Finally! It's All Happening.

Well, there are certainly a billion projects on the go, and I have lost track of what has been written about and what hasn't.  Life is not boring to say the least.  Frustrating at times, for sure, but boring? Nope!

Let's see, where were we at ?

During the last two months, April and May, we have been absolutely flat out, between houses, Kombi, and visitors.  We also did a house and doggy sit for Will's cousin Anne and her family, while they had a lovely holiday in Bali. They live in Menora, very close to Perth city central, and have a very cute 2yr old Cocker Spaniel, called Theo. So we were city slickers for a week.  It was different.
We went up while the family were home, to meet Theo, and get our bearings of the house.  Theo was all cool with us, and we thought he was pretty good too.  Two days later, when we arrived, things had changed. The family had gone, and two strange people were in the house. For the whole day, Theo wouldn't even stay in the same room as us, and wouldn't even accept our food bribes. So we left him alone, and went to bed. He sleeps in his own bed in the main bedroom, which we were using. Theo, is an inside dog, we are outside dog people, but followed the house rules. In the morning, happy Theo was back, and we were ok again. Phew, this could have been a real problem.

Arriving at our City Digs.

So we had a nice time with Theo, lots of walks, and lazy days, which included a couple of minor incidents, such as Theo weeing on the bed..........what the f@#K Theo? and him having a huge chunder on his own bed........what the f@#k Theo? Other than that, it was cool.

Let's go Theo, show us your park.

We took Theo to the beach, he just ran off and dug a hole.....

A bus ride in to the city to check out Elizabeth Quay.

All our Kids live in the City, it was easy to catch up for Family lunch.

Next was a fabulous visit from my sister Sue and her husband Brad, from the UK.  They are very busy business people, and used to a totally full and exciting life. We are not quite as exciting as they are, but we did our best to keep up and enjoy their visit. We collected them from the airport, and delivered them to my mum's house in sleepy old Pinjarra (a fair bit different from Surrey in the UK), and arranged to see them the next day with the rest of the family for a get together.

Presents all around and lots of chat, food and laughs.

It was a great family gathering, with almost all of our extended family making it to say hi and catch up. Three generations, presents, food and lots of laughs. It was the beginning of a pretty full on two weeks with them.  We had so many dinners out, I think I only cooked two times in two weeks, lots of getting together with family and old friends, and running around.

Sue and Brad organised a gathering at the Sebel, in Mandurah. 

Check out this magnificent view from their apartment.

Brother John, took Sue, Brad and Will out on his boat for a cruise up the river and into the marina.

It was an amazing day, with plenty of dolphins, no wind, and many beverages.

Getting the boat out, the sun going down, it was a great day.

Still not a breath of wind.

Next was Mothers Day, which was another major event. With my sister over, and my daughter (the almost Chef) with a very rare Sunday off, it was decided that we would host a High Tea in honour of all the mums. So Olivia sent me the grocery list, I did the shopping, she did the bulk of the preparation, cooking and presenting, while Aunty Sue and I were her kitchen hands and "Sue Chef".
It was a totally amazing spread, and again we had a lovely bunch of family ladies to enjoy a special day. I was exhausted, again, and very proud. And very FULL.

My first High Tea, with so many delicious morsels.

Delicious savoury treats, and the required homemade scones.

Beetroot stained, Devilled Eggs! So Good!

Some of the lovely Family Women. The younger ones came too, just were busy.

A couple of days later, Will's brother and his wife (Geoff and Taryn), from Port Douglas in Queensland, arrived to help us celebrate Will's Dads' 70th Birthday. So another trip to the airport, at another late hour of the night, and more getting together, running around, organising and celebrating. In amongst it all, we still hung out with Sue and Brad, as their holiday was coming to an end, and we had to try not to be sad about it. More dinners out, and another big party for Bill's birthday, with even more family and friends...........Will and I are now feeling rather numb and can't remember what the hell we are supposed to be doing with our own stuff.

Will's Mum, Bobbie, Taryn, Jens and Geoff.

Celebrating Bill's Birthday, with his boys.

An extra Colquhoun male, Jackson, adds to the crew.

The birthday party crew.

Blowing out the candles turned into a bit of a challenge. Lucky we didn't put 70 of them.

Another break in, totally mind blowing, maddening stuff, with a couple of broken doors, and a window this time. Just another spanner in the workings of our life plans, but to help us get over that, we had a very interesting day soon after.

Stupid, Dumb, (imagine swear words)......

We did need a new front door.......eventually!

Clearing the front for the Renovations.

Shed pad down, and the engineer checking the soil. Last piece of the plan puzzle.

Our family home has been on the market for just under 3 months, in a very slow, tough market, and we had only one viewing.  They really liked our house, but needed to sell theirs first. So, we didn't get excited. Two weeks ago, we had a call from some people who were in the area and looking at houses. They wanted to see if they could come through. I had been a bit ill, so was just slothing around the house in my flanno, making a poor attempt to clean it.  "Absolutely!" I exclaimed, as warmly and as welcoming, as I could. "When would you like to come?" "Ten Minutes?" "No problem, that would be fine, just be aware that we have no power, there is work going on in the street after the big storm."  Aaarrgghhh.......of all the days. But, you never turn a potential buyer away, especially when they are only the second people to call.

Storms are here, and on high tide.

This is what can happen when all the elements get together. Full moon, High Tide, Storm.

So, I rush around, tidy up, get changed, and show them through.  They liked it, they went away, they called up 20 minutes later, came back, had a cuppa and bought the house.  Wow, wow, wow! Holy smoke, what do we do now? Off to the Settlement Agent, just as our latest Warmshowers guest, Art Brown, Famous Canadian Cyclist, arrives. "Hi Art,welcome to our home, we just sold it and have to pop out for about an hour, make yourself at home, grab a beer and relax. See you shortly!" He was cool, and did just that.

This is Art, and his recumbent bike, "Beast".

This means we are now on the count down to being homeless, as the Reno house, is not even started yet.  But on that topic, there is news.  So we got onto the shed people, as they were dragging their heels, and we also pushed a bit harder on the fence guys to do the rear fence, so now at least, as of Friday 3rd June, we have a nice new rear fence, and a massive mega shed, that at worst, we could live in. Don't want to, it is getting really cold here, and I hate cold.

The Shed pad, and the new higher, not asbestos, fence.

Day one of shed build. It looks rather huge!

Woo, hoo, it is done! Amazing massive shed.

I sounds like all our shire approvals will be in by the end of the next week, but the builder is starting preparations as of Monday. Super duper everyone, about bloody time! At least one of my workmen are progressing at a reasonable speed, and he is not the experienced one either. Will and Dixie van are almost done. I just need to cover the mattress and finish the curtains. I have a slight set back, but should still be able to complete my jobs before we are homeless.

Down but not out, I am still able to boss everyone around over the phone.

So here we are, busy trying to figure out what to do with our stuff, sell a few last possessions that we won't need, and arrange ourselves a home for the next few months. The buyers have returned to take a few pictures of their home to be, and are very excited about the whole thing.  It makes us feel more positive. Their finance is approved and we have three weeks to get out. This knee better recover quick. There is also the chance we can solve our housing issue for the next few months, and it might just work out perfectly.  Fingers crossed.  I don't like to jinx things by speaking too soon.

Will having a go on Art's recumbent.

Art is dismantling his bike for packing and travelling home.

Another twist to our adventures, relating to Art and the Beast. Art decided to head to the city for the weekend for some sight seeing, That was good, because we had another cyclist coming for an over night stay. Rachel is a young lady from the US, who resides in Israel, and has been working in Australia on a work visa. She was an amazing young person, and she had just ridden down from Exmouth. Yes, Exmouth! It would have been so hot and tough.

Meet Rachel, amazing solo cyclist.

Art returned to us after his weekend away, and started the final preparations for his return home. Six thousand plus kilometers and about four months, he was ready. During the afternoon, Will and Art were checking out the Linear bikes (that is who makes Art's bike) and discovered one that can fold easier for travel. They had lengthy discussions about it and the Rohloff hub gear system, which we have.  At dinner, Art jokingly suggested that Will could buy "The Beast", and then he wouldn't have to pack it up, and he could get a new folding recumbent bike.  Will stopped eating, and looked seriously at Art.......hang on here folks, it was a joke right?

Is this Will's new machine? What will happen to Yellow Dawg? Photo courtesy of 

Art Brown, http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/artimusbrown

The next morning, I told Will that if him and Art were serious about the bike, I was cool with it, just sort it out without me.  So they bloody well did! A price was discussed, and then Art showed Will how The Beast went together, and Viola, we have a new family member. Welcome Beast.

We took Art into Mandurah to see some sights, including the historical old Bridge.

On a sight seeing venture, we stopped in Dwellingup for a sausage sizzle lunch.

The river at Scarp Pool was up, and it looked fantastic.

Will took Art up to the airport while I had my last Yoga session before my knee surgery. It was an absolute pleasure having Art stay, he was a lovely, interesting and funny man. I am certain we will see each other again in our cycling future.

To tie it all up, we have had a million visitors, had drama with the reno, almost finished our Kombi, Sold our house, and still have a zillion things to get sorted before 15th Oct this year

Oh, yeah, that! Our next big adventure! All thanks to a good friend (Darren Griffin) who happened to message us with a plan he had for himself. We are going to India! Wow! India! On a motorbike tour! Crazy, mad, insane and possibly totally stupid. But it will be very different. 10 days on an organised tour on rental bikes, then we have 6 weeks to explore in our own way. This has yet to be decided, and may rely entirely on how we deal with the culture shock we will undoubtedly suffer. We have had immunisations and need to finalise international drivers licenses, and visas. But, we have been trying to get in as much practice as possible. Be another 8-10 weeks before I can ride again, but then it will be all go.

I think this is the Red Fort in Delhi, but I will find out.

We will be riding 500cc Royal Enfields. Made in India since 1948.

I hope I see this sort of thing.......

We will Definitely being seeing this Icon.

Phew, I am exhausted! Why did I ever think I would be bored? How did I ever manage kids, work and all this stuff? It is much better doing things in your own time, having time to see family, and being flexible for appointments, and being able to fit into other peoples busy lives. I just really miss the warmth. I really do not like this cold weather............Art said it isn't even cold, his winters in Winnipeg get to 40C below zero.........Hell NO!

KOMBI: The Final Push to Near Completion

3/06/16, Friday, the start of, WA Day (Foundation Day) Long Weekend..

By Will.

Hi everyone, how's the start of this warm Southern Hemisphere winter treating you all, amazingly it was 25C in Perth today !!! 

I hope you are all busy planning your own next adventure, be it an exciting day trip to the local park. A fantastic long weekend away or multi month tour...

The plans for our next OS travel adventure are coming along nicely, roll on October !

Lots has occurred over the past month, Jenny's busy currently drafting that exciting wiljen's Adventures blog update. So once again I'll stick to the Vee-Dub Kombi Camper only update.

So where were we friends ? Ah that's right the Electronic Control Panel was constructed but still required vanishing .

Weather resisting Watson Varnish, I do 3 coats over 48 hours.

Time to refit the Poptop roof hatch hardware, I'm using Stainless Steel Fasteners. Also check out the new LED light?

The Rubber o-rings are from metal roof tech screws. The finish looks heaps better then when we first bought the Kombi. Which consisted of rusty screws & scabby old silicon.

I have the car resto "Mojo" so work into the night !

Cabinet is all vanished so time to put it back together.

I tidy up the wiring behind it.

I've discovered that while I'm capable of finishing this Kombi refit task, every job seems to take me 5 times as long as a professional !  For example the interior trim cards, should have been easy but turned into a , major mission. The problem being, the trim Retaining Spring Clips weren't long enough. The current solution was to fit household wall plugs then screw into them. Not perfect but acceptable enough for now. 

It's all coming together nicely now, especially after Jen & I solved the interior panel card problem.

It was a scary job trying to cut the new RnR seat/bed kick panel with my cheap Chinese brand Jig Saw. I use the old one as a template.

Amazingly (with some luck) it fitted in well.

A new  400 watt 12v to 240v inverter has been fitted, I may need to run a thicker (50 amp) positive cable for it.

Jenny is busy sewing & fitting the new "Funky" curtains . We bought the material from Spotlight in Mandurah. Also, see the manual pump Tap, it now works !

How good do the new "Jenny" curtains look. I earlier put in camper curtain rails from Just Kampers.

Time to refit the old (original) Rock-n-Roll seat/bed.

After some small modifications the RnR seat is in position and ready for action.

Most jobs on the wiljen VW Dixie Kombi Van are now done, all that remains are :

* Fit Pop-Top Roof Lining, we are farming this job out to Andy & Co. at Mandurah Canvas.

* Attach Roof Rails & Awning. This has been purchased from ARB Mandurah. The 3 x Roof Rails are from Rhino Racks & the Awning is ARB brand, it is a good size, 2.5m x 2.5m , it is also interchangeable with our Toyota Landcruiser. 

Funny story obtaining these roof rails, I pull into the ARB Mandurah car park surrounded  by Pimped Up Off Road 4wd Vehicles, I'm in the little orange Kombi. I ask about some roof rails and they almost laugh at me (the guys are cool I've dealt with them before),

 "it's not everyday we get a VW T2 Kombi Van in here" says one of the staff. They don't think they can assist me in my mission.

Fortunately I have done my research and Rhino Rack make a roof bar for Kombi's. Unbeknown to Mh ARB they are the only retailer in the nearby vicinity. After a quick computer search they agree it's doable ! Success, Bars, Fittings & Awning all arrive 2 days later !

* Cover the new mattress section that infills the space on the drivers side left by the removal of the "old cabinets". The mattress section is 1900mm x 400mm, with a few grooves cut in it to match the contours of the interior van body.

* Finished making the Curtains, 2 more to go. This is Jenny's area of expertise and they look really good.

Grant at Clark Rubber, Mandurah did a great job cutting the white piece of foam to fit. Even after I did my best to confuse him.

Lastly there seems to be an Alternator fault. 

When I picked Jenny up from the hospital on Wednesday the 1st of June, the Battery Fault Light on the dash started glowing. I checked the connections, fitted the new Deep Cycle battery , checked some other possible reasons and finally came to the conclusion that it's either a Voltage Regulator (internally fitted into alternator) of some other Alternator problem, diodes ?

While Jen had knee surgery I ran around town doing Kombi Jobs. Then the call came to pick her up after 8 hours in Hospital. The Kombi turned out to be a good option for old Jip Leg Jen. Pity the Alternator decided to cark it in the way home.

So next Tuesday I'll take our Dixie Van up to our "Tame" VW Mechanic, Carl at the Volks Shop in O'Connor Perth. Hopefully they can resolve the Battery Light Fault, then do a full service & maybe even repair a couple of small oil leaks.

Dixie will then be ready for a winter "shake down" adventure !