My first day back in Perth I was up and jogging by 6:15am just as it was light enough to see the path before me. Yes, it was cold but it felt good to be back in the bush enjoying the fresh air and wild flowers which had begun to pop their cheerful heads out to catch the sun’s rays. The birds were calling to each other as I passed along the track around the swamp whose water had spread across the low-lying ground due to the rains. It was lovely to see the changes and the early signs of spring. Back at the house I took a cold shower, my usual routine after a jog if I’m not going to the beach. I didn’t have time for the beach as I wanted to help the church coffee team as I knew Glenda wasn’t well. I had time to cook and eat my delicious porridge which soon warmed me up, then out the door by 7:40am.
I went down to help with the Tuesday coffee run but was disappointed with my reception. Having spoken with Glenda the day before I knew she and Jan weren’t going to be there and as I was up early I sent an SMS to say I was happy to fill in if needed. When I got there Glenda was already there with a mask on. I suggested she go home as I was there to help out. She really wasn’t well. I stepped straight into my old position (everyone knows I do the shots) but was abruptly asked if I was doing shots. Thanks, yes, I said thinking nothing of it but was quickly told that they had been doing the shots while I was away, implying that I was taking over. I was a bit taken aback as I thought I’d be slotting right back where I usually was. Later that morning I expressed that I hadn’t felt welcomed by this person although the others reassured me I was. Once I had expressed my disappointment, it was out of my system; I forgave the person and was able to move on. I later received an SMS apology which I appreciated and accepted. Despite this, it was lovely being back on the team and catching up with everyone, including the church staff who came over for a coffee.
That afternoon I put in an order for my home wireless WiFi which came two days later and once set up was working so much better than the previous connection. I still needed to contact LG TV services to help me set up the TV as my efforts fell short. I wasn’t able to receive all the catch up TV programmes. The LG customer service is such a good service, the assistant sent a link to my mobile camera so that she could see what I saw on the TV to help me manoeuvre through the programmes to make the right changes. It now works beautifully.
Tuesday was also my big shopping restock day. I bought a few things from our local store then went into the shopping centre to the bulk buy store to restock my pantry. I love this store as I take my own containers to fill to avoid the plastic bags which the supermarkets have. On the way home I stopped to have a look around the community garden and picked some artichokes and rhubarb. While there I checked out the new paved area for our amphitheatre. I was horrified to see it was off centre! It was so close on the north side that it was nearly up against the mulberry trees and quite a distance from the trees on the south side! Who had signed off on this shoddy work? Why hadn’t they followed the layout the amphitheatre committee had marked? I was so angry I didn’t want to mention it to anyone on the committee but in the end I had to speak with Mim. I was surprised that she too had wondered why it was paved the way it was with the compressed limestone path in the wrong place too. Both of us weren’t happy with it. I suggested that the platform could easily be extended to the south but that the limestone path would have to be ripped up and re-laid.
Back at the units, caught up with neighbours thanking them for watching over my place, watering the garden and picking the fruit while I was away. Late that afternoon my friend John from TAFE Horticulture, came around to get some cuttings from my fig tree and to graft on a few fig cuttings which he had taken from his green fig tree. I really love this fig, John’s first graft. Two years ago, it had literally gone through the roof (of the fig cage which has now rusted away). The next day I severely cut back most of the fig branches, especially those which were not too high for me to reach the fruit. I also cut back the pear tree which had started to flower, then the roses and finally nearly a bin full of grapevine branches. In my clean up while surveying my garden, I was very surprised to see there were four mandarins still hanging on the tree. I picked two but they were a little sour so left the last two on till they could come off ripe in my hand. As I pottered around the garden or up the driveway I pulled out the weeds which were now well established, having had a free reign during my absence. Many of the bulbs were up and some already spent like the snowbells and jonquils. Some of Mum’s red poppies had popped their bright red heads out; others were still growing. Coming home to my garden is always a great joy even though there’s always so much to do.
On Wednesday I slept well so was up early for a jog then down to the beach for my first swim. Wow! The shock of the cold water was invigorating, getting the serotonin pumping. I had forgotten to take my toe warmers to help warm up my toes on the walk home but made sure I put on three layers of socks before slipping into my ugg boots.
This was a catch up email and services day. I logged into the government services to claim my $100 petrol voucher, pay bills, answer emails and generally sort out the affairs which had been neglected in my absence due to my inability to access certain websites with an overseas VPN. I wrote a suggestion/comment to the Home Affairs department about my experience at the Perth International Airport, suggesting they provide a seniors and disability counter for both immigration and customs and that they return to the previous two lines for customs, one for ‘nothing to declare’ and one for ‘something to declare’. I later received an acknowledgement email. I do hope they do something about it. I also contacted TAFE to ask if they were providing a course on WordPress which I’d love to join in 2027. Unfortunately the lecturer was away but I was told he was working on it.
Thursday I had a meeting with a mural artist, Renee at the community garden. We are looking into an artist to paint local floral and fora on our shipping container/shed. I was able to share some of my ideas with her, then invited her to come and look at my garden as she was interested in growing fruit trees in a small area.
That afternoon while picking some of my verge olives, a car pulled up and a man asked if I wanted some olives. Well, yes, that’s why I was picking them I thought. He said he had some Kalamata olives if I wanted some. I thought for a moment then suggested I go with him and walk home and jumped in his car. My neighbour, Kathy, later said he could have abducted me! I doubt it as en route to his home he asked how old I was and said he was 83yrs old and he looked pretty harmless. We had so many things in common it was quite bizarre! He had been a real estate agent in Sydney and I had lived in Sydney, I was born at Christmas Island and he had worked there, he owned property as did I, he washed his olives in ocean water, so did I. The strangest thing of all was when he dropped me home, he asked which unit I stayed in then said he had looked into buying it when it was up for sale. I told him I’m glad he didn’t as I had bought it! What a coincidence!
Friday morning I had a few things to take down to the church for our second hand swap at Share In. I was able to catch up with more of my friends there too; then back to the house to do more jobs. It was then I realised my bathroom swivel tap had split. Yes, split! I thought it was stainless steel but it turned out to be brass which is a much softer metal. I hadn’t realised I needed to let the pressure out of the hot water tank after turning it off while I was away. The force was so great when I turned on the tap, it was coming out in explosive spurts, which must have burst the tap. I’d never heard of this happening before but now I needed a new tap. Kathy said she had changed all her taps and would help me but then changed her mind which was a good thing as the plumber really had a hard time removing it.
Saturday my friend Jess came around so together we went to Bunnings to buy some fertiliser and my bathroom tap. It was lovely catching up with her again and having our usual prayer time together. Late that evening my friend Grace, in Sydney, was able to help me with the upgrades for the community garden website, I had to wait till I returned from overseas to do. She was able to update the PHP and the theme but the one she chose I didn’t like. The layout changed all the pages so that they come up individually on the header, instead of under their appropriate parent page. Then the logo was so large it didn’t fit the page. I fiddled around with that and eventually got it looking ok. Once Grace had done the major updates including a different more suitable theme, I was later able to make the minor changes and tweaks to get it loading correctly. The last thing to connect is the Jetpack which I successfully got working on my blogsite to distribute all the emails bar one. I still have other work to do on my blogsite, but that’s not so urgent.
Sunday was church and catching up with church family then helping out after the service with the café before having a relaxing time at home.
Monday I returned to our 9:30am Bible study group, where they were just finishing a study on Biblical characters, the last one being a study on Moses. Not everyone was there but it was nice to have a small group to catch up with. I then returned home to clean two of my four fish ponds which were full of strangle weed which just takes over when I’m not keeping it under control.
I am grateful that the weather thus far hasn’t been too cold. As my travels and August came to a close and as we entered September and our lovely spring weather, I have quickly fallen back into the old routine.
Photos: 1. Ruby Leaf – Alternanthera brasiliana 2. North Beach foreshore 3. My and Kalamata olives 4. Red wattle bird in my garden
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for my safe return home, His guidance and provision and all the wonderful things I did while I was away.
I am so grateful to have my little abode here in Perth, my neighbours, my friends and church family. I’m truly blessed and thankful that the Lord has planted me here.
Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers. Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus. Pray that I will be able to catch up with Jen and Ralf when they visit in October. Pray that Tricia will open her heart and meet Jen while she’s here.
Praise the Lord for the lovely spring weather here in Perth; a little bit of rain and lovely sunny days.
Please continue to pray for the Karen families not only in Thailand but also left in Myanmar. Pray for those applying for visas and permanent residency to join their families abroad.
Pray for world peace, for countries dealing with war and major disasters. Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused. Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.