It’s been some time since I last wrote my adventures. I arrived back in Perth on the 22nd of March after an amazing time in the West Kimberley’s thanks to my sister Jenny. I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking since then. In between running mum around to hospital and doctor’s appointments for various things I have also been trying to get some of my things into some kind of order. Most of my possessions are either in Mum’s spare room cupboard or stored in my friend Grace’s shed. It is so inconvenient as I know I have something but have no idea where it was stored. I have slowly gone through all the boxes stored at mum’s and collected some winter clothes from Grace’s shed but I still feel I’m living out of boxes! The frustrating part is there is not enough room at Mum’s for all my things so I have to be very selective what to bring back from Graces and what needs to remain stored there. Mum usually has room for all my belongings but at the moment she also has my youngest sister, Kathy’s belongings stored here as she has moved up from Gracetown in the south in preparation for her move to a new place in QLD which she and Jenny have bought and are in the process of working with an architect on plans for their new duplex home. So I can see it will be quite a few months if not early next year before Kathy’s things follow her to Queensland.
M
um’s friend, also Jane invited us to an outdoor movie theatre similar to my experience in Broome. It was at a university campus and once again we took our pillows for out deckchairs. There were also beanbag chairs for those wanting to be more prone.
Good Friday was my first Friday back in Perth. Mum joined me at the North Beach Baptist Church service where I introduced her to some of my friends. Mum also met a friend who use to swim with her early mornings at Mettams Pool. It was a good service with a powerful message. We then enjoyed our cappuccino and a chat after the service.
Easter Sunday I joined Yvonne for her farewell at her church. Because I live quite a distance I decide to go to the second service. I went a bit earlier so I could catch up with friends who might be at the first service. I was quite surprised at the amount of Africans attending. I thought I was back in Africa! No joke over half were from different African countries. I was disappointed I hadn’t come to the first service. Yvonne and I then went out for lunch before visiting Mum. Then on the first of April she flew out to South Africa to return her nursing work with ASM, White River.
Since returning to Mum’s I have been doing quite a bit around the house, cleaning and spring cleaning. One of the jobs on my list was to change the water filter which hadn’t been changed since 2013 which caused the water to taste very strange. Mum of course had grown accustomed to the taste and says her tastebuds aren’t as good as they use to be. I certainly could taste the difference once it was changed. The changing was certainly a challenge. With a spare filter I didn’t think it could be too difficult to change. I went online to see if I could find out which way to turn the cylinder to loosen it. It looked like it was clockwise so with as much strength I could muster I crawled under the sink, took hold of the cylinder and twisted! It didn’t budge! No matter how much I tried I couldn’t shift it. The next day I asked a neighbour for help. He provided a wrench! It still didn’t budge. I then called the company who told me I should twist it anticlockwise! But still no movement! It was a strange angle to work with but I was sure it wasn’t that hard to loosen. I felt if I put too much pressure on it, it might snap. I then sprayed the join with WD 40 just to try to loosen it but still it wouldn’t budge! My last resort was to call a plumber. He arrived a day later and with one quick twist ‘clockwise’ it came loose! I couldn’t believe it! I must have loosened it up for him. LOL
Now I have another challenge. Nearly two weeks later the filter tap has a constant leak! Looks like I will have to replace that now too! I hope I can buy a replacement part without having to buy the whole system.
One of Mum’s close friends for over 50 years whom she knew from her days at Christmas Island, have just had their 60th Wedding Anniversary! What a milestone! It was a lovely gathering of many old friends from Christmas Island. Our family left Christmas Island when I was nine but my parents had kept in touch with Island friends. For years the x-pats have continued to gather, reinforcing their friendship and common bond. I was surprised I remembered many of them although I hadn’t met them for years.
I too have been catching up with friends. Those who have helped me while I was away as well as an old friend, John, who I’d make contact with before leaving Perth and stayed in touch with while away through emails. Then my friend, Gregory, whom I first met in Sydney when he introduced me to Vivian from Wakisa. Gregory, who works with World Share, was on an assignment in Perth and had a free afternoon so picked me and together we drove to Hillary’s Boat Harbour. We had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of things then we walked out along the Sorrento Quay Boardwalk. We took some lovely photos of the water and shoreline then waited for what we had come for – the sunset. We were not disappointed! The Lord put on an amazing display of colour reflected in the clouds both in the west as the sun was setting and in the east where the colours were captured by the clouds over the boats in the harbour. It was breathtaking!
For some time now I have been considering renovating my two bedroom unit but would not consider it with my long term tenant still living there and I wasn’t about to ask her to move out. The Lord’s timing is perfect. My tenant gave me her termination notice for the 21 April as she wanted to move closer to her son. I was sad but delighted as now I could fulfil my plan and have a project to work on while I’m in Perth.
I had seen some on the other renovations in units in our block and had some idea of what I wanted. It would be a big job as there were walls to remove and build. I wanted to remove the wall between the poky kitchen and laundry, putting the laundry and a pantry in a cupboard at the far end. I also want to remove the walls between the lounge, dining and kitchen making it an open plan. There is very little storage or cupboard area in the whole house which is very annoying. In the small bedroom there is not wardrobe so I will add a wardrobe by taking space from the bathroom. This doesn’t have very much space to spare either so I have to plan well. I thought if I could take some of the vanity space, making it as small as possible without being too small, it would free up room for the wardrobe behind. This means another wall to remove and rebuild.
There were many small changes and alterations within this process, every builder and draftsman I asked around to give me a quote gave me more ideas and suggestions. Now it all depends on the cost! The good news is I have now decided on a draftsman and the builder and Lorna, a friend from church, and I spent five hours wandering around showrooms looking at the displays. Lorna is full of ideas having just helped her daughter choose things for their home. Fortunately she and I have very similar ideas.
Weather in Perth has been perfect. Typical autumn days some hot and dry, a little rain and some quite cold. By low I mean around 12 degrees which for me is cold! It’s a taste of the colder weather to come which I’m not really looking forward to. I have never really liked cold weather I suspect it’s because I was born in the tropics.
Mum’s memory seems to be deteriorating rapidly. I know it hasn’t been good for years but lately it seem to be worse. One morning we were getting ready to go to the hospital for a Cardio inquiry. The night before I had started to get things ready as it was a 9am appointment. I couldn’t find her healthcare card. I noticed also that all bar one bankcard were missing as well as her driving licence and other important cards. We hunted in all the usual places but time was getting away from us. In the end I suggested we go and look for them all later. I was sure she had just taken them out and put them somewhere but had forgotten where. I had to control my thoughts so that I wasn’t getting anxious about them and wanting to call the banks to cancel cards!
I had planned to drop mum at the hospital as finding a park was often difficult. Fortunately we found a 15min drop off right outside the door so I came in with her to explain what had happened. She was already on their book so all was well except that they asked if I could stay just in case mum’s memory wasn’t up to all the questions. I stayed for the first 15 mins of her meeting with the doctor and helped where I could. I don’t really know her history as I’ve been in Sydney for 20 yrs. I then had to rush off, praying I didn’t have a parking ticket for overstaying the 15 mins. I then drove as fast as legally possible half an hour back home to pick up papers before meeting with a potential draftsman and my friend Lorna at the unit.
As I arrived at home I receive a phone call, you mum is ready to be picked up. She had obviously forgotten she was taking a taxi home. I then spent time with the draftsman and Lorna before we all returned to mums to chat more. After they left mum and I once again looked for her cards. We looked everywhere! The whole time I was praying, Please Lord help her to remember where she left them. We looked all though her draws, her other handbags, in all the usual places and in the car but couldn’t see them. As we were searching mum kept forgetting what we were looking for and I had to keep saying ‘all your cards from you purse’. Halfway through looking through her things she would say oh here it is, she was talking about something totally different! Aaahhhhh!!! Eventually she found them hidden behind things on her dresser where she had left them for safe keeping then forgotten she had done it!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord we found them eventually! Such are the challenges when caring for someone whose memory is slipping!
Photos: 1. Evening clouds over Hillary’s Boat Harbour 2. Mum and Suzie after breakfast on the back veranda 3. Christmas Island friends 4. Panorama of Hillary’s Harbour 5. Gregory at Hillary’s 6. Sunset at Hillary’s 7. Rocks at Trigg Beach
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for His provision, leading and guidance. For His perfect timing, friends and connections.
Praise Him for the wonderful weather we have been having.
Please continue to pray for His protection, provision and my general good health.
Thank you for your prayers for Mum who is at present fighting off a cold and is needing a growth removed from her arm and a couple on her legs. She has very poor circulation which means things take longer to heal especially on her legs. Please also continue to pray for her memory which seems to be getting worse each day.