Two sleeps to go......

Okay! we're on countdown time now. It's amazing what things you have to do to get ready for the trip, not to mention the day to day stuff.

This week has been hectic. We've had the Real Estate agent out yesterday to have pictures taken of the property, as we're trying to sell it. So the day before we were madly scrambling around cleaning up both the house and the cottage.

Chris has been still doing tweaks here and there on the Scout. Our friends, who had to do a whole new engine in their Scout, are still doing the mad scramble. They started to put a new engine in last week, and they've been working until 2am to 3 am for the last several nights to get it together. But it's been one thing after another for problems. Chris is feeling a little guilty that he's ready to go and they're still doing the crazy scramble.

We were planning on seeing a movie with Camille, but as it turned out, Kung Fu Panda was suggested to be too violent for 2 year olds, so we bowed out. She'll see it when she's a little older. Besides Ice Age 3 is coming out this year, maybe then we can take her.

We've organized our nephew, Neil to come and help with the house and dogs. That's all done. And because I've been winding down the pantry, I've found that we're starting to rob the Scout of food, so it's off to the shops to restock the house and the scout.

And then Friday, we have people coming to look at the house for an inspection. Keep our fingers crossed.

And Saturday?....WE'RE OUTTA HERE!!!! ..........Did you remember to bring the frypan Chris?....and what about the.....

I'm ready for those cold nights in the desert.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, I'm ready for the cold nights!  I have my hat from Hobart, Tasmania, I have my poncho, which I made.  I also doubled  it up for added warmth AND this can also be used for that extra blanket.  And then my New Zealand Ugg Boots to keep my feet warm.  Oh yeaaah....I'm ready!

I don't know why Chris shuddered when he saw me.  I also noticed that when he took the picture his hands were shaking.  I think he was trying hard  to contain his laughter.  I believe his parting words were," your Dad would be rolling in his grave if he saw you"..........HI!  DAD!!!

I may not be a glam queen, but I WILL be warm!

I knew this moment would come.......

I knew this moment would come.  We're in the middle of getting ready for a trip and now this moment has come.

Chris and I took Liz and her husband James, to dinner tonight.  We had a great time catching up on news.  They've been away for about two weeks now and Liz's birthday was coming up, so we took them both to dinner.

On the way home, however, we reflected on how the kids were growing up.  I don't usually pay much mind to the kids growing up as they've been in and out of the house for the past few years that I never really gave it much notice.  But tonight, for some reason, it hit me.

This deep,... profound...., sense of loss came over me.  It was the loss of my children.  They've all grown up and out of the house.  I no longer have my children to entertain me.  I no longer have my children to keep me busy.  I no longer have my children to shield me from the world, ...or.....to open the world up for me.  I no longer have those smiling eyes, giggling laughter, incessant chatter, or those hugs and kisses that were freely given.

As I had watched my kids grow with each passing year, I made it a point to realize for myself especially, that I don't OWN these kids, I'm their guardian and teacher.  So with each passing year, I watched them grow, gaining new experiences and learning from sometimes,  painful lessons.  I watched them go through each of the different stages in their lives from tying  their shoes, to going out on dates.  I've been proud of the kids as they've come through all their experiences.

Sure,...it's been tough in some areas, but we all made it through. And they've all come out the other side of ''teenage-hood'' and have found their footing in life, to become adults now.

And now, for some reason, out of the blue,... I sit here,.... reflecting on the times past.  And it hit me, ....that I no longer have children, I now have adults,...who have gone on to living their own lives and gaining their own experiences.  They no longer want to BE with their parents.  They only want to VISIT their parents.  They don't want to live with us or be a part of our lives anymore.  That doesn't mean they're not interested, just that they don't want to live with us anymore.  My children have flown the coop!

Liz, turns 23 this year.  And I guess with her being the baby of the family, this has given me pause to reflect.  I gave her a hug and almost got a hug out of James.  Yes, it's hard letting go.  I thought it would be easy, but it's not.  And once again, growth is happening.....not only for them, but for me.

One week to go....

We're almost there! and now as the due date approaches, Chris needs to fill the petrol tanks,..ALL 220 LITRES at $1.70 per litre!!!!! ( are we going to need a bank loan for that?) We'll have to supply food and firewood for the housesitter(s), clean the yard up (just in case someone wants to see it!), tidy around the house, clean windows, groom Tillie (she's starting to matt up and fleas love that) make lists for contacts, a "what to do" list for emergencies, etc etc etc. And of course the last thing I have to do, is go to the movies for Camille's first time.

Chris was supposed to head off to his mate Col's house to help out with his truck, and I WAS going to take Camille today. Just me and her. I've been wanting to see Kung Fu Panda and I thought I might be able to take her. I didn't think anyone else wanted to watch it. But, now, Chris isn't going to Col's house and when I asked Jen if she thought Camille was able to sit and watch a movie for any length of time, I got " I'M taking Camille to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda!" "oh..... then can I come too?" At least she said "sure!" So that's now on the cards for this coming week too! Oh yes, it's going to be a busy week for sure.

And today, I started my weeding of the vegie garden. I pulled my coriander plants out and found some left over green onions under it. The basil is still growing and hasn't been frostbit yet. My snow peas are going great guns, and my zuccini has finished, so that had to go. Even pulled out some grubs for the dogs. Bella and Jack, both love the little witchity grubs. yumm tasty! (eewwh) well, one thing down, a few more to go.

Two weeks to go.....

Our trip is getting closer. We went to Gympie over the weekend to meet up with everyone who was coming. This way we could organise who's bringing what.

We lobbed up there, a little after 9am at the workshop.

One of the guys who's coming along, is a mechanic. He's offered his services to tune up all the vehicles. So Chris took up that opportunity and boy was he glad about that. A few minor problems could have turned into a few MAJOR problems down the track. So he was very happy that it was looked at. And one of the other guys who was getting his truck tuned up as well,....well, he's in for a whole new engine. He WAS going to wait until he came back, but there's some major problems with his valves, so now he's at home doing the mad scramble trying to get a new engine put in AND tested before the trip.

Us girls?....well,...there was a mall just two blocks away, so we covered the mall from one end to other. And then we went into town to do some MAJOR retail therapy. We found lots of bargains.

Later that night, we stayed at one of the couple's home. They put on a WONDERFUL B.B.Q. We had two roasts with all the trimmings in a 'bush' BBQ. ( a 40 gal. drum) It was quite cool that night, but a good time was had by all. Chris and I slept on the floor in the loungeroom right next to the combustion heater. (oh yeah!)

Next day, back the trucks went to finish their service.

Chris was very impressed about the machinery they used, and also, the Scout's performance.

Oh!....and on the way up to Gympie?, we came up with the name Virgil for the Scout. Yes, yes, thank you,....I picked it. Chris is still deciding if he wants....oh never mind, who am I kidding?....I LIKED Virgil....I just shortened to Virg. LOL Well, let's just say it's undecided for the moment. Anyway, Saturday, us girls headed back into town for more retail therapy and to 'do' morning tea. A cup of coffee and caramel tarts. Oh yeah!....my kind of therapy!

We headed out of Gympie around late lunch and went off the beaten tracks, heading for Toowoomba. Virgil did really good! We bounced along and I DO MEAN bounced! And the views were great. I was hoping we'd see some deer, but it must have been too early in the day yet. Ah, well.

It was pretty fun travelling off the beaten track like that. It gave the Scout, I mean Virg, a chance to show off.

We had to stop along the way as the other couple we were with, had something hanging off their chassis. When we stopped,...there were cows in the paddock who came running over to the trucks. They thought we had hay or grain, I guess. It's a bit unnerving to have large bullocks running at you. I'm just glad I stayed in the truck.

Well, the weekend finished off with us visiting friends in Toowoomba. We stayed at our old family friend's house. We had a really great visit. We stayed up to 1:30 in the morning, talking and talking. I could have talked all night; there was so much to catch up on. And we went to Sizzler's in the morning for breakky. I have never eaten so much! Toowoomba FINALLY started serving breakfasts in their restaurants! And with all the people I saw in that restaurant, it definitely was worth it. And a couple of hours later, we caught up with another friend and 'did' lunch. We were STUFFED! Whew! Chris and I didn't need to eat anything for dinner. It was so good to catch up with friends this weekend, AND meet new ones.

We have worked out what we DO need to take, and just how much room we have. So there's some adjustments to be made. Apparently, the temperatures in the desert can get down to -15 C.

........... Long-johns.....check! ......Ugg(h) boots........definitely check!!.......

It's finished...............ALMOST

'Boys and their toys' is how the saying goes, well,......Chris has been 'living and breathing' the Scout. His last thoughts at night, are of the Scout. His first thoughts in the morning, are of the Scout. He talks about the Scout, incessantly. "I gotta get a hose for this,.... gotta get the brakes done,....gotta get a part for that...I did this to the Scout,......I did that to the Scout"...well, you get the picture. And now, his frantic race to get the Scout done is finally coming to an end as the Simpson Desert trip looms ahead. He's almost disappointed that the Scout is close to being finished. He's had a lot of fun with this project. He got to work with his hands, learn new things about the mechanics of a car, and has even met some great people along the way.



Chris started this project when we got back from our last trip in October. So he's done this in a relatively short time. It should have lasted a year or two, but with the opportunity of this desert trip coming up, he stepped the pace up, to have the Scout ready by then.



But these last couple of days have proved to be difficult; for there's an elusive squeak coming from 'his' side of the cab that has been driving him crazy. That annoying little squeak, namely from down under his seat. It's been driving him to distraction. He spent the whole day, trying to work out what's causing it. Now, the day wasn't too bad. He managed to get a few other noises fixed and the wobbly wind screen wipers have now been fixed, but the 'squeak' is still there.

For him, squeaks in the car are like fingernails across the chalkboard. Yep, very irritating. And now, Tuesday. Today. The squeak is gone!!! Now we just have to work out what's squeaking on 'my' side of the truck. So we're off for a little short jaunt.....Tootles!

Testing the scout....AND my video.....lol

Testing,...testing...

We took the Scout up to Al and Heather's place to 'test' it out.

The boys 'oohed' and 'aahed' over it.  Well,.. they DID!!.... but in that MACHO way, that only guys do.  

 

 

 

I think Al was having fun.  Never one to back down from an opportunity, Al got that truck in 4 high drive and ripped it up the hill  grinning from ear to ear feeling like a kid again while the other two were a bit more sedate in how they drove.

They found another hill that was a bit steeper than this one and the Scout just glided up that hill too.

Exciting moment for the day as the boys made their final lap heading toward the driveway, Al cut it a bit close and drove over a 10ft piece of  80mm x 80mm steel angle that whacked the passenger side of the truck pretty hard.  Scared the heebie jeebies out of Chris!  no problem with the small dent.  It just blended in with the others. LOL  Eh, we're getting it painted later anyway and what's a dent amongst brothers? LOL

 

We had a terrific time testing the Scout out on a wonderful winter's day.

 

Well, our next trip is to Gympie, where some of the cars are getting their engines tuned up;  and we work out who's taking what.

Misery loves company....so I'm sharing with you....

It's that time of year again where colds, flus, and all those icky viruses start attacking. It's usually Autumn and Spring that these viruses start spreading around. And I'm one of those people who never gets one thing wrong with the body, I usually get two or three things wrong at a time.

I had been drained of energy and have had dizzy spells for the past couple of weeks. I thought it was my Thyroid because I had the same effects previously. Well,...it turns out that there was a bit more to it than that. Aah...'when it rains, it pours" right?

Well, my thyroid WAS running a bit slow, so that's diagnosed and fixed. Then, yesterday I woke up with that funny feeling in the back of the nose. I got my hair done yesterday too, despite this warning that a cold was on its way. So here I am, sitting there in the chair at the hairdressers with my nose running. Tissue after tissue. And you know you're sick when the hairdresser is trying to do your hair, from as far away from you, as possible, so as not to catch the dreaded lurgy. And after two weeks of thyroid problems, I even had my first French class last night....... with a tissue stuck to my nose. "Bonjour, Jean-Marie", I nasally replied through my tissue. I wasn't going to beg off. I wanted to do this class by Golly, and I DID! The class still went well despite the nose running like a tap. And when you're looking for that good night kiss from your loved one, you get the 'NO WAY' and the handshake.

I was up twice through the night, looking for water and just generally trying to cool the body back down.

And then this morning, it really hit. My head felt like it was in a vice and my body couldn't get warm enough and my eyes hurt. I just wanted a cuddle. Chris gave me a cuddle by wrapping his arms around me and burying my face in his chest, so I don't cough and splutter on him, suffocating me in the process. So with Lem-Sip, vitamin C's, water, and a box of tissues, I dragged my droopy body back to bed. Wrapped in my poncho, under the doona, socks on my feet, and the electric blanket on 3. It only took 2 hours to finally warm up. Chris plonked the medicine cabinet next to the bed, built a fire to warm the house, and disappeared into the shed leaving me to wallow in my own drippy misery. I got some sleep and I'm finally warm now and feel half way decent. I guess that means I'm on the mend. Yeah! And now Chris has informed me that he too, has a tickle in the back of his throat. His turn?...maybe,...he's already armed himself with aspirin and Vitamin C.

Hopefully, he doesn't get it....I'm not that mean and vicious that I would wish it upon him. Besides, when HE gets sick, I have to wait hand and foot on him....it's a whole different ball game when he plops himself in the LIVINGROOM for everyone to witness HIS misery.......No, I wouldn't wish this upon him. Now, I had better go make some chicken soup for lunch. I think I'm going to need it.

Memories of loved ones........

We all of have memories of loved ones.  Today my memory was of my mother-in-law, Dorothy.  I was sorting out books in the bookcase.  Most of the books are mine, but there was some that I had inherited from her. 

Dorothy was raised that you don't write in books or turn the pages down to mark your page.  And when she started buying her own books, she felt it was okay to do that, since she OWNED them now.  It was a sense of freedom for her.  But what brings fond memories, is that she would read something in that book, whether it was a saying or a paragraph, just something that  was triggered in her to write it down.  She would find some scrap of paper,  write down what was important to her and then use that as a bookmark.  So when she died not only did I inherit her books, I also inherited her thoughts as well...you know,.. those sayings that were important enough to write down and commit to memory.

Today, I found another bookmark in one of her books and I thought I would share it with you.

DECIDE TO FORGIVE

• For resentment is negative
• Resentment is poisonous
• Resentment diminishes and devours the self

 

• Be the first to forgive
• to smile and take the first step
• And you will see happiness bloom
• On the face of your human brother or sister.

 

• Be always the first
• Do not wait for others to forgive
• For by forgiving
• You become the master of fate
• The fashioner of life
• The doer of miracles.

 

• To forgive is the highest
• Most beautiful form of love.
• In return you will receive
• Untold peace and happiness.

 

Decide to forgive by Dr. Robert Muller of the United Nations.

 

I don't know why I needed to share this with you, but I felt that I did.  I love going through her books, just so I can read her bits of writing.  It makes me feel as though I'm closer to her at those times.  She was a wonderfully, wise woman that we all loved very much.  I hope you enjoy this poem as I did.  I will mark a spot on this blog when I find her writings and you can then be a part of her thoughts too.

Diet,.....bah humbug!

Nothing worse than trying over and over again to get the balance just right.  I've been trying to keep the fruit and vegies into me, but old habits are hard to break.  I've deduced that my tongue is the strongest part of my body.  It's the one that decides what I want to eat.  It says " I WANT SUGAR!",...so I reach for an apple.  Thirty minutes later, it says, " I WANT SUGAR!" and my stomach then pipes in to say,.''  YEAH,...THAT WAS TOO LIGHT, I WANT SOMETHING HEAVIER''...and I then reach for the nuts.  Thirty minutes later, my tongue says, "I WANT SUGAR!"....and for some reason, I reach for the custard....WITH bananas and whip cream!  That stopped this craving once and for all.  And with a sigh, we all say "THAT'S BETTER".

Time and again, this battle goes on.  And what's worse, is that all the 'goodies' I buy for Camille get eaten by us.  So I've had to stop buying her goodies too.  Either that or I send them home with her.  My craving has almost resorted to baking.  But I'm trying to curb that tendency.  If I bake, I'm a goner.  It's hard not to think about making cookies, or baking a pie, or a cake.  But, once I DO have that thought, I try to counter it with 'have an apple'.  Bah humbug!...an APPLE?!!!!....eesh.

And then to top all this off,...my thyroid medicine doesn't seem to be working well, so I'm sleeping off and on throughout the day. Every day.   I read that caffeine can play a part in not allowing the medicine to work well, so I started having one cup of coffee in the morning and the rest of the day, I'm on water and lemon juice.  I normally drink about 3 cups(actually mugs) of coffee  a day.  But,  I'm still dragging and wanting to sleep all the time.  I guess this is GOOD for my tyrant tongue as I'm not eating the sweets I normally eat.  I've had to cancel my French class last Tuesday.  I'm fighting the urge to up my thyroid medicine, but I'll wait til I see the doc about the blood results.  Stupid thyroid!!! Hrrumph!  It's frustrating to dream about all the things you want to do and then not have the energy to do them when you're awake.

And in the meantime, it's wet and miserable outside.  Hey, who could ask for better sleeping weather, I guess. LOL  See!,...I'm still positive. Hahaha....zzzzzzZZZZ