#2249 Sunday 31st December 2023

 New Year's eve

Best wishes to all readers.  

I was flabbergasted to read of people travelling to Sydney (for the new year fireworks) from the other side of the world!  Is this a sign of excessive, profligate consumption?

Users of iiNet mobile phone service have been bombarded with messages warning that the 3G service would be ceasing ..... and that we should upgrade to a 4G capable phone.  I did this ..... and then 2 weeks ago I found that I had no voice calls in or out.  Enquiries revealed that we were not told of a small detail....  in addition to the phone being 4G, it had to have "voLTE" capacity.  That is ... the phone might be 4G but without that other extra, no voice service would be possible.  .....  and I am sure that we were not advised of this.  .... but I did not save the iiNet communications so I can't prove it.

#2248 Friday 29th December

Kaylia is just about counting the hours till NEW YEAR when she can have four new calendars!  Calendars are a valuable tool in her management of stress and anxiety.  She can see ahead and know that her routine will be maintained.  The absence of routine can be a big stress factor.

Many readers will know of the spa that I built a few years ago just next to the balcony.  The spa is no longer needed so I'm removing it.  The fibreglass shell has been cut into small bits and taken to the dump. 

The floor frame will be constructed so that the area can have decking built.  This area will be a studio space for Naomi's brother David when he come to live with us. 

#2247 Tuesday 26th December

Kaylia's really enjoying our stay in Busselton..... we can always tell by the way she sings as she walks around. We've been for a drive "round the block"..... down to Margaret river.... then across to Dunsborough and back to base.

It was a quiet day.  We've been enjoying this spot. 

#2246 Sunday 24th December

Christmas eve..... Best wishes to you all.

We're in Busselton for a few days and we'll have Christmas day with Naomi's sister in Bunbury tomorrow.

This photo is quite remarkable...... the black images are the shadows cast by the zebras walking along! 

#2245 Sunday 17th December

Very funny!  This morning we set off on our routine trip to Kalamunda Dome..... and with zero input from us we saw that the car GPS had filled in the destination and the route!  (Hmm! Thought to myself...  "What would it do for the next routine journey to Balcatta op shops?")   Sure enough, within minutes it was showing the next route and destination!   This is very spooky.  Perhaps there's someone checking on our habits.

This was untitled but the position of the roads makes me think that it's Wolf Creek crater (about 150km south of Halls Creek).... I went there in 1976.

Later....  We're home and I thought that I would have a quick look at the mechanism of my favourite reclining lounge chair..... Last week the chair gave a loud snap and ceased functioning. Usually the next step is to put the chair on the burning pile for next winter.... but I thought that it might be fixable.  It turned out that a nut had come off a bolt.... and the lever mechanism had broken.  I stripped it down and went to the shed..... made some replacement parts..... and now it works better than ever!

This is awe inspiring. 

#2244 Friday 15th December

Kaylia's countdown has us at 7 days till we pack up the car and head south for Christmas.

#2243 Saturday 9th December

We had a beaut visit yesterday from Hannah, Callum and their two delightful young boys Arlo and Outis.  Many memories shared and friendship rekindled.  The many years of sharing Kaylia's care with aupairs has been such a terrific experience.

#2242 Tuesday 5th December

 The year is flying by .... only 20 days to Christmas!  Kaylia's nightly talks revolve around end of year parties and the new calendars that January 1 will bring ..... and then her birthday on January 20 .... when she will be 20!

In a few days we will have a visit from Hannah and Callum and their two boys!  Hannah and Callum lived with us and helped to look after Kaylia from February to November in 2015 .... eight years ago!  How time flys. It will be really good to see them again. Callum helped with rebuilding the pathway at the side and several other projects.   At that time Kaylia was in her last year at South Ballajura Primary School.

No action on the Landrover since completing the refurbishment of the power steering.  Ho Hum!  It's now two years that have passed while I've been trying to get it registered for road use!

#2241 Tuesday 28th November

I had some excitement yesterday.... of a sort that was not pleasant.  I'd gone to a place to look at a trailer I wanted to buy. The place had a strong fence but the gate was wide open and the front door was open. I stood outside the gate and called out.  A large dog raced out and attacked me.  Fortunately I put my arm across my body and the dog bit my arm and not my face or throat.  The bite left 7 puncture wounds in my forearm.... which bled quite a lot.  The wounds are healing ok..... and yes, I did report the attack.

It was crazy for the dog to be running free! 

#2240 Sunday 26th November

Today has been a routine day..... breakfast at Dome followed by op shops.... at Balcatta this time.  It's been a very hot day so we stopped off for iced drinks.... and managed to spill them over the car floor!

I'm feeling zonked at the moment.  I think it's due to the thyroid hormone levels.  They have to be kept at a level that will prevent cancer cells developing..... but this makes me feel exhausted after a relatively low amount of exercise. 

#2239 Thursday 23rd November

Success at last!  I have defeated the beast.  This means that I have finally been able to get that darn thread started.... and so been able to complete the job.  The professionals would charge $600 for the remove/replace task.  I almost think it would have been worthwhile!  Its been physically hard work..... repeatedly getting down under the vehicle, then back on top again.  Leaning over the engine bay stretches the tendons in the back of my legs.....  I'm quite exhausted by the whole job.

The fires are bad at the moment.  I'm reminded of the days 1980 to 1988 when I was active in the fire brigade while living in Northcliffe. I had a couple years as the Fire Control Officer.  It was always very satisfying to go home after the fire was under control.... knowing that you had contributed to the good outcome.  It was the same with ambulance service.....  I had 15 years of that. 

#2238 Tuesday 21st November

You may know of my addiction/love of this place.....  this is where it all began!

#2237 Monday 20th November

 Monday is a "Curve Style" day for Kaylia .... working at her online business.

I've just come inside for some lunch and to have a break from a little job that is  taking w-a-ay too long.  The pipe connections at (1) in the diagram normally just screw in .... but this time the threads are refusing to engage and I have been trying for two hours!  It's the last connection and then I will be able to fill the system with fluid and bleed the system.  Finish!

#2236 Wednesday 15th November

 Kaylia is still in limbo at Workpower ....  the offer of a paid position is still being sorted.  "Paid" is a sort of fiction ..... the pay is $1.00 per week! But it means that she will have a regular routine and a meaningful activity.  It will be at a sheltered workshop where the workers do tasks such as packing bulk items into the small parcels needed for retail sales.  She will still have one on one assistance .... and she will be part of a group that gives her a social outlet.  It's a fair bit of travel though.  The workshop is in Malaga .... about 30-40 minutes drive each way.  In the morning, we take her from Darlington to the Midvale Workpower centre .... and then her carer will drive her from Midvale to Malaga.  The travel at  the end of the day is the reverse of this.

Progress report  on the Landrover .... I had to remove the power steering box so that it could be serviced to fix a bad oil leak.

This is the steering box that takes the driver's action on the steering wheel .... and turns it into left - right movement of the front wheels.

Point (10) is where the steering wheel moves ..... and point (20) at the bottom moves the front wheels.

It seems to be leaking at the point (9) and it leaked badly under pressure.  I removed the box a week ago and I will collect the repaired box tomorrow.  It was a physically hard job to remove the box and I have arranged for a fellow Landrover "nut" to come around to help me reinstall it.  It will be good to have this task completed as the vehicle can't be moved till it's all back together.

I hope that the process of getting it registered for road use will end at some point.  It feels never-ending!

#2235 Wednesday 8th November

Relaxing at the end of the day......  Kaylia has had a day with the Workpower carer.  (It was the first time with this person and she was finding out just what makes Kaylia tick.)

I'm recovering from the effort of disassembling the steering on the Landrover to have the power steering box rebuilt.  The task is very physically demanding as it requires a lot of getting down on the floor, then getting up on top. The fittings were very tight....  and the box is very heavy. The box had a very bad oil leak and the leak must be fixed before registration. 

#2234 Monday 30th October

The Landrover has spent the past week on the ramp.... I've been cleaning the underbody so that it is very clean when I finally am able to have it inspected for licensing.  Part of this is to find (and fix) oil leaks.  Today I've found that the power steering box has a bad leak..... so I now have to strip the steering so that the leak can be stopped.

I was having a little break in the shed..... the chooks were sitting close by.  I noticed that if I shut my eyes for a little spell, the chooks shut their eyes too!

These days I "run out of puff" by early afternoon and so I work in the morning and rest in the afternoon.  Kaylia likes that arrangement as she has a rest with me.

#2233 Sunday 29th October

Happy birthday Dad.  I have my father to thank for my mechanical skills...... he had me working on the suspension of an Austin A40 when I was 10...... and by my teens I had 2 old cars that were my learning ground - pulling them to bits to see how they worked.  By 17 I was stripping a Vespa 150 scooter..... it was seized and it had to be completely stripped and reassembled. (I rode that scooter on regular 200km trips in the next few years!)..... and that led to my passion for a 1942 Harley Davidson which was stripped to pieces in mum's loungeroom! 

The current landrover project is thanks to Dad.  I wish he was was still around to share it with. 

#2232 Tuesday 24th October

Tuesday begin with a speech therapy session where she is being trained to form sounds clearly and to speak in sentences.  It's always hard for us to reinforce these lessons.... we find it so easy to just know what she is saying and so allow her to avoid the effort of good speech.

The changes I made to the ramp have worked well.

Here is the Landrover sitting on the ramp.  This let's me work on the underneath of the vehicle.....  its much better than having to lie on the floor.  I'm working on fixing oil leaks.  I also need to replace the rubber engine mounts.  This will be quite an easy task with the vehicle on the ramp. 

#2231 Saturday 21st October

 Kaylia and I have just returned from her Saturday morning trip to the op shops.  Today she wanted to go to Cannington ..... there are 4 op shops all together there .... she loves it and she came home with 22 DVDs!  Some DVDs are highly prized by her ...... the Dora the Explorer series ..... and she can't resist buying more than her allotted 5 per shop.   (I give her the debit card so she gets practice at handling the transaction herself.)

#2230 Thursday 19th October

Phew..... I'm worn out.  I've been modifying the steel vehicle ramp and after 2 hours of cutting and moving heavy steel beams, I've had enough.  I'm learning to give myself permission to relax a bit.....  have a rest instead of over-tiring myself.

I think I've got the ramp in the right place.....  now I have to weld it back together so that it can stand the weight of the vehicle on top of the ramp. 

(The purpose of today's work is to change the angle of the vehicle approach...... previously the approach was too sharp and I couldn't really drive onto the ramp. ..... and all this is to make the work underneath the vehicle easier.)

#2229. extra post

During my afternoon rest time I'm listening to the ABC podcast......

This is a man's exploration of his own family history.  In the context of the rejection of the proposed constitutional recognition of the First Nation in this continent.......  this podcast is chilling and appalling.  The systematic genocide enacted in the land..... and the blatant manner in which "authority" fostered and encouraged such genocide...... 

.... shame on our nation. 

It is clear from such a well documented account, that Australia is a shining example of the absolute worst behavior...... worst on a world wide scale.   Not just of the people in the colonial surroundings..... but also the overseeing authorities in England. 

Surely no person..... indigenous and non-indigenous alike.... can fail to hang our head in shame.   The genocide in many cases was carried out by one indigenous group upon another.  Instigated by the colonists..... but the "tool" used to commit the genocide included indigenous peoples from different regions.  

But is there value in pursuing "shame"?  .... better to recognise the factors which gave rise to this history so that a repetition can never occur.

Firstly .... that the rule of law failed.  On a local stage, self-admitted criminals suffered no consequences of their actions.  On a national stage, the over-arching rule of law was ignored by local governors and by Britain's authorities.

Second ..... recognition that the genocide and injustice in Australia (as in North America) was largely driven by the greed for land. ii

And much of the injustice was enabled by the fact that the indigenous people HAD NO VOICE.  ...... and Australia has now again rejected a voice. 

=======================================================

ii  The experiment in democracy that is playing out in the USA began because the desire of the early settlers for land conflicted with a desire by Great Britain to quarantine the land west of the Appalachians for the indigenous Americans.  This sparked the American Revolution. In Canada, their history more closely matched the Australian history.

#2229 Tuesday 17th October

Kaylia is excited about mummy's birthday tomorrow.  She has decided on the present she wants to give Naomi. It will be a good day.

Tomorrow is also a trial day for Kaylia at a new workplace.  She has been to see it and tomorrow she goes with a support person to see if it will be good for a longer period. 

In yesterday's news there was an article about a person who is locked in long term solitary confinement..... due to their disability they can't be charged or tried for a violent incident. So the government imprisons them without trial or treatment. 

Having lived through the early days of Kaylia's autism, I can easily understand how this situation has developed for this person......  and I'm so thankful for the years of therapy that Kaylia has received.  I estimate that she has had around 20 to 30 thousand hours of therapy since therapy began at age 3. Even at this late stage of this guy's life, the same therapy could make a huge difference for him.  

 But it won't happen....  and he is likely to spend his whole life locked in solitary confinement. 

#2228 Saturday 14th October

We've just returned from the morning's trip to gather more dvds...... and once again there was a great CRASH from Kaylia's room.  .....  "Uh ooh" she says ..... another stack of dvds had fallen over.  I'm now filling shopping bags..... and using these as supports for the pile

. Today is the referendum..... I'm hoping that the Yes vote will prevail......   recognising the original owners of this land is 200 years too late!

Later.... I'm sitting on the balcony trying a new drink mix....  beer and cola...... its very nice!

I've just looked at the referendum results so far...... It appears to be a clear NO vote.  Australia.... Hang your head in shame.  The world will look on us with derision. 

#2227 Thursday 12th October

I've just returned from a grueling session with the engineer who is trying to gain approval for registration from the Depth of Transport.  I feel as though I'm poking a wasp nest!  It seems that because the Landrover body ( on top of the Range rover chassis) is 50mm higher than the original Range rover body.....   the Department is looking at the vehicle with a microscope!  Apparently I will not be able to attend a normal inspection station..... I will have to take it to the head office and have multiple experts all checking it over.

(this photo is of one of the extra body supports welded to the original chassis) 

After today's visit I have a list of things that need further work.  Some things are easy.... but some will be very hard. Today I went to a local business that allowed me to use their hoist....... and I'm so envious.  It would be much easier to do all these tasks if I could put it up on a hoist. 

#2226 Monday 9th October

Wow!  Flowers!

I planted 3 macadamia trees in 2002...... and the trees are growing well.  They're about 5 metres tall...... but in all the 21 years, no macadamia Nuts have been produced.  I planted multiple trees so that they will cross pollinate.....  but no flowers have grown.  Till now! 

The bees are hard at work on the flowers so we should get some nuts at last.  I'd almost lost hope of this day ever arriving. 

The trees usually produce nuts around 14 years old so they're very late.  I've been putting fertiliser on the trees with no effect. 

#2225 Saturday 7th October

It's good to be home again. It was a longer drive than usual as we had to detour to Waroona on the way.  This was due to Naomi having lost her purse there when we stopped for lunch on the way down.  Fortunately the bakery staff held the purse safely..... but it meant that we drove from Albany to Williams and then turned west to Pinjarra......  then we had to turn south to Waroona. So it made for a picturesque drive but long.

Since then it's been back to the routine! 

It's now 7pm and I'm reading.... and mentally cataloguing the pains.  I guess this is what old age is about..... things hurt..... and some pains are chronic.  Nothing can be done about them.... I try to ignore them as much as possible.  

#2224 Wednesday 4th October

The brig Amity

it's hard to imagine living on this ship..... on massive oceans.... 

This brigantine sailed from Melbourne to this spot in 1826 to establish the settlement that is now Albany.  There were over 60 people on the vessel so it would have been very crowded on board. 

After this we then we went out to the wind farm...... 

These are HUGE! 

Looking back at Albany from Frenchman Bay

#2223 Tuesday 3rd October

Cruising round Albany.....

#2222 Monday 2nd October

Today the GPS showed the route along a way that I had never travelled before..... the country was beautiful..... and at one point we were held up by trucks carrying the blades for a new wind turbine.

..... golly those things are big! 

#2221 Sunday 1st October

Doing a slow trip to Albany..... via Bridgetown.  The road from Burekup, through Collie, Mumballup, Boyup Brook and then to Bridgetown.

We're staying the night at a B&B on the bank of the Blackwood River..... very picturesque.  There are some gorgeous properties along this road.  But I think back to years when I lived down this way and the river flooded..... one year the road bridge was under water so the place that we're staying in would be very damp! 

#2220 Friday 29th September

This has been a week of sickness...... not Covid but a real nuisance nevertheless. She's had a constant stuffed head and runny nose. Kaylia is not enjoying the time. Fortunately Naomi and I haven't caught the bug. 

We're heading down south on Sunday..... staying overnight in Bridgetown and then to Albany on Monday.

Sad news..... we had Teddy put down today.  He was very old and had reached the point where he was blind, deaf and unable to smell.  It's always hard to accept that the time had come. 

#2219 Saturday 23rd September

It's evening here.... and after another day of "routine", we're relaxing......  Kaylia is watching YouTube (Sesame Street)..... and I've just finished watching a documentary about the events around the time that Australia was a penal colony.... in particular the way that political prisoners were so harshly treated in Ireland and then in Botany Bay.  The program was quite upsetting.....  the viciousness that was everyday life. Humans of all nations and peoples were very brutal in those days.  We are so fortunate to have been born in these days of such relative ease and enlightenment. 

#2218 Sunday 17th September

Visiting Stana and Dennis in Mandurah

I'm impressed by Mandurah..... Its a beaut spot and I can imagine living here. 

Then it was a drive up to Balcatta to visit 2 op shops...... then home again. 

#2217 Saturday 16th September

Kaylia has a ball tonight!

While Kaylia danced, Naomi and I had a "date night".......  yummy food at an Indian restaurant nearby!

I still haven't found the missing spanner....  so I've invoked the theory that it will be found as soon as i buy a replacement!  Then, when the original is found, I can return the replacement item for a refund. 

#2216 Wednesday 13th September

 There's a beaut thunderstorm crashing outside as I write ..... and lashing rain too!  I really like a good storm.

Kaylia is getting excited about the dance that she's going to on Saturday night.  She always enjoys a dance and from the reports we receive, she dances energetically all night long  .... I can't go and observe first hand :-( .... 

I still haven't found my errant spanner.  I actually dreamt about it a few nights ago.

#2215 Monday 4th September

 For Kaylia it is a shop day .... she has Lee helping her perform the tasks for her "Curve Style" clothing shop. (With this, clothes are advertised on eBay and when people purchase items, the item is parcelled up and mailed to the buyer.)

This week is the verge collection day for our area and I have been using Bob to cart loads of unwanted stuff up to the street verge.  Yesterday we did too much!  By evening I was worn out.  It's very good to have Bob for this.  Even though he can't be used on the road he's still very useful for such tasks.

I have a regular problem that I call "putsie downsie"  ..... I put something down and then I can't remember where it is.  In the shed I'm trying to develop a habit of putting tools away after a task is complete ... but this week?  I have a set of special ratchet spanners that came on my birthday......

... the beauty of these is that each end has two sizes! So it reduces the searching for the right spanner.

 ..... but I've put one of the set down somewhere ....... and since then I have searched just about everywhere but I can't find it.  Grrr!

Saw this online and it reminds me .... and inspires ....

#2214 Sunday 3rd September

It's Father's (Fathers) Day .... and Kaylia is very excited.  She woke us bright and early with "Father Day"!  She doesn't mind that the presents aren't for her.

Yesterday I had a win..... a small goal accomplished.  I have a good set of twenty year old Ozito 12 volt power tools and it includes some handy gadgets that Ozito didn't  include when they designed the current generation of 12v tools. 

The only problem with the old generation of tools is that the batteries have all died from old age!   .... and it would cost around $100 each to have new cells put in the old batteries ..... so I have hankered for a way to use the new generation 12v batteries in the old tools.

This is the old battery ...........  and the new battery.

                                       So I made an adaptor!  ....... and it works perfectly.

It uses the case of an old battery secured to a base that was a charger for a new type battery.  I had to modify the base so that it would provide power instead of charging the battery .... but the result is that I can now power my old tools and have a supply of new batteries.

You might enjoy this......

"Perth has changed considerably over the years.  However, Perth residents may recognise some of these land marks. “

 

​ http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=b2TaLGlj6ig&vq=large#t=27

#2213 Tuesday 28th August

This is the best time of the year..... its a comfortable temperature and clear days that allow outside activities.  Kaylia is enjoying life and always comes home excited after her days with carers.

Today I've made a "rocket stove".   It's a small solid fuel stove that allows safe cooking and heating when camping.

The saga of the Landrover is progressing.  The Engineers Certificate has been submitted to the depot of transport for approval.  When this is finalised I will be able to get the vehicle licenced! 

#2212 Saturday 26th August

I've taken Kaylia to her current favourite place for op shops..... Cannington.  It's a bit of a hike but she really likes it because there four op shops..... so she comes home with 20 dvds!  The wall of dvds in her room is becoming critical and unstable.  I expect that soon we'll hear "Ooops" as they fall over.  We then gather them into shopping bags ready to deliver them to the op shops..... and then she can buy them again!

Crazy I know..... but she gets a lot of enjoyment from this. 

#2211 Tuesday 22nd August

V. E. E. R. Y interesting

I've just watched a very thought provoking video with a geologist talking about coal.  It seems (no pun intended) that coal was laid down from 360 million years ago.... and then ceased being produced at about 300 million years ago. Why?  When trees first grew and died, there was no biological mechanism to decompose the cellular structure of the trees.  So it remained..... and became coal.  Then after a long period, mechanisms developed that could break down the tree cells...... so there were no longer any un-decomposed trees that could become coal.

This of course means that the earth's resources of coal are finite..... and can't be replaced. 

...... and the same for the fossil fuels that power much of our life.

We must go solar. 

#2210 Monday 14th August 2023

 It's my birthday today .... 72!    Kaylia has been counting down the days every bedtime.... she has to have presents no matter whose birthday it is.  So when we had present time at 7am, she had a present too.  And another present for her came in the mail today .... a new tablet .... a Huawei Matepad.  It's much faster than the old clunker she has had before.  She will be very pleased.

I've begun my next project  ...... which will progress slowly with my other projects.  It's a trailer to be used with Bob (the Landrover). So far I've set up the axle (using the same wheels as Bob). Next will be constructing the frame.  I have all the steel needed for this .... courtesy of the huge lot of free steel I was given a couple of years ago. 

The plan is to find a rear body (the same as Bob) and mount this onto the frame so that it ends up like this.

With the rooftop tent on top of this, it will make an excellent camper trailer.

#2209 Saturday 5th August

 After the trip to Metricup last weekend, Kaylia is now going full steam on the next item on her calendar ..... Daddy's Birthday!!  The response is that this is coming in 9 days time ..... or it will be not next week but the week after.  The next thing after this birthday is going to be the trip to Albany in October.  This "story" is a nightly one at bedtime.

Today is op shop at Ellenbrook in the morning .... and then op shops in Midland in the afternoon.  So anothe 20 or so DVDs are added to her great pile!  (I load some of these into bags every now and then ... so that the pile doesn't reach "critical mass" when they all come crashing down.  Kaylia's response to this event is "UH OH!!"

#2208 Wednesday 26th July

 Communication is a continual learning process .....  for instance .... Kaylia has very frequent expression of "calming down!" .  We have assumed that she says this because she's upset and managing to calm herself.  Yesterday I explored this with her (by carefully structured questions) ... and apparently she says "calming down" because our automatic response is to say "Good girl!" ..... and she likes to be praised!  Knowing this makes our response all the more important.

On Friday we will head off down to Metricup (just past Busselton).  We stay in a 2 bedroom unit set in a patch of bush on a vineyard.  It's a beaut spot that we've stayed at several times before.  They allow dogs so it means that we can take Teddy with us. 

Teddy is over 16 years old now .... he has poor eyesight, no hearing and his sense of smell is almost gone.  He spends all his time in bed these days .... we will have to put him to sleep soon.

I'm staying inside today ..... it's cold and wet outside with thunderstorms forecast.  So it's much more pleasant inside with the fire burning.

#2207 Saturday 22nd July

It's a good day..... the routine has been followed precisely and so Kaylia is in a very happy mood. She's in her room with the music going..  Its funny.... for ages she wanted her bedroom door closed all the time...... but she now wants the door wide open. Go figure!

The "wampire box" is now in its waiting residence..... sitting in the corner to be used as a cupboard until the time comes for it to serve it's true purpose. 

#2206 Wednesday 19th July

 Brrr ...... it's a cold day and it has been very wet.  Since the weather (that we experience in WA) is a direct forecast of what the east of Australia can expect, I hope the people over east are putting warm clothes on!   And I'm very glad to live in WA with our stable electricity prices.  With our solar panels on the roof and our battery supply, our own house can be kept warm without having to turn off the heating.

Kaylia is at work today.  Since she hasn't been brought home early, I have to assume that she was considered healthy enough to be at work.  It's taking a long time for her to recover from this cold/flu thing.

#2205 Monday 17th July

 I got a bargain yesterday.....   I've been looking for a roof-top tent for a while now ... New price is $1,000 and up.  Secondhand prices are around $300 to $800.  I found one for $100!  It had some broken fittings that the owner couldn't fix so he was just getting rid of it.  I've managed to fix all the broken parts in a couple of hours and I'm very pleased with it.  There are no tears or damage to the tent.  I'm hoping that I can get Kaylia to accept the idea of camping..

#2204 Saturday 15th July

Kaylia is still not well..... she was sent home from work yesterday because she was too sick.  I'm encouraging her to sleep when possible.  Today we stayed in bed late. 

My shed project..... the "vampire box"..... is going well. The lid is finished and hinged with a catch.  No metal anywhere. Constructing with this limitation makes me stop and think. .... you would usually put some screws in.... but not for this.

The outside has a couple of coats of varnish and I'll line the inside next. 

#2204 Friday 14th July

 Kaylia is growing into being a self-assured person ...... she knows what she wants and what she doesn't want ...... and she's not afraid to say "NO" ... usually in 'capital letter tone'.  Her biggest problem is still communication.  She can't express abstract ideas .... I'm not sure that she can actually THINK abstract thoughts.  .... and she doesn't communicate whether or not she understands something said to her.  If she is given an instruction for an action then her doing (or not doing) the action shows her understanding. ..... but feelings?  .... or what she is thinking?

#2203 Tuesday 11th July

Kaylia is sick..... she has a blocked up nose and a bad cough.  Today has been spent in bed.  Fortunately she loves cuddle time in bed so it's fairly easy to get her to have extra rest time.

#2202 Monday 10th July

Wow... what a good afternoon.  As usual Kaylia and I went exploring.  We went east on the GEHwy  to a track that went south.

The track (a thin blue line on the map above) eventually meandered along the northern side of the Mundaring Weir...... beautiful country.  I feel privileged to live with such beauty just a short distance away. 

The bare ground is Land that has been cleared ready for reforestation.  Much of the drive was through areas of regrowth. 

At one place I spotted what appeared to be a moving ball..... it was an echidna!

He wasn't upset by me and eventually wandered off.  It's the first time I've seen one in the wild. 

We finished the drive after 3 hours of chugging along at about 20kmph.  It was very peaceful.