1st – Steve finished off the ‘overhead’ cupboards on the kitchen side. The level proves he has done a top job.
Greg came over for dinner with ‘Pat’ who has had a new paint job. No peeling paint on the bonnet anymore. So glad Greg is enjoying our truck and will have lots of fun exploring with it.
2nd – Our new 12 volt fridge arrived.
3rd – After work I joined the ‘Melbourne Cup’ girls for lunch at Cazalys and to watch the big race. No spectators there this year because of CoVid19 but the roses etc were still in bloom and the grounds were lovely. Great afternoon chatting after the band had stopped its loud music!! Kathy was the lucky one today. I got nothing but Steve got a few dollars back and I had placed bets for the girls at work and Rochelle and Jenny got a return too.
Back home Steve has been busy. Steve put edging on the ‘overhead’ cupboards. He has promptly used them for all his bits and pieces.
He has cut a hole in the floor for the diesel heater – definitely need one of these after we froze in those southern states.
He also put the fridge into position and has filled the shelf above it with lots of stuff!
Very windy at the moment – hope no more trees fall down.
4th – Paul’s birthday today so sent him a text as he will be at work at TAFE.
Ron Keeling popped in for a chat as he is thinking of buying or building a camper sometime. Just as he was about to leave Rebecca called in for a cuppa. So nice to be able to catch up with friends here
Another delivery – the driver knows us well now. The actuators to raise and lower the pop-top roof arrived.
5th –The lithium batteries arrived. Steve chose single cells to link together rather than the normal looking battery.
The bed area is now finished with angle over the bed base edges and padding under the frame so it won’t go bang when we lift the frame to get into the storage area underneath. I cleaned it all so now I just have to buy sheets etc.
He also put the ‘u’ section aluminium on the wall edges to give them strength and protect them from knocks etc. The black and white theme is looking good.
6th – Terry’s (Steve’s Dad) birthday. Erica had bought him a new mobile phone so I sent him a text and Steve rang him. I even got a ‘thank you’ text in return – well done Terry.
I spotted two curlews up the side of the camper. When I went down to the house they were at the front of the camper and I noticed a little chick. I got the camera but they were not too keen to have me photograph their baby. The chick quickly laid down as I got closer.
I took the day off work to attend Wendy’s father’s funeral. It was a nice service then we all gathered at the Balaclava for a cuppa and chat. So nice to see Wendy’s mum, Heather again.
The motors for the camper legs arrived. Steve has lots of things to work on now.
The curlews and their chick have moved to the back of our van now and get very ‘hissy’ when we try to go into the van. At least they haven’t tried to attack us.
Jon arrived with the new air conditioner to put in the lounge room for Mum and Dad. The last few days have been quite hot so it will be good for them to help them get through the summer. Steve helped Jon out – so nice to see father and son working together again. Annalise arrived for a chat too.
The air conditioner was lovely though as the night arrived it wasn’t long before Mum was saying it was too cold – we had it set at 26 degrees.
7th – We put the air conditioner on for lunch but left the big doors open and it was pleasant taking the edge off the heat and stickiness.
Annalise came over with scones for afternoon tea as Jon was off playing golf.
8th – We discussed the kitchen cupboards and I went down the shops to see what boxes are available to go in the cupboards. I want to put the cans etc in boxes to stop them moving around in the cupboards.
Made our decision on the openings so Steve cut out the kitchen front – ready for the bench top that is being made by a local company.
After our cuppa in the afternoon Steve decided to have a break from the camper and we started clearing out the ‘rubbish’ from the open shed Dad had – I’m a bit worried it might fall down if we get one of the ‘predicted’ cyclones this year. We are stock piling it in different spots up near the camper so we can get a skip bin in to take it away.
10th – Steve has been busy running all the wiring for the actuators and camper legs and the cables for our 12 volt fridge and lights etc. There is a cover that goes over the wires to hide it all.
He also picked up the kitchen bench so we put it in place to see how it looked – very nice. The dining table is still coming as they are having problems with the laminate cracking when they do the curved edge.
We placed the stove in to make sure the opening was correct and put the sink on top. Steve will cut that in later after he has it all in place. There is a narrow section on the right which will be cutlery and utensil drawers (above the heater).
11th – Steve put in the shelving frame work for the kitchen benches.
After dinner we popped over to Kaylene and Rick’s for a cuppa and chat.
13th – Mum, Dad and baby Curlew walked by the van as we got up and hissed at us. The chick is still black and white but looking more like a curlew now – so cute.
Black Friday but nothing bad happened at work – yeah. Lee’s birthday so I sent her a text as she is on duty with the Seniors Exams.
Steve put in the kitchen shelf and then lined around the stove with fibro to keep the heat out of the cupboards. He installed the gas lines and power to the stove and put the stove in position and screwed it in place. Now we just need Daniel to make the gas bottle box!
He then cut the hole for the sink and screwed it in place. It is starting to look like a ‘home’ now. We still have to choose a tap yet.
14th – Greg came over for the ‘big clean up’. First we pulled down the ‘shed’ Dad had in the back yard as the corrugated iron had rusted through. We walked everything up the back ready for the skip bin. Next we worked on downstairs and all the bits and pieces Dad was going to fix up or make over the years – lots of electronics, computers as he was very interested in how they worked. We are keeping any important historical items etc – like the hubcap off the Peugeot! There is a beam under the house that the white ants got their teeth into so Steve and Greg will replace that shortly. Got 20,000 steps in today walking up and back with all the bits.
Daniel dropped in with the shower base he was making for us from stainless steel. Looks great.
Afternoon cuppa time Rebecca, Jeremy with Axle and Mason arrived. Greg had said to Rebecca about the better bits of iron in case she wanted to make a new horse shed so they came to check it out. They left with a few bits and pieces too.
As we can now see across to the back neighbours with the shed gone, I waved to Karen and she and Claude came over for a chat and checked out the progress with our camper.
I am continuing to pull out the photos of my albums, label them and put them in a box – to try and cut down my storage when we hit the road again. I have scanned a lot of the boys photos and of course once digital cameras started I have the photos on hard drives. It is nice tripping down memory lane.
15th – Dad has the wanders during the night which disturbed Mum a lot so they were both very tired today – hence they were snoozing in their chairs a lot.
Jon and Annalise popped in with lovely pumpkin scones that Annalise had made with the mashed pumpkin I gave her.
Nice and cool with the air conditioner on for lunch. We don’t close the doors etc as Mum would get too cold but it takes the stickiness out of the air.
Steve coloured my hair which made me think of Judy and all the fun times we had when she used to colour, streak and perm my hair over the years. I gave her a call to see how she and Kathy are going since Johno’s passing. They are fine but she often thinks of things to tell him and he isn’t there. I said ‘yes he is – just only in spirit so keep on chatting to him’.
Pete called in with another pumpkin – will mash some more for Annalise. He also brought limes and a bottle of his homemade sweet chilli sauce – yum.
Unusually Dad laid down for a sleep with Mum after lunch and kept sleeping. In the end I had to wake him up at 5pm or he would be having another night of the wanders.
Brian joined us for dinner – pizza for a change to give Greg a break after the big clean up yesterday. Played a few games of Skipbo with lots of laughter.
Dad fell asleep in the chair, which is amazing after his big sleep. I got him into bed with ‘Socks’, the dementia friend, purring on his chest. He certainly has slipped further with his Dementia but is still my wonderful father.
16th – Poor Wendy is stuck in Wyalla, South Australia as Adelaide now has new community spread CoVid so Queensland won’t allow anyone who has been in SA to enter unless they do the hotel quarantine for 2 weeks, at their own expense (about $3000). Bit hard as Wyalla is 6 hours away and has not CoVid but she will have to go to the airport to be able to get home and even if she drives she would have to quarantine. As she is with her mother and sister she decided to stay and see how it plays out as they were heading down there for Christmas anyway.
I have been bringing home the vegie scraps from work David’s chook (across the road). They get very excited as I near the chook pen. I open the door a bit and toss in a banana peel so they run after it – that way I can get in without a chook escaping out the door.
Steve put the motors on the camper legs and run the wiring.
As I had to work today Steve took Dad to the dentist for me. He had chipped a tooth so Barry filed it down and checked out his other teeth.
Warmer day so Mum was happy to have the air conditioning on.
The curlews wander back and forth. Baby is getting bigger.
Steve glued in the shower base that Daniel made and put the door latch on.
17th – Rang Wendy B in Wyalla, SA to see how she is going. She is enjoying the time with her Mum. At least it isn’t busy at work now the Seniors have finished etc.
We ordered a 6m3 skipbin to load all the rubbish into which was delivered today.
18th – The lithium batteries are in.
Steve had to modify the brackets for the actuators – will get Daniel to make some better ones later. Then he mounted the actuators.
Steve couldn’t help himself and started loading all the rubbish into the skipbin. When I got home I only had to do the top quarter then we put cardboard and timber on top. He packed it well so we get our money’s worth. Will get it changed tomorrow so we can then load up another one as Greg has Friday off to do some more clearing out.
Rebecca called in for a cuppa in the afternoon. She is hoping New Zealand will open its borders soon so she and Clive can get over there to visit Spencer, their grandson, before he gets too much older.
19th – Steve connected power to the actuators to raise the pop-top roof. He had mounted one on each corner and it raised it easily but as the length is 5.4 meters the middle is sagging for a bit before the scissor-lifts take over and help raise the roof. A bit of a problem we didn’t foresee. Probably should have put a strength bar down the middle of the lid. Sent off an email to Styromax to advise them in case they have future orders.
20th – Steve and Greg loaded the new skipbin. There is still a pile of metal that they will load on our ute and take to the dump – can be dropped off for free. There is also paint and chemicals that we will box up and drop off there too. That’s it for the clean-up at the moment though I will sort through more shelves of books downstairs.
Dan dropped in the gas bottle box he made. Steve has to mark in the vent holes and where he wants the bracket for the regulator.
Kaylene and Rick called in for a chat. They have put their rental house on the market and looks like they have a contract.
We had a nice shower of rain – the grass certainly needs it, very crunchy now.
21st – More showers of rain in the early morning- 11ml in the gauge.
Steve and Wendy called in for a cuppa and catch-up. They have decided to move out to near their daughters so are also having a big clean-up at their place ready to put it on the market.
Steve kept working on the camper. Battery bits and pieces connected.
The camper legs have power and go up and down with the use of this remote – how cool is that!
Rang Uncle John while we were having our drinks – he had just finished his red wine! Lovely hearing he is doing well and has been working in the garden which Jocelyn loved.
One of the lovely neighbours of the street, Tammy, called in with two of her children with a lovely Christmas gift for Mum and Dad. A little tree covered in chocolates.
22nd – Steve connected power to the fridge – it works and it even has a light.
He cut out the hole for the gas bottle box. He had to cut the hole bigger to be able to get it in once the gas vent holes are cut in the back. Inside, Steve will build my pantry above it.
Steve connected power to the actuators to raise the pop-top roof. He had mounted one on each corner and it raised it easily but as the length is 5.4 meters the middle is sagging for a bit before the scissor-lifts take over and help raise the roof. A bit of a problem we didn’t foresee. Probably should have put a strength bar down the middle of the lid. Sent off an email to Styromax to advise them in case they have future orders. These photos show the bend in the roof at an inch up.
Then a bit more when the scissor lift can be seen then it starts to help with the lift.
The ends are fine.
I messaged another Styromax DIY builder who built a 4.5m camper with pop-top room about the bend in the roof. He rang Steve and he said he had the same problem. Steve has decided to put aluminium angle along the edge to try and give it more strength.
Jon and Annalise arrived with a batch of pumpkin scones and to chat about the house they are interested in.
23rd – Steve had bought fibre-glass sheeting from Styromax when he picked up the camper. He measured and cut out the panels for the shower and glued the back piece into place then braced it till the glue set.
The hot water and heater switches are installed.
25th – Steve cut in the vents for the fridge. Three in each of the doors he put in to give him access to the back of the fridge. Unfortunately the company was 2 short so we are still waiting for them to go in the bottom door.
Yesterday he had put in the fibreglass for the shower sides – I forgot to get a photo with all the bracing etc. Shower room ready – just needs a shower rose, tap and door!
Steve met Daniel at his work and they cut the aluminium angle ready to put on the pop-top roof. Daniel had finished off the gas bottle box too with frame to hold the regulator and holes to allow any gas leakage to flow out under the camper. It will have one of the hatch doors on it too so everything matches.
26th – The gas bottle box is installed the door glued on. Ready for the gas fitter to run the copper pipes now!
Steve made a timber set of steps to get up to our beds. Daniel will make it out of aluminium later and it will be the water tank too. It was a bit tricky getting them in with the walls up. They are narrow but it works ok and the walls are supported so we and use them to get up and down.
Our Curlew family wandered by so I managed to get a few photos. The chick has grown so much. They sat down for a rest and watched us work.
Heavy rain, lightning and thunder hit just as we headed up to bed. Was lovely hearing the thunder again. The grass will love all the rain.
27th – Checked the rain gauge after last night’s rain – only 15ml.
More rain during the day – 8ml at 3pm.
Steve and Daniel put up the angle on the pop-top roof with me supporting it in the middle. Glued and riveted. Steve had already laid aluminium on the inside in the roof lip and this angle will be pop-riveted to it. It helped with the sag but didn’t completely solve the problem.
Tuckshop Christmas dinner tonight. Jenny and her husband Steven picked me and Carolyn up. I was telling him about the camper roof and he suggested we put a pole in the middle of the camper to support the roof – it could be my stripper’s pole for Steve and Steve’s fire-man pole for me – ha ha ha!!
Emily and Lee were already at Dundees Restaurant at the Aquarium when we arrived. There were 3 other big groups having Christmas parties so it was quite noisy. Unfortunately Rochelle couldn’t make it and of course Wendy is still in Sth Aust, though she is flying home on Monday – apparently she doesn’t have to quarantine now – we will wait and see. We had a lovely dinner and yummy desserts – thanks TBHS P&C. I was right beside the huge fish tank – the glass came from Italy and had to be carefully lowered into place. Very peaceful watching fish swim around. There were a couple of sharky things and lots of smaller fish. A few settled right beside me, tail to tail as if having a rest and each one keeping a lookout in either direction.
28th – Heavy clouds and high humidity but not too hot. Down south they are experiencing heat waves for the next couple of days.
Steve worked on the pantry today.
More rain after lunch then again in the late afternoon. You can see the grass growing before your eyes!!
Steve kept working on bits and pieces. Still a lot to do but it is looking great.
29th - We went to Bunnings to get the sink tap and shower fittings etc. I also bought some shelves for Tuckshop which Steve has ‘kindly’ offered to assemble for me and the ladies!!
Steve put in the sink tap and shower tap and we discussed how to mount the shower rose etc as with being a pop-top it is a different set-up to our van. We will need a shower curtain around the top bit too which we will look into.
30th - I had the day off as the Year 10s have finished. Steve continued working on the camper.
