Tuesday, 1st April 2014 - Bermagui area (Coolagolite) … Day 310 of our ‘Around Oz’ trip
We packed up and said goodbye to Suzanne and Spice and leftWulumla just after 10am.
We travelled the long way to Bermagui following the GPS which must have thought the main drag was a much better route for a truck. As we drove in we remembered it, as we had sat on the pub veranda with a drink, when we went on a road trip in our backpacker hostel days. Bermagui was put on the map when they filmed the movie ‘The Man who sued God’ starring Billy Connolly and an Australian cast. It was a good film and worth looking at if you have never seen it. A good little Aussie film!
We grabbed a few supplies and filled up with diesel and were on our way again to the little hamlet of Coolagolite (pronounced Cooler-go-lite) which was just 15 kms inland. When we got there we looked at their driveway in dismay as it was on an steep angle and on slippery dirt and gravel. Not a good combination for a 5 tonne vehicle that doesn’t have much clearance, is long with a rack on the back and that has front wheel drive. After three tries Geoff eventually made it over the tricky bit without ‘bottoming out’ (just) and then it was plain sailing up to the house. I made a mental note to change the spiel on our house sitting site to mention driveways we can and cannot handle (since amended).
We were soon settled in with the awning out, chairs and table in situ and the green floor matting down as we will be here about 5 weeks. Louise and Ed and three of their six kids came down for a chat. They have a lot on their hands as Louise home schools all but one of the children plus looks after the sheep etc. The place looks like it needs a little TLC and they said they were running behind and wouldn’t be leaving till, probably, Friday. A bit annoying as we could have stayed in Melbourne to see if the motorhome part had come in, but them’s the breaks. They looked round the motorhome and were interested in how the diesel heater performed as Ed was in the process of installing one in their caravan. He also said he had bought a diesel oven to install in the future. We said that friends, Steve and Carolyn, had imported one from the UK. They laughed and said it was a coincidence as the guy they had bought it from was also named Steve. Then it became more than a coincidence as they said that this Steve also had a boat, travelled between Vic and Qld and did missionary work over in Papua New Guinea. Wow … what a small world … it just has to be our Steve. Later, when I checked my emails, I received one from Tony on ‘Outahia’ who said he was on the way back from Tassie and might pop into Bermagui on the way back up to Qld so we might be able to catch up again, which would be great.
Wednesday, 2nd April 2014 - Bermagui
No sign of Louise and Ed for most of the day. They did say they had to do their tax before they left so I expect they have their noses to the grindstone.
Lamb Shanks were soon cooking away in the crockpot and there was a bread pudding in the oven.
I spent most of the day finishing off my Beltana Station article that the CMCA’s ‘The Wanderer’ magazine says they will publish … a freebie, I think. I doubt if they pay members for articles. Geoff loaded all the photos into dropbox for me so they were sent of along with the article too.
Whilst I was on the CMCA website I noticed they had uploaded a list of participants in the new ‘Member Stop Over’ scheme. There are 45 participants so far who offer overnight stays on their properties for free (donations accepted for upkeep). The time you can stay seems to be from 2—7 days with extended stays by arrangement. The list shows the length of vehicle the property can take, whether you need to be a member of the LNT (Leave No Trace) scheme, whether they take pets and what facilities they have. There are 11 in NSW, 1 in the NT, 15 in Qld, 2 in SA, 3 in Tas, 13 in Vic and none as yet in WA. This is a fantastic CMCA initiative and credit goes to these members who are willing to take us. I then spent a lot of the afternoon adding them to our Camps 7 book before having a mammoth session to complete my March journal.
For most of the day Geoff worked on Sally’s website … which reminds me … Sally rang to catch up so we had a good natter.
The lamb shanks were, once again, delish!!!!
Thursday, 3rd April 2014 - Bermagui
Up before 8am, just! Louise, Ed and the kids still haven’t left.
Geoff got the scooter down from its rack and went into the small highway town of Cobargo for bread and milk. He said it was a pleasant LITTLE town with the basic shops so I will go with him next time. When he got back Louise came down for a cuppa and a chat. Overcast this morning and raining by lunch time. According to the forecast we are in for some heavy rain over the next couple of days.
We spent the rest of the day just fiddling around doing a bit of this and a bit of that but nothing note worthy.
Late afternoon Erin, one of Louise’s daughters, came down to give us the lowdown on the sheep and what to expect when they lamb, plus other things on note around the property. When he got back he had a look at the bud lights that Suzanne had given us that needed fixing. He wired them up to a 5 volt transformer and they worked so he hung them in the cab and said he would wait to see if they burnt out. Much later, they were still working … so far, so good. And that was it.
Friday, 4th April 2014 - Bermagui
It rained all night and is a little cool this morning. Louise came down and, in between bursts of rain, showed Geoff around the property.
After lunch she asked if I wanted to go for a ride with her into Carbargo and Bermagui. We had only gone a few hundred metres up the road when a huge huntsman spider made its way out from behind the visor on my side. “Stop” I said and I was really very good as I sat eye balling the monster before she was able to pull over. She then flicked it out. Bleh … not overly keen on our long legged furry (yes...they look furry) friends but I don’t like to see them killed. I wandered around Carbargo whilst Louise did her errands and found it a very appealing little town with some very interesting shops. Not the sort of shops you would expect in a small highway town, more touristy type shops.
We then continued on into Bermagui where Louise showed me the marina and the library before we ended up in Foodworks so that she could get some supplies.
I then fiddled around for the rest of the day, as I can always find things that need doing but are not worth writing about. I also remembered to ring the RV repairers in Bayswater and our moulding is still on order so it is a good job we didn’t hang around for it.
I woke up with a headache … what a pain! It was still raining, on and off, and Geoff’s fingers were a little blue so he will have to keep an eye on them.
By the time 11 am came round Louise and Ed were still here and then Erin’s computer wouldn't boot up so Geoff went off to have a look at it. She is running Vista on it so it must be quite old and Geoff was unable to get it going for her so she may have to take it in to someone who has a few more resources at their finger tips.
We spent the morning sorting out and labelling the photos to go with the ‘Hebe’ article and sent them to dropbox for the editor of the magazine, Bow2Stern. Geoff did a bit of surfing (the web, that is) and then did a little work on Sally’s website.
Soon it was well past 1pm and they were still here! At last, at 4.30, Louise, Ed and the six kids eventually got away. As there are so many of them they have to take two vehicles, the 4WD and caravan and a van and trailer. All eight of them manage to fit into the caravan. Quite a feat!
We waved them goodbye and then transferred the sheep food supplements into the cabin nearby and out of the rain. We had a look around the cabin whilst we were there and it is ok and could be quite cosy if the power was on and it had a little clean up.
Another job Geoff has got to do when it stops raining is to go on the roof to try to find out where the leak is coming from in the Luton Peak. Bumma … guess motorhomes are no different to boats after all!
Sunday, 6th April 2014 - Bermagui
The clocks went back overnight which we only found out when we saw the news on TV. Time to get the manual out to work out how to change my watch again!
Geoff cooked bacon and eggs outside and then I wandered up in search of a veggie patch looking for soup vegetables and all I could find were three small zucchinis. I then sorted through the fridge to see what I could also use and found enough so made a large pot of veggie soup. In fact, I had quite and industrious day. I got Geoff to put up a washing line in the shed and then did four loads of washing. Four loads because my little machine only does a few bits at a time. I then sent Geoff off on the scooter to the farm down the road to get me some free range eggs. They were $5.00 a dozen which I though was a bit expensive as most places only charge $3.50. I then made up some tuna patties for tea as the fridge was almost bare of meat. We will have to go to Bega tomorrow for a big shop as it is way too expensive in Bermagui.
Geoff spent most of the day on Sally’s website and I tried not to interrupt him too much as he was trying to stay focused. He rang Sally for some clarifications and then, when he got out of the program and tried to log back in to Sally’s site, it would not recognise the password. He had to give it away for the day until he can ring the company that hosts the website tomorrow.
Monday, 7th April 2014 - Bermagui
I was awake at 7.30 which had been 8.30 until we put the clocks back so it may take a while to get acclimatised.
Tony rang this morning to say he was now in Eden so we will go down to see him in the next couple of days as it is only about 75 kms from here.
Geoff spent some time on the phone to the people who host Sally’s website and there seems to be a problem their end and they said they would ring back in a couple of hours.
We were going to go into Bega today, which is about 42 kms away, to do a reasonable shop but we have now decided to wait till we go down to catch up with Tony. We still needed a couple of things to tie us over so we headed off into Bermagui to the expensive Foodworks there. Whilst we were out, the skies cleared and it was a lovely, warm autumn day. We drove up to the lookout overlooking the entrance to the harbour. Even though it was low tide the bar looked reasonable with only the occasional wave breaking across it. Later we chatted with some locals who said it was a good entrance.
By the time we got back to Coolagolite the skies had clouded over again but so far, no rain.
Geoff rang Jen in Bundy to see if he could help her with a computer problem then rang Sally’s host company again
Geoff spent the spare time going up on the roof to see if he could determine where the rain was getting in. I can hear the drill and other tools going so he must be up to something.
Later Geoff let the sheep into one of the top paddocks so we could count the sheep. After many recounts we could only come up with 27 so there is one missing. I went to look for it but with 20 acres of hills, rocks and trees it was a hard task so we will check them again tomorrow. I don’t think the family counted them before they left so there might have only been 27 then.
Tuesday, 8th April 2014 - Bermagui
Awake to a lovely day but there is more rain on the way, apparently.
We still have more than four weeks to go and I’m already getting a little bored as there’s not much to do here until the sheep start lambing and there are no dogs to cuddle or take for a walk. A big oversight on my part, I must say! I can always find little things to do, like preparing dinner, making a dessert etc. but that doesn’t take all day. At least we are going into Eden tomorrow to catch up with Tony on ‘Outahia’. Geoff has been keeping busy re-doing Sally and Martin’s website, of course, but he is still having trouble getting any sense from the host provider who are located in the Philippines … aren’t they always?
One goof thing is that Geoff rang the RV repairer and our back moulding is now classed as ‘ready to pick’ at the Jayco manufacturing plant. We hope that ‘ready to pick’ means it is about ready to be sent out. This means, hopefully, we could start planning our itinerary a bit more so Geoff rang the Royal Brisbane Hospital and they have him booked in for an appointment on the 11th June.
I also saw that my sister, Glynn, was on FB and online so we had a quick online chat and it seems she has sold her narrow boat ‘Humbug’ which is good/sad, so I just hope the money comes through ok.
Later we went out looking for that elusive sheep but it was nowhere to be seen so we are wondering if it has got out and got into somebody else’s property. We may go out and ask around if it doesn’t turn up. Trouble is there are so many white rocks on this property that it is really hard to check them all out in case they are a sheep. Never mind, it’s not worth losing sleep over.
Wednesday, 9th April 2014 - Bermagui
After brekky we got into the little Suzuki Jimny that Louise and Ed had lent us and headed out. We had plenty of time until we got chatting to the chemist in the local Cobargo Pharmacy who was interested in chartering a boat. We said we would drop off our magazine article about ‘Getting into Sailing’ the next time we were in town.
We eventually got into Eden 30 minutes late and wandered up the visiting yacht jetty but there was no ‘Outahia’ to be seen. After a quick phone call we found that Tony had anchored out and he and Linda were soon on their way to shore in their dinghy. We had soon ordered fish and chips from the local shop and Geoff had decided to order the deluxe box of mixed seafood and chips. I wasn’t about to complain, and very nice it was too with nice crunchy chips. We sat on a bench outside to eat and we did get a few drops of rain but nothing that drove us inside. We had a good natter and then headed back towards Bega where we did a biggish shop in Woollies. We also caught up with Glenn (Wulumla) who was picking up a few supplies and he said he and Suzanne may visit during the next few weeks, which would be good. Back to 2AB2 to find somewhere to store all the supplies … always a chore!
Time for Geoff to go back on the laptop to try and get some input from Sally and Martin’s host provider for their website. To say he is getting frustrated with them would be an understatement.
Thursday, 10th April 2014 - Bermagui
Raining! We woke up to the news that Cyclone Ita, which is currently bearing down on Cooktown, has gone right over the top of the Louisiades, particularly Rossel and Sudest Islands where we spent most of our time in 2010.
I spent the morning on chores but mostly on the phone to Telstra to see if I could get my phone bill knocked down. I had been charged and extra $105.50 after I called Geoff and hit the hold button rather than the end button. Four and a half hours later and we were still connected. Ouch! They came to the party and knocked the $105.50 off. I used to complain about Telstra but they have been really good to me over the last couple of years and I really don’t have a bad word to say about them. Well … a little word … cheaper wireless internet would be nice!
Geoff spent more time on Sally and Martin’s website and eventually got some answers from their web hosts and finally … hip hip hooray … got it all loaded, at last. He then rang Sally to get her to check it and Mara and Sam checked it too. Even the form is working … wonders will never cease. He has now ensured he has good notes for when he has to edit it next time.
Friday, 11th April 2014 - Bermagui
More rain overnight but the morning was sunny and warm, even though it wasn’t forecast to be good. By 4pm the rain had arrived but, looking at the radar, it doesn’t look like we will get the brunt of it. Anyway, we enjoyed the sun whilst we could.
Geoff spent the day researching how he was going to go about fixing the cracked shower base. I had put a post on the ‘Grey Nomad’ forum a while ago and we had received quite a few replies from people who had fixed the same problem. He had also looked at alternative methods of fixing it on the web. I think he is a bit nervous about stuffing it up. There’s membranes, fibre glassing along with many other methods, he has just got to find the one that he thinks he can tackle.
Towards the evening it got quite windy so it was in with the awning overnight.
Saturday, 12th April 2014 - Bermagui
It was, basically, a sunny day with just the one quick shower. This morning we went into Bega, about 40 kms away, as Geoff wanted some wire so he could finish installing the 12 volt Led light over his work station in the cab.
Our first stop was Cobargo to drop off our article ‘getting into sailing’ to the chemist there and to look around the market, all of three stalls.
Once in Bega we got what Geoff wanted and I did a tiny tad of retail therapy and then we had lunch and headed back. The Suzuki Jimny isn’t the most comfortable of rides and has no power going up hills but is easy on the fuel economy and we are not complaining… hey, at least they have left us a car!
Geoff finished off the wiring when he returned and then went out to mow the grass (can’t call it a lawn) around the motorhome as it was getting really long after all of the rain and we got very wet feet each time we went outside.
I fiddled around for a while and then went and walked the perimeter fence of the new paddock to check that the fencing was okay as we wanted to put the sheep in it later.
And that was it for the day. We have another 4 weeks yet … sigh!
Sunday to Tuesday 13th to 15th April, 2014 - Bermagui
Sunday was another nothing sort of day.
Monday … Geoff went out and worked on straightening the bottom section (flange) of the bull bar that had got slightly bent when he nudged the small grass hummock where we are camped. He has done a good job and you would never know it had been dented now.
After lunch we headed out to have a look at Mumbulla Creek Falls but turned back when we thought we had driven too far (alas the GPS was flat and the Jimny cigarette lighter connection was not working). It is amazing how your memory can let you down as we found we hadn’t gone far enough so will leave it until we go into Bega next.
When we got back Geoff rigged up a small paddock with the temp fencing they have here so that we are ready if any of the sheep have problems lambing (if it ever happens) and we need to catch them. Better to be ready than not!
And that was it again after a lovely sunny autumn day.
Tuesday was another muck around the farm day with nothing to write home about!
Wednesday, 16th April 2014 - Coolagolite (near Bermagui) … Day 324 of our ‘Around O Trip’
Another beautiful autumn day.
We needed milk so instead of driving to Cobargo, Bermagui or Bega we/I decided we would drive the 110 kms to Batemans Bay for a day out. I must admit I had an ulterior motive as I wanted to go to Coles to get some gluten free supplies as Coles seemed to have the better selection when I went on the web. There was a Coles at Bega but we had been there a few times so I decided we would go somewhere different. After doing a lot of research lately, I have found a lot of medical sites are saying that quite a few people with Neuropathy are halting, and sometimes reversing, their condition by going on a gluten free diet. They say to stay on it for well over a month to see if there is any change. I had also researched the logistics of going on this type of food regime as I didn’t want to feel deprived of the foods I love. It looked feasible so I now needed to stock MY pantry and will start the regime next Monday (eat all the really bad stuff up till then!). I will give it at least six weeks and see if there is any improvement. If yes, stay on it … if no, adapt it a little but try to stay, mainly, gluten free for a bit longer.
The trip to Batemans Bay seemed to take forever in the little, gutless Suzuki Jimny and, when we got there, Geoff dropped me off at Coles and went off looking for boy things at Jaycar, Autopro and Bunnings. He knew I was going to be reading a lot of labels which he finds very boring. Funnily enough, I don’t find it boring at all! My shopping bill was a lot more this time, of course, but I managed to get all of what I wanted (the loaf of bread looks a bit small and uninteresting … watch this space).
When Geoff picked me up we had a look around and re-acquainted ourselves with the place looking at where we had anchored and reminiscing about our camping trip with friends Sally and Martin. The reason this trip was so memorable is that we also had our Japanese friend, Kanae, with us and Geoff took her out on Martin’s Hobie cat in the bay. Not only did the motor give up the ghost but one of the paddles broke in half and floated away. Geoff was worried they would be swept out to sea but, luckily, he managed to fix the motor and get them ashore.
After lunch we started to head back but did a quick detour to Tuross Heads. We wandered up to the lookout at One Tree Point where there was good views of an angry sea with big waves rolling in. We drove around the town and found it a nice little town and quite appealing.
I was surprised how many articles there were on the web about worm wee! You live and you learn.
When we got back about 6pm and I started finding spots for all of my goodies I found I had left a bag of groceries behind at Coles. Great … it was over 110 kms away and we had no intentions of going back that way. After marking what items I had on the docket I rang Coles. The bag was nowhere to be seen so I expect the lady behind me had, inadvertently, picked them up. But Coles were great and said I could get them replaced at Bega when I next go in. As I was marking them all off I had the items on the bed. Then as I was going back and forth I kicked a wine cask that was stored below the end of the bed and knocked the bung out. Bumma, ⅔ of a cask of wine all over the floor. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement and a few choice words were heard coming out of my mouth … I was no lady, I can tell you. I grabbed the towels from the ensuite and sopped it all up so now have washing to do tomorrow!
Eventually, during all this drama I got the dinner cooked so I could sit, relax and calm down a bit.
Thursday 17th April 2014 - Coolagolite (Bermagui)
Nothing to report today. Mucked around the farm, washed those sopping towels and popped in to Cobargo.
Friday, 18th April 2014 - Coolagolite (Bermagui)
Geoff got all industrious this morning and dragged all the floor mats out to give them a scrub. Then he installed a low shelf into the overhead cupboard that holds my tall canisters containing the cereal, flour, pasta, breadcrumbs etc. Now I have a little storage area underneath where I can store some packets that are light and thin-ish. Whilst he was doing this I couldn’t do much so continued on with converting some of my favourite recipes to gluten free. Gosh … I hope this is all worthwhile. And that was it for the day, again!
Saturday, 19th April 2014 - Coolagolite (Bermagui)
Once again it was a lovely day and the morning was spent doing the normal chores.
Around 3.30 pm Suzanne and Glen turned up for afternoon tea as they had been at a place called Cuttagee, 4 kms out of Bermagui, where they had been volunteering at the ‘Four Winds Festival’. This was an annual festival of classical music. They came bearing a cheesecake so we sat out under the awning with a cuppa and chatted for over two and a half hours. It was nice that they bothered to visit and it made a nice change for us. When they left they gave us their entrance wrist bands for us to go to the festival tomorrow. They said the entrance fee was expensive so we thought we would go out there tomorrow and take advantage of the free pass. We are not into classical stuff but we may be pleasantly surprised.
Sunday, 20th April 2014 - Coolagolite (Bermagui)
Up late and by the time we were ready to head out we had eaten a very late brekky. This was good, as far as I was concerned, as Geoff had bought us a couple of chocolate Easter bunnies so the less food I ate to compensate for the calories, the better.
We got going about 11.30 and we had no problems getting into the venue with our illicit wrist bands. It was a good venue with a sound shell below the hill making it easy to see and hear the music. We listened to a piano trio playing Beethoven. Richard Tognetti on violin, Giovanni Sollina on cello and Dejan Lazic on the piano. I have given their names for those classical buffs who may be reading this journal and know who they are, I certainly don’t! At lunchtime we made our way into the Four Winds Pavilion to watch some short films,
When we got back Geoff went onto the web to have a look at the festival websites and saw that a Sunday ticket was $100 per person with a weekend pass being $155 per person. Wow … we certainly wouldn’t have gone at that price, especially as we are not really classical music buffs. But we enjoyed it as it was a change, nice weather and nice to go out to something.
Monday, 21st April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
This morning Geoff went onto the roof of the motorhome to install new rubber buffers on the air conditioner that he bought in Adelaide. Well it didn’t improve the vibration, in fact it was worse so he will have to go up again tomorrow for another look at it.
The day was spent just doing a little of this and a little of that … as always.
Later, as the sun started to sink towards the horizon, Geoff got the fire pig out and fired it up as he said it was getting a little rust on it. We sat outside around the fire for over an hour. It’s funny how you can just sit and gaze into a fire for about an hour, doing nothing and not getting bored!
It was my first day on the Gluten Free food regime and so far so good. The lamb shanks gravy was just as tasty using the gluten free ingredients but the lamb shanks themselves were not so tender as I didn’t cook them as long as normal.
Tuesday, 22nd April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Geoff was up on the roof again this morning and seems to have quietened down the vibration on the air conditioner somewhat but he says he thinks the motor may be on the way out so we will have to wait and see.
Brekky time and I tried out the rice porridge. It is acceptable … just ...but not like real oats. So I decided to make up a batch of rice pudding so I could have that for breakfast as a change. Now, rice pudding IS as good as porridge!!!
Later we popped into Bermagui for some meat, then we sat around the fire pig again watching the beautiful sunset and that was it … once again … for the day.
Wednesday, 23rd April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
We had a few spots of rain overnight … I know, as I wasn’t sleeping too well. When we got up the day was overcast with the hint of rain but it turned out to be a nice sunny day again.
After brekky I attacked Geoff’s hair as he is too mean to pay $25 for a haircut. It looks okay, especially from the front, but it is a bit patchy at the back. Still, it will look alright when it has grown a little.
Later Geoff got a call from the guy at Cobargo Steel Fabrications to say that the tow hitch thingy for the front bumper was ready so Geoff was off on the scooter to pick it up. He also popped into Cobargo and there was a parcel of mail from Jen which included my new pair of glasses. Gee … the prescription is so different that I think it will take me a while to get used to them. They come with magnetic clip on polaroid sunnies so when you have them clipped on you wouldn’t know they were prescription glasses. But I will have to take care as these glasses are rimless so there is not much metal for the sunnies to grab on to. I think I am going to be very happy with them once I get used to them. I also got my new driving licence which ran out on the 10th of this month so I am all legal again now.
This all reminded Geoff to ring the Jayco repairers in Bayswater to see how out moulding is coming along. She said they have paid for it but the stores people are having a long break due to Anzac Day so she can’t check on whether it is in or not so will check Tuesday. If it is paid for it must be finished and stored somewhere, surely?
Later we sat around the fire pig again and enjoyed the quiet and serenity of this place. The only sounds you can here is the distant bleating and lowing of animals around the area.
Thursday, 24th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Another nice and sunny day but quite windy so it was in with the awning. Geoff has been trying to stop the squeak in one of the arms that holds it in place. It squeaks in the slightest breeze, in fact, living in a motorhome is much noisier than living on a boat.
I prepared dinner, cut my finger … you know … the normal things you do. Later we played Carcassonne and I actually won! Then I cut the finger on my opposite hand as well. This one was bloodier as I cut it on the pull ring on a tin on tomatoes. You know the ones … the ring pull that is hard to start so you wiggle it back and forth and then suddenly it gives way. It cut down my finger so was a lovely slice which bled freely. Now I have a plaster on both index fingers. I can tell you that things are difficult now. It is amazing how impeded you are when you have lost the use of both index fingers! Never mind, I’m a good healer and they will soon be back to normal.
Friday, 25th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Mid morning we headed off to Bega. Off course, being Anzac Day, the supermarkets were closed until 1pm. So off we went to the brand new Macca’s that had only opened a few days ago to have a coffee. While we were there Nikki contacted us and we arranged to meet at a café, Blends, in Tathra about 19 kms away. She was with three other friends, all in the alternate medicine profession … Nikki does Kinesiology, but we hogged her for most of the time we were there. The only gluten free food they had was a slice of Persian cake which, I think, was made of hazelnut meal and was very sweet, especially for me … a savoury person. Alas, the café next door did sushi rolls but we weren’t in there! Never mind at least there was something to eat!
We chatted away for 2 hours and then we left them to it and went back to Bega to buy a new wireless mouse, get some shopping and replace the items in Coles that I had left behind at Batemans Bay.
Friday, 26th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
A quiet but productive day. The hanging rail in my wardrobe fell down so this was a wake up call that I had too many winter clothes hanging on it. So I sorted out some summer clothes to store away and sorted out my bottom cupboard. I was then able to fold a lot of the stuff I had taken down and Geoff fixed the rail for me. The usual chores for me … you know … cooking, sorting, cleaning, washing. By midday it had got very windy so in with the awning again. Geoff had also been productive. Apart from fixing my wardrobe rail he re-fixed the wires to the TV so they do not show, put brackets in the overhead kitchen cupboard shelf.. But that was it for the day. We watched the movie ’The Book Thief’ after dinner and found it very enjoyable.
Sunday, 27th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Yummy bacon and eggs, of course.
Today was another productive day for us. Apart from the normal chores, I made up a 3 litre batch of homemade soup and also made some baked beans using Cannellini beans which came out quite well. I seem to be spending a lot of time cooking from scratch on this food regime. I have the time so it gives me something to do as I can be quite a lazy cook. I have also been slowly converting my favourite recipes to gluten free. Plus, I have also decided to give up chemical sweeteners and stick to the natural plant derived ones. Chemical sweeteners, along with gluten, have been tagged as ‘baddies’ in the Neuropathy websites. Maybe I have been poisoning myself all these years. Geoff is also ‘nearly but not quite’ gluten free by default but it won’t hurt him, in fact, it may be good for him.
Geoff spent up a lot of his time making a little box to house all the electrical wires he had tidied up yesterday. Once completed, he varnished it well. After an hour or so of sitting in front of the fire pig late afternoon I went in and tried out my converted Kai Si Min recipe and it went down well, even with Geoff. He said it was really good (one way of getting him to eat cabbage!)
Time for a bit of TV but the commercial stations are not coming through which means we have to ring up the Vast satellite people tomorrow to get them to change or location to NSW.
Monday, 28th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Homemade baked beans on toast this morning and they tasted good. Will try a recipe for a more creamy sauce next time.
Geoff rang the Vast people and got the commercial TV stations back. It’s a pain you have to ring them every time you go interstate.
After lunch we popped into Bermagui for a few hardware items so that Geoff could make a sliding tool drawer under his dinette seat. Which he did, of course, on our return. He just has to stay busy! There was junk (sorry … tools) everywhere so I couldn’t do much so kept busy on my laptop.
Tuesday , 29th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Not a lot to write home about today.
Geoff fixed his new box up to hold the wires from the TV and then took the scooter rack off so that it will be easier to get out of the farm’s driveway on the 10th May.
Wyn rang then we just fiddled around. Later we let the sheep into our paddock and enjoyed the fire with the sheep keeping us company. Oh … I also received a letter from Centrelink saying that all was in place for the aged pension. Rippa!
Wednesday, 30th April 2014 - Coolagolite, Bermagui
Geoff went off to the Steel Fabricators today to get an extra hole drilled on the scooter rack that will allow the rack to be an inch closer to the back of the motorhome. It doesn’t sound much but may be the difference between grounding or not. We will see.
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