Time for an update...

Well it's 3 weeks now since we left Winkie and 2 weeks that we've been on the property.

I've been busy babysitting and thoroughly enjoying it. There are 3 little girls, aged 4, 2 and 4 months.  Their mother, Jaime, is from England and lovely to chat to.  Her husband, Andrew, is busy with the harvest so I feel like I've helped out a bit.

 

Smoke haze makes for an awesome sunset!

This was from an early morning start on the way up to Queensland, I was the last in line behind the chaser bin and 2 headers so the dust hung in the sunrise.

 

Bun has been acting as a 'gofer' helping out wherever he can. We have also had time to relax a bit too.  The people here are really lovely and have been wonderful to be around.

The contractors have moved the machines to another property about 30 kms away to start harvesting there from today but the vans have stayed at the first property as the living conditions wouldn't be great at the new place.

We have decided that we will probably stick with this for the few weeks and then head off and have a much-needed holiday.  Bun really needs to relax and clear his head after the last few months so once the contractors are back over the border into NSW, we will try and catch up with Ben before he goes off overseas in mid-December.  We also plan to see Timmy if we can, he's based near Armidale.  Other than that, we plan to see some National Parks and maybe spend some time near beaches.  Maybe then, Bun will get to do some surfing :)

Cheers
Anne

Well we survived the trip up to Queensland!


We left Victoria about 10am on Thursday and travelled towards Moulamein, staying at a truck rest stop just outside Hay overnight. It had been bitterly cold all day with drizzly rain and we heard later that there had been unseasonal snow in SA, Vic and NSW that day.  Next day we headed through Goolgowi and Rankin Springs then up to Lake Cargelligo.  After that it was stock routes and dirt roads to Tottenham and on to Warren.

On Sunday morning we went through Coonamble, Pilliga and Burren Junction. I have to say that having not done much driving on dirt roads, my confidence level was not great, especially towing a van.  There were times that I looked behind me and either looked away because it was swaying so much or was surprised that it was still there!!
The corrugations from Burren Junction to Collarenebri were so bad that I sorely regretted my decision that morning not to wear a sports bra! :)

We stayed Sunday night beside the road just outside Mungindi and yesterday we went through Talwood, Westmar and Moonie.  We reached the property about 2.30pm and soon after we set up camp around the shearers quarters.

We've had really long days to get here, on the road as the sun comes up and driving until just before the sun sets.  I posted a photo on facebook showing the dusty road ahead as I followed the chaser bin, saying that this beats an office but the hours are a bitch!  Still, even though I was stiff and sore and more than ready to get out of the truck at the end of the day, it was good to get back on the road the next morning. The trip back will be much easier as we will be stopping in at various properties to work along the way, so when we change properties it should only be a short day's drive not 5 full days in a row.

This morning I'm sitting outside in shorts and tshirt waiting for the next lot of washing to be done. There's a lovely breeze going that will mean all the washing for the week will be dry quickly.  The guys, and girl, have gone off to get the headers washed, greased and put together while it's cooler this morning, then we will probably head off to Goondiwindi to the shops. We need a few more groceries and Bun needs some overalls.

The mother of the farmer here came over last night to say hello and it turns out she sews!!! It sounds like I've landed on my feet here :) I will probably score a ride into Dalby with her tomorrow and she said there's a great quilt shop there, oh joy!! And she said that her fabric stash is embarrassing haha and Bun told her that 'apparently there is no such thing'!
The farmer and his wife have 3 young children, 4, 2 and 16 weeks so I might even get some babysitting time in too. 

I plan to start looking at the instruction manual for the new camera shortly and work out how to use it on manual instead of auto :)

I've been taking photos along the way and plan to put some on here but I seem to be having trouble loading them into blogger.  The service is a bit patchy here so the photos may have to wait until we have some better service.

Bun said he was really pleased with himself as he drove all the way from Victoria to Queensland, it was a goal he'd set for himself.  However I know he will feel more relaxed after Thursday when he's done his first shift in the header and knows more about what he's doing.  The unknown is always more daunting, as I found out this last few days :).  Some days when Jamie (the boss) had to head off to see farmers along the way, I got to be lead vehicle and thankfully it was only when we were on bitumen or when the roads were well sign posted.  Jamie led the way when we were out really bush on stock routes, whew!!

In this little crew, there's Jamie, James (from Ireland, only been in the country for 10 days!), Brooke and Bun and I.  Jamie's dad, Spud and his wife Bev will be turning up with another header and a driver in a couple of days.  They're really nice people and Bun and I have joked already that with Brooke around, we shouldn't miss Callie too much because she's a bit of a clown too :)

That's probably enough for now, I've just tried loading photos again but the bugger won't work for me so you'll just have to put up with reading rather than looking!

Cheers
Anne and Bun

So it begins...

Well the first day is done!


We left home around lunchtime Tuesday and headed off..
I was driving because both Bun and I needed to know that my driving and towing skills were improving :)

On the Pinnaroo road, I had 5 oversize loads coming towards me and I like to think that I scared Bun less with each one!

We stayed at Manangatang overnight and got to Spud's place about 1pm today, having wandered around Swan Hill and stocked up on fruit and veg.

Since arriving, Bun has been for a short drive in the header and then been helping Jamie with odd bits and pieces. An Irish guy, James, arrived on Sunday to also drive the headers.

I'm using the iPhone as the internet connection at the moment and I'm having trouble downloading photos so I'll try that later.

As far as I know at the moment, we will be heading off for Queensland tomorrow but really who knows?

Cheers!

Well we're back from the USA!

We're home briefly, got back on Monday afternoon, having had about 5 hours sleep on the plane. However that was the only sleep in about 44 hours, so by the time we went to bed around 8pm we were really ready to sleep :)

 

We had a really great time, did lots and lots of things and made some great memories!

 

 

My highlights were the Grand Canyon and seeing "O" the Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas, Callie has loved the shopping and apparently she is still shopping despite having to buy another case :). The guys enjoyed visiting a shooting range in Vegas too.

I also really enjoyed the days when we hired bikes and rode along the beachfront, there are so many 'characters' in LA!

 

It was also a highlight for me to travel with adult 'kids' and have a lovely holiday with good times, great memories, no dramas and so many laughs :)))

 

 

 

 

 

When we got back on Monday afternoon, Ben was here. He'd done a quick trip home being the last chance he would get to come home for the rest of the year. We took him back to Adelaide Tuesday afternoon to the airport.  We may get to catch up with him in NSW somewhere, depending on where we end up for work.

 

Callie and Steven will be back in Mildura next Monday and then do a quick trip Tuesday morning to pick up the dogs so we'll get a chance to say goodbye.

 

Josh is coming up for the weekend to catch up before we leave.  Bun has talked to Spud (the new boss) and we will leave here after lunch on Tuesday and get to his place at Kerang on Wednesday.  The trip isn't really that far but will give me the chance for some more driving and towing practice with Bun on board.  We will be leaving Kerang on Thursday to head up to Queensland.  Bun will be driving a harvester up there. They only do about 35km per hour and it takes about 50 hours of driving to get there so I will have plenty of driving on my own by the time we get there.

 

 

 

 

We're heading out for tea tomorrow night with my parents, my Dad will turn 80 on 14th October after we leave. I plan to catch up with a couple of friends for coffee on Saturday then see some other friends on Sunday. Hopefully by Monday all we'll have to do is put clothes into the van.

 

The next post might be a little while coming but will probably be done from Queensland!

 

 

So...... we're in Los Angeles!!!!

It was a fairly lengthy flight, about 14-15 hours all up with not a lot of sleep to be had between us.
We went and checked in before heading off in search of some food then a little walk along Rodeo Drive. We actually decided that a small nanna nap was in order, then it was straight to the beach at Santa Monica Pier and a walk down to Venice Beach.
The weather was very hot and a bit too humid for my liking, turns out it was the hottest Sept day since 1894! Oh Yay!

I think Callie was happy to be here!

Saturday we caught up with my nephew Stephen, who has been travelling the world pretty much for the last year. He came in from Arizona to meet us and has spent the last three days doing stuff with us.  We went back to the beaches and hired bikes to ride between Santa Monica and Venice Beach, lots of fun and so much quicker than walking. There were however plenty of distractions of the bikini-clad kind! After a long day in the sun, we ended up going up-market for tea to a steak house within walking distance.  We had a great night with lots of laughs and celebrated our anniversary too.

Sunday we were feeling a little slow and decided a quieter day was a good idea. We went on a 2 hour driving tour to see the Hollywood sign, where the movie stars live, etc.  Then it was back to the hotel to see Stephen again and we chilled at the spa/pool before heading out for pizza. On the driving tour we went along Sunset Blvd where the Hollywood stars are and saw the theatre where they hold the Oscars too.

Today we hired a Lexus and Stephen drove us around, we went out along the coast to Malibu Beach and while we sat at the Malibu Inn for lunch, we saw Adam Sandler!!! Very impressed but we played it cool and didn't ask for photos or anything :)
This was taken on the pier later.

We've been having a great time and we've only been here for 4 days so far hahaha. Going to shut down now as we have to be up and ready in the morning for a full day at Universal Studios woohoo!

It happens next week!!

Finally we can say that we're going overseas next week! Starting to get excited and just a little nervous, hoping that everything goes according to plan.  People who have visited Vegas are saying how amazing it is but I'm also really looking forward to Disneyland :)

I made a quilt for Ben's friend, Meaghan, who is currently on HMAS Anzac in the Middle East. I sent this along with a laundry bag and some lollies to her.

 

Typical Stevie poses!

 

 

Josh sent Stevie home for a week or so to visit, apparently he was getting a bit annoyed with her but has realised since she was away that he really missed her, awwww!

 

I did some packing the other week (while procrastinating about doing housework) and worked out that I could flatten the carry-on bag and pack it into the suitcase for going over and that would give me more room for 'stuff' when I'm coming home. Winner!

I received an early birthday present last Friday when we purchased a new DSLR camera for me, Bun says it's to keep me busy while he's working hahaha.  He said that I would get bored and this way I can go for walks and take photos, I actually think he's more concerned that my butt will get big if I sit and sew while he's working!

I've also been busy in the sewing room, getting quilts out of the way and making some pyjama pants for me (3) from fabric that Ben brought back from Indonesia for me.  I've also managed to make a couple of tops for me plus there's another on the table to be cut out.  I wanted to make full use of the overlocker before we leave because that's definitely staying home.

There's still a few things to organise but unfortunately now we have to deal with police reports and insurance companies because early on Saturday morning, 2 motorbikes and 3 chainsaws were stolen from our shed!  Bun's pretty pissed off because they took the 2-wheeler that was going to be going on the back of the truck when we leave!  Still it's all only 'stuff' and can be replaced or gone without.

Next post may just be from America!!!  Whoo hoooo!

So moving right along....

We finished up our first trip 3 weeks ago now and then I went back to work for the last two weeks.  Now I've really finished up at work and have spent the last few days working on getting all the bills paid, visited the accountant to organise our tax and now need to spend some time on the phone arranging for electricity, phone and visa cards to be paid by direct debit the day they're due. Not looking forward to those calls because I just have a feeling they are going to be long and involved :(

So this is how I did some of the bookwork and filing :)

We're missing our Boof again, after spending 3 weeks with Callie in Mildura, he came home for a week and then she messaged to say that she 'needed her boy back'!  This was taken while Bun was doing his morning exercises, Boof obviously thought he would be a big help.

I did some baking for Ben who was home for a quick visit the other weekend, mainly to visit the travel agents with Stacey to book their holiday.  They are off on 14th Dec until 15th Jan visiting Copenhagen first for a few days then on to London to join a Contiki tour of Europe for 24 days. They will be in Barcelona for Christmas Day then spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Venice!! Some of us are a little jealous but Callie insists that we win because our trip is in 3 weeks!

We had lunch on 8.8.12 down by the marina in Berri, the plaque in memory of Bun's Mum, Fiona, was placed on the other bench seat.  The 8th August was Bun's Dad's birthday and his plaque is on the facing seat.  As always there were lollies involved :)

Bun has been busy making adjustments to the van and putting new springs on the truck, hopefully the ride will be just a little smoother. Other than that, we are just trying to get things in place ready for leaving.  We may only be home for a few days after getting back from America before we head off interstate so we really need to have most things in the van and truck before we leave for USA.
Callie is getting pretty excited now and reckons she's finding it hard to concentrate on TAFE stuff and I have to admit to zoning out sometimes, having a little daydream too.
That's it for now I think but will probably post again just before we go OVERSEAS!! :))