I don't know how many different paths Nerelie has followed during these years but you can be sure that they are all interesting and people oriented.    Check out her website -- it's fascinating reading.
By the time Steve's and Deb's Mum, Betty, required funeral services, Nerelie, who knew Betty well, had become a Civil Celebrant.   She conducted a beautiful, personal service, which must have thrilled Betty.

Nerelie's latest incarnation is as a travelling bush poet.  She began by reading bush poems, mainly to kids, graduated to memorising the poems and dramatising them and is now giving presentations all over the countryside, indeed, all over the world.  It was a foregone conclusion that Nerelie would write her own poems which are now included in the presentations and ceremonies.   Here in Moree, she performed for the Fairview Senior Citizens Village.

We met Leigh Wright for the first time.  His bush photographs enhance Nerelie's presentations.  He described his role to us as, "Sitting quietly in the back and watching, making mental notes of what grabbed an audience's attention, anything that needed changing."

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Pass The Peas Please

There was a young girl from Dimboola

Who always ate peas with a ruler.

When folks cried, "Use your knife!"

She said, "Not on your life,

The steel only makes them get cooler."

For a long time, I have yearned for a feed of fresh shelled peas. I've tried in all of the local shops but can't find any peas, apart from snow peas . I asked in the major supermarkets and was told, "No one wants to waste time shelling peas these days."

What a lovely way to waste time!! Sitting with cousins on my Grandmother's veranda, shelling peas for Christmas dinner into a large bowl. Every now and then, Nana would call from the kitchen , "Keep whistling". While we whistled, we couldn't eat the peas!

In the mid sixties, frozen vegetables hit the supermarket shelves; just a few --- peas, carrots and corn, from memory.  They were very expensive which showed they were a luxury so I normally didn't buy them.  For a "night off", instead of buying fast food (of which there was little), I would buy a small packet of frozen vegies and feel quite decadent!   It wasn't until the seventies before I could buy any frozen food without feeling guilty;  this was because we were in a tiny town that had very little fresh vegetables.

Long story short ------  I bought a packet of seeds and we sowed them along the fence on July 17th.  Two days later, we had 1" of rain, followed by a week of warm sunshine so the little green leaves have all stuck their heads up.     It's going to be a long while before there are peas to eat and I'll be waiting daily, smacking my chops!!

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Visitors

Jenny and Leon and a trailer load of his son's furniture arrived late on Thursday.  As this park was full, they took a cabin at the Mehi park, which turned out to be very nice.

We all went to the RSL Club for dinner that night, talking nineteen to the dozen, as they planned to move on to Brisbane the next day. 

After they had a spa on Friday morning, they found themselves very relaxed and exhausted, so they booked in for another night in the cabin. 

We hadn't made any firm plans for the day, so it fitted in with their mood.   We went to a great little cafe in the main street and enjoyed open grilled sandwiches for lunch.  Two huge slices of bread were loaded with fillings; that was fine for Jenny and Leon, who shared.  Steve and I could eat only half of ours, which was just perfect because we had the other half for tea that night.

We all came back so that Leon could see our caravan.  He and Steve have a lot in common and they talked so much that Jenny and I couldn't get a word in edgewise and left them to it.

They left on Saturday morning, with us wishing they could have stayed longer.  That's a sign of great visitors!!!

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WELL DONE TATEY!!!!!!

After 5 years of hard work, Tatum has completed her double degree --- while working at a part-time job (which is almost full-time.)
We are so proud of her. As well as her jobs, she managed to keep up with some sports and an active social life.  Along the way, she gathered up Adam, who then gathered up our family as his fan club!!

They both worked for some years with a promotions company before forming their own, Two Minds Marketing, which is doing very well. 

Facebook announced the completion of the degrees, then a little later it carried the louder screams of elation at winning an indoor beach volleyball competition.   Tate also got the Most Valued player.  She's riding high this week!! 

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They light up my life......

Just as the purple hyacinth begins to slowly die off, the other two bulbs have come into full flower.  One is a soft, pale pink and the other is a pale lilac.   These are all glorious colours and I'm thrilled with them. 

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The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la .......

I'm thrilled to see my first hyacinth open.   IT'S PURPLE!!    I can't see what is the colour of the other two but I don't mind, now that I have one in my favourite colour .   It has a wonderful perfume.

I went to the monthly market today and bought 2 punnets of Johnny Jump Ups and 2 of a little blue daisy flower which will be shared between the garden bed and hanging baskets.
I hope that tomorrow when I plant them will be as beautiful as today.

The SES and the crop dusting pilots took advantage of the lovely weather to practise their bush fire techniques.    The crop dusters flew in (over our caravan) at app 20 second intervals and dropped a red substance, (pretending to be fire retardant), at the airport.  Then they flew off in a circle, returned to land at the airport and filled up with more "fire retardant."    This went on for about 5 hours ---- by which time it was no longer interesting!!   Although we appreciated their efforts to improve their skills.

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My marvellous mat.

Doesn't this mat make your mouth water???       Oh well, maybe not ......... but the colour sure gets my blood pumping.   I can see red or green or blue, but I feel purple.    I feel it in that part of my chest where I have felt homesick; where I feel the sad twinge of missing my Mum and Dad and the little babies who didn't make it.  It begins with a delicious bubble, a wobbly feeling like jelly on top of a trifle;  then it changes quickly to pizzicato on a violin string.

And that reminds me ----- I was 14, in Year 11, writing a review of a poem, written by either Byron, Shelley or Keats.   I thought it was a poem with great contrasts of colour and emotion, so I wrote, "These words are like pearls on black velvet."  

When my report was returned, marked with a C, my little gem was crossed out with a heavy pen and written above that desecration was, "Don't be so fanciful.  That won't get you anywhere.  It is meaningless."  I felt one of those twinges at that moment but it wasn't purple!!

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HAPPY JULY 4TH AMERICA

Confused

It rained; the sun shone; the hyacinth bulbs have burst through. 
And along came the hibiscus flowers.  I thought that they bloomed in summer??  That's when I see  their flowers in Melbourne.

These photos are taken through my kitchen window.

The hyacinths, in pots, amuse me.  The first sign of them coming through is a little mound of dirt.  The mound gets bigger and bigger as more of the shoot penetrates the soil, and is soon tossed off.  It looks like some little creature below is busily pushing. 

My Grandmother Garoni sent me home with a large bunch of hyacinths and grape hyacinths every Spring.  They grew together in the same part of the garden, with the grape hyacinths making a border.  I don't know if she left the bulbs in the ground from one year to the next or if she planted them each year.  Whatever it was, they were always in the same place, or so my memory tells me.  

Many of the memories and stories about my Grandparents are associated with plants and perfumes.  I've tried to make the same sorts of links for my Grandchildren and have been successful with the last two.  They are both interested in plant propagation and growing.   Indy has a thriving collection of herbs and flowers. Jemma is a great little tomato grower.

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Thank you

Thank you to the many kind people who wished us a Happy Anniversary.   I know that I "invited" it by publicising the event, but people didn't have to respond.  As I told my daughters, I don't really expect them or anyone (except Steve) to remember our anniversaries.  We regard our wedding anniversary as more of a private affair, to share with each other.  We had to buy a card this year,  This is because I forgot to bring the card from home.  We keep dating and writing on the same card and passing it back and forth to each other!
It was particularly nice to receive congratulations from some people who were at our wedding.  I recall the celebrant saying words to the effect, ....."You are all here to witness the marriage of Steve and Laurie.  Your role is to continue to be their friends and to provide a network for them in years to come, as they do for you."   Well Debbie, Margaret and Roger and Dianne...... you sure have filled that role and we're very happy to have you as our friends.
Despite saying that we generally keep wedding anniversaries private, it is still nice to be wished happy something.  We don't do enough of it. 

Have a happy day!

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June 12th 1982

Today is our 31st wedding anniversary.   We might delay our celebrations as the weather is looking a little wild.
Whenever I think of our wedding day, I hear the girls saying, "Oh those awful knickerbocker suits."  I thought they looked lovely and I anticipated that the suits would come in very handy for future wear.  Although they didn't complain at the time, they have a lot to say now!!   I rather think that the main problem was that knickerbockers were new and expected to become very popular but it didn't happen!   Dom was happy with his clothes but no one noticed what he wore because he was on crutches from a football injury.
It was a casual, relaxed wedding and everyone had a good time.  We wrote our own vows and kept formalities to a minimum.  I made a Madeira cake because Steve didn't like fruit cake at that time.  I dried jasmine flowers and painted them pink and blue, for decoration.
My dress was floor length and all the colours of a rainbow; it looked as though it had been painted.

How the years have flown since that wonderful day.

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Marjory

Meet Marjory.   She is my new wireless mouse.

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Back in Moree --------- Again

 What a long way we have travelled in the last few weeks!  Pity it's up and down the same route and not wandering around.
It was very cold back home at Milnes Bridge but Dominic kindly brought some wood out to us so that we could have a fire.  He had Jemma with him, so she stayed and entertained us for a couple of hours.

Melbourne weather wasn't very good but at least the houses were warm!  We stayed at Rachel's in Croydon Sth and went to Box Hill to help Talitha during the day. 

Indy had Open Day and a concert at school during the week.  The little string orchestra demonstrated their skills and Indy also had a solo with his violin.   His violin is half size and a much smaller girl had a quarter size.  Indy joined us after he finished his part of the concert and I was happy to stay and enjoy the school choir.  He very politely asked me if I wanted to listen to the choir or do a tour of the school.  I asked him what he would like to do and was told that it was my choice.  I read between the lines and opted for the tour.  That was definitely the right  answer!  We met his teacher and admired some of his work but the greatest amount of time was given to the brand new cookery and resource centre.  Everywhere  we walked, someone spoke to Indy ---- kids from school, their younger siblings, teachers, parents.  He's a popular little boy.  Spending time with him and with Jemma, reinforced what I had always said ----- that teaching 8 and 9 year olds was my favourite job.   These two will be 9 in late June and mid August.

Tatum was working from home for a a lot of the time that we were there, which was good as it meant we could see more of her.   She and Adam now have a web page for their business,  2Minds Marketing.
Tatum is working very hard at present.  In addition to her upcoming Uni exams and getting the new business going, she is doing promotional work for two other places.

Andrew came out for dinner during the last few days of his stay in Australia.  It was great to see him with Rachel and Talitha ---- joking, teasing, laughing, like they always used to do when they were much younger.   Rachel was in about Year 8 when Andrew started Uni.  Now the age gap seems to have narrowed.   Life's experiences level us out, don't they!!  

Steve wanted to pick Talitha up and bring her to Rachel's but she was determined to drive.  It's her left arm that had the operation and it was heavily bandaged and not able to be bent.   She drove with either Maddy or Josh sitting beside her, to change the gears!  GRRRR.   The operation seems to have been  successful in that feeling is returning to the numb fingers but when she saw the doctor a week after the op, he said that the wound hadn't healed. 

It was a tiring drive back and I haven't slept much since.  Still, there's a wealth of time to make up for that.   I do know that my spirit is rejuvenated by having seen my lovely family.

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Hasty scribbles

We left Moree on Friday and arrived home on Monday.  That's a record for me!    I slept, with my legs stretched out on the dashboard.  Steve was able to stop and go shopping, without me waking.  Even when we arrived here, I slept!      Now I have to be able to make the return trip the same way.

We had a short but excellent visit with Andrina and Ana.  Andrew is staying a little longer and will go down to Melbourne with us tomorrow.  We all had dinner at the Tavern in Cohuna, with Dom and two of the kids.  We saw Sam briefly, as he waited for a ride to his rehearsal, so Mandy is the only one not seen.  It's a pity to miss her but maybe we can see her in Kerang on Wednesday.      
The Tavern's menu has changed radically, much more expensive but really delicious.

Tarl had her compressed nerve operated on at the Austin Hospital on Monday.  It went well but there's a fair bit of pain.   Josh is hobbling around on crutches due to a sprained ankle.  We'll be down there to help out tomorrow.

We've sort of overcome the clothing problem.   After spending the last 10 winters in Moree, we don't have any warm clothing.  We managed up here, with bits and pieces layered but I don't know how I will do in Melbourne's fickle weather.

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Off and away

It rained --- finally!   Not a lot but the weather turned cooler immediately afterwards, so the ground is staying damper for longer.
My freesias and mint are thriving in the ground and the pots of bulbs are all sticking up their heads.  Les, next door, is going to look after them while we are away for the next 10 days.

We are leaving Moree today and headed for our Northern Victorian home.  Next Wednesday, we will go from there to Melbourne.
At long last, Talitha is to have the operation on a compressed nerve in her arm, next Monday, so we will be there to help her out for a while.

We will see Andrew, Andrina and Ana in Cohuna on their annual visit from Germany.  I've already had a great success at talking with Andrew on Skype.  I don't know why the video connection doesn't show up for everyone.

Jill, the masseuse, had her small motorbike stolen from where it was chained to the front of her van.  The thieves also stole big bolt cutters so that they could liberate it.  The Police had a fair idea who had done this and they found Jill's bike there, torched.  Her husband Murray's bike wasn't taken but 3 other bikes were taken from premises in town on the same night. 

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Remiss

How remiss of me.  Debbie reminded me that I hadn't reported that her brother had arrived back here!    Yes, Steve came home, around 5.30am last Friday, hale and hearty.  He brought back a few things that we had forgotten.  One was the breadmaker so we're filling the annexe with that mouthwatering smell of fresh bread.

The days are still remarkably warm and there has been no sign of any rain.  It was a lovely day for the market on Sunday.   I bought some mint, but am still deciding where to put it; also a punnet of mixed colour freesias which I've put in the ground near the en suite.     The day before we left home, I planted semi-circular containers of bulbs and to my great surprise, the little star flowers were up by the time we arrived here.   They are similar to the picture but not the same.  The ones I planted grow individually in the lawn and reappear each year.

Steve has been busy with bits and pieces in the caravan.  Yesterday's addition was one of those fly net curtains that snap shut with a magnet.  The mosquitoes are voracious this year and the old weighted fly curtain wasn't keeping them out.

I've continued having 2 massages a week with Jill but she is leaving next week.  Her husband's job on the harvest has finished and they are moving elsewhere.  Then I'll drop back to one massage a week, with Tom.

I messed around incessantly with my Skype program and finally got Andrew, with video.  We talked for an hour ---- luxury!   We have made the decision to go back to Cohuna and visit them there.  I'm still dithering about whether to see the new visiting surgeon in Cohuna.  I guess I'll dither until it's too late!  We've decided that seeing as we will be "so close" we will go on to Melbourne and see everyone down there.   Exact date isn't set yet but it will be before the end of May.

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Gone for the car

I've been on my own here for the last 24 hours.  Steve caught the pretend train, a bus, on Wednesday morning, 8am and arrived in Cohuna at 9.30am on Thursday.  The bus went only to Gunadah because of track repairs.  The train from Sydney arrived in Albury on time, which meant that he was able to catch the early bus instead of the one that meanders around the countryside.  

He texted a zillion times and rang this morning to say that he had slept while he travelled and was wide awake, so was heading back here in the car.  Neville predicts that he will arrive here in the wee small hours of Friday --- he knows Steve and his cat naps.

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HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY LINDY

Wow --- time has passed so quickly.....  this is our 5th night here.
The weather is fantastic, still quite hot, although some nights are very cold, down to 1C.
I planted bulbs in hanging baskets just before we left home.  They seemed to like travelling in the warm caravan and some shoots are through already.  Chives and thyme are also doing well and I've bought parsley seed.  I bought some seeds for PEAS too.   It has been years since I was able to buy peas in their shells.  When I was young, the kids shelled the peas on Christmas day at my Grandmother Garoni's.  She told us we had to keep whistling so that she could tell if we were eating peas!!
There's a lot of work to be done in the garden here; everything grew so much in the 4 months that we've been away.  There hasn't been a lot of rain, but obviously enough.  The mock orange bush has doubled in size and the banksia rose has heaps of new boughs; it will look a picture in spring. It was wonderful to see the orange bougainvillea in full "flower" still.  It has never been so good at this time of the year. 

I had an excellent massage at the hands of Jill in what she calls "The Palace", her 5th wheeler.  It is very grand!

Saturday night was Lindy's 40th birthday party.  About 70 guests gathered at the Tavern and we had a grand night!   The staff put on a terrific BBQ, with salads and scalloped potatoes in a hot box.  A couple of men kept the BBQ rolling and people were fed very quickly.
We knew a number of people and met many new friends.  One lovely man took a photo of his wife and me on his tablet and sent it to me via email.  They were Croatians, who we called "Joe and Stunna".

Lindy had a marvellous night and was so witty and full of beans that she could have been mistaken for the professional entertainment for the evening.  She sang and danced and put everything into it, despite having the flu.

                                 

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Wednesday ---- First Night in Moree

Steve backed into our angled site first go, without an audience.  We must have arrived at nanny nap time!!!
There's a proliferation of weeds, a hole in the shed roof and the toilet won't flush ---- apart from that, nothing much has changed.  Oh, the tree beside us is missing its top branches but is growing back into a nice shape.  The lopping is what caused the hole in the shed roof.
 As we headed down to the pool, we saw Keith talking to a young woman.  He stopped us and said we should meet her.  She was Jill, a masseuse, who has a huge 5th wheeler just up the road from us.   I booked an appointment!

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Last night on the road

Tonight we are in a pretty, green caravan park at Coonabarrabran.  (I love that name!)   We had expected the view to be one of burnt trees from the bush fires just a few weeks ago, but so far, we've seen nothing.  I think we might see signs of it as we leave tomorrow.
As we've usually found, it became cold as soon as the sun went down, so it's out with the wheat packs.
Lindy rang this evening, to ask where we were and when did we think we would arrive.   This is the 4th time in 5 days that she has rung to ask the same question!  Gwydir Carapark really must be full!!  She isn't going to rent out the site at the front of our site because it would be too hard for us to reverse in.  But with Golf Week on, the park is full to overflowing and they could use that spot.  I've had the feeling that I should tell her that we'll do her a favour by staying away until the week is over.

 I looked up the meaning of Coonabarrabran, an Aboriginal word, as expected but with an unexpected meaning.  
Origins of the Coonabarabran name

Aboriginal in origin. Probably derived from Kamilaroi 'Gunbaraaybaa' meaning 'shit'. A meaning recorded earlier, 'peculiar odour', was presumably a bowdlerisation. (Appleton; 1992). Also: 'inquisitive person'. In the form Coolabarabran it was the name of a station owned by James Weston in 1848. The local contraction is 'The Bran'. (Place Names of NSW - Their Origins & Meanings, A.W.Reed)

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Plans

So much for planning!    
The day began well when I put the washing on at 7.30am.  It wasn't until 9.30am that Steve discovered that the hose was squirting across the top of the sullage hole instead of down into it.  Water everywhere, but it mostly dried up during the sunny day. 
Later, Steve was quietly working inside when he heard an almighty WHOOSHING sound.  He raced outside to see a fountain of water blasting from a pipe that had come unclipped.  This was under the caravan so it hasn't dried up as fast.
I played a helpful part during these waterworks ----  I slept!   11 hours overnight and 3 or 4 hours during the day.   Steve also had a few hours during the day.  We obviously needed the sleep so I'm glad we stayed here, even though our plans to look around didn't eventuate.  Another time.

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The Newell

We bumped along the Newell Highway today, thinking of alternative ways for me to reach Moree, other than by truck.  This is a very busy highway, full of big trucks and the road surface is always in need of repair.
We had a nice meal at the local RSL Club at Parkes but my mashed potato was Deb and I think it tastes more like cardboard than potatoes.  There was a full side of roast chicken on my plate, so there was a lot left over for toasted sandwiches for tea.
When we arrived in Peak Hill, we decided to call it quits for the day and bump no further.
After a relaxing evening, we have come to the conclusion that even travellers need a day off, so we'll stay here tomorrow, Monday, as well.   It's a nice little country town, with a declining population but an energetic one.  Even the empty shops are made to look attractive.  There's an antique shop and an Op shop here and interesting displays of the early years of gold and of arts and crafts.  I would like to go up the hill to the open cut gold mine, now not in operation, but I'll have to see if it's possible to drive to it.  

New owners of the caravan park have taken over and our friends Leighton and Pauline are about to take an overseas holiday as a reward for their hard work here.   We were pleased that the new people had adopted the habit of scones and jam and cream for afternoon tea.

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OOPS.

OOPS.  Sorry, I have probably sent people the wrong address for this blog.  I've also confused everyone, including myself, by having Day 1 after Day 2.    Fortunately I have intelligent friends and family, who will work it out,  Won't you??  YOU WILL WORK IT OUT!!

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 2013
The 2013 trip finally began on Thursday April 18.  The preceding weeks had been immensely busy and the irritations of gall stones, "gord" and hives made it difficult to get the caravan organised.  Nominated leaving days came and went until I finally decided to take no clothes and just buy new ones as I needed them.  HANG ON ------ That was a dream!   Reality was that I decided to take everything in plastic bags and sort it all out later.   Consequently, I can't find anything!

On the first day we travelled for about 70 kms and the truck boiled.   I got out and Steve tipped the cab over; 16 litres of boiling water erupted into the air when he took off the radiator cap.  Eventually, it cooled down and he filled it with the water from our tank.  We were only 3kms from Moulamein so we stayed there for the night and let the truck have a long rest.

It went fine on Friday, no sign of boiling.  Steve thinks that maybe a "bit of shit" (a technical term) got into the radiator and blocked it up but was blown out in the eruption!  So we travelled 282 of worry-free kms.   Lunch was at Hay, at a fabulous bistro and the Op Shop there gave up a lovely, small, ceramic casserole dish.We spent the night in a new caravan park at a tiny town called Goolgowi.  The fees are a modest $16.20 after discounts.
This is new territory for us.  We decided that we needed a change from the Newell Highway and all the trucks.  We've achieved that but I can't say that the Hay Plains are very interesting.  After many kilometres of seeing the horizon in every direction, I'm ready to join the Flat Earth Society.  There's a little scrubby growth and lots of rolly poleys.  I would love to be here when they break off and roll.

Steve has kindly agreed not to stick to a schedule.  Instead of aiming for a particular town or number of kms each day, we go by my stomach.  The travelling is smoother, thanks to new shock absorbers.  (On the truck, not in my stomach, but come to think of it, that is maybe what I need!)  ~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~

REMOTES

Saturday night and we are at West Wyalong.  After setting up, we both relaxed in our recliner chairs and I didn't wake until after 8pm.   Steve was only slightly ahead of me.   We had only a short day's travel and arrived here by lunchtime.  We ate at the Tattersals Hotel which has been in the same family for over 100 years.  My meal of salmon patties and salad was $10 and scrumptious.  I couldn't eat it all so I brought it home in a doggy bag and ate it for tea.  (What I actually did was to wrap it in the serviette and foil which covered the basket of garlic bread.)  I don't know if we can request to take any leftovers home these days.  They were once put in a box and given to us but Health Regulations frowned on this practice.
The scooter was hoisted to the ground for the first time on this trip, as the toilet block is too far for me to walk.  The block is super clean and is one where you have to remember the code to punch in -- C405Y, otherwise you are left dancing outside.   The poor scooter had been hosed down and shined before we left home but it got liberally splashed with dirty water when the radiator blew.  The walker suffered the same fate but I took it into the shower with me last night.
For those who don't know, Steve built a place for the electric scooter on the back of the truck and installed an electric winch to get it up and down.  This is operated with a remote control.  A generator lives in "the front boot" of the van and it is run frequently during travelling, to keep the fridge going.  This is a normal house fridge and operates only on 240 volt.  Turning the generator on and off from the truck is done through the back window, with a remote control.  Of course you know what the two air conditioners need to get them going --- remote controls, of course!!  This caravan is a man's playground!!!     :-)  To top it off, Steve discovered a trick to extend the distance from which a remote control can operate ---- Touch the device to your head and click it from there.  I kid you not.  Try it!!

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