1st to 7th Mar, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld to Tom & Sandy’s place, Thornlie, WA (visit with Roald & Joan on the way)

The lovely singing butcher bird was back to serenade me while I read my book on the front porch. Such beautiful sounds and he enjoyed it when I whistled back.

Visited Hazel again. Kevin still in care after his knee operation. Terry went in and visited Erica alone as I had been in the morning while the cleaner came but she was sound asleep.

Nice day out at the pokies with Erica again for the last time for me as I leave on Sunday. She enjoys it but tires quickly now but we had some wins and a win on Keno so she was happy.

Did my washing and packed my suitcase ready for my train trip south Sunday morning to Cooroy. Spending a couple of days with my cousin Roald and Joan before heading back to Steve in WA.

Last visit to Erica. So glad I have been able to help her and Terry out as the paperwork in latter life is a nightmare but we have things all sorted.

Tears as I said farewell to Terry at the train station. He headed off to visit Erica. When I went around to find a seat I heard the train was an hour late! Luckily I had made a thermos of coffee and had my Anzac biscuits and a good book. Chatted with a couple with their 3 grandchildren who were triplets, born at 25 weeks and so little but they are all doing well aged 7. Reminded me of our Anthony when she showed me their baby photos.

The train eventually arrived and we headed off at 11.18 - was supposed to be 10.05 but oh well I have plenty of time. Messaged Joan and will let her know as we get closer.

Eventually we arrived and Joan picked me up at Cooroy Station. We stopped off at the shops and I tried photographing a fabulous mural - my phone camera isn’t as good as my other camera. Joan said there are little ‘ladies’ hidden in the painting and she pointed out one.

So lovely to see her and Roald again. Had a lovely afternoon chatting. Time to feed the birds - her pet Kookaburras - there are 9 at the moment, a couple of magpies and butcher birds and a few kangaroos hanging around.

Lovely evening chatting over a delicious dinner Joan cooked. All quiet here now the birds have gone to bed - no traffic noise. Will sleep well tonight.

Joan and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood then we had breakfast. They have such a big yard - lots of work but she loves it.

We headed out for the day to explore Kandanga and Imbil where some our Doyle ancestors (our great grandmother’s family on Dad’s father’s side) moved to with timber mills etc.

We called in on Lola who is the younger sister of Doreen, a good friend of Mum and Dad’s. Roald had called into Doreen’s sister’s place at Carter Ridge last year but the gate was locked so we tried again. On the fence it says THISILDOO - good name. It was open so we drove up and Lola was home with her daughter (who was on the phone on a work call). I had forgotten I had met Lola in Tully when we visited Doreen last year - I wondered why she looked so familiar!! She remembered me of course which was a bit embarrassing. It was nearly lunchtime so we only stayed for a short chat and will call and arrange a visit again later in the year. Lola was lovely and I remember Dad saying she looked like a movie star when she was younger. There is a nice free camp on the way up here too.

Stopped at Imbil and had a wander up the lane with lots of history to read. Will do it in more detail when we come back and I have my camera instead of using the phone camera. No mention of the Doyles timber involvement but it did mention Peggy Doyle who was the first woman aviator to do a solo flight.

Around to the old Forestry workshops etc which is all now owned by HQPlantations (they acquired it off the government in 2010 and have 320,000 hectares of pine plantations) so Roald had to sign us in so we could walk up behind the buildings to where a plaque was about a Forestry Convention held in 1928 and the names of the people who planted the trees here and down the lane. The plaque was metal and hard to read and when Roald was last here the area was covered in junk so the local chap showing him around complained to the staff here and obviously they did listen has it has been cleaned up which is good. There was another conference in 1922 where they planted trees too but no indicator of which trees these were. These are the ones near the plaques then there is a lane way of trees from the roads.

Beautiful stag horns are everywhere.

Down the lane and across the road is Yabba Creek and our great grandmother Mary’s brother John had a sawmill here in 1911 but nothing to show for it now.

We continued on to Brooloo and found the information board about the Rail trail. Another Doyle brother, Andrew had his sawmill around here (1909).

Turned back and headed to Kandanga and stopped at the cemetery where a couple of graves are. Another brother to Mary is James and his wife Marion are buried here. They were actually first cousins!! Also a young son of John and Maggie Doyle is buried here too. John and his wife retired to Brisbane.

Looking across from the cemetery to the flat ground that Peggy Doyle landed her plane on according to the info back in Imbil.

Across Kandanga Creek to the original homestead of John and Maggie Doyle.

Nearer the creek is what remains of the sawmill.

Headed back towards home but turned off to Dagun to check out the rail stop here for the Mary Valley Rattler.

Continued on to Amamoor and had an icecream while we read the info plaques by the railway station.

Not sure why there is a tap at the top of the lights with the little glass ball!

Across the Mary River as we headed towards home.

We had a lovely day out. This is the area we travelled.

We went through all the family history stuff on my laptop and I gave Roald a heap more stuff to read.

 

Another lovely walk with Joan listening to the birds morning chorus. Went around to their rental unit to change the sheets etc - only rent to family and a few friends. Pottered about after that and got my bag packed. Had lunch then headed into Tewantin to catch the shuttle bus to Brisbane airport. Will see Roald and Joan later in the year for the wedding.

Interesting drive down through the beach towns picking up a couple of people then we swapped to a bit bigger bus for the drive to the airport. Arrived at 4.30 so only had 20 minutes to wait to put my suitcase in. All auto now which of course wasn’t working properly. Got through then security and found my gate to sit and have a cuppa as I need to empty my thermos. They made us line up to have our hand luggage weighed - didn’t do it to Stephen. We had a few Asians who had lots of hand luggage hence the weigh-in. I passed so all good. I booked an aisle seat - actually 1B so right at the front and I had booked dinner etc too as we had the credit to use up. Had a nice lady on the window who was happy to just look at her movie. I was in the middle and chatted with the chap beside me who was from London and was doing a 6 week trip around and had just come back from Cairns. He loved it even with the rain and humidity. He said it was the best place he had seen in his travels. Heading back to Fremantle to his brother then the long flight back to London. He will certainly come back and loved the idea of touring around like us but unfortunately his wife is a homebody and won’t travel.

We had a turbulent start as it was quite windy in Brisbane and they brought out the meals quickly so my coffee was spilling out - no cap to the cup. I had another $10 credit so used it for a little bottle of wine to help me go off to sleep - worked!

Windy here too as we landed at 10.15pm WA time (12.15am Qld time). Steve came around with the camper and off we went back to Tom & Sandy’s place to park up for the night. They are still in Bali till the 13^th so we will come back and see them. Aah to be back in my bed with my man - life is good again. Still thinking of Erica and Terry and hope things go ok.

22nd to 28th Feb, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld

Nice walk this morning then an hour later the rain came down and it looked like it was going to be a gloomy day. Then by lunch the sun was out, sky cleared and a nice breeze is blowing.

Showers on and off over the week.

David, Amanda, Bradley & Ella came up for David’s birthday on the 24^th. Rod and Jan joined us at Brothers too. I had taken Erica early so she could get her pokie fix before the others arrived. No joy though so after lunch she wanted another go and at last we had a win so she was happy to leave.

I went for a drive to Bargara to have a walk by the beach etc. Checked out some of the boutiques and found a lovely dress for the wedding. Now to find shoes then clothes for Steve!! Had a lovely chat with Kaylene and then Jon while I was enjoying the view over the sea.

You can tell when you have been somewhere too long when you don’t wake to the road noise in the morning any more!!

I found this carving in a drawer. Terry made it to hang on the side of their caravan at State and National caravan rallies. He did a great job. When they first formed the club he sketched out the ‘turtle’ to use as a logo and the others agreed and it never got changed.

A butcher bird swooped down from the gum tree across the road and picked up the moth I had thrown out. He then sat on the railing and sang and sang. It was all kinds of sounds and a few songs sounded like the lorikeets that were squawking in the trees across the road. I tried to video him but pressed the wrong button and then he flew off. It was so lovely.

Steve went fishing with Kev again and got a couple of fish for dinner.

Had a lovely chat with my Uncle John in Victoria, he is such a lovely caring man and so funny.

15th to 21st Feb, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld

Cooler morning for my walk after the big storm last night.

Terry & Erica’s friends Ron, Joan and Nelda called in to see Erica so there was a lot of chatter going on when Terry and I arrived. Erica loves having visitors but it wears her out so after they left she fell straight asleep.

Steve sent photos of the dolphins they saw at the Cut and a cute Blue Wren who was trying to get rid of his rival who was in the car mirror as he had a few females flittering around and he obviously didn’t want to share! Steve did very well to capture him with the phone camera.

Had a win at last with Wholesale Automotive in Vic. The chap sent through an email with questions then rang me so I got him to ring Steve to get the answers so hopefully we will have that sorted soon to go with the new engine in June/July in Cairns.

Jon is back in SA heading for Alice Springs for work.

Steve sent a photo of some of Margaret’s beautiful roses for me and Erica. Will print it out so she can have a photo on her wall.

Another fun day out at the pokies with Erica & Terry. No wins to start but ended up with a nice one so she had $45 profit in the end. Brenda & Phillip joined us for lunch at Brothers too which was great.

Lovely day at Woodgate for Bradley’s 23^rd birthday. Jan & Rod joined the family too and we had a lovely lunch at the Pub. I had a lovely walk and sit under the trees in the morning, sent Steve a photo. After lunch we went for a swim but it had gotten quite choppy so just stood and the waves crashed about but we did see three small manta rays swim by. Ella took some videos of them.

Now I have everything sorted here in Bundaberg for Terry & Erica I looked up flights back to WA. Will take the train down and stay with my cousin Roald & Joan for a couple of days then onto the plane on the 7^th and back to Stephen (if things don’t change dramatically here!)

Steve has moved south to Bunbury and is staying with Kev & Linda. Margaret sent a text - they are empty nesters now so I gave her a ring to say I had booked my flight over. Looking forward to seeing them and heading back to the goldfields.

Rang Valerie as she and Russell are still in Perth visiting Kirsten & Simon and their new daughter, Rachel. She sent a lovely photo of them.

Heavy rain after lunch today but only for a half hour or so, cooled things down a lot.

Steve and Kev went fishing and had a good day - calm and fish - fabulous.

8th to 14th Feb, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld

Erica all ready for the short drive to her new home at aged care facility just down the road from where they live. Very handy for Terry. We have to do a RAT (every 72hrs) and temperature test to enter but we don’t have to wear masks which is good.

It looks very nice and she has a nice big room with patio and nice view. She is just down from the TV room, dining room and games room which is great. Staff are very nice so hopefully she will be comfortable and well cared for there and we will be visiting each day too.

Sent off an email to order the new engine for the truck - 4 litre Cummins. Steve will put it in when we get to Cairns in June. He has worried about the little motor in the Nissan since we left and so far so good but he decided it wanted the security of the bigger motor so as we had to go home for the wedding he decided to bite the bullet and do it.

Found a nice comfy armchair on Marketplace for Erica and popped around to pick it up. Ended up being the house next door to Terry’s sister, Barbara’s old house - fancy that. Erica thought it was great when we took it in the next day. David, Amanda & Bradley had come up so we had extra hands to put it in place. We then went outside to the open patio area and chatted with Erica. Her niece, Dael, arrived too so we chatted till her lunch was ready in the dining room at 12. She was looking tired but if someone is around she loves to chat.

Terry and I took Erica out to Brothers again for a play on the pokies. We started with a good win, $50 jackpot so that kept us going with lots of other little wins. Had a nice lunch and even Terry had a few wins. Sent the boys photos of the wins. Getting near 1pm when I was thinking we should be heading back and we had a nice win of $15.60 so she was happy to leave on a good note. Terry was also looking forward to his GST (Geriatric Sleep Time), so we headed back.

 

Steve having fun with the gang in Perth for the Aust Sprintcar and Formula 500 Titles. Gavin got his formula out for one last go but the engine blew so he is calling it quits now.

Annalise rang to say her grandparents on her father’s side were in Bundaberg. Betty and Rex rang as we were leaving Erica at the care facility so we arranged to meet them in the shopping centre for a cuppa as it was too hot to be at home today (35 degrees!). They are a lovely couple and we had a great time chatting and look forward to seeing them again at the wedding.

Storm in the morning so I didn’t get my walk this morning - good day to lay in and read my book. Visited Erica as usual twice a day.

Big storm at 6pm, lots of wind, lightning and thunder and heavy rain. Made for a cooler evening for sleeping.

 

1st to 7th Feb, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld

Dark clouds building today so it is a bit cooler. A couple of flowers came out on one of Erica’s desert roses so I took a photo to show her I haven’t killed them!

The coolness has gone with a few days of hot, sticky weather and then a couple of storms to just make it stickier.

One of Mum’s friends from her nursing days is still living here so I gave her a ring. She lost her darling Ben (he had the most beautiful singing voice and was so funny and cuddly) 18 years ago. She remarried 4 years ago to Kevin Toft. His father was the inventor of Toft Cane Harvesters. He showed me the first one. We had a wonderful afternoon chatting.

One of Erica’s brothers, Gordon, daughter visited - Roz. So nice to meet her as we are friends on Facebook so nice to be able to meet in person. David and Amanda were up too so we all had a great morning chatting.

Took Erica out to the pokies again with Terry. Had a good time with a few wins so she was happy with the result.

Valerie sent a text on the 30^th to say that Kirsten and Simon had had a little girl, Rachel. They posted up a photo of her and them as they are in Perth now for a few weeks. Hopefully I will be able to have a cuddle when I get back to WA.

Nice photo of me with Erica and Terry.

Erica’s niece Roz arrived for another visit. We had brought the Miller Meyer descendant book for her to look at so they had a lovely time looking at the book Erica had made of the family. I took a photo of Roz and Erica with the flowers Roz had brought the other day.

The wind has picked up this afternoon making it a lot cooler which is nice. Lovely chats with Steve each afternoon while Terry and I sit on the patio having drinks - Steve has his afternoon coffee at the same time with the time difference.

Lovely cooler morning - had to pull up my sheet. Nice and breezy for my walk this morning.

Erica and Terry’s friends, Carmel & Merv, Ron & Joan, came to visit so we had a lovely couple of hours chatting.

Back home I started ringing around doctor surgeries and after 9 I managed to get one that will take new patients as Erica’s doctor doesn’t visit aged care homes! Last night in hospital for Erica as she goes to Blue Care Riverlea Aged Care Home tomorrow so receive ongoing care for her cancer.

22nd to 31st Jan, 2023 Erica & Terry’s place, Bundaberg, Qld

David & Amanda came up from Maryborough and we all went in to visit Erica. Showed her the Dove Orchids that are just coming out at home.

Visited Amanda’s parents, Rod & Jan, at their place in a retirement village across the river.

Chatted with neighbours, Pat & Richard, about their holiday to Norway. Bit cold, low as 30 degrees below!! The Northern Lights were spectacular and they had fun on snow mobiles and on sleds behind the dogs.

Warmer days - needing the fan on!! Steve getting his jobs down on the camper and truck in Mandurah.

Another warm day but Erica was up to a walk in the garden. Got a lovely photo of her and Terry when we sat on the park bench.

Brian came down from Cairns for a surprise visit which Erica thought was wonderful.

David & Amanda came up so we all went in to see Erica. I checked with the nurse if we could take her out for lunch and she saw her doctor and he said that will be fine and over the weekend too if we wanted. We got her wheelchair as it would be too much walking for her at present. Off to Brothers Leagues Club for lunch then a play on the pokies. She was in heaven and we had a couple of little wins. We had been putting in Lotto too and had a win on Wednesday - well it covered the cost of entering!!

Hot muggy days at the moment. Luckily we have a few fans we can move around the house and the air conditioning is nice at the hospital!

Jeff and Lyn drove down from Rockhampton to visit me which was lovely. Brian headed back to Cairns via Brisbane flight. David and Amanda went back to Maryborough so quiet house again now. Erica is still in hospital, we visit her twice a day but she is still quiet tired after her day out so will let her rest well before trying that again.

Took Erica out to Brothers Leagues Club again to play the pokies. We started with a win so I took a photo to send to the others. Terry even had a play and a few wins too. We had a free coffee then lovely toasted sandwiches for lunch. A lady beside us was having lots of big wins, she was playing $5 each hit! She said she had won $20,000 the other day and it was her birthday today so she was having another good day out. We hope she managed to take some of it home! Tried another machine and had a nice win to finish. She loved it but it is very exhausting getting in and out of the car so I will get a wheelchair taxi next time to make it easier. 

Steve has been busy crushing the quartz rocks with bits of gold in them that we brought back from Nullagine. Ended up worth all the work and he got a good arm workout too using the dolly pot to crush the quartz.