Happy Easter from the Chookpen

Our house is progressing , though we have not seen it again. We just know the roof went on because we had to give them another $24 000 plus for reaching the "roof cover" stage.Some preliminary earthworks were supposed to have been done last weekend but Rick's friend, Lee had his machine break down,poor fellow.Matthew is supposed to do the pad tomorrow.Sunday the football again and Monday we will have a breakfast at the chookpen for both sides of the family ,at least those that are not away on holiday breaks.Went to the Casino today. Trev lost and I won so it meant a nice day out , with lunch,at no cost to us.

Some Easter wishes and pics, above. Wish I could paint some of those intricately decorated eggs!!! it IS fun doing them anyway.

Fw: Job# 30118 - WA 6122

Just take a

look at the

email I got

today. OK it

will be a few

more weeks to

connect and

finish everything

but ,,,,it's

good EH?????

----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Joanne Connery <joanneco@trhomes.com.au> To: jacarla2002@yahoo.com.au Sent: Thursday, 2 April, 2009 12:12:23 PM Subject: RE: Job# 30118 - Dear Mr & Mrs Branch, I am pleased to advise that the Transportation date for your new TR Home has been confirmed, the transport date will be the 15th May 2009.

If you have any questions i am contactable on 9493 2998 or via email.

Regards, Joanne Connery Shire and Prestart Liaison Officer A 105 Kelvin Road, Maddington WA 6109 T 9493 2998 F 9493 1127 E joanneco@trhomes.com.au W http://www.trhomes.com.au/

Footy News from the Chookpen

First Footy Game of the year. We did not expect to win but did expect a close and good game. IT WAS NEITHER.They were no better than last year and we were all mumbling, 'that's what we spent big money on!' The new guy next to me called them the Keystone Cops. Even the sky was angry and so were the members, they trooped out in droves before the end of the game.

CHEERS from the Chookpen

Well lots of things happened this past week. We went to Riley's last cricket match of the year last weekend and he did well. We were at Net & Gary's house because they were off on a cruise to Adelaide. W e like their place and Mac loves it. He seems to feel so at home. Denise came for tea one night,that was nice.Then as Vicki's car needed some repairs we went to Rockingham City with her and it was decide to take the plunge and pierce Caitlyn's ears. She paid a little extra to have both ears done at once, two ladies and all was well untill she got the big bang. Then she cried and for quite some time but a dose of chips and a drink and all was well again. Then ,,,,,,,,yes then,,,, the house started. As promised, Andrew has gone all out for it and by Friday they were already cladding the walls with insulation and putting in windows. He thinks he can do it all in 4-5 weeks if he is not held up by any supplies and he has ordered everything.It's good to actually see the layout. The living area and 2nd bedroom are a bit small but the rest looks good.Today they did the crossover, it had to be enlarged for the truck and arrangements have been made with Matthew for the groundwork and plumber as well as the watertank and pump people , so looks good. My men all helped out this morning and that was good. I believe even Riley worked hard so thank you all.I was cleaning Net's house and taking girls to dancing. Karen is in Bangkok at the moment,shopping at one of our favourite shopping centres. She does not have much free time. It seems she has about 12 hotels to check out. Tomorrow we go to our first Footy match of the season and we are looking forward to that.C'mon the Dockers!!!!! Inside,lots of steel.

House from outside,insulation being put on.

Caitlyn's Ear Piercing, she was fine until the big bang!

Some of the cards I made while at Net's

Riley fielding at his last cricket match, bowled one ,got a 4 and several other runs.

Our Zoe-Zoe with fun hairdo by friend

\Rain at the Chookpen

Cottesloe beach............. Some issues to still deal with but basically the Council should not need any more of my outbursts and Monday I delivered the letter absolving the builders from some of these council requirements , so hopefully all is on the way. Rick and Karen invited us to Sculptures by the sea on Sunday and that was enjoyable. Did not realise though how badly the bad back has affected the legs, had to be pulled up a miniscule hill of beach sand . It's a sad situation.Sculptures varied from fantastic to downright an insult to one's inteligence.We finished with pizzas in Nedlands, which were very nice, especially as we are not pizza lovers. Karen IS going to Bankok & Chiang Mai at the end of the month, lucky Karen and though they'll be busy inspecting hotels, hope she enjoys it. Net & Gary are off on their cruise on Saturday. That will be good for them too. We are looking after the chooks and garden so will be there for a week. In April it will be Scott & Jo's house while they do their football visit to Melbourne. Hope this cooler weather continues.It still gets quite warm enough in the afternoon. Emus

I thought I could see Mac having Breaky with his girlfriend ,here.The others disagreed.

Danger (each had an Aust. animal painted on it)

Confused but can see this in Rick's back yard!

It's time!!!!!!!!!!!

Sun setting over Cottesloe groine.

Rain was really only showers but enough to cool things down a bit.

Mumblings from the Chookpen.

Butter would not melt in her mouth! Would it Pixie?

So here we are again and apologies to those who tried to read the, now deleted , piece about Euro English. I guess because this space is narrow, it doubled up and was not at all readable. A pity because it was clever. Apart from that we are overjoyed because we got building approval early last week and the builders are preparing to start next week. The Supervisor, Rick's friend Andy, says it will be his priority program because he owes me for all the naughty things he and Rick did when they were teenagers. So pleased we are. I hope to publish some pics of the start next week. My blood pressure was down a bit with the extra medication and the Dr said I'll have to fly to the moon if I want it to disappear, damn!!!!!Had flu needle too and so did the boss, under slight protest. Had my C Pap machine tested last week too because I was afraid I was not getting enough air but it tested out fine and it appears I am a perfect C pap user. Great!!It'd be better if I did not have to use it at all.

My photos today are of a lovely pink flowering Eucalyptus tree and Pixie. The poor girl has been banned from walking around the block because she gets into our little chookpen and eats all their food and wrecks the fencing. Trev will have to try & come up with something else, my suggestion was already rejected ,ofcourse.

Apart from that had a few cooler days but today & tomorrow is 34 and 38 again. Come on, enough is enough!!!!!

Bits and Pieces from the Chookpen

On Thursday we went to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was magnificent. The staging , the costuming and all the story part of the musical was just excellent with the first two simply being over the top. The singing was magnificent and what pleased us was that Karen and Rick loved it also.Another wonderful Christmas present and we truly thank thee.

Friday Rick ran around like a blue tailed fly and got all the legal papers organised and to the council. He is a good son. We may only need to wait till early next week now but I'm not counting.saturday there were fires near Vicki again and again they were ready to evacuate as the fires were only a short distance away. Totally burned out in the area where Mac and I used to walk. Johnson Road is the way into the suburb.Net & Gary called in so we all had lunch in a small garden restaurant in the next village , was nice. We needed the relax. Today relaxed again.It was friend,Ina's birthday. The big O, 70,(as Trev and I will be also this year). She celebrated with family and friends at the Atrium ,at the Casino, or really the Burswood,I guess. Was alovely afternoon in good company and food was not bad for a change.

The Birthday girl, Ina.

The family end of the table,at the casino. Ina's 70th Birthday.

Lunch ,with Net & Gary and the Branches here,at Camellia Gardens in Mundijong,next village. The girls were made Hibiscus girls by Pop

I was making the bed, Mac cuddled up in the doona & pillows. He really is sooooo cute.

Vicki & Trav were ready to evacauate again (as last year)but it did not come to that.

From Nick,pity it's not animated on the blog,it used to but not lately. Cute though.

The Chookpen woes and the Kids at the chookpen

Sarah is Proud and so are her Mum & Dad and Oma & Pop

WATERBABIES-even the birds joined them.

We have had a few issues which have upset me and yes, I cried (again ) today. Went to the council again to get the building permits and it seems the meeting we attended was a Committee meeting and because one idiot voted against the building, it had to go to a full council meeting the following week. There it was passed with a 100% vote but the minutes had only now got to the office. THEN , we were told it had to go to the solicitor because it being ancillary accommodation and can't be rented out. No one had told us (though Rick remembered reading it). Another $300 to $500 dollars(the latter more likely),Another 2-3 week wait. Well I started totell them about their inefficiency as politely as I could but started to lose it ofcourse and blubbered all over their office and the more I did , the more angry I got with myself ofcourse. wELL,THEY PASSED THE BUCK AGAIN AND AGAIN AND WE SIT AND WAIT AND PAY UP.Poor old Rick has been so good. He contacts everybody involved after each "incident" and tries to get it hurried up. He feels he might have persuaded the solicitors to do a hurried job, we'll see.

Went to the school this morning because Sarah was to receive an honour certificate at assembly. She was the only one who received applause because her Pop clapped , even though all applause is normally held until they have all got their certificates. HE DID NOT CARE ABOUT THAT RULE AND CONTINUED CLAPPING.That was the best part of the day. Hope tonight is even better because we are going to enjoy our Xmas present from Rick and Karen, with Rick and Karen. We are going to see the Phantom of the opera. Wow wee!!!

Went to the Dr yesterday because thebig dog, OI , accidentally scratched me when I was playing with him so needed a tetanus needle and also to get some scripts I needed.More bad news, my bloodpressure is up again and I already take 2 different medications. I was actually afraid of that but did not say so. (Can't get away with anything!!).Gave me another tablet to try as well, not nice,most depressing actually. He says I'm too stressed, I wonder why????

Minded Caitlyn on Saturday and the kids played in the sprinklers,(yes Vicki, she had her earplugs and strap in and on) and they jumped puddles. They had the best time and it was so hard to get them to stop, shower and have tea.

Roosting in the Chookpen

Well here you are, the travel agency you should book all your travel through.We had finally decided to book a trip to Bali for Christmas. Trev really wanted to spend Christmas overseas again for a change, it is a long time since we did that. I would really have preferred Penang, but Vicki and Travis said they were going to Penang, so Bali it was, as we didn't want to intrude in their holiday. We're staying at Sanur because it is much cheaper and also quieter there.They, the hotels, all charge like wounded bulls at Christmas time but OK, all these things are mostly a "last time". We're also flying Jetstar to save some money so will have to bring a thermos and packed lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, we get to Karen and guess what, Vicki & Trav have already booked,where? Bali!!!! Well , can't be helped because we had it all worked out as being affordable and I guess that is why they also decided on Bali.They'll get a surprise or is there such a word as DE-prise when we see them. At least we are in different hotels so we won't be under their feet at all.Karen had brought us lots of brochures of all areas around Aus. but she has worked long hours as has Maureen, since their staff left , so we don't actually see much of her. Jacquie comes in to give them a day of rest and business is still good , despite the economic downturn, which is wonderful for them.

Later today we are minding Caitlyn because Vicki and Travis are going to Cirque de Soleil tonight and like the rest of the kids, they usually overnight in Perth in a hotel.

Have just taken the girls here to dancing because Rick and Trev have gone to Ikea to get a wardrobe we saw there yesterday and would be good for our house. They were coming off their list of products so we could not wait till the house is finished. Thanks to Scott and Jo it is now stored at their house.He already has our floortiles, Trev's teapot collection ,our big TV and antique clocks. Would not know what we would have done without our kids at this time.

There is also a picture of Snugglepot and Possum roosting on top of their cage. They were there with the three of them which hopefully means our little girls are growing up and the eggs won't be very long in coming.

Activities around the Chookpen

Had a busy weekend with a cardmaking day on Saturday, to raise money for orphans & lepers in Thailand and also the bushfires.On Sunday Tash, Karen's friend had a Tupperware party. We also had a lovely dinner at Viv and Mick's along with Maureen and (Mick's sister) and three other friends of our hosts.Was a lovely evening.Was good to relax because the rest of the day had not been so good. It was very hot again. Then cameWednesday!!!!!!!What a day. It was quite cold, I had to put a cardigan on and , believe it or not, it rained and it rained. Yes , we had big puddles and I can't jump puddles any more! Today still cool in the morning but since I was cleaning the oven for our house, I actually got a bit sunburned again in the afternoon,despite my hat and cream. Still no news from the council even though Rick finalised the sewerage question with them,. Since the builders requested if they could have the planning permission, we thought we might be able to physically pick it up. But, oh no , they had an all day meeting and we can't expect it before Tuesday since Monday is a public holiday. It is now over 5 months since we first saw the builders and still no start! Incredible, I just have no nails left at all. Even planning a holiday for Xmas isn't helping that. Today Bella started her first riding lesson for the year but Pixie was not quite ready. She really does her best to help look after her horse,mucking out the stable and letting her in and out and the occasional brushing. Bella brushing and currying her horse ,Pixie.

Pixie is quite happy in the horse float.

Off they go

Tash and Karen making scones at the Tupperware Party.

The sprinklers are on so Pixie is having her evening snack from the Chookpen's gate.

Yes rainclouds!

Something Positive from the Chookpen

All little red kangaroos, now white kangaroos, sitting in a row! Yesterday Trev, Rick and I attended the council meeting at the Shire and...yes...our building application was approved so things should be all a go in a week we guess.Andy has already pegged the site, the sign is on the fence and we have the instructions for the earthworks for Matthew.We were required to make an extra payment of $450 to the council. I asked them to qualify why this was required and was just told that that is what they charge if a plan has to go to council! What a useless lot of people these councillors are. Most of them old,which did nothing towards the standing of the elderly.They made the silliest objections to some of the other applications so we were getting a bit edgy but we had decided not to make statements.Ours looked like going through without objections until one doddering old fellow decided to air his views on the fact that it was a transportable and that old and second hand transportables were often of unacceptable standards.ALL our plans were ther for them to see, including the fact that it was to be newly built!!!!That started a flood of great ideas such as did it have proper insulation, should we have more access because of more cars being used (have you seen the access to some GROUP housing????),the trees having been cut down ( wanted to invite them to have a look at the companion tree in the block behind us, which, like most eucalypts, not only dropped a branch in the wind last week but dropped the whole of the huge tree!!!!)They insisted on a landscaping clause ( my God, after Melbourne , have they not learned ANYTHING about trees close to homes???) Thank Goodness for the Government Representative , sent there to keep them on track, which he did eventually and we were passed. What a strange land we live in. We are still coping with the news of more deaths and terrific material losses in Victoria and now the North of the country in WA here and Queensland is under water. If only previous Governments had got stuck into harnessing all that summer deluge for watersupply for the rest of the country. I think those ideas of piping it down are probably not economical any more but then again, no more expensive, in proportion, to the old days I guess. The latest photo of my boy Mac, the look of contentment.