#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. 

#2201 Sunday 9th July

 The "box" project is going along slowly.  Since it cannot have any metal, all the parts must be glued and pinned with a dowel.  So each phase has to be completed and the glue set before the next part can be started.  I'm making the box to be used as a cupboard (with shelves) till the day .... many years hence .... when it becomes my final ..... mmm .... what shall I call it?

It's school holiday time and even though Kaylia isn't going to school, life is still disrupted by carers not being available because of their own family needs.  So this coming week will again be one where I'm in the hot seat.

I've just watched a video of the Mercedes Benz factory ....it shows the whole process of building a car.  It is only at the very last processes that a human is visible!  Amazing.