Caretaking

13/12/2012
Suddenly it’s not November any more, Christmas is just around the corner and we haven’t done a thing about it. Presents for the UK may get there sometime in January and nobody will get a Christmas card, face book and e-mail seem to be the way to go.
 So after a few chores here and at the units we bit the bullet and drove into Cairns Central to do some shopping. The whole trip took no more than a couple of hours and we didn’t argue once. All we have to do now is parcel up and post to the UK, the rest we can deliver.
There was no way we could cook after the trauma of shopping so we bowled over to the Surf Club for dinner and a chance of winning $6000 in the members draw. If your membership number is called out, you win, but you have to be there to claim it. We were not even close.

14/12/2012
For a moment this evening we thought the wheel had fallen off. It was nearly two weeks running we didn’t win anything in the Centrals meat raffle and tonight we had to wait until the 10th number out before we finally came good. Now we have a very nice prawn supper to go at. We nearly didn’t go tonight as we were late finishing our jobs, there is more to this house minding than we imagined!
Jane has wrapped the presents, put them in a big box and posted them off to the UK this arvo, postage cost more than the gifts. Meanwhile I mowed the dust at the units then climbed the hill to Kevin and Joan’s to try and keep their gardens from drying out. It’s supposed  to be the wet season, why doesn’t it bloody rain?

15/12/2012
This watering lark can be hard work but quite rewarding. The house on the hill has some plants which are set  in the side of a rock wall and difficult to get at. We have tried our best and are very pleased with the results as they are flourishing and looking really good, until today, when we realized ……..they are plastic!
The only guests in the units went home this morning so we need to be seen around the place making it look as if there is someone on the premises at all times, a bit difficult spreading ourselves over three properties, dodging back and forth.
Frank and Julie, our house swap buddies invited us round to their place for a Christmas street party this evening, never been to one of those before. It was such a pleasant evening, lots of children having a great time, and their parents on it, with one of the dads dressed up as father Christmas who doled out lollies ( sweets ) for them all. Lots of houses, including Franks, have gone to a great deal of trouble to decorate their properties with fairy lights. They obviously have a good community spirit and all get on well, it will be fun living here for a while next year.
Back at the Ponderosa, after a quick visit to the units, we had our prawn supper on the deck listening to a frogs chorus. We have a couple ( could be more? ) resident frogs who croak non stop all night and the novelty ( for us ) is wearing off rapidly. We have tried to send  Ginge out to frogmarch them off the premises but the cat is too bloody idle.

16/12/2012
It has been some time since the present Mrs Riley and I slept in separate beds and even longer since we slept in separate houses. Tonight, for security reasons I am staying in our beach front residence while the missus is kipping in our country pile.
As caretaker it is part of the deal that someone has to be in residence at all times so as there are no guests I have to run around trying to make the place look full. In the meantime Jane is on guard with Ginge, the other place up the hill will have to look after itself!
We have had a lovely day, a skype with family in the UK who looked to be well rugged up against the cold, a couple of jobs around the Ponderosa and the units then a lift to the boat club for the afternoon.. Early evening drinks with Allen and Lorraine which has become routine on Sundays. We are now good friends with them and their two daughters, and, as with all our Aussie friends, we would love them to visit us so we can show them around our part of England………perhaps some of Scotland and Ireland.