Shopping

I found a swimsuit. It's chlorine resistant so I paid a bit more for it but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will last longer. Heated mineral water chews up swimsuits.
There are 2 shops here that I knew would have bathers. There's also Target but they only stock clothes in season. Never mind that it's always swimming season here!

Mrs. Heffernan's shop is very small and in the back streets but close to the public pool. It is tightly packed with ladies' clothes, shoes, jewellery and accessories plus one room full of used books. She is a sweet, friendly lady, closer to 90 than to 80. She told me that she has 2 sons who are retired but she has no intention of following them. She has run the shop for most of her life and doesn't know what she would do without it. She lives at the back and finds life very easy that way. She had a few pairs of bathers for me to choose from, whereas the big, classy shop had none in my size.

NO photos provided this time!!!!
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Tom

First massage up here this afternoon. He doesn't hit the spot like Kathy does but he's way better than not having a massage at all.
Tom is a beautiful man. As always, he greeted me with a double handshake and bow, then quadruple kisses on the cheek. Ordinarily, that would make me feel rather uncomfortable but coming from Tom, it just feels warm.
He is Chinese and his English is very limited but we communicate quite well. I point at a particularly sore spot and Tom says, "Ahhh" in sympathetic tones! We discuss dates and appointments using the calendar, and our families using photos on his wall. I don't believe I ever made him understand when I went skydiving in 2007 ---- despite my charade of a plane, a parachute and a head first dive off the massage table.
Tom works 7 days a week, at times to suit his clients. He doesn't keep an appointment book but always remembers. How??

Man at Work

Despite the continuing drizzle, Nev is working on our en-suite. He removed the toilet today and sat it in the shower. There's no wood left now -- only steel beams.
He seems to be finding more termite nests and dumping them outside. I keep wondering if they will find wood to chew up elsewhere. The piece of cement sheet is at the right.

I have completely forgotten how yukkingly annoying MUD is! It has been years since I've had to navigate mud and pools of water. Of course, I wouldn't be nearly so annoyed if the mud was at home! I hold an illogical and optimistic hope that when we return, there will have been enough rain to restore my driveway of nearly 100 melaleuca trees.

RAIN

Beautiful, steady, gentle rain ---- all last night and still going today.
I checked the weather at home but no rain there, sadly.

The new floor for the termite eaten en-suite has arrived. It's a very thick piece of cement sheet. That should trick them! I don't know when it will go in.

Things

Remember that these posts always show the latest at the top. I would advise you to scroll down to the post called Day 1 and then read upwards.

A new 25 metre swimming pool is under construction and Nev tells us that it should be finished well before we go home. This has been planned for such a long time and I really thought that it had been shelved. I will be happy to have such a long pool so that I can walk for a distance, instead of going round in circles in the small pools.

I walked into our en suite (on the site) and fell through the floor! Nev dug underneath today and there were huge clumps of termite nests. He isn't sure how to go about fixing it. The floor was fine when we left here last December, so they are obviously quick workers! Fortunately, the en suites are mainly aluminium, with only a little wood. We have the use of one over the road until ours is fixed.

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People

We've caught up with the permanents and the regulars and exchanged news, in this mini community. It's so easy to make friends and acquaintances in a caravan park.

The big news here is that Tracey, Lindy's youngest sister, is getting married on the long weekend in June. Her 6 year old daughter, Lilly, will be flowergirl and she is soooo excited.

Emily and Carissa greeted us enthusiastically. Lindy and Nev had told them that we weren't coming this year!! Carissa, nearly 12, is way taller than me now.

Day 7 and onwards

We're here, in our own site, and happy.

The caravan park is very full. Apart from this being the season to travel north, there is a Veterans 3 day Golf event, finishing on Monday.
Our site has been cleaned up and looks very tidy (but less interesting.) This is all due to Lindy's parents, Marion and Richard. He works for the Shire and she runs the kiosk here. When the kiosk contract runs out in October, Marion and Richard will live beside our site until Richard retires. After Hannah died a year ago, her partner Bernie sold the van and annexe to Marion, bought a little campervan and took off around Australia.

Marion knows what beautiful bulbs are planted around our site and she wants to move them so that they can be looked after when we aren't here. Planted between our two sites, they will be a pleasure for both of us. I call this "our site" because we are the only people who have occupied it since the original long term occupant, Eric, died. It's on a large corner block and it's very difficult to back in, especially when someone occupies the little site in front, as they are now. Steve can manage it no trouble.


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