Committed Travellers

Bluey had a quick early morning walk in light rain. He ate his breakfast ignorant of his 8.30 grooming appointment. He might be getting used to Hollywoof as he only trembled a little once inside the building as he was being handed to one of the workers. When I pick him up, he is very excited and has forgotten that I was the meanie who left him there! He looks and feels lovely, showing off his recently cleaned teeth.

I needed a couple of inches cut from my hair. At Trim Time at Southport, I had to buy a ticket from a machine using a $5 and $10 note. I watched a man have his hair trimmed with clippers. The hairdresser used a vacuum hidden behind cupboards. The brush end looked like a vacuum cleaner attachment, connected to a length of swimming pool hose. This was very similar to my workshop vacuum setup!

My trim was simple with loose hair being blown away with a hair-dryer. When the hairdresser swept hair on the floor, he guided it to a hole in the wall at floor level, where it was sucked in by the unseen vacuum cleaner.

Anita had a more conventional haircut with the lovely Stuart on Chevron Island. Unfortunately, she got soaked walking a few metres back to the car!

I spotted interesting murals in the back streets of Southport Chinatown.

Our housekeeper arrived after working at a nearby residence. She was affected by the heat and humidity, so I gave her large glasses of iced water. She had to raise the height of fences to keep her cats from wandering, but one is persistently noisy, interrupting her sleep. At least Tilly doesn’t do that – she just walks on me when I am sleeping and leaves toys on the floor for us to trip over!

I spent an hour in my study updating the log of trips completed with our Bushtracker this year. Since 2017, we have towed the van 131, 656 kms, or over 20,000 kms per year.

The rain reminded me this rust problem on our carport needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. It has been caused by a small section of lightweight clear roofing we had installed. It was replaced by the original installer, but the problems were not rectified.

It was warm this morning when I took Bluey to the park not long after after 7 o’clock. He walked to the coffee shop but we should have gone earlier.

When we walked this afternoon, there were episodes of loud thunder and black clouds, but most of the rain went around us.

We had lunch at Bumbles with a friend, and were joined by the owner when she wasn’t juggling several tasks and commitments. It is a great venue opposite the Nerang River. We left Bluey at home as it was too warm to sit outside.

Anita spent time this afternoon cooking this delicious orange cake for lunch on Wednesday. It keeps well and can be frozen.

This morning we took Bluey to the HOTA Markets to catch up with friends. He is always very keen to go on an outing. These curlews and their chicks were again struggling to find space away from people. They followed the path and nearly had an encounter with two women who didn’t see them until one of the adults flapped it’s wings at their poodle.

I bought coffees just before the cafe was closed because of a fire in the main HOTA building. Initially the fire trucks and ambulance drove around the back near the river, but somehow turned around and drove in via the main road. There were three fire trucks, an ambulance, and a smaller ambulance with a senior paramedic on board. Several fire fighters entered the building, but we did not see or smell any smoke. They left about half an hour later, apparently having dealt with the problem.

Bluey enjoyed the froth off my decaf coffee but couldn’t lick it off his muzzle.

We drove to the Dust Temple at Currumbin Waters for a Hussy Hicks show. The quirky venue has been built/renovated using recycled timber and old windows, and decorated with an eclectic mix of bits and pieces. It is on a long narrow block in an industrial area, with an open laneway along a third of the site.

Several stalls selling second-hand clothes and shoes were packing up in the laneway. A food truck was selling Mexican food, but our nachos were not brilliant.

Minnie Marks opened the show. She is an exceptionally talented guitar player. Before she was 30 years old, she had open heart surgery for an extremely rare heart condition. She has fully recovered and recently finished a tour in Europe. She will be touring in the USA for three months next year.

The Hussys were in good form, but we couldn’t see the end of the show as Bluey had been left inside from 4 pm. He was fine after demonstrating his separation anxiety.

We took Bluey to the Salt Cafe for breakfast with our friends. While we were there, two large Groodles sat at other tables.

Later, we had another outing to Wild Earth to buy some new shorts. Bluey didn’t like the crowded store, full of buyers looking for Black Friday specials.

I finally finished drafting our guide for our house sitter, so that is one more job crossed off my list. We had booked for dinner at 5.30 so I took Bluey for an early walk to the park. After he ate his dinner, he realised that we were going out.

We had dinner at Valyn a new “elevated” Thai dining experience. The venue was upmarket, exemplified by the quality menu, with excellent photos of all items on the menu and cocktails. The food was interesting and tasty. Our friends tried some mocktails.

Inside the Capri on Via Roma shopping centre there is an interesting Christmas tree decorated with sealife ornaments.

I opened the empty pool cleaner box, and Tilly showed off from inside a shopping bag.

I checked our faulty pool cleaner before the pool service happened this morning. It has been going in circles around the drain. The service man suggested we take it to the pool shop for repair, but they probably want over $100 just to look at it and give an estimate of the cost of repair.

After removing a wheel and looking at the plastic gears, I decided it would not be cost effective to buy new parts or have it assessed by a repairer. We did some online research, and Anita made some phone calls, before we decided to drive to Captain Nemo’s Pool Supplies at Helensvale.

We first stopped at our caravan storage depot to drop off some gear. Anita spotted a pool supplies outlet we had not previously noticed, so we called in. The worker was very helpful and we bought a new pool cleaner.

I put the bits together and it works fine, even climbing the walls. The kit came with a device to measure the water pressure in the pool hose, so it could be set to the minimum as recommended to prolong its useful life.

Bluey saw three of his friends this afternoon but could not be tempted to play. It was high tide so there was no exposed wet sand for him to run on, which is his preferred play ground.

A cancelled appointment left us having breakfast at the Salt Cafe with Bluey. Back at home I fitted the wheels to my planer table. This is a fairly simple job, except for working on the concrete floor. I measured the location where two holes had to be drilled, then screwed on the lifting mechanism. The wheels are bolted on last. The table lifts when the levers are pressed down and it can be wheeled.

All of the workbenches now have wheels, so I was able to fit them into one side of the garage, allowing space for our house sitter to park her car.

We needed to buy more sourdough bread, so decided to use the Containers for Change facility in the carpark at the Harris Farm shops. While Bluey supervised me feeding glass and plastic bottles into the machine, Anita did the shopping. She was surprised to see our neighbour working in the pharmacy as she normally works at Surfers Paradise. A former resident of our street was also working there.

At the park, Bluey was the centre of attention from two other toy poodles. Lewis, the reddish one lives in our street, and Rocky, the brownish one, is his brother and a regular visitor. Bluey wasn’t on a lead, so could have walked away. When Lewis started humping Bluey’s head, he was told off. Bluey’s friend Odin the white Bishon joined the party.

Lewis and Rocky are groomed by a Japanese woman who fluffs up their fur. Rocky recently squeezed out of his owner’s car and crossed the tramlines, two major roads, and walked 2 kms home, apparently without being injured. He is unwilling to go for walks near his home, so something frightened him.

There was only one Swan on the beach this morning. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo when it was stretching its wings, exposing the white on the wings.

On our walk back from the coffee shop, red flowers and leaves caught my attention.

We had an unexpected visit from a friend who wanted advice planning a trip to Kangaroo Island. After running through various routes, we lent our road atlas and published blog book covering our trip to KI.

After an outing to the shops, we focussed on what clothes to pack for our cruise next month. Bluey warily watched this activity, sometimes sitting on clothes we were trying to pack.

Our pool was overflowing thanks to recent rain. When I opened the door of the pool equipment shelter, I spotted an adult blue tongue lizard, then was surprised by a young one running towards the adult. They both scampered under our fence and are probably hiding under the hedge. Another missed photo opportunity!

For the past two days, I have been feeding myself and the critters. We are all still going strong! It was dinner time, and the critters were looking towards the stairs, possibly hoping for Anita to appear and feed them.

Fortunately she is now home, and we have all been fed! Bluey has been hiding in his crate when there was no lap to sit on. I have been in the office again, filing and actioning the huge pile of papers covering my desk.

For a break I tackled some weeds on the nature strip and in our front “garden”. These tiny weeds among the sandstone pebbles were challenging. I had to move the rocks to be able to pull out the weeds, so only did a small area. I poured boiling water over a different area because no plants will be damaged. Let’s hope that kills the weeds.

Tilly thinks my satin pillowcase is hers. I will buy one for each of the critters – red for Tilly and blue for our boy who showed off his clean teeth.

Bluey quickly recovered from his anaesthetic for teeth cleaning. I took him for a long walk on the beach then to the local cafe where I treated him to some decaf flat white. He knew it was Saturday, but he couldn’t come to breakfast with us because the Quarterdeck Kitchen and Bar is not dog friendly.

The cafe is above the water at the Gold Coast City Marina. The clear blinds were down to combat a cool breeze, but they made the venue noisy. We took our visiting friend to our regular Saturday get-together.

I spent time tidying the garage and moving  workbenches, so our house sitter coming in December will be able to park in the garage. The planer table doesn’t yet have wheels, but I had done enough. Fitting those wheels involves working on the concrete. That job can wait for a couple of days.

Bluey was happy to go for an early afternoon walk. At the beach, four little kids were fishing with their dad. When they saw Bluey, they asked if they could pat him, but he was overwhelmed when they all crowded him. He started climbing up my leg, so I picked him up. Meanwhile, Dad was busy trying to break the fishing line to release a young stingray. The kids had lost the scissors, so he ended up using his teeth.

They had caught and released about 20 young stingrays, but had caught whiting, flathead, and a blue swimmer crab. Dad patiently managed five fishing rods for kids ranging from about 3 to 9 years of age. Bluey was happy to sit with me and watch the activity.

Anita made salads to have with the leftover lamb roast. The critters have enjoyed their share. We spent the evening watching TV.

Sunday morning the river was clear for the first time in a long time. The relentless wind has been disturbing the river, but today I could see small fish swimming near the waters edge. These two swans were enjoying the calm water and sunshine.

I drove Anita and our friend to Beenleigh railway station. The line south was out of action due to track work. They were catching up with a former work colleague for lunch in Brisbane and staying for a couple of nights. Unfortunately, they were directed to an all-stops train instead of an express train.

I had a quiet day doing some office work. A couple of times, I used treats to entice Bluey to use the pet door. It is only just high enough for him, so I shifted the ramp back about 100 mm to allow him to step out more comfortably. He isn’t keen but has gone through a few times with the door propped open. Tilly loves the freedom to come and go to her enclosure.

The pesky Russian Blue was in our garden again early this morning. It may have returned this evening because Tilly was at a downstairs window agitatedly flicking her tail. I didn’t see anything, but when I opened the door, Bluey raced outside barking.

We sorted out which bags we will be taking on our cruise. The critters had to explore everything, and Tilly was in the pack ready for an outing.

I found seven toys that Tilly has dropped in our doorways over the past few days. The rabbit was carried downstairs a couple of days ago, but she brought it back this morning.

I dropped Bluey at the vet for teeth cleaning under general anaesthetic. He sat on my lap trembling until the nurse carried him out the back.

Anita had her nails done, but didn’t wear appropriate shoes. The nail technician sent her home wearing these disposable thongs, which she wore shopping at Woollies. Tilly was perplexed.

I made a ramp for Bluey to be able to use the doggy door, and glued carpet on the top. We will test it tomorrow.

This afternoon’s storm darkened the sky before it rained and hailed. We had a few hail clusters, but most of it melted within seconds of landing on our carport roof.

Some photographers took l amazing photos of the storm which they put on line.

When I picked Bluey up this afternoon, he was not trembling. The nurse said he was a very gentle, well-behaved boy! He was hungry when he came home, so I gave him soft mince and potatoes. He was keen to have his afternoon walk in the park, but the cold wind sent us home early.

This evening Tilly found her way to the top of the rolled up caravan mattress. I don’t know how she got there without knocking it over.

Earlier this afternoon she was outside when the rain started, hiding on the small veranda. I had to unlock the door to get her inside because she wasn’t going to go into the rain to get to the pet door. It wasn’t long before she was sound asleep on our bed.