11th July to 3rd October 2015

11^th July 2015

Today we reverted back to a long morning walk, about an hour, and backed it up with another half hour walk in the afternoon after doing about half an hour of gardening.  This was followed with Barry taking his first drive around our local streets to test out his legs response and knee’s ability to cope with emergency stops, and it looks like he will be back in the drivers’ seat again.

With Barry being slightly out of action and Merry attending diligently to his needs, plus some surprising rain in the order of 60mm, the weeds have gone mad.  There are also a lot of old dead lettuces, beans and sweet corn stalks to remove and soil to turn over before replanting.  The relatively new raised section of the garden appears to be producing some healthy broccoli that hasn’t succumbed to caterpillars or Avid.  This may be because this area is circular and we used three fibreglass tent poles to form a dome shape and covered it with curtain netting held down with rocks.  This kept the white cabbage butterflies out.

12^th July 2015

We started out on our long morning walk but soon gave it away and settled for a short morning walk as the breeze was directly of the Antarctic and cut straight through the extra jumpers we were wearing.  When the breeze dropped in the afternoon we embarked on our long walk for the day which Barry chose to extend even further to put his knee to the test.  This meant walking down to, and along the beach, so about a quarter of the walk involved soft sand plus clambering back up the sand dunes back to the footpath and then the uphill grind back home.  This walk took 1.5 hours and was fairly gruelling but we both survived. 

19^th July 2015

We are still walking twice a day so that Merry achieves 10,000 steps according to her Fitbit gadget that counts the steps.  She actually tries to achieve 17,000 steps which is supposedly the equivalent to 8kms.  Today only produce one walk but was a hour and a half walk which took in the beach.  This was in the reverse direction to the last time we did it with the same exhausted result.  The beach which used to be firm to walk on has changed dramatically since the high tides we have experienced and is now very soft and saps the strength out you.  This doesn’t help the next few kilometres of steady uphill struggle to get back home, whichever way round you choose to go.  This time we came off the beach slightly previous to our usual exit which unfortunately had a much higher, steeper sand dune to negotiate.  The type where your front foot slides back to where your back foot is planted as you try to move upward which nearly beat Barry’s new knee.  However, he did eventually make it but it took a while, and just for a change is the first time Merry has had to wait for Barry in these situations. 

20^th July 2015

We did a similar walk to yesterday but used the coastal road rather than the beach which reduced the effort required and saved some energy for the uphill drag.

 

24^th July 2015

We only took one walk today as we had to go shopping but the walk we did take was one of our longer treks. Merry had a visit to her specialist for the results of her colonoscopy only to be told exactly what he told her in the hospital recovery room.  This presumably is the specialist’s way of extracting another heap of money out of you by charging a huge gap over the top of the regular fee.   

25^th July 2015

We didn’t do any walks today as we were busy getting ready to drive to Perth tomorrow.  We will be staying at Colleen and Craig’s place but in our caravan that is still after Richard used it for his contract at the Mint.  He is currently on some other shutdown contract at one of the mine sites with another one following on from it.  Merry has an appointment at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Monday for her six monthly throat check up which proved to be okay and now only has to have 3 yearly checkups for that end of her body.

28^th July 2015

We drove into Midland and bought a LED light fitting for our kitchen.  We noted that Colleen and Craig had new lights in their Kitchen and Family room and quite liked them so bought a similar one (not the same design) to replace our old kitchen fluorescent light.

29^th July 2015

We travelled back to Geraldton with our caravan which included a stop off for a cuppa at Nilgen’s Lookout that we have passed many times but ignored and it turned out to be a pleasant view with a short walk to the viewing area looking out over Cervantes and the ocean in one direction and rolling farmland in the other.  It also had a longer loop walk through the newly blooming wildflowers.  August through September will be a good time to visit if you happen to be in the area.  We also stopped at Jurien Bay as usual for our lunch break.  Diesel fuel in Geraldton is currently $1.38.7 but interestingly the same fuel in most garages around where we stayed in Perth (Lesmurdie) cost $1.41.9 with variation down to $1.36.9.  We found a garage on Orrong Road in Welshpool selling it for $1.31.9 where we topped up twice.  However, on the way home we topped up again, about 2 thirds of a tank, in Leeman in the middle of nowhere for $1.29.9.  Until recently diesel has always been about 10 cents cheaper in the city so I guess times are changing. 

31^st July 2015

We are still experiencing rain so there will be now outside activity today other than trips to the shed or garage as required for various items.  Barry has removed the old fluorescent light in the kitchen that was looking very unstylish and has filled the mounting holes, sanded and painted the area where it used to be so that it doesn’t show, in readiness to mount the new LED light fitting.   There is one more coat of paint to go on and the light should be fitted a bit later this afternoon.

1^st August 2015

The light fitting is now in use and is much brighter and more efficient than the old fluorescent light fitting, plus looking much more stylishly up market.

6^th August 2015

Richard returned to Geraldton (us) this afternoon. He has just completed two mining shutdowns downs and now has a five day break before flying out to the next one.  The day he was flying out of the last job he was asked to fly out the next day to another job but had to turn that one down as he is committed to moving his processions from here and Colleen’s home to a room he is now renting.  This is at the same place in the Perth suburb of Wilson that he rented some time ago.  This will make him more accessible for the shutdown job offers as they seem to be coming thick and fast currently.  We have borrowed Nigel and Mary’s trailer once again to take his gear to Perth on Sunday which gives him some of Sunday and Monday to settle in and then fly out on Tuesday to his next job.  We will deliver Richard and his processions to his new address, go up to Colleen’s and collect the stuff we left there when we removed the caravan, and continue to Ann and Ashley’s to spend the night before heading home again.  It makes life easy having such great friends in the Perth area to call upon when a bed is required.

8^th August 2015

As a precaution Barry regreased the trailer bearings as the trailer is old and we have no idea when they were last serviced, if ever.  We then loaded most of Richard’s processions in readiness for an early start in the morning.

9^th August 2015

We did the final packing which took up the back seat as well as the trailer which meant Merry couldn’t travel to Perth with us.  We then checked that the trailer lights did the thing before leaving and found that they didn’t.  We have to use an adaptor to convert from the trailer socket to our car plug and have found in the past that we have to jiggle the plug and socket to get things to work, but as time was at a premium Barry took a chance and headed for Perth with only a right hand indicator, no left hand indicator and stop lights.  This was not a problem for the bulk of the open country journey but dodgy in the Perth area.  Barry checked them again at Rick’s new address and discovered nothing was working at all so dropped the trailer off after unloading  Rick’s gear and went to Colleen’s for his other stuff.  After dropping that off with Rick, Barry went on to Ann and Ashley’s hoping for the best and made it alright without police interference.  He disconnected the trailer and went into the nearby shops and bought a new socket for the trailer cable.

10^th August 2015

Barry fitted the new socket to the trailer cable and the lights now work as they should and also are much brighter, probably due to an improved earth connection, but it made the trip back to Geraldton more relaxed knowing that you are now totally legal.

11^th August 2015

Barry returned the trailer to Nigel and Merry after confirming that the lights are still okay and explained that Nigel will need to check that they are okay when connected to his car. They should be okay as they are wired exactly the same but he has never mentioned a problem with them, but my never have checked.

26^th August 2015

Nothing of significance has happened lately other than we have been enjoying the benefit of our home grown cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Richard has had several shutdown jobs to do and has more lined up so moving back the Perth area has proven beneficial so far. We are both still walking reasonably walks to make sure we will have built some stamina for walking around in Singapore in a few weeks time in their humid conditions.

29^th August 2015

We drove 98kms inland to the small town of Mullewa where their annual Agricultural Show is in progress, however, we didn’t go there for that event but for the annual flower show at the town hall.  We visited this event about 18 years ago as one of the main attractions is the wreath flower which is only found in this region in disturbed soil such as old quarries.  Unfortunately they are becoming scarce now as people are visiting the area and removing them in the hope of them growing in their gardens, despite the risk of a $2000 fine for any picking, or removal, of wildflowers.  We had forgotten how small the town hall is and were somewhat disappointed with the very small display and the ridiculous entry fee for so little.  We visited the local church as it is a local attraction and then walked two of the wildflower walks, each about an hour long, as the wildflowers are in their element at this time of year.

6^th September 2015

Still not a lot happening other than packing in readiness for a drive to Ann and Ashley’s in Perth in three days times and then fly to Singapore the following day.  Meanwhile, here in Perth we are still walking a fair bit, especially Merry, and we have harvested a ten litre bucket of potatoes and started to pick Brussel sprouts as required. 

25^th September 2015

We arrived back from Singapore late afternoon on the 23^rd and drove back to Geraldton on the on the 24^th.  The Singapore flight takes about the same amount of time (5hrs) as the drive to Geraldton.  We retrieved Foxy from Pamela and Ron across the road who where rather reluctant to let her go as they have all become very attached, including the small parrot that they acquired recently. When it is let out to fly around in the house and lands on the floor it has a nose to nose chat with Foxy, and when it is in its cage Foxy sits and watches it most of the day with quite a lot of chat between them.   We had a great time in Singapore although Barry in particular would never consider living their permanently as there is too much noise and too crowded for his liking.  Neither of us liked having to duck and weave around people looking at their smart phones rather than where they are going, and avoiding a multitude of Selfie sticks.  We were very impressed with the rail and bus services as well as the tourist attractions such as the Gardens by the Bay with the Super Trees and their light show.  The Zoo, the bird sanctuary, China town, Raffles Hotel, the Chinese Gardens, the Botanic Gardens, Sentosa Island, the old Changi village and the airport are also great attractions.  Unfortunately in September, Sumatra burns off their forests to make way for crops and the smoke drifts across Singapore to Indonesia which makes photos rather hazy and not so good for breathing.  We also happened to pick a time when the Formula 1 race was on which meant some of the roads were closed off, which interfered slightly with our plans.   On the brighter side Barry’s knee was no trouble at all during the 133 kilometres that we walked during our 11 day trip, so the walking we did prior to the big event obviously paid off.  The humidity was exceptionally high so we melted each time we went out but it was worth it and was probably why we both lost a couple of Kilos. Garon and Sue’s apartment is in a somewhat upmarket 24 storey high highly engineered skyscraper.  It is one of three in a group known as Reflection on Keppel Bay and they stand out from the crowd due to the curved shaping, as per the photo that highlights Sumatra's smoke haze.  Garon and Sue are on the fourth floor which looks out over the ponds that virtually surround the buildings with views of the wooded hill and the cruise ships as they enter and exit the harbour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28^th September 2015

We drove down to the landing area for the tenders that come into Geraldton from the cruise liners to meet Jill and Steve (yes, another Steve).  They are a Tasmanian couple that we met in the departure lounge at Perth Airport waiting to board the plane for Singapore.  They were going there to join the cruise ship ‘Legend of the sea” to take them to Fremantle via Kuala Lumpa, Phuket. Bali, and one or two other Asian ports, before heading south to Broome, Geraldton and Fremantle.  On the way down they were unable to call into Geraldton as it was deemed too rough for the tender to bring them ashore buy were able to achieve it on the return journey.  Other people had arranged regular bus tours but Jill and Steve were happy to have us as their guides.  We took then for a drive through the town centre which was very deserted as it was the public holiday for the Queen’s birthday and then up to the memorial for the HMAS Sydney which apparently they could see whilst still out to sea.  It is the best war memorial we and they have seen.  Interestingly, we met several volunteer tour guides who apparently come out of the woodwork whenever a cruise ship arrives and bus tours visit the Memorial as part of their itinerary.  We then took them for a quick look in the impressive Catholic Cathedral and a drive south to the Greenough Heritage Hamlet.  We met another bus from the ship on our way out but then took them where the buses wouldn’t go, to the Hampton Arms as the wooden bridge over the Greenough River is too narrow and probably not strong enough.  The Hampton Arms was a really quaint pub when we were here 15 years ago but unfortunately has declined and the amazing bar with a rabbit head with antlers has been totally cleared out, as has all of the other bars which been turned into a second hand book shop.  The dining room still has Singer sewing machine treads for the legs of the tables and still has rooms for quest available, and naturally is still claimed to be haunted.  It wasn’t quite what we thought we were taking them to but both Jill and Steve were impressed.  On the way back we stopped to take the mandatory photo of the bent Greenough trees and a short diversion to the Greenough river mouth before continuing to the Old Prison Gaol which has a great history (from the volunteer guides again) and is unexpectedly different now as many of the cells are used as craft shops.  From there we went for afternoon tea and then the Museum which is a short walk from where the tenders depart which enabled us to send them on their merry way. We also learnt that on the return trip their ship would not be calling into Broome, but into Port Hedland instead.  If that were us we would be asking for our money back as neither Port, or South Hedland, has anything to offer tourists other than iron ore dust.

3^rd October 2015

Nothing exciting happening since the Geraldton visitors on the cruise ship but we are now enjoying warmer weather and plenty of our home grown vegies.  We haven’t been walking as Merry developed a slight problem with one foot so we have been allowing it to rest as much as possible since returning from Singapore, but took a sensible length walk today as a trial and didn’t seem to upset anything.

15th May to 9th July

15^th May 2015

Merry went to the QE2 community centre to attend her second art class and came home with her first quite good painting.  Barry refitted the reticulation system that feeds the bedroom courtyard and patio gardens to the new veranda in such a way that you hardly know it is there.  He also finalised the odd few touch up details.  All that is left to do is the fancy flashing to cover the slight gap between the gutter and the veranda roof.  This might be done tomorrow if the weather defies the prediction of 10mm of rain for this area.  Barry has arranged for his knee replacement operation to be done in Bethesda Hospital in Claremont, near Perth, to be done on the 27^th May and also arranged to stay with Ann and Ashley for a week or two for the initial recovery period.  This will allow plenty of recovery time prior to our Singapore trip.  This afternoon we had a mad moment and played nine holes of not very special golf as Merry is considering joining our old golf club again.  Barry will not be joining as his rigid right wrist doesn’t allow the required flexibility to get involved with club competitions but may play occasional casual games.

16^th May 2015

No progress with anything today as the predicted rain started about 8,00am and continued all day as predicted and will continue into tomorrow.  However, we did enjoy the ability to be outside under the new veranda during the rain although it was chilly for us as the temperature was down to 21 degrees with gusty wind.  On the other good side is the rain doing the garden a huge favour and also has topped our rain water tanks up.  There is a slight amount of rain sneaking between the gutter and the sheeting as expected and will be overcome after the rain has gone as we have the flashing ready to go, but not in the rain.

19^th May 2015

The flashing has now been applied to the veranda roof and is now waterproof except for about 1 metre at the end that isn’t going to affect anything.  The 10 metre roll of sticky flashing was not a full 10 metres, plus Barry wasted about half a metre in the process of applying it, which was not an easy performance.

21 May 2015

We have now added to the reticulation system and checked it all prior to going to Perth for up to a couple of weeks and provided the fish with feeding blocks to last the same time, plus the fish pond pump is now on a timer to keep the water circulated for a while each day.  Barry has to have a dental check tomorrow so that all is in a good condition prior to the operation as he can’t have any major dental work for 6 months after the anaesthetic.   We have hired some crutched in readiness for his after operation movement for several weeks use.

22^nd May 2015

Barry attended his dental appointment and was subjected to one filling that seemed to take an age and then had to have a total mouth x-ray to obtain a letter stating that he will be dentally okay for at least 6 months after the surgery on his knee.  We are ready to leave on Sunday (tomorrow) to head down to Perth.

24^th May 2015

We drove down to Perth and called into Colleen’s to see Richard and then continued on to Ann and Ashley’s including a minor detour into a Kmart store on the way.

25^th May 2105

We drove up to Bethesda Hospital in Claremont to attend an appointment with the Pre-op nurse and the physio department, and had a tour of the hospital to show us the room with a view that was awaiting Barry’s arrival.

26^th May 2015

We drove to the hospital again to be there for 7.00am and Barry went through the admission performance and then was taken through to get ready for the operation.  His operation was the first for the day and was back in recovery by mid day.

27^th May 2015

Up out of bed and took his first short walk with the aid of a frame to get showered before breakfast.  After breakfast he started his physio treatment and did very well.

31^st May 2015

Merry collected Barry from the hospital and returned to Ann and Ashley’s where we stayed for one more night.

1^st June 2015

We left Perth and headed for Geraldton with Merry doing the driving as Barry is not allowed to, with rest stops at Moore River and Jurien Bay.  Barry had to sit on the back seat across the car as there is inadequate room for his leg any other way as it doesn’t bend enough to sit normally  yet whilst needing supporting.

10^th June 2015

Nothing of note has happened in the last few days other than Barry visiting the physiotherapist and has performed his exercises ever since but still hasn’t achieved the amount of movement we are after.  He can get into the front seat of the car now.  He acquires more movement during the day due to the exercises but come the next day he seems to back where he started from,  It is still very swollen which makes it stiff.

9^th June 2015

Barry has been taking walks to the end of our street and back which is about a half kilometre walk but today he tossed the crutches and walked round the block which is about a kilometre.

11^th June 2015

Barry had the clips removed from his knee.

14^th June 2015

Despite exercising as required 4 times a day and some days even more, plus 45 minutes per day in the Hydrotherapy pool for the last 2 days Barry’s knee bend still hasn’t improved, or at least not noticeably enough to satisfy him.

15^th June 2015

Barry visited the physiotherapist and was surprised and pleased to be told he was doing much better than expected at this early stage of recovery.

17^th June 2015

Barry walked around the circuit that he used to do each morning with Foxy which is about 1.5km and all went well although it was a bit slower than usual.

18^th June 2015

Barry took Foxy for her morning walk which will now be a regular feature again just as it was prior to operation.  He is still going for up to an hour of hydrotherapy each day whilst Merry swims in the main pool which is improving her fitness along with the eight km walk she does on most days.  Today Merry had to have a visit to the dentist for clean up job which is never a lot of fun.

20^th June 2015

The weather is now definitely winter weather, even by Geraldton standards.  Barry’s knee is still swollen but has gone down quite a bit and he is still exercising it four times a day as well as walking and hydrotherapy.

21^st June 2015

The weather is continuing to be pretty miserable producing 60mm in the last twenty four hours. Fortunately, since daylight it has stopped raining and appears to be improving slightly which is good as Merry is driving solo to Perth to pick up Richard, Jack and Rory and will be returning late this afternoon and evening.  They will probably arrive home after midnight as the kids flight from Darwin doesn’t land until 4.00pm.

22^nd June 2015Merry, Ric and the kids arrived home earlier than predicted, about 11.00pm, but at least it was safely.

24 June 2015

Merry had her annual colonoscopy and all went well and has now been clear to only undergo the procedure every three years.

26^th June 2015

Barry had his return visit to his specialist who is happy with the job he did on his knee and that he has progress well.  Barry’s physiotherapist is also happy with the progress and doesn’t require his attendance any more as he knows Barry will continue with the prescribed exercises.

27^th June 2015

Barry has been gradually increasing the length of his morning walk with Foxy and today did a 3.5km walk that took almost an hour as he is still not as fast as he used to be as yet but still working on it.  As it turned out, this was a bit on the long side so future walks will be a bit shorter but have two of them per day.

1^st July 2015

Ric and the kids returned to Perth and will stay with Colleen and Craig until the kids fly out on Tuesday back to Darwin and Ric flies out to a mine site shutdown for 11 days on Wednesday before returning to Geraldton, subject to more work appearing on the scene.  Meanwhile we have our house back to ourselves along with the peace and quiet and are able to get back into our own routine that also includes the use of our vehicle. Ric has taken the kids to a variety of activities during their week and a half in Geraldton, such as archery Dongara, sand boarding and rock climbing at Greenough river mouth, fishing and the local cinema.

3^rd July 2015

Today’s walk was different in as much as we walked down to the beach and back which is about a 15 minute walk each way under normal conditions. Barry is a bit slower than that currently but the walk involves a steep downhill walk for the middle 200 metres (the type that cyclists get off and push) which means smaller steps to control your speed.  Naturally this also means coming back up it on the return journey and is a real cardiac test but we survived and the new knee managed very well.  Unfortunately, no matter which way we walk from our house we will always have a hill to climb to get back home as the house is almost at the top of Mt Tarcoola which puts us well clear of any surprise Tsunami even though three quarters of Geraldton would vanish.

4^th July 2015

Yesterday’s trial long walk with steep hills went well but cause some knee stiffness today so the walks will be slightly shorter without the severe hills for a bit longer but we will have two walks per day, which is also easier for Foxy.

5^th July 2015

Being a determined type creature, Barry decided today that he attempt to operate the stationary exercise bike that we bought when Barry was in hospital.  It needed some adjustments to the saddle height and saddle positioning front to back, but found a position that allowed his right knee (the operated knee) to move sufficiently to allow his foot to stay on the pedal as it rode up and over its apex.  In the process this meant the knee was forced to bend to the 90 degree position with the help of some force from the other leg.  He then sat on the bike rocking that pedal back and forth over the apex several times to let the knee that he was going to win this argument.  It turned out to quite painful but now that he has achieved it he will continue to do it every day for longer periods until it becomes easy.   

8^th July 2015

We both went to the QE2 community centre to the Gentle Gym session that Merry had been going to prior to stopping for Barry’s hospitalisation and follow up assistance.  She is now able to return and taken Barry also as the exercise may assist his knee.

9^th July 2015

Barry is still doing the walks and still riding the bike even though it is not yet any easier, but is doing it for longer session several times a day.

1st March 2015 to 14th May 2015

1^st March 2015

Richard returned from Perth.  Just for a change the weather forecasters got it right with respect to Geraldton receiving rain, we got 43mm in a very short spell which filled our water tanks to overflowing, so we will be right water wise for quite a long time.

2^nd March 2015

We have planted tomato seed, sweet corn seed, radish seed, lettuce seed, cucumber seed and water melon seed to see how they go at this time of year.

4^th March 2015

Barry had his return visit to the doctor for the results of his X-rays and MRI scan has been referred to a specialist on the 1^st April.

9^th May 2015

Barry changed some of the light switches that had dimmers in them as they are not suitable for energy saving fluorescent lights, to the extent that the bedroom light often flickers as it is obviously close to its ‘on or off’ threshold.   Some of the seeds we planted are coming through but there are many that are either taking more time or not going to make the effort.  Maybe there life in an opened packet since it last use hasn’t helped.

10^th March 2015

For some reason, as yet unknown, our fish pond has sunk slightly at one end so is now being emptied in order to raise it and resolve the problem.  We believe that water that has overflowed on a couple of occasions has washed the surrounding sand away into the old unused leach drain. 

11^th March 2015

We have now transferred the fish to our other pond in the bedroom courtyard which now has it own new pump.  The fish will probably remain there and a fresh load of fish purchased to go into the backyard pond when it is reinstalled.

13^th March 2015

Barry had his long awaited visit to an eye specialist to check the small growth on his eyelid, the result of that is it will be removed in about 10 days time.  We spent the afternoon clearing up the patio and garden to ensure there was no loose objects to thrown around by the cyclone that is heading this way if it continues on its predicted path.

14^th March 2015

The cyclone must have changed to a slightly more easterly direction from its predicted south-east path as we only gained about 12mm of rain with no wind at all, but the back yard looks tidy.  When rose in the morning we were convinced that the cyclone was no longer a threat to Geraldton despite the TV warnings as there was no wind at all, which is unusual for Geraldton, but could have been the lull before the storm.  However, more convincing was the presence of birds.  We noticed in our 16 years of living in the cyclone prone Pilbara that when a cyclone was a genuine threat the birds where nowhere to be seen, presumably heading inland out of its path.  Meanwhile the Banana plantations in Carnarvon have been wiped out and probably all of the other fruits that are grown there.  Last week the farmers in Carnarvon where overjoyed by the Gascoyne River flowing for the first time in a long time allowing them to water their crops more adequately.  Now there are no crops to water. 

15^th March 2015

As a result of us overfilling the fish pond on a couple of occasions plus rain causing it to overflow on one occasion, the pond has developed a tilt where the surrounding sand has been washed away.  We have removed the fish to the small pond in the bedroom courtyard and emptied the pond.  Barry has also removed some of the surrounding moss rocks to allow him to remove the pool from the ground.

16^th March 2015

Barry removed the pool this morning and discovered a huge void below the end that had sunk where the overflow water had washed the sand away down the old disused leach drain.  We didn’t know it was there, plus when one of the tenants filled the hole that was once the original large fish pond they acquired sand at our expense to fill the leach drain.  This obviously was only at the end where we will have to fill again.  We will completely fill the hole that housed the pond with decent soil and it will become another garden bed. The pond will be re-installed on the back veranda, as putting it back in the same place will have the same outcome again if it overflows.   It will also be in a shady area that will reduce the evaporation rate and also the algae growth due to the excess sunlight.  In the afternoon we collected Richard from the bus station.

18^th March 2015

Richard and Barry partially filled the old fishpond hole using unwanted rocks and soil.   The remaining 30mm to 40mm will be filled later with decent soil that will be bought in.  In the afternoon Barry lifted numerous pavers in the new area designated for the fish pond and Richard dug the hole.

19^th March 2015

The new fish pond hole was titivated into the perfect shape and half the pond depth plus plastic sheeting glued to the house wall that the back edge of the pond butts against.  Any water overflow (if it should happen) will not affect the wall.  The pavers that were removed will be replaced on end which perfectly fits between the ground and the lip of the pond with soil replaced between the pond wall and the pavers to support the sides.

 

23^nd March 2015

Barry and Richard had a very early rising (4.00am) to get Richard to the Shell Garage in the Wonthella suburb for 4.45am to catch a bus heading for Mt Magnet where the 8 man crew will change to a series of trucks to continue for another 4 hours to Mt Agnes mine site to perform a 2 day shutdown.  Just unfortunate that it involves a 7 hour journey to get there but they are paid travelling time. Barry then continued with the installation of the fish pond in its new position with filling dirt behind the pavers on end, some of which had to be cut to reduce the length slightly.  The angle grinder with a diamond tipped blade made light of that job, and was also used to shape other pavers to fill the gaps on the ground around the base of the pond

24^th March 2015

Barry continued cutting pavers to fill the final gaps and also mixed some cement to fill between the horizontal and vertical pavers plus the slight gaps between the vertical pavers, and now looks really good as the pond surround blends into the ground pavers.

25^th March 2015

Barry has painted the woodwork with decking oil in readiness for making the fence around the smaller of the two kidney shape ends  This will then have a deck across the pond to the wall that will cover approximately half of the small to give the fish somewhere to hide and support the waterfall.  This is a two story tub arrangement with an old fashioned hand pump handle that will let the water cascade from the top of the pump into each tub in turn, and then into the pond.

26^th March 2015

Barry made a good start building the wooden support wall for the platform that will house the waterfall, however, he had to leave it at lunch time and get ready to collect Richard from the shell garage, plus the Aus/India semi final world cup cricket match is in progress and needs his attention.

27^th March 2015

All of the decking wood for the upright platform support is now cut and fitted around the small end of the pool and the wood that forms the platform is also cut to butt up to the house wall ready to be screwed down and cut to length.  It has already had three coats of decking oil applied and the waterfall tubs are ready to be piped up.

28^th March 2015

The waterfall is now operative on the platform but requires a slight modification to the lower tub.  The platform still has to be screwed down but is still safe for the tubs to on there.  In the afternoon we went into town to a restaurant called Toppo’s for lunch to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  The meal was good as was the weather for the outside table, but unfortunately was lacking a ocean view, but not every restaurant can have that.

29^th March 2015

Richard has made the alteration that was required to satisfy our needs with the Waterfall that is now going well.  Meanwhile Foxy is fascinated by the fish and spends a lot of time with her front paws up on the pond rim including one session of tightrope walking along the rim.  She hates water so will not be happy when it all goes wrong for her.

1^st April 2015

For the last 6 weeks, or thereabouts, Merry has been walking with Richard when he is here, or me sometimes when he isn’t available, to improve her fitness and is now walking 8kms a day.  She is now a lot more fit and does a lot more in the garden than she was doing.  We have a small shopping centre in Mt Tarcoola about a six minute walk away but she now walks to a bigger shopping centre (Rigter’s IGA shop) 3kms away just to get a bottle of milk.

4^th April 2015

Colleen, Craig, Emma and Abby arrived from Perth this afternoon for a short visit which gave Barry time to teach Emma some more ‘stuff’ on the guitar that she is now playing extremely well with a pick and more impressively with her fingers in classical style.

5^th April 2015

 Emma gets a lot of attention from Barry because of the guitar connection which bothers both of us that Abby seems to be dipping out.  Merry took the opportunity to introduce Abby to her electronic organ with a short lesson as she has mentioned in the past that she would like to learn to play the piano, so it went down really well. She played for quite some time and had to be virtually dragged away from it.

6^th April 2014

The short visit ended with the departure of the family members returning to Perth due to work commitments but we ordered a Casio Keyboard and stand online to be delivered to their house as a surprise for Abby.  This is a touch sensitive unit so it can be played as a piano or as an organ, with a multitude of rhythms and voices available for either type of playing.

8^th April 2015

Much to everyone’s surprise the keyboard has arrived already and had been giving it a severe workout for 2 hours before her mother could drag her to the phone to let us know and thank us.

11^th April 2015

Merry and Richard walked to the Woolworth store today to do our shopping for the next week which is a 3.9km walk.  Barry drove down later after the bread he was making finished baking and met them at the shop to bring the groceries, and them, back.

 

12^th April 2015

Richard caught the bus to Perth once again as he has renew a couple of his work tickets that have just expired which will allow him the possibility to do a couple of shutdowns in the near future.  Whilst in Perth, and between the two training courses, he will attend an interview for a possible five week job at the Perth Mint.  He already has his police clearance certificate to allow him to work in gold mine sites and therefore the Mint.  When he arrives back on Thursday he has a couple of days break before doing the first (4 day) shutdown at the inland St Barbara mine and the following week will have to return to Perth to fly to Hedland for a 6 day shutdown, if the applications are successful.  Even if they’re not, he still needs the tickets for other opportunities.

 

14^th April 2015

Richard achieved the first of his required tickets yesterday and more importantly attended the arranged interview at the Perth Mint and was successful in acquiring a five to eight week job which has the possibility of becoming a permanent position.  That would suit him beautifully but we will have to wait and see what eventuates.  The second work related ticket that Rick requires is being undertaken today.  Meanwhile Barry has applied numerous coats of paint to the new beams for the back veranda extension and the sheeting has been ordered.  Merry has shown interest in the local senior citizens club at the community centre and has so far turned up for several of their activities with interest in several more.

15^th April 2015

Richard completed his second training course and is now ready for whatever shutdowns or mining jobs come his way.  Meanwhile has the Mint job to keep him busy, starting next Monday.

16^th April 2015

We attended the senior citizens’ gardening club at the Palms nursery that we didn’t know existed.  It was more an excuse to take along a plate each, wander around the nursery and pick out anything you fancied and then wasted an hour, or so, yapping over a cuppa and whatever was brought along.  We’ll not be bothering again.  We picked up Richard from the bus station in the afternoon.

17^th April 2015

We bought more timber for the veranda extension and the Colourbond sheeting.

18^th April 2015

We removed the shade cloth and beams from the back veranda which required the bolts through the support brackets being cut off with Barry’s grinder.  Having removed them we discovered that the uprights were extremely rotted, so we removed them with the front support beam and ditched the lot.  We no longer have a back veranda but will purchase more timber and start from new everything which will allow us to move the uprights further out from the house.  Unfortunately, Richard leaves for Perth tomorrow so Barry will be progressing with Just Merry’s assistance.  We will be taking Richard to Perth along with our caravan to park at Colleen and Craig’s place for the duration of his job.  If it does becomes a permanent job we will then work something out from there, such as a caravan park until he finds suitable accommodation.  Once Richard is installed at Colleen’s we will go and stay with Ann and Ashley for the night.

19^th April 2015

We took the caravan and Richard down to Perth and set them up at the front of Colleen and Craig’s place and then moved down to spend the evening and night with Ann and Ashley.

20^th April 2015

We returned home with our usual break for lunch at Jurien Bay.

21^st April 2015

We went to Bunning’s (our second home) and now have all new uprights and crossbeams ready to build the new veranda.  The uprights are heavier duty than the originals so should last longer especially as we are mounting then on stirrups rather than directly into the ground to avoid rotting like the last ones, although it has taken more than 15 years and don’t appear to have been painted. Barry has already started painting the new ones.

22^nd April 2015

Barry continued painting the new woodwork.  Merry had a dentist appointment which she is not too happy about, as she has lost an old filling needs replacing.  That wasn’t too bad except the price, but it seems she needs a few more filling in the near future.

23^rd April 2015

Barry is continuing with the wood work painting and has also removed the final upright post from the old veranda.  This one was not as rotted as the others and clung to its concrete base which stopped us pulling it out of the ground.  He removed a few pavers from around the post and then drilled 12mm holes through it below ground level and was then able to easily snap it off.  He then replaced the pavers and will fill the remaining hole with concrete when he mixes some up to put around the new posts in their new position.

25^th April 2015

We attended the morning Anzac ceremony (not the dawn one) as it was a special anniversary and a first for us.  It was rather drawn out with it lasting about one and three quarters of an hour s on a fairly warm day and we gained slightly rosy faces.  However, we did learn that WA supplied more men per capita to the war effort than any of the other states.  In the afternoon Barry stared to re-lay the moss rocks around the original pool hole to provide a pathway around each end, especially across in front of the original waterfall that is and now a stairway.  This includes concrete kerbing on the interior of the hole which is now an additional garden bed, probably to be a bed of succulents to provide a variation from the other beds.

26^th April 2015

Barry continued with the rock paths and kerbing as we can’t progress with the veranda yet as we are waiting for the appropriate pole stirrups to arrive at Bunning’s.

30^th April 2015

We took Foxy to the wet once again with another outbreak of some weird rash that she had about six weeks ago and appeared to have cleared up, but we were wrong. Hopefully the antibiotics will do the job this time, especially as it is for a longer period.  In the afternoon we collected the stirrups that we ordered for the back veranda so will be able to start the process of erecting the woodwork tomorrow as we also bought the required roofing screws, cement, etc.

1^st May 2015

Barry had his consultation with the orthopaedic doctor and the outcome is pretty much as expected, a knee reconstruction is required as it is now 22 years past its ‘best before date’.  It operated for 59 years without the benefit of a cartilage with very little inconvenience, so there is no complaint.  The operation could take place in next month which would allow time for healing prior to our trip to Singapore but has to be after driving down to Perth to bring our caravan back to Geraldton, on the assumption that Richard doesn’t require it for a longer period.  If his stay in Perth is extended the operation will be after returning from Singapore as Barry is not prepared to jeopardise the Singapore but also is not prepared to have someone else bring the caravan back to Geraldton.

2^nd May 2015

Meanwhile, Barry has now concreted three of the four stirrups for the veranda posts into place and will do the other one tomorrow.

3^rd May 2014

Barry concreted the fourth stirrup into place and then spent time cleaning, sanding and painting the facia of the eves and the brackets from the house beams that support the cross beams.  They are now the same light cream as the posts and cross beams.

4^th May 2015

Barry started to apply a second coat of paint but the weather decided that it was not a great idea so it has been put on hold until it brightens up, probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow afternoon is not available for veranda progress as Barry has to attend hospital to have a small growth removed from his left lower eyelid, caused by a blocked sweat gland apparently.  It is about a fifteen minute operation and should only result in very thin scar to add to his collection.

5^th May 2015

Barry attended the hospital in the afternoon and the ‘thing’ on his eye lid has now vanished into a bin somewhere.   The only not-so-nice bit was the local anaesthetic injections in a very tender spot and is the only time he has ever complained about an injection. The upright posts are now in place and the shoulders cut to support the front main beam, albeit with some juggling as it became apparent that when you purchase timber from Bunning’s it is necessary to not only check for bowing and warping it is necessary to carry a tape measure.  What is printed on the front of the racks is not necessarily what you get.  After going through the complete rack of 120mm x 35mm x 3.6 treated pine, about 40 pieces, to acquire three length that where just considered okay or go without, it turns out that not all of them are 120mm wide.  We unknowingly gained one that is only 110mm wide, which doesn’t help when you have cut the shoulders to 120mm and has had to be packed up accordingly.  We would have taken it back but it was already painted.  We also found one upright was only 85mm square rather than the expected 90mm square.

8^th May 2015

The front beams are now fitted with appropriate packing and all cross beams from the house brackets fitted with a 50mm down slope for our occasional rain to run off.

10^th May 2015

Barry has made some 45 degree angle braces to fit between the uprights and the main front beam which has made the whole structure extremely stable and should be pretty much cyclone proof, not that we expect to get them here although some have tracked down near here.

11^th May 2015

The batons are now in place on the cross beams ready for the Colourbond sheeting to go on.  This may have to wait until Richard returns from Perth to assist as it may be too difficult for an old fellow even with female assistance, but we will know tomorrow. 

12^th May 2015

In the morning Barry gave the whole of the woodwork another coat of paint as some of it was bearing scuff marks and the bolt heads and nuts needed covering.  He also painted three angle braces that still have to be fitted but we don’t have any more suitable screws.  We will get them when we get one more length of baton as we are one shot due to a change from our original plan.  In the afternoon, with Merry’s help, we got four Colourbond sheets onto the top of the frame work and screwed down.  Being four sheets to the wind is better than three sheets to the wind, and it’s been a while since that last happened.  All being well it should be finished tomorrow if the predicted winds are not as strong as stated.

13^th May 2015

The wind turned up as predicted so no more sheets of Colourbond were waved around in it, but the remaining angle braces have been fitted.

14^th May 2005

The wind is much calmer today so we took a chance and put another sheet of Colourbond up on the top and placed a few bricks, on towels, on top of it to make sure it stayed there.  We repeated this four times, with screwing down, which took us up to lunch time.  After lunch the bricks weren’t necessary as the wind had dropped right off, which then left it a little bit on the warm side.  However, it is now completed, or will be after a few paint touch ups tomorrow.  Admittedly it is our only opinion and we are biased, but it looks pretty good considering it was an old timer doing the job, and any mistakes are minor and forgivable, if you can even manage to spot them.  Despite it not being the weekend, Barry is celebrating the end of a big project with a few glasses of wine.  Richard is still in Perth working at the Royal Mint which he claims is not the most inspiring job he has had but it is a job which are not easy to come by at the moment, plus he is working on building a business of his own.  It is not confirmed yet but Barry's knee reconstruction may be this month which will  allow plenty of time to recover before our trip to Garon and Sue's in Singapore in September.  Other wise it will be in June and will need a quicker recovery.