Dad the cobbler and Dad the mechanic

Tonight I started translating Dad’s emails again. When I started reading his emails I realised how much I had missed him. In his emails it is as if he is talking to us and it felt like I had been away and come home again!

Reading the email about his father (my grandfather) singing whilst he was repairing shoes, reminded me of the time when Dad was fixing our shoes. He used to sandpaper the existing soles and then trace and cut a new sole and glue it in place. The only problem was that the glue never worked too good. I can remember the sole slowly slipping to the side. I would be walking along and gradually more and more of the sole would protrude from my shoe and flap around when I was walking. When I came home I would get a sharp knife and cut around the edge of my school shoes. Then a few days later, I would have to cut more off. In the end, there was nothing left from the sole that Dad had glued under my shoe! And the process would start from scratch.

I guess that the glue and leather that one could buy was not the professional stuff that cobblers used! Or maybe Dad wasn’t quite the professional at this job J

That also reminds me of the home-taught mechanic. The first car Dad bought, the Austin Ute, was quite a wreck. I remember Dad buying the manual for the car and we spent days and days underneath it trying to fix it up. And not just simple oil changes. No…Dad took the thing completely apart, including the entire engine. We had all the pieces lying on a large mat. Every nut and bolt….and then he bought a new head gasket which we glued inbetween the two halves of the head. Then everything was built back into the car.

But it turned out a bit like the shoes. I lost track of how many times we had to replace the head gasket in that car! And as far as I know, head gaskets are only replaced once in a blue moon. So ….something wasn’t quite right J

And Dad used that car as if it was a landrover or other 4wd vehicle. We would go to the most remote places in the bush, where there were hardly tracks let alone roads, to find camping sites that nobody else would get to. One such trip we even jumped across a few creeks. And in the end we broke one of the axles. So ..here we are stranded miles from nowhere. And after we stopped, we still had to walk quite a distance to the campsite. After we had unpacked everything (and I mean EVERYTHING was quite a bit…Mum had everything including the kitchen sink, prams, playpens, tents, pots and pans, mattresses, clothes, bedding, food for 3 days ..you name it oh..and there were 7 of us including 2 year old twins) Dad and I managed to get the axle out of the car, and Dad carried it over his shoulder, we walked and walked until we finally got to a road, then we hitchhiked out of the national park and somehow managed to get to a wreckers yard where amazingly we managed to buy a 2ndhand axle. We hitched back, and amazingly found the place we had left the car and repaired it!

And that reminds me of another time I found myself in a vehicle with a broken axle. This time I was in the Kimberleys, far northwest of Australia, in a truck full of Aboriginese coming home from a visit to Beagle Bay mission. (it was a 3 hour drive between Lombadina Mission where we lived and Beagle Bay mission). We had only just arrived in the Kimberleys…probably a few weeks prior to this experience. It was already late and we were eager to get back home. I think Michael and Peter were both with me. Dennis stayed behind. The truck broke down. Axle broke. And everyone got out. It was in the wet season. Water everywhere. In notime a fire was burning away and the locals managed to find some tucker. I decided on impulse to walk home. Crazy idea. One thing that you learn in the outback, if the car breaks down, stay with it. We took off. And walked and walked. As it started getting dark, it became quite scary. There were wild cattle all around us. And it was quite dark ..no street lights. And certainly no traffic! Eventually we saw headlights behind us. It turned out to be the truck. With a lot of half naked Aborigines. By that stage we were very glad to get back in. And it was literally crawling along. And then I found out that the axle was broken and they had cut down a small tree and tied it to the vehicle using a number of Tshirts. This worked for a short while until the tree would snap in half. So, another tree and a few more Tshirts later the truck would crawl along a bit further. I was beginning to worry about my own shirt. We had almost run out of Tshirts when we finally came close to Lombadina where I immediately got stuck into Dennis for not sending out a search party. But he had been told by everyone…not to worry. If they are not here now…they must have decided to spend the night at Beagle Bay…don’t worry…they are safe!!!

 

 

 

ain't retirement grand! Queensland here we come!

Please Note: Melissa renamed her blog and I have added the new blog as a link in my blog!

Things continue to be hectic. We had visitors for lunch on Sunday. Martin S and his wife and our Michael. Had not seen Martin for many years. We lived in Malaysia for 2 years. He was in Canada for a while and they lived in Sydney for a number of years. Have known Martin and his family ever since Dennis and I were married (and Martin was very young). So it was really good to catch up with them and to find out that they live only a suburb away from us now. They have spent the last couple of years renovating their house. And looking at the photos did a very good job. Unfortunately about 6 months ago Martin fell off a ladder and has a badly broken (smashed) arm and shoulder. He also broke his foot. The shoulder is taking a long time to heal so he is still quite handicapped.

Monday afternoon I spent visiting my GP. He was very surprised to see how well I am looking. I said that I wasn’t even sure why I was there! Become a habit to visit him regularly J Have been feeling so much better the last few weeks that I am hoping that I have now turned a corner!

Tuesday I had lunch with a friend in Ringwood. We ate and talked for 3 hours! I could hardly move afterwards. The Restaurant served food on the biggest plates I have ever seen and the food was piled high! Afterwards I dashed around to Melissa’s school and picked her up. We then headed off to Haylee’s school and picked her up. Deposited both girls at home then off to a Real Estate agent to enquire into rental properties for Michael who is looking to get a  place in the Ringwood area. And then I headed back to Doncaster to pick Dennis up at work! Spent the night watching the box!

Today Mum and I went to Keilor to look at bungalows. Found one that seems just right for her place.

But the biggest piece of news is that Mum and I are taking a two week holiday and heading to Queensland. Will leave here Monday week and drive up. Expect to get there around Thursday. Then on Friday I will leave Mum at Sue’s place and go down to Surfers Paradise to book into a timeshare resort. Then will pick Dennis up at Coolangatta airport on the Friday evening. We will spend 4 days together in a unit on the beach. Then I take him back to Coolangatta airport on Tuesday morning (cup day). He will fly back. I will drive back to Brisbane to pick up Mum and start our drive back along the Coast. So ….watch out anyone living between here and there. You may get a surprise visit!

 

Welcome to Melissa

Welcome to a new family blogger! Melissa has started a blog and left her first message. Will write more later…need to dash to pick up Dennis.

 

Here is a link to her blog:

 

 

http://meldanaher.blogspot.com/

 

 

another week closer to Christmas!

I don’t know where this week has gone! But it went by in a flash! Monday I sold the rocks but only a few have been picked up so far. Will wait a few days and then contact the buyer to see if he wants the rest!  In the afternoon I went with Dennis to his doctor to get the recent test results. He is all clear but will need to have the rests done again in a year’s time. Tuesday I had lunch with a colleague and my previous Manager who is visiting Melbourne from the Netherlands. Was great to find out what everyone is doing. But I still don’t miss work J Wednesday Mum and Gerd called in in the morning then Peter, Mum and I went to Northlands.Then Mum and I went to the Mall and picked up some more bargains for ebay. They were too good to resist but not my usual line! So am waiting on Helga to tell me if she would like to buy them off me (german made clothes which are brand new still with tag). Otherwise I will have a go at selling them. However I am not lucky when it comes to selling clothes. Just had another person ask for a refund because she didn’t like what she bought!

Thursday was shopping day. Mum and I went to Preston Market. Sometime inbetween I bought a freezer which was delivered today. Today I spent nearly 4 hours washing out my fridge so that it could go back inside. Leaving it out on the patio these last few months was a bad idea. A lot of dirt had got in that’s why it took so long to clean.

This morning we also had a skip delivered so tomorrow will be spent filling it up! Hopefully that will make a dint in the rubbish stored around the house!

Then in the afternoon Peter and I went to Heidelberg then we picked Mum up at the Mall and all of us went to Northlands where we had lunch at 4pm! And then I spent $100 at Coles in the frozen food  department. Can’t leave my new freezer empty!

Gerd has been sms’ me from Bathurst. He and Ben arrived safely and are having a great time. Not sure if I could stand it sleeping in a tent. But I guess they are both younger and fitter than me! Got an email from Robert. He is working hard in Darwin saving for his next trip abroad, in December.

Have been working hard on trying to reduce our cost of living. Had a major success with our phone. Last month bills were halved. Thanks mainly to the VOIP internet phone. Thanks Peter! Was a great idea! Next item to really work on is our food spending and this is where I hope the new freezer will help! Buying at the market in bulk!

Great day to get a skip. Raining cats and dogs outside so all that it is filling up with is water!

For those who are local and available, don’t forget it’s working bee time at Mum’s next Saturday!

And if you stopped by to read this blog then please have a thought for all of us bloggers who are not getting anything much to read these days (hint hint). If it weren’t for Natalie, Ben and Amy, I would probably give up too! Come on all those with stale blogs….reactivate them and let us know whats going on in your lives!

And finally….we have a lot of birthdays’ coming up. Next week it is Holly on Monday and Helga on Wednesday. And the other October children are Jye, Emma & Kathryn.

The sound of the rain is making me sleepy so I think I will call it quits for today. By the way, will be starting to do some planning for Christmas soon. So if you have any wishes as to what you would like to do this year please let me know quickly!

 

more holidays

The last few days have been great. Starting with Thursday.

Picked up Haylee and Melissa round 10am and we headed off in the direction of Southlands. Melissa has just started reading crime novels by Patricia Cornwell and I had just sold the last one of my collection on ebay. We stopped briefly at an opshop and Melissa and I were delighted to find 2 of her novels there so we bought them for Melissa to read then pass back to me to sell on ebay…seeing as how popular they are! At Southlands we walked for miles up and down all the various passageways on each level. Haylee also bought a book. We started with a quick lunch and then headed back to our place to watch some DVD’s then have dinner. Was a very enjoyable day but I was totally exhausted. Haylee and Melissa’s pace was rather quicker than Mum’s walking pace so it really knocked me about. Need to get more fit J

Friday was a very hectic day. Picked Mum up around 9am and then we headed into the city where Mum had to get some legal advice. Also had to go to the titles office and one other appointment. We drove from one end of town to the other and were lucky to get a parking place close to each of the appointments. Then had to rush home. Had to take Peter to Heidelberg. Dropped Mum off at a shopping centre. Then picked Peter up. Took him shopping and for a quick late lunch. Then home, packed my bags and picked up Dennis at 4pm so that we could go away for the weekend.

Dennis and I spent an enjoyable weekend in the city J Not far but it was great to get away and not be reminded of all the things that are not getting done around the house! We had an early dinner (Thai restaurant) on Friday night before flopping down in front of the TV to watch an inhouse movie. Saturday we walked for miles trying to find the Coffee Bean café near the Imax but in vain. So we ended up having a very nice breakfast in Carlton. Then we split up in the city. Dennis went hat shopping and I wandered around Myers and David Jones. Watched more movies in the afternoon. I also did some work on my laptop which has ground to a halt. Probably need to reinstall windows to make it more efficient again. At the moment it is so slow that I fall asleep waiting for it to boot up.

Then today we checked out at 11am had breakfast in Clifton Hill then dropped off our bags, picked up Mum and headed to the Mountains to celebrate Charlotte’s first birthday party!

What a wonderfully relaxing weekend it was. In the meantime my ebay sales kept happening and the excitement of the month is that I sold the rocks in our front garden. Buyer was so eager he is coming around at 8am tomorrow morning to dig them up and take them away.

Was a pleasant afternoon with Kathryn and Bryan and Charlotte. She is so georgeous. And growing up fast. The weather was perfect and we all sat outside in the sun.

Had a quick look before and noticed that Amy, Ben and Natalie have managed to do some major blogging. Will read them all tomorrow morning. Now I am off to bed so that I can be up nice and early in time to say goodbye to the rocks in my front yard!