Back in the Ville

Monday 21^st January

We left the caravan park at our usual time and breakfasted at Maccas. Then we went to the second hand book shop to see if they would buy my copy of ‘The Casual Vacancy’. The lady who runs it was so apologetic that they did not pay much as she offered me $6.00. I figured that was a pretty good deal since I usually just swap them over in caravan park laundries.

My new found wealth was short lived as Ron scuttled off to the two dollar shop nearby and bought a couple more plastic storage containers for Indie.

We stopped off at a Homemaker Centre in Townsville and bought Ben and Anita a mattress topper (a belated $mas present).  We figured that since they probably won’t get much sleep in the near future, the bits they do get should be as comfy as possible. 

Then we thought we had better get something for Dollar so he wouldn’t feel all left out because I had the rattle and the bananas for Xander. Dollar already has lots of toys and he loves them. In fact Ben was telling us that recently he and Anita had taken Dollar for a walk down The Strand and they were talking with a couple who had a little girl. They asked if it was OK to pat the dog and Ben said he wouldn’t bite but to watch out he didn’t steal the little kid’s toy. It all went very well until about half an hour later when they bumped into them again and Dollar just grabbed the little kid’s toy monkey and bolted off with it!!!!!

 

We had a wonderful time with the baby Xander…..lots of cuddles and nurses.

He is soooooooooooo gorgeous! Just eats and sleeps….frowns a bit…..gurgles and bes cute!! He obviously takes after his nana on his father’s side.

And how happy does nana look?

 

Sometimes just watching Ben and Ron interact with Xander is in many ways as cute as Xander himself!

 

 

 

Of course all interaction must meet with Dollar’s approval!!!!

 

 

 

In the afternoon we took Dollar for a walk to the shops.

Tuesday 22^nd January

We received many thanks and much praise for the mattress topper.

Poor little Xander went and had his ‘snip’ this afternoon. He was very brave (braver than Ben apparently) and hardly cried at all. Anita had managed to find a Jewish paediatric surgeon who was quite happy to do it.  He whisked Xander off to the other room to do the procedure and when he came back, told them that Xander was much too young for pain killers so he had given him a couple of drops of Brandy. It must have done the trick because he was a bit grizzly when he got home but settled again fairly quickly.

Ben wants to put paving or decking or something down the side of the house so he and Ron have been busy measuring and getting quotes on different building materials.

……And then it stated to rain……..

Wednesday 23^rd January

It has continued to pour down rain all night and is still raining today.

Apparently the brandy wore off some time during the night and Ben spent three hours trying to settle Xander again. I have no sympathy for him though because I offered to take Xander out to the bus to sleep with us but Ben would not be in it for some reason.

I fed Xander this morning and he sicked up on me….aaaahhh, bonding!!!

Anita dropped Ron and I off at the shops on her way to a doctor’s appointment and I bought a little stork charm for my bracelet from ‘Butterfly Silver’. While I was in Angus and Coote, I saw the little elephant that Ron bought me ages ago. (It had broken and I took it to a Jeweller in Darwin and they wanted about $28 to fix it which explains why it was still in my bag!!!.) I asked the lady if they had any kind of guarantees on their jewellery and without even blinking she took my old one and gave me the new one to replace it. I was soooooo impressed.  Ron and I had lunch while we were out and I bought Xander a book of Nursery Rhymes so Ben will finally get to learn them.  We had lunch and Anita came and picked us up again.

Ron and Ben went in search of building materials in spite of the fact that I think we are on the cusp of forty days and forty nights again. We have seen hardly any rain for the last seven months and I’m sure we have had that seven month’s worth yesterday and today with much more predicted!!!!!

Thursday 24^th January

I finally saw a news report….I didn’t realise it was as bad as it was…..flooding, roads closed etc. I wondered why people were sending emails asking about Indie’s waterproof qualities and our swimming abilities!!!!!

Ron and Ben went off to the shops determined to buy building materials. I was left holding the baby (so to speak). We had a lovely time for a good couple of hours while they were gone and Anita had a sleep.

Ron came back with a new light globe, a new connection for the Navigator to plug into and silicone to plug up a leak next to my bed!!!!  All done….all fixed!!!! And Ben’s timber arrived!

Ron and Ben went fishing at 1.30 pm and returned (empty handed) at 4.00 pm. Slim        pick- in’s tonight!!

We ended up with take away pizzas at about 8.30 pm.

Friday 25^th January

Ben and Anita went to have some professional photos with Xander and Dollar.

We are defrosting the fridge…it has been playing up again it works fine (it does ice up) and then it will just leak water every where…..if it’s not one thing, it’s another!!!!!

Mesco, Ben’s mate came round. He bought the most enormous bunch of flowers and the hugest basket of baby goods I have ever seen.  Absolutely beautiful!

Saturday 26^th January

We have all been invited over to Ben’s friend Taj’s place for Australia Day lunch.

It was really good…..you could not have had anything more Australia Day than the wives around the kitchen table, the blokes outside at the BBQ and the kids alternating between video games in the lounge room and the trampoline in the back yard. I had a lovely time and it was interesting to hear some of their war stories. The most amazing thing though was watching Taj’s baby Grace. She is 18 months (not years, months) old and her mum gave her her mobile phone to play with. She just sat down and scrolled through all the icons till she found ‘The Wiggles’ and sat and watched it for a while then changed it to something else……unreal……Einstein’s fears are really coming true!!!!!

Sunday 27^th January

Did nothing went nowhere!

Telstra network has gone down…..phones keep saying….’emergency only’…..and we have no internet…..

Luckily, I made my important phone call this morning. Ron had ordered 2 pairs of fisherman’s pants on line and they have not arrived yet……that’s because they sent them to our old Helensvale address!!! I’ve arranged for the lady next door to get them and we will pick them up when we get there in a few weeks.

Ben and a couple of mates went out for Sunday Sesh this afternoon. (i.e. to the pub!)

It turns out, about 400,000 people were in the same boat (so to speak) with Telstra because the flooding all over the country side had knocked out a major cable and the back up one! Townsville had no ATMs or Eftpos either. Anita kept us up to date because she is with Vodafone.

Monday 28^th January

Ron and I went for a walk to the local shops, just to get out of the house. We were going to take Dollar but it was decided it was too hot for him. Good move Dollar; when Ron and I got back, we were almost deceased from heat and humidity………. Bring on Winter I say! (But we all know that I will complain about the cold then.)

Telstra got their act together and all has been restored.

I woke up in the middle of the night sweating to death….we had a blackout! It lasted a good 2 to 3 hours. So, it’s all happening in The Ville!!!

 

 

Charging on to Charters

Julia Creek to Charters Towers

Saturday 12^th January
 

We were up and packed and readying ourselves to leave by 8.00am. When Ron picked up the step we use to get in and out of Indie, he found it had embedded itself in the melted bitumen so we have a permanent souvenir of Julia Creek.

 

 

We stopped for coffee and breakfast at the ‘Friendly Grocer’ and he was on for a chat, telling us all about the things to see in the towns along the way so we finally got away at our usual 9.30 am. It is still incredibly hot and dry but it is not too bad when you are driving along with the wind in your face (sometimes I think it might be nice to have air conditioning that works when you are driving along as well rather than only on 240 volts when you are parked.)

But, dauntless we charged ever onwards. We passed a huge freight train and gave the driver a wave. He blew the train horn and Ron replied with Indie’s. The train was like a sonic boom compered to Indie’s little bip!!!!

 But in his defence, the train was also much bigger; in fact it was so long, I could not get it all in one photo.

 

We drove on to Richmond (all this area is part of ‘Australia’s Dinosaur Trail’). The area abounds in dinosaur fossils but the only evidence of it is in the tourist traps like Kronosaurus Korner that charge $20 a pop to view their bones!!!!

Richmond is a bigger town that Julia Creek but we preferred Julia Creek. Richmond  was quite pretty and had a man-made lake in the middle of town but it seemed to lack the character of Julia Creek. Unfortunately the lake did not lack algae.

They have an  RV site (self-contained vehicles only) in town but it was just a big paddock, absolutely treeless, dusty and contained huge skip bins. And they charge money to stay there!

The people of Richmond obviously have a sense of humour with their ‘Uthinktheysaurus’ signs on the way in to town, not to mention their bin holders.

 

 

 

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We went to Kronosaurus Korner and had morning tea

 

 

 

And in light of his impending Grandfather status, I could not resist this photo opportunity of Ron outside the Gents loo.

 

  We drove on to Hughenden with the intention of lunching at the FJ Holden Café (as recommended by the ‘The Friendly Grocer’ in Julia Creek). Of course it was Saturday, so everything was closed!!

Fortunately he had told us about a nice little park just over the bridge and we found the only General Store in town that was opened and shouted ourselves a pie and a frozen Fanta and went and sat in the park

 

 

We then drove on the Charters Towers and ended up at the same Caravan Park that we stayed at on the way up. It now costs $29.00 a night (up a dollar since we were here in August and the woman who owns it is still as unfriendly!!!). It is a lovely park though with shady sites, fabulous amenities and a covered pool.

We met the neighbours Cheryl and John. They have been on the road now for 12 years but Cheryl has decided to give it up and they are going to buy some land and settle down.

 

 

Sunday 13^th January

Today was a total rest and recover from our long drive yesterday, day. Sadly, we were woken at 6.30 am to the gentle roar of earth moving machinery. The caravan park owners had neglected to mention that they were having more cabins built.

Unperturbed, I settled into a day at the pool and reading and writing blogs…..fabbo!

Monday 14^th January

Ronnie and I left the park early (about 8.00 am) and walked into town (about three kilometres). We undid all that good work by stopping at Maccas for breakfast.

We bought groceries and a noodle each for the swimming pool. We became addicted to bobbing about on them at Julia Creek so now I have a purple one and Ronnie has a blue one. They are such fun and it is soooooooo relaxing.

I went straight away to try out my noodle and could not believe that the workmen, who are unable to do anything without their car doors open and radios blaring, had some ridiculous garbage blaring out all over the place, so I did my cranky bit and complained and they turned it off. I mean, if I wanted to listen to that ‘music’ I would buy the CD myself!!!!

After that, I had a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon. Ronnie came and joined me in the pool and we got talking to a couple of other folk who were taking advantage of the cool waters.

Later on, I rang Anita to wish her well for tomorrow…..no answer…..so I rang Ben…..no answer……So I figured that the grandbaby had decided to do the right thing especially since I got a message back from Ben saying ‘call you in 45min ish’.

Imagine how we felt when a few minutes later we got a picture of the fish Ben had caught while he and Anita had been out fishing!!!!!!!

 

 

 
 

Mind you it is a 43cm flathead which he is putting in the freezer till we get there so I might forgive him!!!

After dinner, John asked Ron to go over and show him how to use Facebook. He has also had a request to help with setting up a blog. I’m thinking I might start renting him out as an IT consultant!!!!

Tuesday 15^th January

I went for a walk up the road to the local servo to get some jam and self-raising flour and Ronnie baked his fabulous scones for afternoon tea. Maybe I could rent him out to sell Devonshire teas….they were sooooo yummo!!!!
 

 

 

I rang Anita to wish her well and told her that all our friends are thinking of her as well as several strangers between here and Darwin who have all also heard the saga of the long overdue grand baby!!! Fingers crossed all goes well (and quickly and as painlessly as possible!)

Wednesday 16^th January

The weather is much cooler today, overcast and a threat of rain.  

Poor Anita is still waiting, waiting, waiting! They sent her home yesterday and told her to come back today. They got to the hospital about 0900, broke her water about 1415, and put the drip in to induce her. She had an epidural about 2130 and Xander arrived at 0047 on Thursday no water birth or anything as planned just your stock standard in the hospital. Welcome to the real world of parenting – don’t expect them to do anything the way you plan it!!!!!!

Thursday 17^th January

Ben had kept us updated with text messages all the way through and then he rang in the wee small hours to tell us all about it personally!!!! It is all very exciting.

He sent photos which I dutifully included in my email to everyone.

 

 

 

This new-fangled technology really does come into its own at times like this!!!!!

Anita has to remain in hospital for 24 hours because she had the anaesthetic. Ben is going home to feed Dollar (if he hasn’t eaten everything in the house already that is and to avert the prospect of him eating Xander when he arrives home!)

Ron and I have spoken to Ben and we will stay here in Charters Towers until Sunday night and then drive across to Townsville on Monday to let them all get used to each other before we descend on them.

I went up to the office here to face the dragon lady and pay for our extra nights accommodation and apologised for not getting there before 10.00 am but that our long overdue grandson had finally deigned to arrive. Well…she could not have been nicer, sweeter or more obliging. She even shared stories about her own babies and grandchildren!!!!

The weather is still cool and overcast but we have not had any rain to speak of. I know now where the phrase ‘all piss and wind’ comes from. We get gusts of wind and about 10 or 15 drops of rain and that’s it!!!!  

Indie’s plumbing has gone berserk…..when we empty the sink, the water bubbles up through the shower plug hole but if we pour water down the sink, it’s fine…..Ron will put his plumber’s hat on when we get to Townsville and try to sort it out then.  Fingers crossed it will be an easy fix!

Friday 18^th January

Ron and I walked to town again today with the intention of buying lunch. We got in there about 10.00 and the temptation was too much so we had bacon and egg breaky rolls at Subway. We tried walking them off but ended up just doing some groceries, buying a BBQ chook in Woollies and coming home.

I did buy a couple of books at the 2^nd hand book shop (I don’t have a flash new                    e-reader like Ronnie).

I finished knitting the rattle for Xander. It has a cat toy in the middle (the open plastic ball with a bell in the middle and it works really well!)

 

 

But because I didn’t have the correct size needles (it is knitted on a set of 4 double pointed needles and I already had a set I had never used) or wool, it has ended up as big as his head…..oh well never mind…..

 

I’ve never knitted with a set of needles before and it was interesting if not a little awkward.

After lunch, I went for a swim and did some more reading (just the usual!!!)

We got more photos of Xander of course.

For dinner, we reheated our BBQ chook and had roast potato, roast pumpkin, peas and gravy……a regular roast dinner!!! Yummo!!!!

Indie’s plumbing has settled down…..thinking maybe it was an air block or something like that…….here’s hoping!

Saturday 19^th January

I was sitting outside doing the cryptic crossword (as is my want) his morning and you’ll never guess…..the clue for 8 down was ‘Ben worn out by young baby’…..spooky eh?

Oh the answer, by the way was ‘newborn’ not ‘Xander’ as one would expect.

I texted this fascinating piece of news to Ben whose reply was ‘that would only be true if his crying woke me up in the night. He only wakes Anita. Lol’ 

I got up and went inside to get something and left the computer sitting on the step outside. There was a huge crash and a branch had fallen from the nearby tree, bounced off our awning and landed within 2 centimetres of the computer. Lucky!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Sunday 20^th January

 I finished reading my book. It was quite good – all about the parish council in a small English village and the interaction between the inhabitants-a bit like the Vicar of Dibly but without the humour and quirky characters.

I spent the day just sitting around getting excited about finally meeting the little fella tomorrow. We have only received 16 photos in the last three days.

These are three of my favourites!!!

 

Ben with a protective hand and Dollar with a protective paw!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I finished the Bananas in Pyjamas for Xander and they look cute too!

 

 

New Year – New Adventure

Darwin to Julia Creek

Tuesday 1^st January

We left Paul’s early and drove to Mataranka. It is still incredibly hot. Unlike those brave pioneers who followed the stock routes, we are following the air conditioning route……none of this free camping rubbish…..give us powered sites!!!!!

To this end, we stopped at ‘Territory Manor Motel and Caravan Park’….$30.00 and worth every cent. The reception area was deserted and there was a clipboard and a note saying ‘leave your rego details, find a spot and we will catch up with you tomorrow’…so we duly did just that, went for a swim in the pool and tried to stay cool for the rest of the day.

The night did prove somewhat problematic in that the air conditioning got soooooooo cold that Ron would wake up and go and turn it off only to find us dripping wet again within ten minutes and we would have to put it back on. This happened no less than about four times although it seemed more like forty.

My upper back and chest pains that I have been having for the last couple of years (the ones that doctors did every test known to man and still can’t find a reason for) have become really unbearable and that also made for a bad night.

Wednesday 2^nd January

I was still really sore this morning and got Ron to rub my upper back…..oh joy oh bliss…..it felt sooooooo good!!!!!

We left Mataranka at nine and headed south.

We stopped at (95) Newcastle Waters Rest Area for lunch. We thought about staying the night…..it was very hot but there was a nice breeze and NO humidity…..but we woosed out.

We continued on to (92) Renner Springs Desert Inn (the name sounds much grander than the place). We parked up, plugged in and went straight around to the pool. The water in the pool was actually cool!!!!!

Then we came back and had nana naps…although technically not a nana yet…but …..maybe. Once again Telstra has outdone itself and we have no mobile coverage. The bub is due tomorrow!!!!!

Later in the evening, after dinner we sat outside for a while looking at the stars until the call of the air conditioner became too much and we went back inside.

Thursday 3^rd January 2013

 

 

I was up at 7 o’clock this morning so I could beat the heat (ha ha) and walk around the little lagoon in the camping area. It was very pretty with lots of birds. I followed the signs and immediately took a wrong turn and ended up in a little back water behind the main waterway.

It turned out to be quite fortuitous because I came across two black swans there

 

 

 

 

 

 After breakfast we set off along the highway once again.

  We continued on to (5) Barkly homestead and followed our now regular routine of book in, park up, go for a swim and then settle into the air conditioning.

Ben rang…..still no go on the baby front…..

I did some more knitting, a bit of reading and burnt our first incense stick thanks to Cheryee’s birthday present. Indie is fast becoming a Hippy van.

Friday 4^th January

We headed off towards Queensland and made our first stop just over the border – (315) Camooweal billabong. We stopped for lunch in almost the same spot as we stopped on the way up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have obviously had a bit of rain since we were there in October (almost three months to the day). The place was still teeming with birds. As we sat eating we contemplated the advantages of staying overnight. The temperature was pleasant and there was a lovely breeze but we decided to push on to Mount Isa instead.

The lovely Liz (who lived down the road in Helensvale) moved to The Isa not long after we left. Her daughter, Tash lives there and Liz is hoping for work in the mines.

We arrived on her doorstep in time for afternoon tea and had a fabulous catch up on all the goss. Ron and I then decided to go to the Mount Isa Caravan Park (the same one we stayed in on the way up) and book in and then all four of us could go out for dinner.

Liz rang us to give us directions so we could meet up with Tash and her  (at the house where Tash has been housesitting) and we could all go together in Tash’s car to ‘The Overlander Hotel’ for dinner. Turns out The Overlander is directly across the road from our caravan park….too easy Campesie!!!!

Since I had a good half hour up my sleeve, I hurried off for a quick shower.

The pub did look a little rough around the edges but the food was to die for…..I had Barra with avocado, prawns and hollandaise sauce (as did Liz and Tash) and Ron had Chicken Parma. They all came with chips and salad in portion sizes that you could not jump over. They were delicious.

Saturday 5^th January

I could not believe it…..I forgot to take photos of Liz and Tash…..too busy having a good time!!!!

Anyway, I was up early (around 8.30) so decided to take advantage of the weather and do some laundry. I could not find the dress I had worn yesterday anywhere and suddenly thought OMG, I’ve left it in the shower last night.  Well, I scuttled off and there it was still hanging up where I had left it. I did not know whether to be impressed by fellow campers honesty or offended that no-one liked it enough to pinch it!!!!

At 11.00am Ron and I rang the courtesy bus from The Buffs Club and got a ride down there. We had a coffee in their coffee lounge then nipped over to Coles across the road and did some groceries. We came back to The Buffs, had a drink, sat in the sports bar, watched some cricket and then caught the courtesy bus back home. I thought it was a bit cheeky but the lady in the caravan park advised us to do it because everyone does.

There is still no respite in the weather. It is still in the 40s. But looking at the news (when we get a chance) the whole country is in the same boat. There are lots of places worse than where we are and I can’t believe poor old Tassie!

Sunday 6^th January

Heading out of Mount Isa, we were amazed at how the vegetation has come back from the bush fires that had been through when we came up in October.

 

 

 

 

We were also petty amazed to see camels!!!!

 

We drove on to Cloncurry (a short stop for fuel and groceries) and through to Julia Creek.

We have stopped at (303) Julia Creek Caravan Park and have decided to stay here until the grandbaby is born…still no sign of him yet!

The caravan park here is another council caravan park and is very nice. There is not much shade but the amenities are lovely, there is an Olympic size swimming pool next door and it is only 500metres walk to town. The other big plus is that it is only $50.00 for three nights so we have booked in till the12th.

The managers of the park have loaded me up with maps of the town and strict instructions to visit the Tourist Information Centre. For the moment though, it is just park up and put on the air con.

We put the awning out but the breeze was so strong we took it down again.

Mark, a long term resident stopped by for a bit of a chat with his dog, Penny….much amusement all round!!!!

We have settled in for another warm night.

Monday 7^th January

This morning doesn’t seem quite so hot but at 10.00am on the dot, it was off to the pool. It is only open from 10.00am til 2.00pm.

We stayed for the whole time. It is great. It costs $1.60 each and it is almost completely covered in shade cloth so the water is actually cold!!!! They even supply noodles and other floats and toys for free.

After our swim, we went for a walk into town and dutifully went to the Tourist Information Centre. It was really good. It comprises a group of fettlers cottages and each one has different info relating to the area. We watched a video on the Great Artesian Basin and another on the Julia Creek Dunnart – a little marsupial mouse type creature thought to be extinct but actually coming back now.

We went and bought groceries and real coffee. You don’t appreciate how rare it is to find a real cappuccino machine out west!!!!!! We walked around town and went to the park with the mosaic chair (another of the Caravan Park manager’s recommendations)

 

 

 

 

 

We actually slept without the air conditioning on tonight. It was warm but there was a wonderful breeze.

Tuesday 8^th January

Ron and I spent the morning in the pool yet again and after lunch Ron retired to the air con and watched telly and read while I worked on my diary in the Camp Kitchen.

I intend to get on with more knitting shortly (I have finished my second banana in pyjamas and am working on a mushroom shaped rattle). I am also reading ‘The Casual Vacancy’ by J.K. Rowling one of my birthday presents from Ron.

Wednesday 9^th January

We spent another quiet, albeit hot day in Indie with the air con at full bore.

We did of course spend our 4 hours (10.00 till 2.00) at the pool.

We thought about walking to town but decided against it. The sun would burn the flesh right off your bones.

The temperatures have not dipped below 40 degrees since we arrived!!!!

 

Thursday 10^th January

We decided to brave the elements and walk into town this morning so we set off at 8.30 to beat the heat.

We did the groceries and I bought another of the ‘Friendly Grocer’ coffees.

We were about to return home when I espied ‘Colemans Country Wear and Hairdresser’.

Ron left me to it and headed home with the groceries.

The shop sold mens, womens and babies apparel, all manner of fabric and haberdashery and contained a separate room for the hairdressing salon! Since there was only one other customer, I was shown in straight away and had my tresses trimmed by a lovely young woman for the princely sum of $30.00.

 

I then sallied forth to the Tourist Information Centre, because although Ron and I had seen the dunnart film, there was also a live exhibit of Digby the Julia Creek Dunnart.

  The poster outside warns about the vicious creature within. I thought they were joking since he is only 30cm long including tail. He is a cute looking little critter, much like a marsupial mouse but my guide assures me that pound for pound they are more vicious than Tassie Devils and Digby spits and bites and hisses like nobody’s business. He is three and a half years old (they only live to about three years usually so he is a good six months past his ‘use by’ date). They only have the one because males and females must be kept separate because otherwise they eat each other – no wonder they are almost extinct!!!!!!!

 

After that, it was back home and off to the pool for our morning swim. I had a lovely chat with Sharon, the lifeguard whose husband is the sergeant of police.

We have new next door neighbours. This is the fourth lot who have moved in next door. There are over 28 powered sites in the park but for some reason, every one parks next to us then they scuttle inside and we don’t see them and then they leave the next day with ne’er so much as a by your leave!!!!

The wind has sprung up tonight, there is heaps of lightning and Indie is actually rocking in the wind. There is no rain yet though.

Friday 11^th January

After our usual morning dip, we went back home and got ready to leave tomorrow. We have decided to travel towards Townsville just on the off chance that we might be getting a grandson one day soon!!!