Vi-Lay’s Visit

From late Wednesday 8^th March to Tuesday 14^th I was blessed with a visit from Vi-Lay.  It was such a delight to have her visit me.  We had previously made rough plans of what she was hoping to do while she was here.  The most important was to see Margaret River and the surrounding areas.  I had prepped Mum well in advance.  Her previous next door neighbours had been asking us to visit them at their home in Dunsborough so I contacted them to see if the three of us could come for two nights with Suzie the dog.  We had the green light so I informed Mum of the dates and wrote them in her diary.  She was looking forward to it.  Then about four days before Vi-Lay arrived she changed her mind deciding she really didn’t want to go.  The very next day she rang and asked me if she had decided to go or stay.  Thank God for moments of memory loss!  I told her she was looking forward to going.  Then the night before I picked up Vi-Lay she suggested I take her car, pick Vi-Lay up from the airport, then the next morning pick her up, take the dog for a walk and head south.  I also thought was a good idea.  Mum said she didn’t want to be too exhausted by going for her usual early morning swim but still wanted to take Suzie for her walk before we drove south.  With all organised and with it written down on a piece of paper for Mum, I was happy to take the car.

The next day Vi-Lay and I were up early, Vi-Lay on EST daylight savings time, three hours ahead of Perth, was off for a walk to see the sunrise and I off for a jog before picking up Mum.  We had both returned and were just having breakfast around 6 am when Mum rang.  “Where is my car!”  “I want to take Suzie for a walk.”  I calmly explained we had written down what we were doing and I would be there soon to pick them both up before driving south and Suzie could go for a walk then.  She still wasn’t happy and told me she didn’t want to come.  When we finally arrived I found that she had written in dark blue felt pen on the other side of the paper I’d written her note on so my note was totally illegible!  Another point note!  I now write in a big note book and have removed all the felt pens.

After half an hour of cohesive persuasion she was finally in the car, slumped down on the back seat sulking, well at least till she had forgotten about it.  It only took about 20 minutes before she was her chirpy self, enjoying the ride.  I knew once we got going she would enjoy the trip.  Mind you this wasn’t the last time she gave us a hard time.  Part of my persuasive action was to tell her of a surprise I had for her.

The day before I had taken Nezka with me to look at a wheelchair.  I had found one on Gumtree for $70 and then bargained them down to $50.  It pays to have had bargaining experience in Asia and Africa!

I had packed the car with wheelchair and Mum’s belonging on Wednesday so that we were ready to go early.  Mum had of course forgotten and packed ANOTHER bag of things and with all the kafuffle I had forgotten to check hers and my toothbrush.  Oh well it could have been worse.

We took Mum’s suggestion of going down the coast road through Fremantle.  By the time we finally left the house we were in peak hour traffic which we had planned to avoid.  Thank God we were not going via the city!  As per plan we stopped off to give Suzie a walk and for us all to stretch our legs.  We then passed through Rockingham, Mandurah and Bunbury before stopping at Busselton for lunch and a look around the jetty.  Mum rested under some trees while Vi-Lay and I went for a walk to explore.  Then back in the car and on to Dunsborough were we arrived around 4 pm.  Here we first stopped by the sea to give the dog a bit of a run before calling Colleen to get her address, yes I’d forgotten to obtain that before leaving.  She was delighted to see us all, inviting us in and showing us our rooms where we unloaded our overnight bags.  Leaving Suzie behind with Colleen’s dog we unpacked Mum’s wheelchair and while it was still light headed by foot to the nearby shops.  After a bit of a look around we decided to eat at the Indian restaurant.  It was a good choice as we all really enjoyed the food.  We then returned to the house where we all turned in for an early night.

Vi-Lay was once again up early and headed to the seaside just a short walk away.  She was eager to get some photos of the sunrise over the sea.  Yes, Dunsborough is on the northern point of Cape Naturaliste.  On the east side of the cape you can observe the sunrise over Geographe Bay while on the west side you can witness the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. When I woke I joined her at the bakery where she stopped for breakfast before we drove up to the western coast to walk along the cliffs south of the lighthouse.  We also took a walk to around the lighthouse before returning to the house where Mum was wondering where we were.  Now that she had decided she wanted to join us she didn’t like missing out on anything.

We piled back into the car, minus the dog, for a day’s drive around the Margaret River area.  Colleen had suggested a few places to visit where we could sample the wares.  We stopped to taste the wine (It’s ok I only had a few sips), chocolates, preserves, nuts, cheese, yogurt as well as the dried meats where they made bultong and salami’s.  Margaret River was our lunchtime stop.  Here I had been commissioned by Kath, my artist sister, to pick up some of her art work.  We then headed further south to the Karri Forrest to admire their splendour.  Long, tall trees with smooth trunks of peeling bark.  It brought back memories of my childhood when we as a family visited friends in Northcliffe and explored the Jarrah and Karri forests.

It had been a lovely day snacking and buying a few treasures along the way.  Cliff, Colleen’s husband had arrived home just before we had left, he is a medic working part time in Perth.  He was the one who had been an answer to prayer when I was looking for a helping hand putting up a shade cloth for my avocados.  Vi-Lay had recognised the name from my blog post. Colleen had cooked us a lovely roast of which we contributed the topping of slithered chocolate and nuts for the ice cream desert.

The next morning we packed up and before leaving Mum and I headed for the voting booth.  WA was voting.  We were the first through the doors, it was a huge relief not having to wait around.  Then back to the house to pack the car and the journey back up the coast this time stopping off in Australind to call in on an old family friend, Lyn.  Lyn and her now deceased husband had been long-time friends from Christmas Island.  They were also the family we had visited on their dairy farm in Northcliffe south east of Margaret River.  At first we tried to find Lyn’s place from memory but with Mum’s memory being the way it is and me not having visited for nearly 18 years, we got a bit lost.  Thank God I had Lyn’s daughter’s number to call, she was able to give us the address.

We dropped Mum off then went for a long walk along the estuary before returning past the shops to pick up a cooked chook for lunch.  It was a lovely break in our journey before driving back via Fremantle which we took a short tour around stopping at the docks for Vi-Lay to look around the markets.  Our next stop was to see The Sculptures by the Sea at Cottesloe. There was such a long queue of traffic we eventually dropped Vi-Lay off to walk before finding the perfect park just outside the Cottesloe Pavilion.  Thank God for Mum’s ACROD parking pass!

I must admit even though it has been a lovely time it was nice to be back home.  Sunday morning Vi-Lay and I were up early as usual.  I went for my morning jog while Vi-Lay took off along the beach to watch the sunrise.  She was not disappointed it was another glorious display of the Lord’s handy work!

Breaky, then off to North Beach Baptist church for the morning service before picking up mum and joining some friends at Yum Cha where we really enjoyed ourselves.  It was a lovely way to celebrate Vi-Lay’s birthday.  Back home after dropping mum off, we crashed.  We were both exhausted! Then an early dinner with mum before going to Victory Life Church, founded by Margret Court.  Another destination off our bucket list.

Monday rising early again we had a full day ahead of us.  After breakfast we headed south to Fremantle or Freo to the locals, here we first stopped off to buy some amazing shoes.  ‘Springy Feet’ is owned by a friend of my sisters.  Nikki is the sole trader of Z-COIL Pain Relief Footwear, quite an amazing shoe.  We then drove around Freo before finding a park and looking for somewhere to eat.  Like most tourist destinations parking is costly as are some of the eateries.  We had our minds set on Asian food but The Shanghai Markets where we hopped to eat were looking for was closed.  I then wanted to pick up a spare car key for mum.  The GPS took us a long way around but eventually after a quick stop to collect the key we headed towards Perth and onto Northbridge.  This is an Asian area of Perth.  Here we found free parking in one of the backstreets before walking to a Chinese restaurant which had afternoon tea noodles.  By this time we were very hungry, the noodles were extra delicious after our long wait.  From here I drove to Kings Park which overlooks Perth city and the Swan River.  The botanical Gardens and Parks cover 400 hectares, two thirds of which are protected bushlands and provide a haven for native biological diversity.  Being both lovers of the bush and walking Vi-Lay and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We then rushed off to get some dinner before returning home.  The place I had thought of I had forgotten was closed on Mondays so on to the next place which I had forgotten was very expensive.  A few senior moments of delay!  The noodles were $18!  Mum later complained that they had very few greens!  I was in the bad books again!  Never mind I had tried.  It had been a long day.

Tuesday was Vi-Lay’s last day.  We had a bit of a sleep in then walked all the way to Hillary’s Marina which is over 6 km.  It was a lovely walk and chat along the coast road bordering the beach. Arriving at the Marina, after a quick look around we stopped for fish and chips.  Vi-Lay ordered barramundi and I ordered a seniors serve and received a huge plate of food for both of us to share and some to take home for mum’s dinner.  On returning home we relaxed watching the movie ‘Heaven is for Real’ based on a true life story of a four year old boy’s visit to heaven.  Then our last dinner of leftovers and an early relaxing night before taking Vi-Lay off to catch her flight back to the big smoke.

I has been such a joy having Vi-Lay visit, it’s rare to find someone who has so many similar traits.  She is greatly missed.

Photos:   1. Low tied in Geographe Bay    2. Coffee at the beach      3. Busselton    4. Dunsborough Light House     5. Karri Trees     6. Colleen, Cliff and Mum     7. View of Perth from Kings Park    8. Native flower    9. Vi-Lay’s sunset over Trigg Beach

Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for the wonderful time in Dunsborough with a place to stay and beautiful weather.

Praise Him for Vi-Lay’s visit, Colleen and Cliff’s hospitality and safe journey.

Please pray continue to pray for my sister Jenny to find work and for me as I wait for a response to the applications I have recently submitted.  Pray also for my new business venture and that the Lord will lead me to the right connections as needed.

Praise the Lord for mum’s continual good health and safety on the road.  Please continue to pray that she will give up driving before her licence expires on 21 April this year.

Please continue to pray that I will know the Lord’s leading, strength and wisdom as I encounter the challenges that lie ahead.

Thank you to all my supportive friends and prayer partners. I really do appreciate you.