I must also say that I am usually a very good diary keeper on trips, but this blogging thing is very different to writing an actual diary.  Not sure it is for me; I find I keep writing for an audience rather than my honest and personal thoughts and feelings, so it is with regret that I have decided to not try and catch all the entries up and just keep notes in my trusty journal.

If there is anyone actually interested in what we have been up to I will endeavour to send out an email with a brief outline of our adventures thus far.  Anyone else will have to meet me for coffee somewhere and I can show you some of the 500 odd photo’s I have taken…. (just kidding; it is closer 600 – so far… Still 3 weeks to go!!! and no they are not digital)

Terrible nights sleep. Seems like it’s turning into a bit of pattern – good, bad; good, bad. Noisy park full of coughing, spluttering and loud tellies until all hours. The bugs were out if full force, dive bombing us all through the night, the water tanks sloshed around every-time anyone rolled over. Luc got up sleepwalking at around 10.30pm and tried to lie down on top of Guy and then crashed onto the girls bed. I had to get him up off their bed and up in to his bunk. THEN to top it all off Hanna crawled over wanting to know “why Erin had frogs (turns out she asked why Erin had rugs) at 3.40am. Ron never stopped snoring and I spent the rest of the night/morning kicking him and telling him to shut up!!! Can you tell I am having a good time????

Got up early and sent the kids over to the play ground so we could pack up kid free only to have Luc rush back shouting that Guy had hurt himself “really” badly. Ron ran over to see what was happening and there he is clutching his hand with blood covering it. He was in a state and nearly hyperventilating and I was cranky, so the poor boy didn’t get much sympathy. Turned out he had fallen off the equipment and caught his hand on the way day taking a medium sized flap of skin off his upper palm. Dosed him up on Painstop and wrapped a couple of band aides around it. Just what we needed…

Pulled out of camp at 8.34 – a minor miracle all things considered… Stopped off at Wilcannia, a sad dusty, empty place with the most beautiful stone buildings we have come across. Sadly due to the drought and mismanagement of the Darling River system, the town is all but deserted except for the local indigenous population. The last time the town saw any good times was 15 years ago before the drought started. The river boats used to come up as far as Wilcannia and it had a very active boating social life and ladies dressed in fine gowns. There was to be a funeral in town today so a lot of the local aboriginal people were gathered on the street. The hearse was parked at the petrol station and people were in and out of the bottle shop and petrol station buying drink and food. I had to ask for the key to loo which was locked up like Fort Know with barbed wire all around the fence and a dead lock on the door. They take their privacy to new heights… Stopped and bought some petrol off one of the local petrol stations (as opposed to the big Caltex etc) and we both looked at each other in disbelief. Roaming around the yard and pumps were sheep, goats, chooks and a young cow called Kara. The old bloke that shuffled out of the sea container office was a sight to behold.

Drove on towards Dubbo and decided to call it a night at a place called Nevertire. Ron chose a beautiful camp spot called Sandy Creek just off the road and we pulled up and set up camp the quickest yet. Sat having tea outside listening to the galahs, watching the sheet lightening display and calming the girls down who were frightened of the thunder. Ron explained the theory behind lightening and thunder and distance and declared that someone somewhere was getting rain. Erin and Luc sat on the rolled up swag with their arms around each other’s shoulders discussing life’s meaning and other important stuff. Those two share such a special relationship – they are like an old married couple sometimes.

We moved into the van as the lightening and thunder moved over the top of us and a few drops of rain started. A “cool” wind had also kicked in and the table and chairs were in danger of being blown away. I ran outside and pulled the fly’s down over the bed ends which was just as well as the heavens opened and it started seriously raining. The van was rocking around, Ron was outside running around getting gear into the car, the awning was flapping around madly and Erin was asking if we were going to die. Poor little thing was quite worried and I was starting to think the same thing myself. We had parked the van under some impressive looking gum trees and small twigs were starting to reign down on the vans roof. Ron logged on to the BOM sight and there in front of us was a storm warning with predicted winds of 108km/h for the area we had just driven and were now sitting in. The thunder and lightening had increased so at 9.30pm we made the decision to pull up stumps and move the van. Not an easy thing to do in the dark with wind and pouring rain. We had to get the stabilizer legs up and attach the van to the car.

Ron got the girls to move on to Guy’s bottom bunk while I drove the car. Luc was fast asleep in his bed so couldn’t move him. Poor Ron got absolutely drenched hitching the van and the car and van were slip sliding around as I drove it out of its location and into a clearing. Stripped off and dried while checking the BOM site again and the storm band had narrowed but we were still sitting in it. We eventually fell asleep. At least it was cool!

Day 7  Thursday 2nd October 2008

Had a lovely nights sleep. Cool and quite, except for the generator from the people in the bus running till after 10. Ron woke up before dawn and pottered around outside. Luc and I got up before the sun came up and we all stood around chatting about nature and other important stuff wrapped up in a big pink rug. He and I spent some cuddle time wrapped up on a chair talking about how you create memories. He was blown away by the sunset last night and I said that he was going to remember that sunset for the rest of his life. I think he was a bit surprise about that. I enjoyed waking up to the magpies warbling and kookaburra’s laughing. I miss the bird life of down south of WA in Geraldton, and am absolutely loving the mountains and trees.

Pulled out of camp around 8.40 and drove through to the town of Wilmington. Another small farming town with wide streets and beautiful stone buildings. Very dry paddocks with forlorn looking crops in them. The countryside turned to desert again and it was a long hot drive through salt bush, scrub and dust. Erin was pondering the ways of the world at one point and asked us “who made God” to which Luc replied Buddha. Not sure where that one came from…..

Stopped off at Peterborough for morning tea. Pulled in to the tourist information centre which was a beautiful old railway carriage. The boys were very impressed with the “olden days” flip down toilet that was in one of the sleeper carriages. Shared red cordial and a orange and walnut cake while the kids climbed up and down the old steam engine and climbed all over the war memorial and big old gun. Luc and I flicked bits of cake to the magpies that had joined us for a snack.

After another long hot drive we crossed the SA/NSW border and pulled into the old mining town of Broken Hill. Decided to stay the night in a caravan park and freshen up and do some washing. Washing on the road is a bit of problem; the tubs we have on top of the car for putting our clothes in do the job to some extent, but certainly doesn’t clean the clothes. Chose the Lakeview Caravan Park ($46 p/n powered site) and once again Ron did an excellent job reversing the van into place. Had a quick snack and piled everyone into the car for a drive up to the Miners Memorial lookout. An absolutely amazing angular building with a concave roof on top of a huge mining tailings dump overlooking town. The drive up to the lookout was a bit daunting as it was quite narrow and the sides of the road were crumbly. The kids loved climbing on the mining equipment and running along a wall that had an unusual angle – good for skate boarding apparently. The entry building had a café with full length glass windows that gave you a view of the whole town. There was art work worth thousands of dollars hanging on the walls and there was a magnificent statue of an emu made out of rusted metal with a $5000 price tag.

Entry into the memorial cost $2.50 adults and free for children under 12. You walk along a suspended metal walkway to get to the memorial which is a large angular rusted metal edifice. Running through the middle were glass panels with the names of miners who had died ever since BHP had started mining back in the 1800’s. The oldest miner to die was age 79 and the youngest was 12 (asphyxiated by gas in a mine). It was amazing to see how many of them died from heart attack or heart failure, but it was the burning, crushing and having limbs ripped off by big machinery that caused the most squirming. Had our photo’s taken on the huge big garden bench on our way out (can’t think why it is there – it seems so out of place).

Headed back into town and pulled up at the Silver mint and art gallery just as it was closing. They very kindly allowed us to have a quick look around and it was a shame we didn’t have longer. The art work as amazing – one painting was priced at $11 000. There was a great walk through tunnel that leads you to a mineral display and they also have a chocolate shop attached. Hanna loved the little iron cut out ants which is funny as in real life she is absolutely terrified of them.

I dropped Ron and the kids off at the park and skate park while I went to the shop to stock up on food – took a while as I’m not the best at directions and got myself well and truly lost. Eventually found my way back to the park and found Ron lazing under a tree with a three day old newspaper trying to pick up any information about football he could find. Luc has rated this skate park an 7/10. (Norseman’s was a 3/10) The play equipment in the park itself had one of those huge spider web climbing frames and a flying fox which all the kids loved. There was also a monument to the band members of the Titanic as Broken Hill used to have 2-3 active bands during its hay day, and they wanted to commemorate the band members who kept playing as the ship went down.

Headed back to the caravan park and threw the kids in the pool which Ron and I did mundane boring housekeeping jobs. Poor man – his least favourite thing is emptying the portable loo which the girls seem to think is the best thing since sliced bread and use at the drop of a hat. We found it interesting that the street names for the older part of town were all chemical names – oxide, sulphide, bromide etc. I don’t think I would like to live in cyanide street – the mind boggles.

Traveled 403km today.

Kids behaving exceptionally well and we haven’t had too many arguments or tears or tantrums so, so far so good.

Better go to bed – although I don’t feel tired it is 20 to 10 SA time and we have to hit the road early tomorrow.  We have about 600kms to travel tomorrow and it is slow going pulling the van.  Saturday night at caravan park in Dubbo and Western Plains zoo for the weekend.

Peta

Ron was very glad to be packing up and leaving Ceduna. I think he would be very happy never to see the place again. Said goodbye to Cathy and the boys and headed up the main street to stock up on some fruit and vege’s. The same cops were still out talking to the groups of aboriginal’s out on the street. Food prices seem quite reasonable, although a lettuce at $4.99 was a bit steep. Today we are heading to Port Augusta (or Port Augustus as Ron calls it).

Stopped at Kimba for a photo next to a sign that says we are ½ way across Australia. Guy can’t see the point of all these photo’s. Kimba is also the home to the giant galah; we drove past… Might stop on the way back. Countryside pretty boring, so hopped in the back with the girls and did some homework with them. Erin is right in to it, Hanna the complete opposite, fidgeting and looking all around.

The country around Port Augusta is horrible – low salt bush and lots of lots of dust. The southern Flinders ranges were covered in dust (we did hear on the news later on that there are dust storms all over SA). Port Augusta itself looks like an industrial town and a very unattractive industrial town. It is has a salt plain in the middle of town, large industry and smoke stacks, and just on it’s outskirts a prison. Our overnight spot was about 25kms out of town close to a little town called Wilmington. The ranges look like someone has whipped up egg white and mounded it in a ridge – all valleys and lumpy bits. It was lovely climbing out of the low dry land and up into the mountains. Ron commented that the tree’s looked like something out of a Hans Hysen painting. It was cool and green and such a relief to get out of that horrible country.

Found the turn off to Hancocks lookout, and traveled 7kms along a gravel track passing a homestead. Arrived at Hancocks lookout just after 5pm and was blown away by the beautiful view. You can see the whole Eyre peninsula and we are nestled in amongst the trees on top of a hill. The national park is called Mt Remarkable National Park. There were two other vans set up and we chose a spot in the middle of a clump of trees. It was nice to arrive somewhere in day light and have time for a leisurely set up. Watched a magnificent sunset over the peninsula – all the kids wished us a happy anniversary as the sun went down. Pretty special anniversary present – thank you Ron xx

Had pasta and mince for tea. Afterwards we had a game of snakes and ladders which Hanna won with Ron’s help. We were all in bed by 8.30pm. Nice cool night.

Pulled out of camp 7.15am and drove on to Border Village. Made the kids eat vast quantities of apple and carrot before we got there only to discover that the quarantine stop is actually Ceduna. The kids weren’t very impressed I can tell you.

Stopped at the WA/SA Border for photo’s and loo visit and continued our drive on to one of the road side stops to look for whales. The view was absolutely spectacular with towering cliffs and crashing waves, exactly what I thought the Bight should look like. Didn’t see any whales but spotted a pod of more than 100 dolphins surfing the waves. Amazing… The cliffs are truly scary as there is no barrier or visual clue for people to use, and I was just about sick as I watched a lady and her 2 year stand really close to the edge for the perfect photo.

I jumped into Cathy’s car and we drove on to the Nullabor road house where we stopped for 5 minutes flat. We came to the conclusion that we were now really on the Nullabor as there was nothing but low scrub and a screaming hot wind. Ron got really stressed and out of sorts with the number of people standing around, the wind, the heat and the flies. I rejoined him in our car and we had to eat lunch as we drove on to the head of the Bight for some whale watching. The viewing platform is 12km off the main road and cost us $24 ($12 each adult – kids under 12 free) to enter. The facilities are very nice with Poletti type angled roofs on the toilet block and visitors centre and a long wooden boardwalk leading down the slope taking you to the viewing area.

I had never seen a whale up this point, and today I got to see about 12 mums and babies lolling around in the water. Some were lying on their backs with their fins in the air, some were spy hopping which is where they poke their heads upright out of the water. A few were putting on a spectacular display of tail slapping and although you could hear them occasionally, most of it was done quite a way off shore. Cathy had spoken to a lady who had been earlier in the morning, and she reckons she watched about 40 whales doing their thing.

We spent about an hour watching the whales and just before we left we got to see an albino calf that had black spots all over it. Apparently there are 2-3 albino calves this season with about 60 calves being born all up.

We hit the road with Ceduna in sight and just spent lots of time driving. The country changed quite dramatically after we left the Nullabor plain and became wooded and friendlier somehow. The woods then gave way to farming land and we spent time speeding through paddocks of crops. Not very good crops mind you – short, kind of light green stuff. Ron had all the boys in the car and apparently they had a good time yelling to each other over the volume of their MP3 players. Cathy and I had the girl car and Erin and Hanna got silly and poked each other and mucked around until we hit the outskirts..

We pulled over to the quarantine centre and a guy checked through the car for fresh fruit and vege. Ceduna feels like a cross between Carnarvon and Jurien and Cathy was enjoying showing me some of the spots she remembered from her years spent here. We found the Foreshore caravan park quickly and checked in. It cost $55 for a powered site for the night. It was a lovely warm calm night and the water was glass flat. Ron did an excellent job backing in to the site and we spent the next ½ hour getting ourselves sorted out. We were all looking forward to having a shower and had decided on the drive in that we were going to have pizza for tea. I shared a shower with the girls while Guy and Luc had theirs together. (Guy really likes the shampoo).

After we had all got rid of the dust and grime, we left Cathy and the boys pitching their tent and made our way up the main street to order to pizza’s. The police were out in force as the local indigenous community had congregated at one of the bottle shops and there was a lot of shouting going on between 2 groups of people. We continued walking up to the pizza shop where I had a blast from the past with the ability to order a family size pizza for $24 – no matter what topping! We had a meat lovers, while Cathy had a ½ vege, ½ meatlovers and it really was a family size pizza – our family size. We all had 3 pieces each with some left over for breakfast, and it was absolutely scrumptious – better than scrumptious.

We all fell into bed except for Ron who went to have his shower and by the time he had got back we were all asleep and a gale had blown up. The fly’s over the beds had come loose and were flapping around wildly, his swag went sailing past at one stage and he was trying to hold things down with all four limbs. It was really hot in the van and over the course of the night all 4 children got up for drinks or toilet visits. No matter what I did I couldn’t get any flow through the van to cool it down despite the gale blowing outside and we all had a miserable night’s sleep.

We are finding the time change difficult to cope with as our body clock is still on WA time, yet we have to work with SA time and aren’t getting ourselves organized very well.

Peta

Day 4 Monday 29th September 2008

It was a relatively quite, cool night. Quite a few big trucks turning into the mine site across the road from our camp, but nothing to complain about. The frogs kept up their chorus most of the night which was lovely. There has obviously been some big rains out this way as there are large puddles lying on the sides of the road.

The heading for today’s entry is once again thanks to Luc, who was both amazed and disgusted at us sharing a good morning kiss with hundreds of flies on the back of my jumper. I woke up at day break and could hear Ron shuffling around outside. I must have fallen back to sleep at some stage and when I had managed to extricate myself out of the bed, I went out to switch the kettle on for a cuppa. The next minute I heard an ear splitting “cooo-eee” from the top of the hill, and there is Ron waving his arms over his head silhouetted in the rising sun letting me know he was on top of the hill…. It wasn’t half obvious to me and all the other campers in the area exactly where he was.

The kids had staggered out of bed just before Cathy and the boys arrived, and I got them all rugged up and they started their journey up the hill to meet Ron with whoops on joy. He had almost descended to have his cuppa, but got talked in to going back up again, so he got his 30 minutes of exercise for the day. When Cathy arrived they then all walked back up to the top giving us a chance to pack up camp child free.

We swapped the kids around the cars and drove on to Balladonia which displays a bit of history about Skylab, and the kids played on equipment, and shared morning tea. Lots and lots of vans on the road and even quite a few with kids. There was an ongoing discussion about whether we were actually on the Nullabor as there were far more trees than we imagined there would be. We stopped for a photo at the beginning of the 90 mile straight which I had the privilege of driving. Needless to say I drove, and drove, and drove and drove and then drove some more…. We stopped for a while at the Caiguna Blowhole – a big hole which we were panicking about losing a child in, but after Ron discovered it was only about 5ft deep, we spent the rest of the time throwing leaves and sticks into the hole to have them blow out again.

We stopped at Caiguna and had lunch and were joined by some pretty, friendly birds that flew down to share lunch with us. We then drove on to Madura Pass which is the old escarpment of the ancient coast line and stopped to enjoy the view over the plains – the kids had a ball throwing rocks over the edge and eventually had to put a stop to it as the rocks were turning in to boulders……

We were hoping to get to Eucla but had to stop at  Jillah rockhole campsite as we were running out of time and light and ended up pulling into camp at 5.45pm - 80kms short of our destination. We haven’t factored in the time difference and the fact we are losing light as we travel further east. We will have to travel for longer tomorrow as a result and it means another long day in the car.

Cathy and boys pitched their tent and we shared a meal of sausages, salad, fried onion and potatoes and baked beans. It was a nice site to stop at with trees and secluded camp spots. Unfortunately it was spoiled by the huge amount of rubbish and litter that was lying around.

Peta

The title for this evenings entry is something Luc said on our drive today.  He asked or said something about riding to our destiny – meaning destination, but it caught my imagination and thought it was rather apt for our big adventure.

We pulled out of Cranbrook at 9am on the dot. Erin was terribly sad and crying because she would miss her poppa and granna.  They all really love coming down here as it is very relaxed and child friendly and my mother is a bit of a soft touch, especially when grumpy mum or dad have said no to something…  Just as well we don’t visit very often or we could have a discipline problem on our hands.

We once again drove through paddocks and paddocks of canola crops, but this time the scenery was even more spectacular as we were driving through the Stirling Ranges, and they all had cloud cover over the top of them.  A very pretty sight.  The kids behaviour was amazing, chatting quietly or playing quiet games with each other.  We rotated them on their drive and even managed to get them to do 4-6 pages of homework.

We averaged 100km an hour towing the van and chewed through about 160l of fuel – agghh….  We drove through Ongerup, Jerramungup, Ravensthorpe which was our lunch stop, Dalyalup, through Gibson, up to Salmon Gums, Grass Patch and on to Norseman. We arrived just before 5 and tracked down the park and skate park to allow the kids to blow off some steam.  Luc was very impressed with the skate park and managed to come a cropper trying to keep up with the local kids.  Did you know that Norseman was named after a horse?  I didn’t, but we found a lovely statue erected in it’s memory which all the kids climbed on to and had their photo taken.  Erin is horse mad and wanted to stay on it’s back and not bother with the skate park.

Cathy and the boys turned up at around 5.30 just as the sun was starting to go down.  They booked in to a motel in town and we decided to stay the night at a free camp site about 6 kms out of town on the Eyre highway called Jimbalana Hill rest area.  We made it just as the sun had dipped so had to rush to get everything set up before it got too dark.  Ron got a bit stressed with the boys putting the stabilizer legs down and tempers got a bit frayed but we got there eventually.  I had cooked up some snags last night, so I just had to reheat them, chop up some salad and get the kids fed.  There is a big hill at the foot of the camp area and the boys were eyeing it off for a climb in the morning.  There are alot of big trucks driving past, but the frogs croaking and stars in the star make up for any noise problem.

Cathy and the boys turned up and they had their hot dogs and chicken and vege for tea.  The price of the food was quiet cheap but she said the wait was long…..  Jake had been given a torch that made scary noises and spooky laughs, so the kids were well and truly amused scaring the heck out of each other.  They eventually all drifted in to the van while Ron and Cathy planned our route for tomorrow.

Another big day in the car planned – Norseman to Eucla – 712kms or roughly 9 hours on the road.  Thinking of visiting the Cocklebiddy caves along the way.  I think a boys car and a girls car is well and truly warranted judging on the noise level when all the kids got together tonight – or even better – a dad and kids car and a mums car.  Now I like the sound of that!

Peta

A much needed catch up day.  Kids reconnected with their cousins, Ron watched the grand final out at Nicola and Warwicks, and I did a few loads of washing and read a book…  I walked with the girls up to the shop so they could buy some lollies and also took them to the park for a play. The highlight for all the kids when they visit Cranbrook is to visit the shop with their 50c, as they can pick their own mixed lolly bag.  Much time and thought is given to what type of lolly they want, and how many they can fit into their bag.  Each lolly cost 10c which surprised me.  I remember the days when you could get one for 1c or 3 for 2c, but then I am well and truly middle aged.

Guy and Luc spent the day out at the farm and got their fill of play station, computer games, played pool, checked the chooks for any day dead chickens (Guy has the potential to be a chook whisperer), riding on the bikes and had a walk down to the Gordon River.  Nicola and Warwick farm Mt Barker organic chicken and have 3 huge sheds filled with around 20 thousand birds in each.  The chickens are delivered as day old chickens and are shipped out after a 66 day cycle. They get paid between 70-85c per chicken dependant on weight and how much feed they consumed over their growing period.   The demand for Mt Barker chicken is so immense that they currently have 5 farms with as many or more sheds on them, and are planning to have 9 farms in the Cranbrook area in the near future.  That is a lot of chicken……

Dinner was scrumptious as usual.  Ron started a debate about GM crops and meulsing which set my animal loving parents off.  We called it a day at around 10pm and all headed off to bed.  We plan on an early start tomorrow, around 8.30 – 9.00 as we have a long day on the road.  Heading over to Norseman via just short of Esperance to meet Cathy and her boys Jake & Levi at the corrugated iron camel sculptures in the middle of town.

Peta

A long, long, long day…. We pulled out of Geraldton at 3.07am.  Erin woke up fully and spent the next hour chatting at the top of her voice.  I had had about an hours sleep and was almost comatose, but Ron had gone to bed at a sensible time and had had 4 hours, so he calmly answered all her questions while I drifted in and our of conciousness.  I wish someone would invent a comfortable way to sleep upright in a car!

We pulled in to McDonalds Midland just after 7.30 and entered a realm of fantasy. This place is always fascinating for a people watcher, as it seems to attract an unusual range of people.   Guy’s eyes were just about popping out of his head at a young goth guy with blue hair, a bolt through the bridge of his nose, chains swinging off his clothes and black fingernails waiting patiently for his order.  Next to enter was a VERY loud guy who was either on something or completely deranged, swearing and cursing at his mate who was yelling  back at him as people looked at them sideways.  Poor Guy didn’t know where to look as I was telling him not stare and antagonize him further.  I’m by no means a coffee tragic, but by God I needed one right there and then.  Sadly it wasn’t to be, as they only had 3 staff on and about 30 people waiting in line in both the drive through and instore when we left.

On the drive out of Perth we passed lots of baby boomers on their big Harleys gathering for a long weekend ride somewhere.  Ron was very impressed with the one passenger who had arms rests on their bike…  All the kids were wide awake after their healthy breakfast of syrup laden hot cakes and deep fried apple pies but  I was still feeling shaky and uncomfortable, so Ron continued to drive until we hit Williams.  I was able to get a coffee fix at the Woolshed and took over the driving while Ron had a nap.

The drive itself was uneventful if  noisy.  The kids were all in fine form and although they all behaved themselves beautifully, it was like being trapped in a cage of galahs that just chat the whole time with the ocassional squawk from one of the girls not agreeing with something the other one had said or done.  The weather threatened rain the whole way and the outside temp was 12 degrees, but we sailed through a sea of farming land with crops of canola 3 feet high; so impressive that even the girls mentioned how beautiful it was.  I am amazed at how the drive down has changed over the years; it used to be sheep and grain crops – now it seems to be lots and lots of canola, not so many sheep and not so many grain crops.

The excitement level as we got got closer to Cranbrook was palpable, and it all got too much as we passed Nicola and Warwick (my sister and brother in law) at their farm gate.  Erin had asked the “are we there yet” question at about Dongara, so by the time we had hit Cranbrook we were just about over it!  It always takes about 5 minutes of arriving at my parents place to feel like we have been here days; a good thing and a bad thing….  The kids were busting to see their cousins and had to wait until we were able to walk up to pick them up at the end of school.  Lacey has grown so tall, she really is Warwicks girl.  Guy noticed how long Taia’s hair had grown and both Ron and I said how much Nicola she is.

I like visiting my old school with it’s long wood verandah and have some fond memories of water fights in the toilets, totem tennis at lunch time, dancing around the maypole (flag pole) for the 150 yr celebrations, learning how to sew on Singer treddle machines and washing, carding and spinning our own wool for a floor to ceiling weaving project that the teacher sold and kept the money!    During my time there were about 90-100 kids in the whole school and I remember  Mr Grimmer the headmaster who used to give out handfuls of peanuts and oranges to the kids who got sent up to him for disciplinary reasons (like water fights in the toilet).  It was during his reign that we had to abandon biro’s and do all our school work in fountain pen.  He also made us spend hours marching around the playground – the line went from smallest to tallest, and as the tallest in the school in grade 7, I was always the one at the very back, which used to p… one boy called Kevin off in particular.

I fell asleep in front of the telly and missed out the last 1/2 hour of Wire in the Blood (which Ron reckons was a good thing as I always sit gouging fingernail marks into his arm and hiding under the covers while watching that show) and crawled in to bed at 10.30 and slept the sleep on the innocent.  It was very cold (about 4 degrees) but I love snuggling into a warm bed down here.  Getting out of same bed the next morning is usually another matter, but after 3 cups of coffee I am usually right as reign (may be I am a coffee tragic after all ????).

Ron has been up on the roof already banging in nails, has chopped down a tree and I am sure he will be given more jobs by my mother.  Hopefully a rest day tomorrow.  The boys are going out the farm, and Taia is spending the day in town with us.  Allannah (neice) and her boyfriend Brendan are down from Perth, so we are having a family dinner tomorrow night; this usually involves copious amounts of food, wine and bull….!  Ron always starts a debate about religion or politics, Nicola falls asleep on the couch after eating too much, my father retreats to the lounge to get away from the noise, the kids run around until midnight and I just sit watching it all.  Ah….. home sweet home.