Clean happiness

Sorted out the washing machine into the laundry/shower today, thanks to Graham for giving me a hand because it was a bugger 20 mm clearance, so it had to be lifted straight up and slid into place, not easy. I thought 7.5 kg front loader, not a problem, man! We just got rid of a Maytag industrial washer, and I used to lift that on my own, but not this one. Well lets hope that saying is true, "the heavier they come the longer they last" because I do not want to be changing this in a hurry.

That's it no more doing anything on the home anymore, lots to be done but I just can't get myself to doing  it, why? Because of my beautiful wife, man!, boy!, whatever you call it, this is the strongest person, best mum, teacher and wife anyone could ever ask for, and I know she won't approve of it but at 8 months pregnant she is long time over due for a break from the kids and dad, all day and every day till the birth and on. I love her, the kids love her, and Jiniba loves her, what a woman.

- D -

,

- Editor's note: Perhaps there is a simple link between the washing machine and all the praises for the wife. Causal effect, they call it: the new washing machine made the wife's life easier which in turn affected her pregnant mood in a positive manner. This, on the other hand, made her more pleasant (or bearable?) to be around, so the whole family feels more loving towards her. Win - win.                        

- M -

Want your cake and eat it too

What I can't understand is when we go through a place and its known for something eg the beef capital, help me lord, the price of a piece of meat is nearly double to the cities. Go to specialty shops and its the same. Markets used to be the place to grab a bargain, which market? Went to one the other week and a hot dog or a bacon and egg sandwich was cheaper in the coffee shop across the road. Sydney: go to Lamecca, oh sorry, Lakemba, everything is like half the price, love it. The shopping... Brisbane, you go to Inala, same thing again cheap veggies, cheap meat, what is it, those shops aren't from big chains yet they are cheaper. I've tried to work it out, and there is something they have in common: Sorry No Eftpos. Hello, have you got any...? "Wait me no speak it English". Ok, and don't get me wrong they're all friendly alike. So what is it? Less tax or no tax? Illegal immigrants, workers subsidised by pension? I'm starting to think they are, "just" good wanting to help,  cash only fellow Aussies... Or...

Hey, under one week before our visitors arrive, can't wait to get on the road again, well open road that is. That will be good, the wife will start learning to drive the Phantom, or so she says! Well put it this way she will be learning from home, it can't get any easier than that. We are just organizing the front room for the visitors, and did the monthly large family food stock shopping for the road: 4 kg instant coffee, 144 liters of long life devondale, 20 kg bag of rice, 20 kg pasta, carton of wheatbix 25kgs, carton of tuna 72 cans, and other cans of veggies etc. Now all I need is to pull up in one of those specialty fishing or beef towns... ha! ha! ha!

- D -

One extreme to the other

What a day... started with a bit of this, rearranging the man cave, sorting out fittings for the new water tank semi installed, until I get my ass into gear and get the air conditioning unit out. And I tell you what, after sorting out the man cave and getting rid of half the stuff thought to be needed, or - to be truthful - the stuff I hoarded, I got back half of my garage!

Then it was the ?"#%en  brake pads for the tender, Hero. Not easy to find, l had to ride 87 km round trip to eventually find the part, all the way in Albion. Well the guys sort of laughed at me when I pulled up on the big 49cc mia, with a torn seat, rusted screws that once used to be chromed and a sound that would send anyone nanas. Anyway got the pads, started having a chat and tried to get a new/second hand seat, no good. Then the gentleman said the tender was one of the smallest registerable vehicles on the road, I smiled and walked out thinking you should check out my other vehicle, one extreme to another. Pads all fixed for $48.00 and $2.78 in fuel... Now its time for the other, other, extreme... xxxx gold, oh what a life.

The Phantom and Hero

Amazing how small these brake pads are

Bus education

This is our third year of homeschooling, and first year on wheels. Once you get the wheels rolling, learning at home is quite an enjoyable experience for children and parents. I spent our first year worrying if our eldest was on par with other children her age - not that I ever really had any reason to be worried. It was just all new to both of us, and I felt like I should be testing her progress somehow.

Now that we have two enrolled with home education plus one keen to "attend prep",  I've really had to let go of any ideas of how they should be learning. They all process information in their own way, and have different interests in life; just like my husband and I are two unique individuals with different approaches to life, for example. We've been doing workshop type learning around different themes instead of breaking the children's learning into separate subjects, and it seems to be working well for us. And this seems to be the new trend in education systems world wide:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-schools-subjects-are-out-and-topics-are-in-as-country-reforms-its-education-system-10123911.html.

Like my husband jokingly says, Finns must have got hold of our curriculum somehow!

I must say while we're travelling I hardly have to plan any learning at all, it seems to be coming to us. Yesterday we bought a new oven for the bus, and since we've done all our cooking on stove top for the last few months, the girls were so excited about a chance to do some baking again, they wrote/illustrated their own cake recipes. Reading is most often not a problem, as new places always offer plenty of information in written form. At the most basic level it might be an Anzac memorial teaching our early reader to spell out "Lest we forget", but as to our eldest, she reads anything and everything out there for the younger siblings. Tourist information centres always have fun activity packs with crosswords and colouring ins, and nature is a never-ending resource for learning. Like the mating moths we found today. We seem to be on an extended excursion, and like in Sydney a couple of months back, a fire engine stopped behind us and offered a tour for the kids. Once upon a time I did plan to take the children to a fire station, but again, it came to us!

- M -

Wonders of nature

Solving crossword puzzles supplied by Redcliffe tourist information centre








Fireman Sam giving a tour

Shower at last

Man its been hot and humid, left the Redlands with the sun shining from the east and the clouds closing in from all around.
Yesterday I installed the plumbing for the shower, using a 32 psi automatic shut off 12 volt water pump. Yes I know... I've got a 24 volt set up, so I've used a simple step down, taken from one of the kids old dvd players, connected it to the pump, plugged it in to the power point and - white man magic - we have water in the kitchen and shower actually coming out of the taps. I used the cold tap for water from the outside main and the hot tap for water from the bus reservoir, all works well. One day when I grow up I will install a hot water system.
Oh, and also installed a gas two burner caravan stove with oven today, hoping for fresh cinnamon buns and Finnish karjalanpiirakka. Just have to soften up the pregnant wife for that... Well better start now, catch ya.

Gone retro - since we've got timber grain throughout we had to find a matching oven.

Hot is cold and cold is cold

Phantom plumbing

Nothing to say 2

This is our home, our school and our ride,

We sit, laugh, and even cry inside.

It takes us around where ever we go,

from cities to town, the tropics to snow.

Someday we might past your way, 

give us a shout, or just a wave, 

we're happy to toot, that's our salute,

when we're on the move.
Our travelling name
If you didn't know, is

Phantom of the roads.
You see us. You miss us.

M.D. Gypsy 

Rainy Brisbane

Its been raining on and off all day so production has been slow, still got all done though.
No I won't power up yet, not until we get sun light, all five banks putting out 25.3 volts and looking good, the Phantom's own, not energex but andicanrelax. The full set up has 4 x 250 watts solar panels, 2 x 40 amp mppt regulators with 24 x 6 volt batteries at 225 amps each, running at 24 volts giving us 1350 amp hrs.
Oh, the seats are all covered  thanks to my wife, looks absolutely marvellous, considering she did it all in the bus on a rainy Brisbane day.
Now the next thing is to remove the whole air conditioning, replacing it with a 1000 litre water tank. The bus already has a 450 litre chilled drinking water tank, black water and grey water tanks. We have 12 seats with tables in the TV room up front upstairs, 2 double bunks with under bed drawers, a study immediately as you come up the stairs, then another 2 double bunks followed by the master bed room down the back with a queen size bed rocking chair and lots of storage.

New battery bank

Phantom electrical manufacturing

New seat covers...

...all made in the bus.

Stormed out

Ok, batteries all in, just started making the connectors when the long forecasted thunder storm arrived..... Wow the lightning absolutely freaky from here, looking out across Moreton Bay.
Now that all technical works has come to a halt I can get some rest by entertaining the kids. After all it is movie night, blankets on the floor, kids in there places and no movie to watch. ....this ....?.en digital TV, what a waste of time, I don't know about others, but since digital TV came in I have always had problems, they give you more channels, but no "single", like one of my daughters says. Well I had to whinge about something, had to let some humidity out.

Today was a very interesting day, as in the conversations I had with people pulling up and just talking about the bus. Funny enough one of the men said he had the chance to buy this same bus two years ago for $80,000. Don't get me wrong, but that time it was a bus........it's a home now........ for us anyway.
Money has never been a key drive in my life, maybe because I don't have none even though I've worked as hard as anyone else. And I can say I have nearly got what I've wanted all the time, well I don't ask for much, and make do with what I've got.
JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE.....THANKS.

Be careful what you ask for

Brisbane, same old, same old, beautiful one day, perfect the next even though the government has changed it still smells the same. What, are they all from the same basket?
Redcliffe is so nice, the beach is beautiful, people are friendly, easy to find parking near the amenities and right on the beach - what else does one want? Well maybe a good sized bream or a flat head would be nice.

We've got 10 days to wait in Brisbane before our guests arrive for the trip up north, so I have decided to be rid the old batteries and go with a full 6 volt 225 amp/hr x 24 batteries at 24 volts, which should give me 1350 amp hours. That should also fix the ice cream melting problem! Picking the batteries up this morning to get straight into it while the wife gets stuck into re-upholstering the seats with the new covers I bought in Sydney. Now that was a bargain, a full roll of good seat covering material, 1.8m x 99m, I paid 50 bucks for at the Addison Rd recycling market in Marrickville.

Now I need to find a spot to pull up, out of the way from every one, with a kids play area............... Catch ya.

P.S. While waiting for the editor to proof read, I got what I asked for, bream for breakfast.

- D -

Nothing to say

Happiness is the key, enjoyment the drive,
to what so ever, one strives.
knowing where to go and what to do,
throughout life, easier for you.
with huddles about, in life is a norm,
not to pull you down, but strengthen your ground.
When happiness is there the mind is at ease,
decisions  you make most often will please,
so sit back and enjoy your journey through life
With happiness the key and enjoyment  the drive.

MD Gypsy.

Horrible histories

We've spent the last few days driving through New South Wales country areas: sheep, cattle, farming. Lovely countryside  with friendly folk. But when you look deeper into the history of these towns and cities, it looks less friendly, and to be frank, we might just talk about horrible histories instead. Not that the kids' educational TV-show - to my knowledge - has ever showcased the massacres, poisoning and disease that nearly wiped out all Aboriginal people in early 19th century. This happened to the Ngarabal people of Glen Innes, for example, whose culture and hunter-gatherer lifestyle was nearly totally replaced by Scottish newcomers, their culture and a farming lifestyle.

This land is only loan to us all, and it is something I, as a relative newcomer to Australia, have lots of gratitude for. It pays to be respectful and understanding towards the modern Australian culture for one, but even more importantly, towards the original Australians who allow us to camp in the land they belong to, since 1788.

- M -

Welcome to Glen Innes, celtic country. For some reason I always thought this was Aboriginal land, and at least the flag still flies for them, if only in the background.  Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Thanks to farming of introduced species, we got to enjoy these beautiful local fruits in Applethorpe.

Here it is, "Tender to phantom", also known as the shopping trolley when we can't park near the shops - or fruit stalls in this case.

This old Ford tells about the farming history of this area. For the kids it was great entertainment at a rest stop near Stanthorpe.

Road show

Absolutely cold waking up along side beautiful Curtis park. What do you expect, being 1000 meters above sea level in the highest city in Australia. Tamworth was great and a relief to leave because the shallow pockets were starting to get holes in them at the big Tamworth show..... Not to mention the politics and persuasion that took place, because every ride was to be ridden according to the kids. Got over that huddle with them using Armidale and the exact words "Let's see what Armidale has to offer."

Ok, what was it. The Friday 13th pastafarian prayers (good for the kids) or just my bad luck.
We drove straight in to the Armidale Autumn Festival: rides, rides and rides. The kids have one over me as to being able to go to two festivals in two separate cities in one day. At least we sat right under the fireworks! If we were any closer we could have lit them ourselves. That's enough shows for the year, let's get back to some serious travelling, whatever that may mean.

Australia is growing up - or growing down - whichever way you want to look at it. I've hiked these roads 15 odd years ago, and I must say, the cultural diversity now is unbelievable. Just while writing this line, it is so good to hear the church bells on a crisp Sunday morning. Hope that never changes. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

- D -

Keeping the peace

Totally under control

Three in one, encouraging each other

Dad unwillingly filling in

Where's the guns?Australian armoured troop carrier

The only free entertainment at the show, haha...

Good day, good try

I got up rather sluggish this morning, must be all the lollies, no, no, not the beers. Anyway, had a coffee and a slice of rye bread with the wife,  started up the old girl. Good bye The Entrance! I must say they have a great walk along the lake to the best lolly shop I've ever seen. Wife and kids thought they were in heaven!

Tamworth windy, cloudy and cold, and it still doesn't dampen the spirit for the big Tamworth show tomorrow. Tried to get a spot at the show grounds......ha ha ha , well I have a show guard dog I told the gate keeper.😊 So we park across the road from the grounds. OK Friday the 13th: prayers the pastafarian way with capsicum and beans. Quick easy good food with a sprinkle of instant blessings from parmesan cheese, yum-men and good night.

- D -

Lolly shop

Jiniba acting like a show dog, giving the blind eye

This is where you end up when you're refused entry to the showgrounds in the background 

Happily sad

Happiness comes with suffering, or maybe sadness to some extent. I have been so looking forward to this day, when I sit behind the steering wheel of the Phantom to leave Sydney. But at the same time  my heart is aching, not just leaving my Mum behind, but leaving her in a huge lifechanging situation.

Thanks to the staff at Shangri-La nursing home, they have been so helpful and encouraging. I don't know how other people do it, but for me it has been weakening and hurtful and at the same time totally loving and mentally strengthening the love and connection between my mum and I. The reason why we've been in Sydney, I won't say has been accomplished, but at least we've reached some ground, and I hope my Mum will come to terms with it and will understand why.

When we begin life, everyone takes it with happiness and joy, and throughout our life we are often happy. And like I told Mum today, we should also embrace old age happily. You might be wheelchair bound, but we still enjoy the taste of peaches and the colours of the rainbow. All is not that bad. We've just got to accept the situation, adjust to our conditions, and enjoy what we can. And when death comes upon us we should embrace it happily, after all life was given to us unconditionally, free, with no rules, and all that the majority ask from you is to be a good person. I love my Mum but I have to leave her, and we shall meet again. Hopefully in good health, and we both can have a peach together.

Thank you Sydney, its been great. Nearly three months there, not by choice but conscience on my behalf, and a real big thanks goes to my best friend and love of my life, my wife, for putting up with me during this some what stressful time. Also to my friends that came around for kava and getting our kids to meet up, thank you.

- D -

Let's go bush

"Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free..."

Those words are so true when you live like we do. Especially in the best country on Earth. So all you anthem loving, dinky di, fair dinkum, fundamental Australians, stop dreaming and start living. Check it out, you'd be surprised how amazing your home country can be. Like the famous Australian Ernie Dingo says: "Go on. Get out there!" And I must say, it is so much more pleasurable doing it in your own home, be it a Ford econovan or luxury motorhome  you can still enjoy it all the same. As for my wife and I, before we grew up, we started in a mozzie dome in the back of a Nissan Navara ute for more than three months around the Kimberleys. And at the time that was luxury (maybe just being together). Funny enough, after five kids it's still luxury being together.

Now that we have the phantom, life is much more simple. Don't get me wrong, because it still doesn't stop the sink from blocking up, the black water from being dumped, and all the other little hiccups that took the place of mowing the lawn and cleaning the gutters, etc. But the one thing I haven't got away from is picking the dog  poo up. Thank goodness he doesn't do it inside the home, or that would be his last poo. 😀

Now that the power source is functioning at full capacity, the man cave is reasonably sorted and the family is all geared up for an inland change as we have been on the beautiful NSW coast for a couple of months. The itinerary for departure is set! Justthethought of heading out bush brings on the craving for a roo tail over the fire, even a bit of roo kidney or liver or some wild goats... We're heading up New England Highway, so property owners up that way who will swap a good day's work for a hunt on your land, drop us a line.

- D -

Check...

...check...

...check. All set to go!

We LOVE the beach too, and will be back after some bush bashing

No power, no ice cream, and my beers are getting warm

Patience is a virtue, so they say. At the moment that line is very thin. For the past week I've been monitoring the amps on the battery bank, and for some reason it has halved. We have a bank of 16 batteries, and we're running at 24 volts. It would have been ideal to get 200+ amp batteries each, but in our case, because of our low-cost budget recycling lifestyle, and the depth of our pocket, we had to go through the good old ABC Wreckers and use lead acid batteries at 100 amps each, which has worked absolutely fine for the past three months, giving us 2-3 days power through rainy days.

The battery bank is in the man cave, and it is so clustered in there that we have been forced to move from a beautiful spot and look for a truck stop so we could make path to inspect and rectify this patience thinning problem. While I'm writing, the ice cream is melting, the kids' 2015 schoolbooks (tablets) - modern day slates - won't work. The dog keeps barking, because his fan is not working. The wife seems to be cool headed about it all, and as for me, I know that at some stage this afternoon/evening, I will be quietly swearing. No cold beers. So on that note, I better get to work. Because of the thought of Kimberley cools (warm beers) and not getting to watch the 6 o'clock bad news, I've got to get my priorities right and fix it!

P.S. Luckily when the going gets tough, you can always depend on the petrol guzzling 2.5 kva generator. Cheers, it's time for a beer (problem not fixed). There's always tomorrow... Oh, the serenity!

- D -

This is the entrance to the man cave.

Battery bank with reorganised storage. At least I can get to it now.

Great stay for a day (or three)

Due to the front wheel problem we've had lately, we stopped to check the oil level in the front hub on the side of the road at Brighton-le-sands. Plenty of clearance even for a big rig to park safely, and out of the way from residences - or so we thought. An anxious resident from the other side of the road (which is six lanes wide, mind you) expressed his disapproval of us stopping there, and in his words, "blocking the view from my waterfront unit". Although we knew we hadn't done anything wrong, it still left us with an uneasy feeling. This was soon to change when we got a visit from a police officer responding to a complaint, when she confirmed we were legally parked there, and as far as the police or council are concerned, there's no problem with us stopping there. "And what a beautiful spot it is", she said before wishing us a great day.  

We know how hard it is to park near beaches in a bus sometimes, but it was so easy to pull over here and let the kids go for a swim. There's showers and public toilets close by too, so we ended up staying for the day (or three). As long as you are self contained and discreet, even with five kids and a dog who says hello to everyone, I don't think big rigs would have a problem stopping at the Grand Parade to enjoy the beautiful Brighton-le-sands. Traffic noise can be a problem, and it goes on all day until about midnight. Our bus has double glazed windows thus giving us the comfort while parking on busy roads. After all, we're in the phantom.

- D -

Easy access to the beach

                                      

View from upstairs window

Friendly visit from officer confirmed we were parked just right.

And fishing we went

They say change is as good as a holiday, and in our case change of scenery IS a holiday! For my husband going fishing is a holiday, and since our children all seem to take after him, even the least likely fisherwoman (me) had to agree to this marvellous idea. Besides, when the kids are busy - whether it's fishing, swimming or playing in the park - us big people get some rest too. I spent my quiet moment reading a newspaper while the rest of the family caught us some dinner, and by the time they were all satisfied with their catch, it was already bedtime: some more quiet time. This is what I would call a win-win situation. 

- M -

The keenest fishermen kept going until it was dark.

When there's water, there's always a chance to swim. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is non-negotiable. 

Even these pelicans couldn't stop us from catching some fish.

It is time to move on!

Well, we got a knock on the door by the first visitor that we didn't know, since being on the road. And I'm happy to say it was Mr Ranger from Canterbury council. Apparently the good hard working rate payers from the housing commission blocks in Riverwood complained about seeing the phantom parked up on the side of the road without obstructing or endangering anyone, 2-3 days of the week. It's so good to see that someone is always looking out for you, for the good or the bad. And in this case, it's not good for me, and on the other hand, it must be good for the houso for whatever reason it may be.

In all truth, I would have thought that this had been the last place in Sydney to have anyone complain about the phantom because when one walks around the streets, on the side of Riverwood where we were parked, on any given day there's a pile of rubbish, abandoned furniture, unread mail and other things alike. Well, I don't know who's the local member for the area, but I can see the election is coming up, and if Jihad Dib, the local labor member wins the seat, I can only hope that he makes a difference. God bless Australia and everyone in it. On the bright side, they've just forced all fishing rods on deck!

- D -

Rubbish day every day

Common sight in Riverwood

Mechanic's workshop out of housing unit?

Here's the hopeful saviour.