1st August to 16th August 2013

1^st August 2013

Since the beginning of the month the weather hasn’t allowed us to do much other than shopping and using the driers in the local Laundromat.

6^th August 2013

We made an early start and went by train into Melbourne and then by tram to Port Melbourne to attend the CPAP consulting rooms so that Merry could have her sleep apnoea data on a USB key analysed for any adjustments.  She also needed to replace her mask as the old one had seen better days.  By chance, we had picked a time to do it when the price had been reduced.  We walked down to the harbour side and caught a tram back to Southern Cross railway station and found that our next train to Woodend was due to leave in 30 minutes.  This didn’t allow us time to have lunch before catching the train so we bought some take-away pies and coffee from a stall on the station and headed off to platform 7B.  This walk alone took about six minutes as it involves entering platform 7A, then walk the length of the train in that platform to get to the train in front of it to the continuation of the platform where our train was.  We were able to enter the train straight away so we could sit in comfort for our lunch.

7^th August 2013

Merry joined Steve and Barry for the morning walk as it was dry, although chilly, and got colder as we walked.  It rained from midday onwards.

8^th August 2013

We could almost simply say ‘Ditto’ except the sun broke through in the afternoon after we had dried our washing at the Laundromat.  If we had hung it out to dry it would have rained again so some folk will appreciate our morning efforts.

9^th August 2013

We took a trip through to Kyneton to gain a prescription from the doctor because he bulk bills so it only costs us about $6 worth of fuel whereas a visit to the local doctors who don’t bulk bill costs us $25 for gracing them with our presence.  The trip took longer than expected even allowing for some shopping and lunch and was also made somewhat unpleasant by continuous rain.   The prescription was for some more pain relief stick-on pads as Merry still has a surprising amount of low level but uncomfortable pain in her throat despite the length of time since the radiation treatment.  This apparently is normal according to the specialist and unfortunately will last for some time yet.

11^th August 2013

We had an early start for another attempt at Daylesford Market which was achieved without Merry feeling nauseas this time.  The market, which we visited many years ago, was still alongside the old railway station and nothing had changed, but didn’t have the book that Merry was hoping to find.  We continued into the town and tried a few bookshops that happened to be open on a Sunday with no joy.  We still didn’t visit Trentham Falls, which may be a mistake, as we had some good rain over the last few days and the waterfall should be in full flight.

13^th August 2013

We did the morning walk without Steve and Badger as we decided to extend the walk, but also wanted to do some of Richard’s book keeping requirements that we started yesterday.  This meant starting out much earlier, and as we expected, arrived back home as Steve was getting ready for his morning walk with Badger.  The extended walk is now estimated at about 5kms which is a big improvement for Merry as the walk we have been doing is about 3kms.

!5^th August 2013

We dismantled the annex, put the awning away, re-installed the towbar on the car and hitched up to the caravan which confused Foxy as she thought we were packing up to move on.  However, it was in order to use the car as the braking system so that Barry could release the van brakes, jack up the van and adjust the brakes in readiness for when we do move back to WA, sunshine and warmth.  This took quite a while but was made easier with the use of Steve’s trolley jacks and the specially shaped tool that we bought whilst in Beaumaris.  It’s amazing what a piece of bent metal costs, but it is chromium plated, and necessary for adjusting drum type brakes, and unfortunately a straight screwdriver doesn’t do the job.

16^th August 2013

We went to Bendigo with Steve and Terry to buy a range of materials as Merry wants Terry to make her a quilt.  Terry makes quilts as a hobby and has produced many such items for family and friends.  Bendigo is a large town with many impressive old buildings due to the wealth from the gold digging days but we didn’t have time to stop and look on this trip, plus it will require several days to see it all properly.  It would require much more than the 5kms that we walk at the moment and Merry could not handle several full days of sightseeing so that will have to wait for another visit in the future. This of cause annoys Merry as we could have travelled around whilst waiting for her appointments had she been able to cope with it.