Steve's Trip 2

Monday
Steve was back here again by 10am today.   That's 50 hours since he left here, including 28 hours of train travel.   I had hoped that he would sleep Sunday night back at home in Victoria but he said that the house was freezing.  Oh well, 7C when it was 23C up here!  Naturally, the Landcruiser needed a lot of persuading to start up.  He wasted no time gathering up the bits and pieces that we needed and set off again.  He spent a little time with his Mother, Betty and was in Deniliquin by 6pm.  
Up until then, I was constantly in contact with him by phone and text.   At that time, I got the distinct impression that he wasn't going to let the grass grow under his feet;  I slept the night with the door unlocked, so that he could get in if he arrived during the night. (When he got home, he reminded me that he had keys with him!)  He cat napped when necessary in the car and keep on coming.

His train trip was interesting.  When he first got on in Moree, he was allocated to a seat that was turned around the wrong way and faced another seat.  He said that his legs were entwined with the two ladies opposite him!  Many station hands tried to turn the seat but it wouldn't budge.  Finally, the conductress directed him to a seat in first class.  Neat! 
He wasn't impressed with Sydney Central Station, mainly because he had to go outside for food.  He phoned me from there, saying that there were only 8 people in the whole carriage.   His jubilation didn't last, as many people boarded at stations further down the track.   A man joined the woman in front of Steve and to his disgust, they struck up a loud and animated conversation at 1am.  By the time the man got off, Steve felt that he knew both of them and their family details intimately.

Meanwhile, back here in Moree, I was never lonely.  I was visited by Marion, Emily, Carissa and Lilly on a number of occasions.   Carissa told her mother that she felt very sorry for me being all alone, so she spent hours here with me.  Sweet.  Even Lindy said that she would hate it, as she likes to be surrounded by people at all times.  I missed Steve but I liked the alone time, (not that there was much.)
 During Sunday afternoon, everyone rushed outside when we heard a loud plane, coming in very low.  Keith, over the road from us, took an artistic photo overhead.  He would laugh at my description of artistic;  he, like I, just wildly clicked the shutter button.

 Meanwhile, I was swearing because I was trying to get photos close up, for Steve to identify the plane, but keeping it in the view finder, on full zoom, was almost impossible!   I wasn't even sure that I  captured anything, until I transferred photos to the computer.    

Carissa told us that the Navy was putting on a day for Sea Cadets.  And what a demonstration it was.  The plane did all sorts of rolls and dives and stunts over our heads.  Steve hasn't yet named the plane but he believes it was one that would have been on an aircraft carrier in the 50s and the wings probably folded up. 

 

Lindy and Nev picked me up on Sunday night and we went out for dinner at The Tavern.   Good meals, nice people.  I had a little flutter on the pokies and managed to turn $5 into $47, which I brought home in $1 coins!!!    There was already around $30 in coins in my handbag; now it's so heavy that I can barely carry it!   I'm not complaining, mind you!

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Steve's Trip

Steve is catching the train in Moree at 8am today (Sat) and everything is packed ready for his departure.    I couldn't sleep so I got up at 4.30am;  I wish I could go with him.   I'm very nervous ---- country boy in the big smoke!!

The trip to Sydney is 9 hours.  He has over 3 hours there before he catches the overnight train to Melbourne, an 11 hour ride.   There's only an hour wait before he gets on the train to Kerang, where Dom will meet him after the relatively short 4 hour ride and take him home.  There he will gather up a few things we left behind and head back here in the car.

This was all his idea, so that we would have the car up here.  Riding around in the truck, without the van on behind, is very uncomfortable, so we tend not to go anywhere.  But I'm not too sure how comfortable 28 hours of train travel is going to be!!!   Then he will have to reverse the performance to get both car and truck back home.  I won't think about that until December!

He has fussed around making sure that I'll be OK while he's away and I've been given instructions that I'll never remember.  He has made up my medication in its little boxes and put meals in the freezer.   He made sure that I have the staples ---- chocolate and cigarettes!   It will be easier for me to live here than to live at home alone ..... heating, lighting and people around if I need them. 
LATER 9.15am
I rode down to Reception on the Gopher and saw Steve off with Neville.  He had been willing to walk to the station but Lindy offered a lift.  I was in my swim gear so I had a great swim.  Lots of people there --- a very different group to the ones we usually see.  First ever time on my own in the pools --- I managed beautifully!
Marion and Lindy insisted that I take mobile numbers in case of emergency!!  They also invited me out for tea on Sunday night.
Here I am, trying to enjoy independence and everyone wants to take care of me!!!

Steve has 'texted' me from the train ----- HIS FIRST EVER!!!     He hates phones.

Carissa has been up to entertain me for the morning.  After a cuppa, she dried the dishes and offered to help me to tidy out cupboards.  I could do with the help as the overhead cupboards are a bit high for me and Carissa is much taller than I am but I didn't have the energy.  Pity to lose such a good oportunity!

It's a glorious day -- no wind, not a cloud in the sky, temp is 20C at noon.

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Tuesday

When the sky turned grey on Sunday morning, Steve put up the annexe and by night it was raining.... not a lot but any amount is gratefully received.

I had been planning on getting some loose cotton from the sides of the road but now I'll wait for it to dry out.  I had no idea how the cotton is transported from the farms but yesterday, I saw 3 huge bales filling the back of a trailer on one semi.

I visited Mrs Heffernan's shop yesterday ---- "Heffernan's Family Outfitter".    It's always a great pleasure.  She is a sweet, chirpy lady in her eighties and has been running the shop for over 50 years and living behind it.   It's quite small but it is jam packed with nice clothing, a few shoes, jewellery and a room full of second hand books.    The clothing is of good quality; nothing is cheap but by comparison with large department stores, it's not terribly expensive either.   She had a variety of lovely tops on display and she explained to me that she will only buy one of each design so that people can be sure that they won't bump into someone else in town wearing the same top. 
I went in for a pair of bathers and that's what I asked for.  She looked blank, so I quickly substituted 'swimsuit'.   I think they call them 'swimmers' in NSW.  In Qld, they are 'cossies'.  As always, she had a few pairs in my size. 

We had seen the refurbishing of the town's oldest hotel written up in the paper so we cut out the 2 for 1 coupon and went in for lunch.  I had nice roast lamb and vegetables and Steve had fish and chips with salad, all for  the grand total of $10.

Steve bought his railway ticket from Moree to Melbourne, for next Saturday morning.  He'll arrive in Melbourne 24 hours later and be back at home by 1pm.  He has a few things to gather up then he plans to hit the road again, in the Landcruiser.  With that up here, we will be freed up to travel wherever we want.  Driving the bobtail truck is very uncomfortable and we never take it anywhere further than into town for shopping.

I had lovely visitors this morning ---- Tracey and her 3 month old girl, Kodee.  The little one slept over my shoulder for an hour while we talked and then rewarded me with lots of smiles and gurgles.   Steve told Tracey to be careful, that I had all the signs of a babynapper!   I love interacting with babies and little kids and that baby smell drives me crazy.  If it could be bottled, I would wear it as perfume!
Tracey is Lindy's sister (reception), Marion and Richard's daughter, (kiosk).  We went to her and Scott's wedding this time last year.  Lillee is Tracey's older daughter and unfortunately we were out when Lil came to see us yesterday.  She is 10 and I think she is sweet.  She is still having a lot of trouble at school, mainly her behaviour and interaction with other kids.  I feel sure I could help her but I can't interfere.  I can only do my best when she is with us.  She responds beautifully to one on one kindness and consistency. 

The rain has gone and the new washing machine is rumbling gently away.  The first lot of clothes came out clean but it's a mystery to me how they do, with so little water!   This is my first experience with a front loader machine.

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Massage

Tom greeted me enthusiastically, with 3 kisses ----  one cheek, the other cheek and back to the first.  How common is that?    He has put up his fees by $5 and spent a long time apologising.  Nice massage (but I miss my usual masseuse, Kat.)

Great news coming from Holland.  Carla, who stayed with us in January, has had brain tumours removed and is doing well. 

How nice it was to hang out the washing at 11am and bring it in less than 1½ hours later.   Rain is desperately needed.   We left our hoses behind so we haven't been able to water the garden yet. 


Steve finally managed to get his Telstra pre-paid mobile phone going.  After 3 visits to the shop and numerous phone calls, he was getting pretty hot under the collar.

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Thursday in Moree

SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP
I woke for breakfast at 10am, lunch at 5pm, tea at 9pm and was asleep in between.  By midnight I was sound asleep and dreaming again.  Anyone would think I had jet lag!   Fibromyalgia sets its own agenda for recovery!   Massage with Tom today so I should be well set up for the weekend.

The 'new' washing machine has had its first workout and passed the test.  This is the first time we have ever used a front loader and I'm unsure of how much I should put into it.

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Arrived in Moree

 So, here we are in Moree, setting up and unpacking for the next 6+ months.
It is Wednesday 12th.  Note that the dates and times are American.
Also, note that the newest posts are at the top.

In an effort to get me moving faster this morning, we decided that I would just get dressed and into the truck.  We stopped a little way down the road for breakfast.   It worked quite well but I wouldn't want to do it very often.  None of my body parts worked and I staggered along like a drunk!

The Warrumbungles looked magnificent in the early morning sunshine.   They have sharp peaks, smooth rounded tops, flat bits, pieces that look like turrets on a castle, hills that look like houses......  In the hazy sun, they looked as if they were painted onto the sky line.   The truck negotiated the hills very well, unlike the Toyota pulling the old van.

      For the first time, we saw cotton being harvested on one farm.   Perhaps the harvest was a little later than it normally is??  The road from Narrabri was littered with cotton, more than usual.  It just sits there, stuck to the grass.  That's sad for me ---- I like seeing these things move and take on human characteristics!!!

Lindy kept sending text messages, telling us to get a move on.   One message told us to come straight up to our usual site, without stopping at reception.  She arrived up here later with the girls, not telling them first that we were here, so there was a lot of yelling and squealing!  They have both grown a lot.  It's funny how kids always seem to grow, even though it's only 6 months since we last saw them! 

Our section of the park, the old part with the en suites, is quite full.  We haven't been to look at the rest of it yet.   As this is the last section to fill up, I imagine that the rest will be jam packed.

Time to swim!!!   The rest of the unpacking can wait.

Later

Wonderful, magic artesian water!!!    We started off in the 37C pool then had a short time in the 39C pool.  I then did a quick plunge into the cool pool to get the adrenalin flowing!!   The other swimmers thought that I was crazy as the outside temp was pretty cold!  Little do they know!!   The buzz that I get from the plunge from hot to cold is mind blowing and well worth the minor discomfort!!

We caught up with Neville (Lindy's husband and the skilful man who maintains the whole park), for a long talk.   He gave us all the news ---- the by-pass road is still unfinished, after many years; BigW is still a possibility (after many years);  Richard and Marion are running the kiosk again after their daughter found it too much, (we had a jubilant retirement dinner for Marion just before we left here last November!);  Steve, the author of a book about artesian pools, lost his wife to a heart attack a month ago.   They have stayed here in their van for the past year, with Steve going off on his Harley every so often, to explore more pools.   Steve said that she had had a severe heart attack about 8 years ago and was told that the next one would be her last.  The result of the autopsy showed no problems with the heart.  It was then handed over to the police for criminal investigation.  Steve is now in Western Australia where his wife was buried, trying to collect information from doctors about her heart.  (Or so the story goes.)

Tomorrow we will stock up the pantry, get books from the Library and do a tour around town (to see how many more houses have burnt down!)

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Gilgandra

The seat is wonderful!   I don't feel like I have to pick gravel out of my bottom every time we hit a bump.  It has some lumbar adjustment and it lays back a long way further than the previous seat.   I can lie back with my feet up on the dashboard (and drive from that position!)   Just kidding.   The seat is filled with air from the compressor tanks on the truck and I can have it adjusted to whatever level I want.

We left Temora at 10.30am and arrived in Gilgandra at 5.30pm, with an hour off for lunch at Parkes.  That was about 400kms.  We don't travel very fast.    The trip was about 2 hours too long for my comfort. 

We are having a bought lunch each day and cooking something simple for tea.   This is much easier for Steve who has to set up the van, power, water, TV and internet when we arrive.  He became cook a few years ago when I had difficulties.  The Clubs along the Newell Highway have excellent meals at good prices.  Only $8 for cottage pie and vegetables.

This caravan park has a disabled toilet and shower ---- well they are OK --- it's the people who use them who are disabled.   It's going to be a great relief to be able to sit down and have a shower again.

For most of the journey, swarms of locusts battered themselves against the windscreen.   We thought that the cooler weather may have put paid to them.  During summer, we had the little buggers hopping around in the kitchen.

The most fascinating scene of the day has been the seed heads that have blown across the road, twirled and danced in the wind and piled themselves up against fences, trees and walls.  One long paddock had them  stacked up against fence posts, in a regular pattern, with nothing in between.   I don't know what grass they come from and have no name for them.  Steve calls them "Father Christmases" but he doesn't know why. Each one is shaped like a tree, with branches.   If anyone, (maybe Robert or Roger?) can tell me the proper name of the grass, I would be delighted.  I'm still delighted with them, even if I never know the name of the grass.  They behave like the tumbleweeds but they dance instead of rolling.  They flit and flee at the whim of the wind.

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