On Tuesday we went to look at Slattery House, an old farmhouse that operates as a restaurant, but only on weekends. We drove down the driveway a bit, but did not get out and walk around, respecting the owner’s privacy.

We were on our way to Oak Park, a local picnic area with self guided interpretive walks. It was quite interesting and we enjoyed walking around and having a picnic in the area.

Afterwards we drove to the nearby town of Dowerin. We had been told there was a bakery in the town, but our drive around the streets did not find one. We stopped at an information area and took photos. Stephen read the billboard information.

In the evening we had our usual Jack Daniels and coke, with chips. We sat outside of the kitchen area in sunshine and were reasonably comfortable. Stephen had made friends with the person managing the caravan park (temporarily) and arranged that we didn’t have to leave until 11.00 a.m. We made it just in time.

Our first stop on Wednesday morning was in Northam. We found that the area near the riverbank was set up for day use by RVs, and were able to get fresh water for the tap and plug into electricity. Stephen went off to do his Centrelink reporting and I did some shopping. By the time we got back we decided it was lunchtime.

When we arrived at Mum’s place, where we planned to spend Wednesday night, we found it difficult to get the caravan into place even with the caravan movers. We wanted to turn it around to get it into the ‘go’ position, and nearly got the jockey wheel bogged in soft earth. Anyway, after much struggle we got everything set up and plugged into power and water. There was some dripping from the tap, so we didn’t leave the water on.

I cooked tea using our vegetables and some meat from Joy’s freezer.

The next day Mum had an appointment at 1.10 p.m. at Midland Hospital. I was feeling tired, so rang up to cancel. The occupational therapist rang later and sort of had the appointment over the phone. The hospital is supposed to be getting in touch with me to set up a time for a home visit. Unfortunately, they will probably ring Mum, so I hope she thinks to write it down immediately.

We got home in time to have a rest and go to the first choir meeting with Raelene back. It was good to see her, but we are all hoping she will make a firm commitment to get us ready for the Dunsborough Songfest in November.

On Friday I had a checkup on my expensive tooth with Dr Calder’s surgery. No problems found. We went to a Kent Street lunch, having seniors’ specials, and good conversation. In the evening Ray and Eversley came to tea and we watched the 1953 film of Julius Ceasar, with Marlon Brando as Marc Anthony. Very good, if a bit long. We really enjoyed having them and found a way of setting up the lounge room so that each of us had our own armchair.

On Saturday I cleaned the caravan, washed the bedding, and set things up for our next trip away in two weeks. I am leaving the fridge on with some of the longer term food in it. In the evening we went to a Beethoven concert. Stephen had been offered cheap tickets through WASO. Ian and Marianne were sitting a few seats behind and we were able to chat with them.

On Sunday Marie and Geoff came and we organised an itinerary for the first week, at least, with a rough idea for places to do and things to see on the way south. We also discussed Robyne’s idea of taking Mum away for a few days. Marie said she would talk with Robyne about it and rang her later in the day. Robyne got angry with both of us, and I was quite upset. Matt was here, so Stephen tried to distract him from what was happening.

This morning I came up with the idea of Robyne coming to Eneabba, our first stop, with us. There is a guided wildflower walk and probably other things to see. She would have one full day, driving up with us on the Monday and then home of Wednesday. This way, she gets a holiday without having to look after Mum. Robyne was very pleased and I’ve booked a cabin for her as well as two caravan sites for us. Which makes me feel a lot better. I know she was wanting a holiday, but we didn’t feel that taking Mum away on her own was a good idea. It hasn’t worked in the past and things are far more difficult now.

I’ve also booked us into the Tudor Caravan Park at Kalbarri for three nights. Marie and Geoff will handle the booking at Monkey Mia. It is a RAC run caravan park, so we will get discounts.

Notes from the last week or so are in my offline journal as I want to keep this one for our travels.

I forgot to attach the battery cable after checking that the lights were working. We could hear it on the road and had to stop on Sheperton Road in a bus stop to fix it. Two buses came by whilst we were there, I hope they did not find it too inconvenient.

This morning we set out at about 9.00 a.m. Although we had done most of the preparation on Saturday and Sunday, there were still a few things to do. We woke up at 6.00 a.m. and Stephen was first in the shower.

We took the route up through Toodyay, which gave us a chance to stop at the bakery for morning tea (a shared pastie and our choice of coffee or chai latte). We sat on the balcony and wondered how Goomalling would compare to Toodyay as a place to take a mini break. Apart from that, we had one stop along the way, just brief.

When we arrived at the caravan park we were given a choice of where to park, so chose a place with lawn as well as a platform for the caravan. We checked out the toilets and showers which seemed very cold at that time of day. We put up our new rear awning, with a bit of a struggle as we didn’t look up the instructions first. Not too difficult as we got the hang of it. Of course, Ken Peachy staff had shown us how, but that was a few weeks ago.

Our closest neighbour has a large dog, and has set up a little fence to keep him contained. The dog doesn’t know whether to protect his caravan by seeming aggressive when we go by, or seek our attention so we will pet him. We err on the side of caution and keep away.

We had a rest after setting up, then after a cup of tea, went for a walk around the town.

The possum theme comes up again…

As with other small towns in Australia, the locals appear to take great pride in their town. There are sculptures along one side of the main street and many old building have been renovated and put to use.

The tiles appear to have been made by local children.

We did some music practice on our ukes whilst enjoying a Jack Daniels and coke, then I went to have my shower. I had checked out the further ablution block which was newer than the one closer to us. It has ensuite style individual bathrooms. This proved the best option for my shower and elevated this caravan park to 5 stars!

It’s been an interesting week. On Monday I took Mum’s only prescription tablet and had Webster Paks made up of four sets of Panadol, together with vitamin D and the blood pressure tablet. This is to try to ensure that the BP tablet is taken at a regular time each day and that Mum does not overdose on Panadol. She gets frequent headaches and forgets when she has taken Panadol.

Of course, it is no fun for her to have this taken out of her hands. She has been talking about wanting to go home (she realised that she was thinking of her house at Kingswood St, not the granny flat). Last night and this morning it got a little heated, but I tried to listen properly to what she is saying, rather than defending our position. She still does not see that she can’t manage on her own.

On the other hand, we’ve had some good times. On Tuesday, we met Robyne at what used to be River Abilities and she was able to get a good quality wheeled walker with a seat. We had lunch together afterwards. And did a little more shopping for skivvies.

Yesterday we had wanted to go to the Rod Evans Centre for lunch, but there had been a burst pipe and the restaurant wasn’t operating. Mum took a walk down to the end of our drive and back, finding the walker very easy to use. She walked with us over to the Dumpling House where we had the lunch special.

Today we went to Floreat to the Kiosk overlooking the beach. We sat in the outside area, using blankets, our own and some provided by the cafe. We had coffee first, then had soup and toast. Very nice and warming. I found a way to circumvent her paying for everything by taking my purse as well as hers to the counter, so that we paid for our own lunch. She then wanted to give me $100.00 for petrol, this felt too much, though she means it for the full week, so I put $50 back into her envelope in the safe. Whew!

Only three more sleeps until she goes home. Not that she is any trouble to us really, but she feels I am too controlling and really longs to be her own person again. That will be OK until she finds it too lonely. However, she will have Jamie and Tracy there.

I feel that it is too difficult for us to do – to ensure that she showers and washes her hair regularly and doesn’t take too many Panadol, and to try to explain why we think she cannot be independent any more. We probably need to start the process of finding a place for her, and can only hope that by the time something becomes available she is less aware.

Something really good this week is that Stephen wrote to Della and she sent us some news. Yaxuan’s granny is away and Della and Tony are trying to take care of their daughter by themselves, quite challenging for them. The good news is that they are considering having another baby. This is a very big decision to take, especially when they are relying on Tony’s parents to help them. But, I hope they can make a decision that is right for them.

So, the photos are of us with Joy and one of the photos of Yaxuan that Della sent. All taken with iPhones.

At choir this evening I was reminded of something that happened on Tuesday. I caught the bus to Officeworks in sunshine, then whilst I was there the rain started, very heavy at first, then lighter, but persistent. I left, but decided to go down Albany Highway where I could get shelter. I checked for the hourly bus and would have had to wait about 25 minutes, so went into Eastern Antz for a coffee while waiting.

A woman came and sat at my table and commented on the rain, and I said it was a bit of problem since I was catching the bus. She asked where I was headed and said she would be happy to give me a lift when she had finished her coffee. She drank quite quickly as she had lots to do, but she still took the time to drop me at the end of our drive.

It really made my day, as you can imagine. The rose picture is here because her name is Rose.

Eastern Antz is the cafe up near Officeworks, Western Antz is the one near where we live. My terms, I don’t know what they call them.

The photo is from our walk last Friday afternoon. This is on the Burswood side of the Causeway. Just a small touchup in Lightroom.

On Sunday I felt better. The main thing was going to the little concert in the afternoon. Matt was dropped off at the venue. He appeared to enjoy it, although once the music started he kicked the back of my chair in rythmn to the music and was saying something (don’t know what, of course) but realised that he wanted to dance. We actually had a nice time, with some rain. During the interval he was fine with us talking to other people and having tea and biccies, then once the music started it was back to dancing. Although it was good for me to get some exercise I was really looking forward to the taxi pickup.

I spoke with Bernie’s mother Pat during the interval. She used to work for the old Spastic Welfare, but with adults. It was an interesting conncetion.

Afterwards, Stephen and I went and picked up a meal at Dog Swamp Shopping Centre and took it back to Matt’s place. We heated up the main courses and had some cut up fruit for afters. We saw the Murrays, which was lovely.

Then we went to another concert at St Josephs in Subiaco with Eversley and Pam, a very different concert to the Scottish music of the afternoon. Pam gave us all a lift back to Eversley’s place where Stephen and I had left the car.

Monday was a training day, a new version of Manual Handing, fairly enjoyable. Tuesday I met with Eversley for lunch. We went to the cafe in her local shopping centre which has been revamped. Tea comes in a big pot, with a lovely cup and saucer, I may have that next time. It was just nice to catch up. I had been feeling that we weren’t getting so much time together as in the past, so asked if we could meet every couple of weeks for lunch or coffee. This was the first meeting.

Afterwards I went over to Belmont Forum to have a look at the new Aldi store that opened recently. Interesting, but very different to a normal supermarket. It was very busy, so lots of people either trying it out, or making it their regular shopping place.

In the evening Stephen went to WASO rehearsal.

I saw Mum on Wednesday. A nice day, mostly cloudy. We paid a bill and got lunch at Rosies, which had had done with Marie on Monday. We discussed the Enduring Power of Attorney and she seemed happy to go ahead to set it up. I suggested that with the physio and OT appointments at SJOG Midland that we go once, see what they can offer, and then it’s up to her if she wants to go again. Our plan is to look at walking frames when she comes to stay with us in July.

On Thursday I had another training day and got confirmation that I am booked into First Aid Training when I return in October. I finished off my May and June credit card statements and took them up to HV3 to be processed by Charles. I liked the women on my table, and felt a special connection with Brenda, who was seated next to me. Somehow just found her very likeable, and we exchanged email addresses at the end.

I had ordered a new, larger HD for my 13″ Macbook and had it installed this morning at the service department of PRA imaging. The store seems oddly bare of much in the way of cameras and their website hasn’t been working, with something new promised. But, there Service Department worked well, with staff installing the new HD whilst I waited. I’ve restored the system again from aTime Machine backup, but am getting an odd message when it starts up, so may have to do a fresh install and try using Migration Assistant to install my stuff. Everything appears to be working OK.