White Monolith of Hawkins Street

Now that our chariot has been returned to us, we needed to protect it from the elements in some way.  We had to come up with a far less expensive carport solution than the design we had in Adelaide, and something that was portable.  Our main issue is water damage or ingress when the wet season hits.  If a shelter can go some way towards decreasing the amount of water that directly contacts the van, it will help to keep the mould down (but obviously not out).  Also, if the block floods, we would want something that doesn't need to be dismantled but can remain standing so we can tow the van to higher ground without worrying about the carport.
We looked at several different designs for temporary carports on the internet but nearly all were made for commercial or military applications and so were extremely expensive.  One manufacturer had specifically designed an igloo style of cover for an RV but at $2900, it was quite a bit more than we wanted to pay and that was one of the cheaper ones.  Enter the good old Supercheap Auto temporary carport.  There are examples of their use all over Ingham and we wonder whether the cyclone nearly two years ago encouraged people to go the less expensive way or whether people are still waiting for insurance payouts.  Whatever the reason, there are many houses in Ingham with these temporary carports assembled in their driveways.  Some have had shadecloth added for extra privacy and protection and others have replaced the original plastic canvas material with more robust materials. 
Our only issue with going in this direction was the height of the carport.  At only 2.4 metres maximum height at the peak, it fell well short of what we required which was 3.2 metres.  The length was also only 6 metres where we needed 10 metres so we needed to buy two carports.  Luckily Supercheap Auto had a sale recently and we saved $100 on two carports which we put towards improvement materials.  Forever thinking of the solution, Steve decided to put angle iron extensions onto the posts to increase their height.  He then used tex screws to hold the posts in place at the appropriate height to get the van under.  Rather than putting two carports together, we joined them during the building process by removing the end pieces and so ended up with one long carport.   Due to the extra height, the potential for the structure to become unstable and sway, possibly hitting the van, was a concern.  Of course, the canvas roof would hold the top structure together but there was nothing at the bottom to stop the legs moving around.  Steve therefore, used the angle between the legs and again secured them with tex screws.  This made a rigid base to stop movement and he then hammered the leg spikes into the angle to secure them to the ground.  These spikes were supplied with the carport.
Once the skeleton was complete, we then had to get the canvas cover over the top.  Steve had ropes, cat leads and whatever he could find to help pull the roof over the top of the structure.  I'm quite sure the whole neighbourhood was having a good laugh at our expense as we tried to pull the roof on.  It was a particularly hot Sunday when we undertook this project and most Inghamites were tucked up indoors with their airconditioning on.  I swear they must have been at their windows watching us stupid South Australians working hard.  At one stage it was tools down and into the pool for a cool off.  In fact Steve downed tools several times during the afternoon to take a dip which gave him instant relief for his hard work and sweat.  We were quite happy to be the neighbourhood entertainment as we usually are due to our lack of fencing and general privacy screening around our house.
Eventually Steve managed to meld the two canvasses together and create a relatively seamless roof for the carport.  Then came the moment of truth.  He very carefully backed the van with no mirror extensions and guidance from me into position.  There was only one minor problem when the van door happened to open into one of the poles so we just manouveured the van forward and back until it wasn't a problem anymore.  Luckily we had plenty of carport length to play with.
Now during the day the van is shaded from the sun and hopefully the bulk of the rain will keep off as well. Steve also said that when we move on, the two carports will work well as carports for the cars should we live somewhere else.

Our Chariot Returns

It may have only been 4 months since we lost our mobile home but it seems like an eternity to us.  We are even more fortunate that it took a shorter time to build and get to us than was first anticipated.  Finally, two weeks ago, our chariot was returned to us.  In some ways just like the last one but in other ways so totally different that it felt unusual when we walked back into it.  For me, I remembered the van as neat and tidy as before but I imagine Steve's last view of our van would have been quite different having to go into the wrecked one to recover all our possessions.
The negotiations on the second occasion were less difficult as we knew what we wanted to change and keep the same because we had lived in it for so long.  All the colours remained the same except for those materials which had become obsolete and so were replaced with updated materials.  We were told that the new van was so much better than the old one and we weren't disappointed, even if we were a bit wary of the sales pitch from the manufacturer.  We were happy that Aussie Wide was keeping up with new technology and had improved their models from two years ago.
Our greatest stress was getting the van from Melbourne to Ingham.  When it was transported to Adelaide in 2010, not only was it a shorter distance, but it was also included in the end price in the contract so we didn't have to worry about that side of the deal.  As we dealt directly with the manufacturer this time around, we had to organise the tranport ourselves although Aussie Wide gave us contacts but they didn't come this far north.  We had to strike a balance between cost and professionalism when choosing a transport company to bring the van to us.  The most expensive quote was $6600 and most of our enquiries came back with a similar figure.  Steve was frustrated because he understands the transport industry and knew that many trucks were coming north empty from the southern states with no 'back loads' and so couldn't justify the exorbitant costs companies and individuals were charging to come this way.
In the end, after calls to caravan dealers in Townsville to ask who they used to get their caravans delivered up here, we were recommended to go with an RV specialist mover who turned out to be reasonably priced.  Our next stress was coordinating the timing of the completion of the van with the timing of the transport company to come to Melbourne to pick it up as they were based in Sydney.  Steve, as usual, likes to know all about the people he is dealing with but couldn't find any information on RV Movers so was feeling naturally suspicious and thinking the worst so as to get a pleasant surprise when the van turned up intact.  We also organised that payment be cash on delivery so that we did get the van here in one piece.
Like expectant parents, we waited by the phone for a call from the driver to say he was nearly in Ingham so we could direct him to where we were living.  Initially, the caravan was going to be delivered to Townsville and we would have to drive south to pick it up but Steve offered $200 extra for the driver to bring it the extra 110 kilometres and he agreed.  I must admit it was quite emotional when the van turned up because it had just been photos on our computer for the last 4 months and to actually see it in the flesh again was moving.  It was almost like our lives had come full circle after our ordeal and that finally all the pieces fitted once again.   Almost instantly we could recognise changes on the outside.  Steve did a quick inspection of the outside and then followed the driver into the van to make sure everything was ok inside.  That smell of newness, which was still in the original van before we lost it, was overwhelming as we stepped inside.  The driver said that he has delivered all brands of vans and this is the first van which has not had anything shift or move inside when he performed his regular internal checks as he came north.  We felt rather proud of our choice too.  We exchanged funds and he left the van on the roadside for Steve to hook to the Landcruiser.  It felt odd watching a white car hook up to our van and although it still looks great, it still wasn't our Nissan.
After backing it up the side of the house where we are living, we all piled inside for a closer look.  So many things looked great and the attention to detail was surprising with many touches that we had to organise after it was built last time already included this time.  For example, where the bench folds up to reveal the stove top, there was a hinge to stop it slamming down which we had to get installed after it arrived in Adelaide last time.  The girls bunks', now only two instead of three, were so roomy.  The kitchen table was more stable with two legs not just one in the middle (and chrome legs at that).  The fridge/freezer was bigger although it looked the same from the outside but when we looked inside, it was much larger.  We had requested the kitchen drawers be deeper and that was done but all the sizes were different from the last van so that will require a bit of experimentation when packing again.  The seating cushions were different and the curtains which were stiff in van 1 were soft and flowy in van 2.  The four seasons hatches were updated and our lighting is all LED downlights unlike the old style fluoros in van 1.  We did notice all the switches for the fridge and hot water service and the level indicator for the water tanks were missing and were a little concerned until we opened what we thought was a little overhead cupboard and there they all were concealed but present.  The division walls between overhead cupboards were slightly different to van 1 so, again, experimentation when packing will be necessary.
As we moved towards the front of the van, we discovered some exciting changes and some disappointments.  Our plans on the last van included a pressure hatch which pushes air into the van when driving on dirt roads and stops dust getting in.  We never received one in van 1 but this time we did.  The tv was updated being a larger screen size and thinner and it was installed in a different place to van 1 but still worked well.  Our tv aerial is a powered digital one rather than a wind up one.  The bed was the same but there was one glaring oversight on the part of the manufacturers which we could neither understand or believe.  In van 1 the powerpoints next to the bed were placed over the bedside benches which made sense but this time they had placed the powerpoints on the side of the wardrobes.  This means that every time I lift the bed to get to our storage area underneath, the bed will hit these powerpoints, not to mention us rolling into them while sleeping.  In assuming that these basic things would be the same, we didn't give details to the manufacturer and so have been disappointed by the stupidity of these changes.  Our ensuite was another matter again.  We went to great pains in van 1 to make sure that the shower door opened a particular way and that the shower was as user friendly as possible for Steve who would have to stoop in it due to his height.  It worked well and was as practical as possible considering the size of the area.  In van 2, they had the shower door opening the opposite way which meant they had moved the vanity over to allow this to happen.  In doing that, there was less room in the toilet area (well basically none).  When we looked in the shower itself, the manufacturer had put the shower head, tap and accessories on the high end of the shower which means Steve will have to stoop even lower to shower as he now has to stand at the low end.  The roof of the van slopes here because it has to be aerodynamic for towing being the front of the van.  Those two installations were so disappointing and if we'd realised that the manufacturer was not going to follow van 1's guidelines, we would have been more vigilant during the process.  As Steve says, we got used to the quirks with van 1 so we will just have to get used to the quirks in van 2.
On the outside, all windows, doors and associated trims are now black which looks 'super' mean and double glazed.  The striping is slightly different but still looks specky.  The rear bumper is black and the annex lights are also LED like inside which is very power saving.  Steve finally got the suspension he always wanted and he is super impressed with it.  It should make the van ride and tow so much better.  All the pipework and plumbing underneath is right up in the chassis and out of harms way from road snags and stones.  The drains even have unscrewable sections for cleaning which we really could have used in Mapleton.  Inside the front boot, Steve was super impressed with the battery charger and power inverter which exceeded van 1's specifications.  Oh and there is an internal screen in one of the cupboards of the van to monitor battery usage when not running on electricity.  That's new and handy!
I could go on and on about all the little bits and pieces which only we know to be different but on the whole, the van is far better built and much improved on the last van (and we didn't think it was possible).  Mind you, we would still have the old van back if it meant not going through what we did.  We were very happy with what we had and it's only through circumstance that we get to experience a new improved version.  I think only until we make this van home again and learn to love it, quirks and all, that we will feel comfortable and perhaps be able to put behind us what has happened over the last nearly half year. 

Erin and Becca

Myself and some of the other mums were sitting around at playgroup last week discussing the little personality quirks of our beloved children. When I think about our two little wonders, I couldn't imagine two more different personalities growing up and yet they share some amazingly similar traits in their behaviour towards each other and other people. There are things about Becca that I never had to worry about with Erin. People talk about their babes sticking pieces of play time in all sorts of places and as we have come to realise, Becca is one of those kids. Neither of our two have ever been chokey kids where every conceivable object which fitted in a film cannister had to be kept out of reach. Erin has enjoyed lego for a long time now and although we kept it from Becca early on, she still managed to swallow one of Erin's lego carrots which was meant for a horse. I should have known when I found the little orange lego piece in her nappy one day that things were going to be different.
When I packed up Erin's toys for our trip away, her lego was something I wanted to bring because even though she hadn't played with it much, I knew it was compact and would come into it's own later on.  I brought it out in Mapleton and she played with it a little but we had been given other lego to play with and she and Becca enjoyed that instead.  When we moved to Ingham, I got it out again and she relished in the building of anything her imagination would allow.  Becca also loved to build stuff as well but that would mean the destruction of her sisters' creation so I had to be diplomatic about how they shared it.  One day several weeks ago, Becca had a sensitive nose and was hesitant about letting anyone touch it.  She had unfortunately become a little sunburnt on the face and so I put it down to a sore red nose from that.  After a couple of days, she started to get a runny nose and I then suspected that that might have been the reason for the sore nose.  Anyway while the girls were swimming in a pool one day recently, Becca's nose got quite snotty from all the chlorine water she sniffed in.  While Steve was drying her off after her swim, he tried to wipe the nose clean to which Becca protested.  With much squeezing and prodding, out popped a tiny piece of pink lego which had obviously been up there for some time.  She never complained about a sore nose again.
When we first arrived in Ingham, all our worldly possessions were scattered all over the floor in bags and boxes.  As we had little furniture in the way of wardrobes and dressers, all our clothing and everything I usually put on a dresser went on the floor.  A painter was coming to the house to paint and varnish the furniture which was already upstairs and those pieces that were downstairs waiting to come up.  I shifted what baskets and boxes I had on the one dresser that was in our room and placed them on our bed so the painter could paint.  A while later, and after the painter had been in our room, I found one of my baskets upturned on the bed and my engagement ring was missing.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't let go of the fact that the painter was in that room and now my ring was missing.  Eventually we worked out that Becca had a little exploration session through my basket and had hidden my engagement ring.  I was frantic and asking Becca in no uncertain terms to tell me where the ring was.  She just talked in her babble as I put her to bed for her afternoon sleep while Steve's mum, who was with us at the time, looked everywhere for where it might be.  There were so many gaps in the floorboards that I had visions of the ring falling through into the underground amongst all our stuff and never finding it.  After a while I got Becca out of bed as she wasn't sleeping and asked her again where mummy's ring was.  She walked straight out into the kitchen and opened the cupboard with the toaster in it and there was my ring placed under it.  She was playing a lot of hide and seek with things as we were unpacking and trying to find places for all our stuff.  Everything had it's place in the caravan and now we had to start from scratch and find new places for our stuff.
Bathtime is always a bit of a chaotic affair.   While trying to get one child organised, the other one is doing her own thing.  On one occasion, Becca had taken her nappy off in readiness for her bath but had to wait for Erin who had jumped in first.  As she waited, she decided to have some sultanas for a snack that were leftover from during the day.  Steve and I were doing the dishes and Becca came into the kitchen and stood by Steve's leg.  When he looked down, he could see all these sultanas scattered on the floor of the kitchen.  He asked her to pick them up because she had spilt them and she refused.  He asked her again and she just looked at him and shook her head.  By this time Steve was getting inpatient and went down to her level to insist she pick them up when he realised that they weren't sultanas at all but little poo pellets which she had deposited on the floor while her nappy was off.  On further examination, we found a trail of poo pellets in the living room as well.  No wonder she didn't want to pick up said sultanas when Steve insisted.  Smart child.
Steve started a trend in Mackay when he and his mum began buying chocolate coated licorice.  It's purpose was to help counteract the copious quantities of codiene that I was consuming at the time but the remainder of the family thought it was a good treat to have anyway so we were all eating it.  Chocolate coated licorice is hard to come by in Ingham, in fact it is almost non existent here so when we go to Townsville, we pick up a few packs in Big W.  It's more for the treat value now as I'm off all pain medication.  Steve passed me a piece the other day and Becca grizzled because she wanted a piece.  She had tried it before and not liked it but was insistent on having some.  To teach her a lesson, he gave her a piece and said that she had to eat all of it before she could have a piece of dark chocolate which is what Erin was having.  For the next five minutes, Becca walked around with a mouth full of licorice and didn't know what to do with it.  The look on her face was priceless and soon she was dribbling black as the licorice sat in her mouth as she refused to swallow it.  Then, after five minutes, she went and got her stool, climbed up to the kitchen bench and promptly spat the licorice out onto the counter.  Steve and I were horrified but then laughed because she looked so disgusted.  Hopefully she won't ask for licorice again, a fact Erin knows too well because she wanted the dark chocolate instead.
I cannot remember Erin ever being as insistent about doing things herself.  A fact that still haunts me today as she expects her mother to do lots of things for her.  Becca, on the other hand, is dogged about doing everything herself whether it be making her own milo (with messy results) to putting her own seatbelt on and shutting the car door herself.  She has even recently taken to grabbing my car remote and unlocking the car.  She may have gotten that idea from me giving Erin the key to the house to go and unlock while I get Becca and other things out of the car.  In some ways it is good because it means that she is quite happy to be independant but it can be frustrating and I have to be patient or else implode due to the time it takes sometimes.
On the other side though, she has learnt a very caring nature from Erin (when she's not beating her sister up).  They can play beautifully together and the little conversations and adult vocabulary that gets used is adorable and funny coming from a 2 1/2 and nearly 7 year old.  I must realise that a lot of what comes out of their mouths stems from things I say.  Quite often when I ask Erin to do something for me she says "of course" which is something I say when she asks me to do things.  The other day I asked Becca to do something and she came out with "of course" which floored me and sounded so grown up coming from her.  We were at kindergym the other week and one of the dads who we know brings his 3 year old daughter and 10 month old daughter too.  The kids had to dress us in scarves and his daughter had put hers around his head so he was pretending to be blind and asking for help.  Young Katie didn't turn a hair that dad was in trouble even if it was play but Becca ran up and grabbed him by the leg to help him.  He was very grateful for Becca guiding his 6'5" frame around and it looked quite funny too but demonstrated to me Becca's caring nature as she was genuinely concerned.
At the moment, our house looks like an art gallery and an inventors workshop all in one.  Erin has taken to creating things using my recycles bag under the sink for ideas - Mr Maker style.  For those uneducated in the tv viewing of children, Mr Maker is the MacGyver of kids inventing who can make anything with just about anything.  Erin's creative side is showing and she comes up with some pretty amazing ideas and techniques for her creations.  My kitchen bench is covered in 2 litre milk container people and all sorts of pictures.  She writes self made books about dog training, a travel book and her fairytale collection which she writes from memory all her fairytale books.  Mine and Steve's dressers have toilet roll people and beer can trees while there is an array of drums made from milo tins and rattles for Becca made from cat food tins.  We had Chinese takeaway and she used the lids of the plastic food containers to create frames to put pictures into.  She covers everything with plain reflex paper (which I need shares in) and colours in or draws using pencils, crayons and textas.  I have had to hang string between whatever hooks or curtain rods I can find to create hanging displays of her work and it just keeps mounting. 
Over the weekend, we purchased a temporary carport structure from Supercheap Auto to cover the caravan.  It came in a large rectangular box with a lid and has been a source of amusement for both girls for most of the weekend and today as well.  It started out as a cubby house which then turned into an apartment with upper storey windows for light.  Then it became a shower and bath, a bed followed by a rocket ship.  Both Erin and Becca have been to the moon several times in it.  Erin has no trouble counting down for blast off but can't seem to do that when it comes to maths.  Go figure!  For the last two nights, the box has been put against the wall near the window waiting for the next days adventures to start.  Boxes are amazing things.  I remember inviting one of Erin's little friends to our van in Mapleton for a playdate and her mum brought along a huge box for the girls to play in.  I didn't see them at all that day as they took up half the annex with cubby houses and all sorts.  It was the cheapest and best fun and allowed the kids imaginations to run riot.
So as you can see, it's amazing how Erin and Becca are developing, changing and continuing to show their individual personality traits as well as learning off one another some of the best and not so best characteristics of each other.  It is both testing and truimphant all at the same time.