Interstate Visitors

The day Vi-Lay arrived from Sydney there was excitement in the air and cleaning was nearly all completed, sending my back into revolt from being on my hands and knees mopping the floor and cleaning skirting boards.  Deep Heat and hot pack needed. That morning Vi-Lay sent me a text saying the plane was delayed due to someone not boarding after their luggage was stowed in the hold.  The plane then needed to be unloaded to find their luggage and reloaded so that it was properly balanced.  This delayed take-off by 90mins!  I checked online for an updated arrival time before leaving home to synchronise her landing with my arrival. Praise God there was also a break in the rain as I pulled into T3 pickup area. Then it was home to unpack and relax.

Vi-Lay is very easy to get along with (not sure if it’s because she knows how to work with and around my idiosyncrasies or that we are very similar when it comes to doing things, or both).  We have travelled together in the past (a trip north from Sydney to Eumundi in April 2018) and I really enjoy her company and input.  Thursday was a ‘chill’ day I caught up with a few more things that needed doing, including a bit more cleaning. Then the rest of the week we packed full of things needing to be done before our road trip north to Monkey Mia.  Neither Vi-Lay nor I are campers, especially in this cold winter weather so we decided to pre-book some accommodation for our first and last night just in case the weather wasn’t good.

Planning and making lists is Vi-Lays forte.  We had a list of things needed for the trip north and for the islands, for food and other items needing to be purchased before leaving.  We scoured the local shops for ideas and stocked up on a few items before doing our big food shop at Karrinyup on Friday.  Jen messaged us from her self-isolation in Carnarvon to say that we needed winter sleeping bags as camping out was cold (she was coming down from hot sunny Broome).  I dug mine out from its hibernation at the back of my wardrobe, but we needed one more.  Praise the Lord He knows our needs before we do and provided through Kathy my neighbour.

For some time now I’ve been meaning to sew another summer top but was reluctant to start as the pattern is a bit tricky.  Vi-Lay, who in the past was a seamstress, had more of an idea of how to cut the pattern so I left it in her capable hands.  I had bought the fabric when I was in Cairns last July.  The old shirt I’d previously made from fabric I had used for the baby wraps when I ran my Sydney business ‘Cradle 2 Kindy’.  She finished the preparations leaving it to be sewn up another day.

On Saturday I had a pre-booked free rose pruning session with Dawson’s Garden Centre in Joondalup.  We left home by 10am stopping off at Peppermint Green Café for a morning coffee which was deliciously bitter (well for me); they even served it with warmed cream which was a first.  While I attended the pruning workshop, Vi-Lay went for a wander around the nursery.  Lost in concentration, I was pleasantly surprised when Monica from TAFE tapped me on the shoulder. She now works at the nursery but had come on her day off to join the class.  We both found the session very informative and helpful.

We then continued on our shopping spree, stopping at two chemists where some of our things were on special, stopping to get my free birthday coffee at Gloria Jeans before enjoying a Malaysian style lunch at Pappa Rich Joondalup.  From here we headed to Bunnings then on to the Asian Grocery store in Girrawheen to stock up on Asian treats, including two packets of durian.  Then a short loo stop at a local park with a mandarin break to refuel before stopping to pick up some snorkelling gear from friends en route home.

Sunday of course is church.  I rostered myself off barista duty due to all my activities but received an urgent request for the between service.  Arriving early I was able to set up for the preservice orders while Vi-Lay caught up on reading my previous blogs.  Praise God I wasn’t needed to help out after the second service as Vi-Lay and I had planned to go out for satay.  Esther, my friend down Sorrento St, was free to join us and was delighted to be introduced to some authentic Asian food.  Vi-Lay and I were in our element!  With bellies full, we took a detour home via petrol station, as Vi-Lay had locked in a very low price of $1.82 but unfortunately we were unable to use it as Sydney and Perth have different labelling for Unleaded 91 (E10) so it was not accepted.  Next stop Karrinyup to look for reef shoes for Vi-Lay and a bather top for under her rashie. Then dropping Esther off before heading home for a durian feast.  Two types Sau Ri and Montong.  I’m not sure if the first wasn’t a good batch but we both preferred the Montong.

That evening we also went through our itinerary for both trips, organising what foods to take. I had 3 frozen meals in the freezer to take for our camping days on our road trip, the other days we would be in small towns with a choice of eateries (God willing).  It was suggested we take some meals for the islands as fresh produce there is expensive having to be brought in by ship or flown in.  We decided on things to take, making a list for what we needed to buy and freeze before departure.

Monday was a washing day with sunshine till 2:30pm, allowing most of our clothes to dry in preparation for Jen (originally from QLD0 and Brony (from Melbourne, Victoria) arriving on Tuesday.  But before we started on the washing, Vi-Lay and I walked to the beach; she went further for a walk and I went for a swim, as it was lovely and calm, unlike the previous swim. Back at the house I started this blog and Vi-Lay did some research on places to visit on our trip north. Vi-Lay also worked on sewing up my shirt.  She had a few problems with the machine but nothing serious.  Then I took over to do the rolled hem and zigzag around the armholes but the needle kept breaking the thread and it wouldn’t do the zigzag.  We eventually worked out I had replaced the needle when I last used it and put it in the wrong way.  From then on it worked beautifully.  In the afternoon I cleaned up around the garden while Vi-Lay walked to the bush to see the two Frog-Mouth Owls.

Tuesday was another big clean up!  Praise God for Vi-Lay’s help.  She tackled the vacuum cleaning of house and car while I started wiping down the car interior before doing the exterior. Then it was time to prepare lunch for Jen and Brony who arrived around 2pm.  More excitement!  It was lovely to see Jen again; the last time we were together was in Cairns before she started her road trip across the top end.

Jen unpacked some of the ute so that we could start some of the washing, as we needed to take their swag sheets with us the following day.  Jen then took Brony for a bit of a look around Perth before dropping her at the airport for a flight back to Melbourne.  In the meantime, I cleaned out a few worm farms, swept up the fallen leaves on the paths and paving for a final clean up before we left and jotted down a few notes for the blog.  If I don’t keep on top of our activities I’ll forget all the exciting things we’ve done!  Jen arrived back after 6pm and made up her bed on the lounge floor (only space in my house for a mattress). Then we had a long catch-up chat while Vi-Lay had an early night to read her book.

Photos:  1. Paperbark flower attracts so many bees to my garden    2. Vi-Lay    3. Esther and her very old dog.

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise God for His amazing provision and abundant grace and mercy which we experience here in Australia.  What a wonderful land of abundance we live in.

Please continue to pray for those less fortunate who are caught up in the suffering from this war.

Pray with me for peace both in Europe and for the Far East.

Please pray the Lord will continue to provide religious freedoms here in Australia, for peace, health and a recovery from the past few years of the influence of Covid not only here but throughout the world.

Praise the Lord for His sovereignty. It’s so reassuring to know His purposes will ultimately be achieved, even though it looks like mankind is making a mess of things.  God will one day step in and put things right.

Please continue to pray for my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat to come to know Christ’s love for them.