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.

Maraka Festival

There are two major festivals held in Ingham every year.  One is the Italian festival which is held in late July.  We arrived in Ingham on the second day of this festival but were so exhausted from packing up in Mackay and driving for two days that we didn't attend it.   Maybe next year.  The other festival is the Maraka festival which translates as meeting place or joyous place to meet.  It was created by a conglomerate of all the community organisations in the Hinchinbrook region such as Lions Club, Apex and Rotary to bring together one festival which gives to the community and allows the community to give in return.  Every year there appears to be a different theme and this year it was 'the sweet life'.  It runs for two weeks with a wide and varied array of activities and events.  Local young ladies vie for the crown of Maraka queen and Maraka princess while some of the activities included a wine and cheese night, gala event, afternoon teas, steam train rides at Victoria Mill and a concert.  The itinerary mentioned fence painting and a pet parade which I wasn't too sure about and have since been told by local mums that it's a kids activities morning with a pet parade (absolutely nothing to do with fence painting).  The festival concludes with a street parade and funpark night with stage performances by local bands, rides for all ages, sideshow alley and food and drink.  A fireworks display finishes off the night for families.  Everyone appears to really look forward to the festival and as newby's to the region, we were asked frequently if we were going to attend.  Why wouldn't we as we are out here to experience different places and everything they have to offer.
All the schools in and around Ingham had floats entered in the street parade as well as many businesses and local community groups.  They were constructed on the back of flat bed trailers and towed by local trucks around the street circuit.  Each float was numbered and judged by a panel who then declared one of the floats a winner.  A hard choice because everyone had put in a huge effort with bright colourful designs and lots of imagination.  The main highway through town was blocked off for the parade so all the heavy vehicles heading north to Cairns or south to Townsville had to detour via the back streets.

We had been in Townsville for most of the day and Steve had to go out to a cane farm north of Ingham to pick up a truck when we got back so I was worried we would miss the parade which started at 5pm.  Thankfully we managed to walk down the main street just as the parade started and found a spot where both the girls could see.  People in character walking beside the truck floats were giving out lollies to all the kids watching as part of the theme of the sweet life.  When Ingham State Primary School's float came past, we waved to whoever we could recognise on the float including Erin's good mate Chas who was dressed in green to represent the cane farmers.  Other kids were dressed in orange hi-vis shirts and hardhats to represent the mill where the cane is processed and others were dressed in tinsel wigs to represent sweets.  The Maraka Queen entrants were escorted around in the backs of utes and were going to be judged and crowned later in the night.  The parade went around the circuit twice and once that finished, the funpark started.  Erin naturally wanted to go on the jumping castle/slide and so did Becca but it looked a bit rough for her so we convinced her to go on the horse merry-go-round which she loved.  Erin's next thrill was on the giant slide and, of course, Becca wanted to try it as well.  There were plenty of parents taking little ones down on their laps but Steve wouldn't hear of me taking Becca down for fear of me breaking another bone of some sort.  I was quite ok with it but Steve wasn't so he distracted Becca with the nearby playground while I watched Erin go down the slide a couple of times.  These attractions weren't cheap and before long I had spent nearly $20 on rides.  We joined Steve and Becca in the playground and both girls were happy to muck around in there for the duration.  Steve had to sit outside the fence because we had Brindle and she wasn't allowed inside the playground.  Erin caught up with a number of friends and Steve and I recognised and talked to a couple of people.

Before long, the girls had had enough and none of the food on offer at the festival thrilled them so we headed home for me to cook a super quick dinner. At about 8pm we watched the fireworks from our upstairs window and Steve said the next morning that he heard continued revelling until the early hours of Sunday morning. Sunday itself was very quiet around town because everyone must have been recovering from the previous days events. The festival has been running for 53 years so hopefully next year we can get more involved now that we know what it's about and I can take the girls to the 'fence painting', now that I know what that is. All these festivals happen during the dry season because it's pointless holding outdoor events in the wet season when the weather is unpredicable. I think this festival may be the last for the coming year so next year will see another round of community events for us to experience.

Meet Brindle

Hawkins Creek is one of the many hamlets I suppose you would call them which are out of Ingham.  They are pretty much an accumulation of houses or small acreages which are given a name which connects it to the area, in this case a creek called Hawkins Creek.  People live in houses on cane farms out here but have no affiliation to the farm itself.  When we were staying in North Eton out of Mackay, we lived in a house on a cane farm but had nothing to do with the cane farming.  As farms are bought, sold and merged, there can be more than one house on a property so the landowners rent the houses for extra income.  A bit less than 2 months ago, we were invited to new friends for dinner at their house on a cane farm at Hawkins Creek.  Our friends keep the feral pigs out of the farmers' cane in exchange for less rent which works well for all involved.  Of course to keep feral pigs in check, one needs pig dogs which are very common in Ingham.  Most farmers have these dogs due to the ongoing trouble with pigs ruining their sugar cane crops.  Our friends had three dogs, one of which was a full blood kelpie which they had only recently acquired and who was expecting pups.  You know where this is going don't you all. 
The day after we had visited for dinner, the pups were born, 3 girls and 4 boys.  Of course it never entered my head about the potential to get one of these puppies but Steve had obviously been thinking about it for a while.  Our friends had invited us to come over and see the pups on a couple of occasions to which I replied how 'dangerous' that might be with the girls and cute puppies, but only in jest.  Well last weekend, Steve drummed up enough nerves to broach the subject with me and of course, I reacted in my usual way of complete refusal and denial.  Don't get me wrong, I do love all animals, as is demonstrated by our unusual menagerie which we are dragging all over Australia with us, but I wouldn't say I am a 'dog' person.  Steve, on the other hand, grew up with dogs and so has a bit more of a repore with them.  Anyway, after my rantings about who's gonna look after it, feed it, clean up after it, walk it, as well as all the extra $$$$$ to look after it, Steve made it clear that he wanted to have the dog as a companion at work either in the truck or the helicopter.  This may have calmed me down a bit as I didn't want the extra responsibility of a dog that especially needed lots of exercise.  I could see the merit in having a particularly active dog such as a kelpie in a work situation because the dog would get constant stimulation from new environments and plenty of exercise going to cane farms.  After a couple of days of walking around being pig headed myself, we went out to our friends to have a look at the puppies which were 6 weeks old by this stage.
Yes, the puppies were all adorable as one would expect of a kelpie mother but the father's parentage was a little more questionable because our friends didn't realise she was expecting pups when they got her.  Anyway, there were 2 red kelpie coloured ones, 4 black kelpie coloured ones and one light tan dingo looking one.  Steve had wanted a female with the red coloured coat so there was only one choice but what would her personality be like.  We stood around and watched the personality mix to see what would happen.  Most of them were boisterous and bitey as puppies are but the red female was quieter, reserved and hung back while the others made mischief.   I made the mistake of wearing a long skirt and my rubber crocs which the puppies took a particular liking to and at one stage, I had several of them hanging off my skirt and chewing on my crocs.  Fortunately, Steve's choice was not one of them and the more we watched, the more Steve was happy with the personality of the little red girl.  Our friends offered that we could take her then and there because she was weaned but at only 6 weeks old, I was apprehensive and so we left without her.  I think it was more about me having to get used to the idea than anything else.
Well for the next 4 days, Steve talked of nothing else but the puppy.  He googled everything 'kelpie' to find out about training, desexing, food etc etc which was driving me insane.  I did suggest that he ask his employers first to see if they would allow him to have a dog at work to which he agreed.   I wasn't sure but I thought it might be alright with them because one of the owners has a dog he brings to work with him.  Anyway after waiting several days for the 'right' moment to ask, he broached the subject and got approval.  Of course, Heather whose sons run the business said why would we want to complicate our lives with a dog (my feelings exactly) but was ok with the idea.  Steve went and picked up a food bowl, collar and lead etc and some food but by Wednesday, he was getting jittery and wanted to pick up the puppy.  I couldn't stand it anymore so told him to just organise it.  By Thursday night, we were heading out to Hawkins Creek again to pick her up.
We brought her home and set up a sleeping nest in one of the cat boxes in the entrance hall upstairs.  Steve threw in his work shirt from that day which had puppy smells all over it and I suggested a stuffed toy so she doesn't feel lonely.  Of course the girls were just so overwhelmed that there were tears on the way home because they couldn't both hold the puppy at the same time.  We went to bed that night expecting wimpering and crying all night but we didn't hear a peep out of her.  Steve got up in the middle of the night and took her outside for a toilet stop and she did her thing without any prompting.  When he got up again at 4am to go to work, he organised her and took her with him.  Of course when the girls got up, they asked where the puppy was and I said she had gone to work with daddy because that's how it will be from now on.  That night there was lots of playing when Steve got home from work but the girls soon went inside.  I think their excitement will be shortlived once puppy has been with us for a while.
As far as names go, Steve couldn't come up with anything he liked.  The overwhelming responsibility of giving a puppy a name that she will have for her life and especially one that is fitting for a work dog was too much to bear.  After several days with us, she still didn't have an official name.  Erin suggested Ella or Elly.  Steve thought of Molly and I thought of Brindle, due to the brindle colouring on all her legs (obviously from dad).  In the end, I just started calling her Brindle and no-one seemed to waver from that so that became her name.  She still doesn't respond to it yet so if anyone comes up with something spectacular in the near future, it may change.
We took her to Townsville over the weekend because she was too small to leave at home alone.  Walking through Bunnings with a puppy is like walking anywhere with a newborn baby.  Everyone was doing a 'double take' as Steve walked with her up and down the aisles.  Forget about the wife and two beautiful daughters following behind with the trolley full of stuff!  Actually Brindle was the perfect pickup line come to think of it.  Several stops and pats later and we finally got out of there.  We had to go to the pet shop to pick up crickets and she was allowed in there without us feeling nervous about getting kicked out of the store.  While in the car, she slept under my legs on the floor on a blanket.  Whenever we stopped, we had to make sure it was near a garden or at least some lawn so she could have a wee stop.
The cats are finding the dog intruder quite disruptive.  Karki, who is naturally nervous anyway, hid under the dining chair for the first night while Pirie stalked the small brown thing with purpose and curiosity.  Watching them interract is quite funny actually.  A hiss from Pirie followed by the raised paw ready to strike while Brindle looks on with cautious interest.  Karki just cowers around from one spot to another avoiding confrontation.   Sometimes if Pirie is wandering across the lawn outside, Brindle will approach with a view to chase and if Pirie runs, the chase is on but the cats always go to the high ground on the stairs which Brindle can't negotiate yet.  It's been four days now since we picked up Brindle and the cats are slowly getting back some of the territory that they thought they'd lost.  We are hoping that they get used to her quickly while she is small because once she starts growing, they might become intimidated by her.  The cats will continue to be top dogs in the household because they have the run of the place while Brindle will have to be restricted and learn her place as an outside dog or at least an entrance way dog only.
She has a small assortment of toys including a giraffe on a rope (unlike soap on a rope) which is her tug o war toy and another giraffe called Geoffrey which was given to Becca by a lady in the caravan park in Mapleton.  I thought he would be a good companion after losing all her brothers and sisters.  One morning while cleaning up in the entrance way, I discovered one of Geoffrey's eyes chewed up under a shoe.  Later that morning, I mentioned to Steve that Geoffrey had lost an eye overnight and he stopped mid sentence thinking that I was talking about my brother in law who is also called Jeffrey.  I had to clarify that comment quickly.  Of course we keep all our shoes in a box in the entrance hall and my slippers are usually parked next to the box.  Steve has found one of my slippers in Brindle's box thankfully unchewed but they'd only just been washed so had a new layer of dog slobber on them.  Great!!  I have two strips of rubber tied to the bathroom door for my physio band exercises and a small chunk has been ripped out of them.
 
This morning, I woke up to a small puddle in the living area because Steve had slept through and not gotten up in the middle of the night for Brindle's wee break. He had tried to clean it up when he woke at 4am but had missed a spot which was obvious in the daylight. I spent the morning mopping the living area amid repeated apologies from Steve for missing the little indescretion. Late this afternoon Brindle had her first round of vaccinations and Steve received a puppy pack with all sorts of goodies inside for Brindle. We are finding that she is becoming more confident as she becomes familiar with her new family and new surroundings. This means that the meek and mild little dog that Steve picked last week is starting to come out of her shell. She is naturally intelligent and knows when she's being growled at but is pushing the boundaries a bit. She has a cute little bark as Steve discovered when he came up the stairs one early morning and she didn't recognise him in the dark. It's only been 4 days and already the fun is beginning so we will see how she goes being raised in the Arseoels household and how we go living with a dog.

A Pool to Pour Money Into

The final weekend of the school holidays saw us buy a swimming pool while we were in Townsville.  I did have it on the girls' Christmas list but it turned into an impulse buy for several reasons.  The weather has become hotter and more humid in the last couple of weeks and the locals have said how lucky we have been that it didn't happen sooner like it usually does.  Erin has also been coming home from school quite hot and sweaty so I thought that the need for a pool might be more crucial now rather than later.  Yes, the town pool, local swimming holes and waterfalls are great for weekends and holidays but they aren't very convenient for an after school dip.  Well the aquatic centre is convenient in one way but not others.  At least with a pool at home, I can watch them while making snacks or dinner.
In the past, we had bought pools with the aluminium frame which are only a few inches deep but the more modern designs which are on the market are deeper but easy to assemble.  We decided on the smallest and shallowest pool with the blow up ring at the top and at only $58, it was reasonably priced.  As I soon discovered, it would be the cheapest part of the pool.  Our next decision was where to put it.  The instructions stated that whenever the pool is placed on a lawn, the lawn in that area will die.  We have a huge lawn area around the house but didn't want to kill it and besides,  mowing it would be an inconvenience for Mr Contarino (our elderly Italian neighbour who mows our lawn as an arrangement with the owners).  There was a bare patch of dirt near our outdoor setting which Steve decided would be the best place to put the pool but he needed to level it out.  The leftover dirt from the garden beds which Steve cleaned up would serve as an ideal levelling base.  Shade is also a real issue around our house - basically there isn't any, so we purchased another shade gazebo to put over the pool.  One of Steve's fellow employees who drives past our house every day said we were starting an Afghan tent city.
Once Steve had levelled off the site and laid some tarps down to decrease puncturing of the pool floor, he started assembling the pool.  Basically all that entailed was blowing up the ring and putting water in.  As the pool was filling and the girls were splashing around, I read the instructions.  The total volume of the pool is 3500 litres - not an amount of water one can empty out every couple of days when it starts to look slimy (even in the wet tropics).  I read further and discovered that the pool has to be treated like any large above ground pool with a large amount of water.  It needed to be kept clean with chlorination and pH testing to keep the water healthy.  I was a bit freaked out because we have never had to deal with chlorination, alkalinity and pH before.
The next morning I consulted the local directory for a pool chemical supplier in Ingham.  Becca and I then went into town to do some research.  After explaining our situation to the lady behind the counter (to which she agreed with our need for more pool care), she encouraged me to buy a floating chlorine dispenser and chlorine tablets to get me started. I call this contraption the UFO or unidentified floating object.   She said to bring back a water sample in a couple of days for her to test to determine what else needed doing.  When I went back, everything was quite good but I had to buy alkaliniser and calcium to balance the water.  Now maybe those two things are the same and forgive me for my ignorance if they are but I am still learning.  I did come home with two different boxes so who knows.  I was given instructions about what order to add these chemicals in, the timeframe between adding these chemicals and that the filter should be on.  To not follow these specific instructions would result in the pool turning green, our children's hair turning blue or god knows what else.  The granular chemicals had to be mixed with water and dissolved before putting in the pool.  I found a plastic icecream spoon to stir the water and wondered if, when I pulled the spoon out, whether it would be dissolved or melted in the wicked potion.  Anyway when the girls and I went swimming that afternoon, our hair didn't turn a charming shade or fall out and we didn't lose a limb so I must have done an ok job.
I asked Steve to position the pool right near the concrete edge of the path so that everyone could climb in and out without having to walk across grass and put that in the pool as well.  I fully expected to find the cane toads doing backstroke and having a party in the pool when I went outside after dark but it hasn't happened yet.  Over time, we have started to get floaties in the pool like leaves from the trees by the creek.  One could spend a fortune on leaf scoops or pool covers to keep the debris out but I found an ingenious idea in the underground.  An old plastic kitchen sieve was perfect for scooping the leaves out and I got Erin to create a whirlpool so that all the debris would accumulate in the middle and be easier to scoop out.  To my horror, as I was scooping, Erin discovered that grass was growing through the base of the pool.  Within two weeks of our pool erection, the grass was piercing the fairly thick base which then begged the question, does one pull it out our let it grow?  If I pulled it out, I didn't want water to start leaking out through the bottom although the holes would have been miniscule.  If I let it grow, how long would it be before we had a fishtank with a lovely crop of weed floating through the water.  I decided to pull it out and take my chances but even if it was leaking, it would be tiny and hopefully seal itself up again.  Fingers crossed.
Our only other problem will be if we get a flood through Ingham.  Our house and surrounds are like ground zero for rising water.  I would say that if the area does flood, it will be the quickest emptying and packing of a pool in history to stop floodwaters contaminating it.  Anyway our impulse buy will be an ongoing project in order to enjoy it but then I think the girls are old enough to have fun in a deeper pool that they can actually swim in as well as having a pool that is portable.

Happy Holidays Week 2

Well it was back to early rising for the girls and quick, short sleepins for me and it was already Tuesday.  I had a reasonable nights sleep because I self treated all the sandfly bites on Monday night.  By self treating I mean that I applied a container of frozen tomatoes to all the bites in the hope that the itching would subside.  I discovered that everytime I felt hot, the itching would increase especially when I got into bed and under the sheets.   My solution was to apply a cold pack of some sort to alleviate the itching before going to bed.  As I hopped out of bed on Tuesday morning, I looked down to see every bite had grown into a huge watery blister and they were all over me.  I looked like I had the ebola virus.  I spent the rest of the day avoiding bumping these blisters for fear of infection because some were the size of a five cent piece.   I needed milk but had to ring Steve to collect some on his way home from work because there was no way I could go out in public looking like this.  I had told Steve about my blisters but it wasn't until he got home that he realised how bad they were.  His immediate response was to gently pin them so they would deflate.  Sorry if this is grossing anyone out but it was pretty horrendous.  When that failed we covered all the blisters with bandaids to protect them and let them go down on their own.  We used an entire box of bandaids and you can only imagine what that looked like.  For several days afterwards I wore knee length pants and long sleeved lights tops to cover up my patchwork.  At least if anyone asked, I could blame sandfly bites and all the locals seemed to understand especially as I was a newby to the region.  On the Wednesday morning, we walked into town to go to the post office and run a couple of other errands.  I wanted to look in the newsagency for some sort of trading post because I am on the lookout for a secondhand drier, a necessity up here when the humidity in the air outweighs what is in ones wet clothes after washing.  To try and air dry clothes in the wet season is perilous with a risk of ones clothes becoming a mould culture and the need for enough sets of clothes to last several months.  Anyway, while sussing out which paper to buy, Erin and Becca had also done some sussing and had noticed the lollipops on the counter.  The begging, pleading and boo-hooing as I left the shop was too much to bear for the sake of two 50c lollipops so they both got to pick their flavours and we all left happy.
Our library afternoon was nowhere near as busy as it had been the previous week.  There were only about 10 kids who turned up and obviously there should have been more because the librarian had plenty of templates to make things with.  Todays craft activities were Halloween orientated.  Becca was unfortunately not as interested as she was in the first week.  It may have had something to do with the fact that she woke up earlier from her sleep and got involved with Erin's craft at home.  Erin and I had been doing things together  on most days while Becca was asleep.  Several days earlier, we had both done a huge drawing of an ocean scene and Erin had been slowly colouring it all in.  Her final job was to colour in the ocean itself with watery paint so that her colouring would show through.  Unfortunately Becca woke up early and wanted to paint as well so we all ended up painting.  It's possible that by the time we went to the library, Becca had run out of crafty inspiration.  She spent the whole time taking books off the shelf, scribbling on Erin's templates and generally having a 'tanty' whenever she wasn't able to do what she wanted.  Our first project was a witches hat.  Erin did very well to cut out all the shapes of moons and stars and stick the brim of the hat to the pointy head piece.  I could understand her frustration with little sister interfering but was trying to strike a balance between helping her and keeping Becca amused.  The unfortunate time constraints on each project meant Erin got quite stressed when time was running out.
Our next project was a Halloween mobile to hang from the ceiling.  Note that I am doing one as well as Erin because otherwise there would be an inevidable argument when we got home because Erin would have had a project and Becca wouldn't.  As I said earlier, it was a balancing act between keeping Becca out of mischief and getting her project done.  One quite stressed hour later, we left with me saying that I wouldn't bring Becca again because it spoils Erin's experience.  Maybe by next holidays, she will be a bit older and more willing to participate.
Thursday was also a bit of a balancing act.  I had booked both the girls into a fairy party in the local garden centre this morning.  I also had a physio appointment later in the morning which I had been waiting weeks for.  I had asked Steve to take Becca in the truck with him while I went to the physio because she disrupts the session by jumping on the minitramp, swinging from the parallel bars, climbing up and down the exercise steps and making faces in the mirrors.  Erin, being older and a little less disruptive was a better choice to come to the physio with me.  Of course, the logistics of letting Becca do the fairy party and yet be able to go with Steve at the drop of a hat when he had to do a delivery was a nightmare.   I waited by the phone for him to call and say bring her down knowing that we'd have to depart the party early which wouldn't have been good.  Thankfully he was delayed in the depot so both the girls got to enjoy dressing as fairies while being entertained by the local kindy director with puppets, stories, facepainting and craft.   The kids, boys and girls, made fairy wands, lacy headbands with flowers and did a fashion parade with their new accessories.  Just to be clear, the boys dressed as spiderman, a wizard, a pirate and a black fairy with huge wings.  After that, there was a butterfly treasure hunt through the garden centre followed by morning tea for both kids and mums/carers/grandparents.  There was fairy bread (of course), cupcakes, sandwiches and fruit.  The kids sat on picnic blankets amongst the pots of the garden centre and it was a fantastic morning.
I then dropped Becca at Steve's work and they went to Tully.  He called me from the other side of the range (only 20kms away) and Becca had dropped off in her car seat from exhaustion.  All in all it was a successful day.  Erin got some mum time and Becca got some truck time.
On the weekend, we again went to Townsville to do some birthday shopping amongst other things and ended up coming home with a swimming pool.  It was quite cheap and becoming necessary as the days are getting hotter and Erin wants a swim when she gets home from school.  We spent Sunday rearranging our back garden area to accomodate said pool but that's another blog.  The holidays were generally a success with quiet days and days where there were activities on.  I think we managed to strike a balance between giving Erin some down time from school routines while keeping her and Becca amused and not getting too bored.