Committed Travellers

My friend had told me about Maggie Beer's daily recipes demonstrated daily on Facebook. I made her roasted tomato sauce which was then used in her eggplant parmigiana recipe. It was very tasty but we needed some crusty sourdough bread to go with it. As I rarely cook that will be my effort for the next six months. This is the sauce which made our house smell wonderful for hours. I finished removing and cleaning the door furniture on one of our two upstairs verandas. It is a worthwhile project even though I may be the only person to notice the improvements. We live close to the tidal Nerang River and about one kilometre from the Pacific Ocean as the crow flies. Consequently our cars get covered in a fine layer of salt and metal fittings around the house are at risk of corrosion. This door stop cleaned up well with some brushing with a stainless steel brush. I will have to make time to regularly wipe over these metal surfaces with Inox. Blue sat quietly watching m

This morning I decided we needed a more permanent barrier to stop our little ones falling over the balcony or down the stairs so headed off to Bunnings. I left it too late as there was a queue of about 20 people lined up outside. I thought how long it could take for 20+ people to go through the checkout and decided to explore other options. The pet shop around the corner from Bunnings so I went there and found a folding pet enclosure we can use when back on the road in the Bushtracker.  The panels allow light into our room and look much better than my cardboard barricade. The gate is made from 6 interlocking plastic panels designed to be used for car parking areas. When used this way the panels are laid on the ground and covered with soil and grass. I first saw them at Ferry Road Markets where they are used as decoration in vertical walls. One day I may use them for this but in the meantime we mostly use them to store shoes on the floor of our wardrobe as they help air flow. Th

Today we had some overdue rain which provided a pathetic excuse for not going for a walk or swim. Our cleaner was due in the afternoon so we did our best to tidy up the chaos that goes with having a puppy and kitten in the house. I had to improve the barricade around the bed as they both managed to get under it, then I found some time to do a little more work on our door furniture and discovered extensive corrosion.  After Tilly spread kitty litter all over our bathroom I went to the Reject Shop to buy an enclosed tray. I also had to stop at the chemist for some round ended scissors to be able to trim Blue's fur from around his eyes. I learned that his fur doesn't fall out or stick to my clothes, but when I cut small pieces off I end up covered with fine threads. Next time I will remember to take him outside for a trim.  Anita took Tilly to explore our caravan while our cleaner was at work and I took Blue for a drive to pick up alternate kitty litter which is sold

I didn't hear from Blue or Tilly during the night. I took him outside as soon as he woke up, but couldn't find any puddles on the floor. He either held on all night which would be rare for an 8 week old puppy, or he used the puppy tray I left near him. After feeding and playing with them we went for a walk. I haven't had any complaints from the neighbours so hopefully they slept. As we walked around the lake I spotted two black swans with four cygnets. I followed them and they paddled close to the shore for a close up shot. I had to upgrade the barricade at the top of the stairs as Tilly nearly jumped over. Our house looks like a bomb went off with crates in the lounge and bedroom, water bowls in several places, and toys everywhere - but it is all worth it! Blue and Tilly play together. When she had enough this evening she escaped into her carry crate which she has adopted as her bed. He can't climb in and couldn't entice her to come out, so he pulled on on

We have decided to change Lilly's name to Tilly which suits her better and the consonant helps get her attention. Bobby Blue will be known as Blue. Last night Tilly quietly protested about being locked in her crate, but her mewing can be ignored at this stage. Blue on the other hand absolutely screams the house down if he is locked in a crate so that is going to be our first challenge. He slept on the floor beside me with his head between my shoes, but I had to reach down to pat him to get him settled. At this age the main reason for having him sleep in the crate is to stop him weeing on the carpet as we can cover the floor of the crate with puppy pads. We were awake by 4.30am so are sleep deprived from our first night with a new puppy and kitten. By late last night Blue was trying to play with Tilly and by this morning she was rubbing her face against him so they seem to be getting on well. Instead of using one of the two choices of kitty litter we put out for her, Tilly use

Our day started in time for the ANZAC tribute in our neighbourhood. Our neighbour three doors down impressively played the Last Post and Reveille on his bugle. Anita and I then went for a long walk which might be our last walk together for a while. This elderly cat talked to us and approached Anita for a pat. I took this to be a good sign for animal activities to come later in the day. I drove to Loganlea to pick up our 8 week old Toy Poodle puppy. He comes from a litter of two red puppies, one male and one female. His mother was black and the father was red. I played with one of his cousins who is 10 weeks old but she was only two thirds of his size and super active and manic. When our Bobby Blue was put in the puppy pen he came straight across to me and sat down. I had sent my part worn pyjama top to his carer who put it in his bed so he had learned my smell so came to me straight away. In comparison to his cousin he was very placid and disinterested in rough play.  He

Today my friend delivered a bundle of knitting needles from her mother. I now have more knitting needles than Spotlight! ANZAC biscuits were also in the comfort pack. I was in Coles by 7am to do the weekly shop. We then walked around the lake on yet another lovely sunny day at the Gold Coast. This sign says it all. There were a few clouds in the sky above the Hinterland but no rain is forecast. It has been a very dry April. Tomorrow will be a big day - ANZAC Day starting with a driveway tribute. In our street there will apparently be a bugler playing the Last Post. So much for sleep-ins before we get our puppy and kitten! I pick up the tiny canine in the morning and the feline in the afternoon. Yeah!

I spent most of the day sorting, cleaning, repacking then storing gear into the caravan cargo bay. I changed the layout so that items such as the ladder can be more easily reached. We will only know if this is a better plan once we are back on the road in the Bushtracker on the road. Anita has been repacking the interior of the van so I can now see more of the garage floor.  This afternoon I washed the Jeep. Our next door neighbour asked about the alarm that went off at 1.30am Tuesday morning. He thought it had been his car so took it to his service centre to be checked. Eventually the mechanic researched the VIN for the vehicle and learned his car doesn't have an alarm! He has had that car for a few years but I doubt he read the manual. Our order for puppy/kitty toys arrived from Big W. I have hopefully secured the stairs and balcony. We still don't know what time we will be picking up our new family members, but hopefully can arrange it so I can bring one home before col

For a change we walked past the Southport Golf Club. There is a high cyclone fence around the golf course but we spotted seven stone curlews behind the fence under the shade of trees. They are well protected on the golf course as they generally stand still during the day and would be hard to spot in the shadows. I counted seven in this group. A few nights ago I heard a curlew's loud high-pitched wailing noise. We also saw a young bush turkey near the golf course.  We made a concerted effort to pack most of the things back inside the caravan, freeing up space in our storeroom. I had to make a couple of repairs to cupboards damaged when new features were installed in the van. Hopefully I will make a start on repacking the cargo bay of the caravan tomorrow.  We have two large soft dog crates that needed a good clean before being used by the new puppy and kitten. It was workout removing the waterproof covers from their frames and washing them in a large tub outside. I had fo

We were woken by our Jeep alarm going off twice at 1.30am! There is no sign of an attempted intruder so it was either triggered by an insect such as the moth that flew in yesterday, or it is reacting to changes in temperature. Tonight I will be leaving the Jeep unlocked so the alarm can't go off otherwise we will have very unhappy neighbours. This disturbed sleep meant we were both very tired this morning so had a lazy start to the day. I skipped a walk and enjoyed swimming in our 30 degree pool. Anita thought it might be nice to have a swim at the beach until she saw on the news the water temperature is 21 degrees! I have gradually been cutting off the tips of these plants that were in the garden when we bought this house -  I don't know what they are called. Our gardener told me they can be dangerous for eyes for both people and pets.  The resident spider was playing dead until I watered the plant. I don't think it is harmful but removed the eggs I found on the pl

This morning we did our 4km walk by the Nerang River and around the lake. Swimming pools are all closed but the lake is open as it is filled with tidal water from the river. There were about 10 people doing laps. There is a commercial building with an unusual statue overlooking the river. The statue is about six floors above ground. I also managed to photograph one of the zillion butterflies that are flying all over the Gold Coast.  We walked past this lovely church relocated to the banks of the river. It is often used for weddings but of course has been empty for some weeks. That is Anita in the last picture not waiting for me while I take my pictures.  Anita spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making dinner for tonight and tomorrow night, while I spent time with my sewing machine. I have watched a few Youtube clips to learn the features of my machine and learned about twin needles. Instead of having just one needle it is possible to buy two needles that fit in the

This morning we drove to Chevron Island for the papers then parked the Jeep and walked to Surfers Paradise. There were few people walking along the deserted Surfers Paradise Boulevard but quite a few along the Beach front. The beach is closed because so many people had ignored the social distancing rules.  We ordered coffee and breakfast from our favourite cafe on Chevron. We walked around the shops while waiting for our food and I was amazed by this faux fur coat in a shop window - there wouldn't be many times such a coat would be needed at the Gold Coast. and enjoyed them at home reading the papers. We made a start on repacking the caravan replacing the mattress with the new ones that had been taking up space in our garage. That required a surprising amount of energy so we didn't do much else - its not as though we don't have plenty of time!. I settled in for some knitting and realised I had made a mistake not following the pattern so wasted a lot of