Where we live

Yep - right across the road from the railroad! We honestly don't notice the shunting of the coal trains anymore. Visitors always look alarmed when they first hear/feel the shunting.(I think if you click on the photo you can see it bigger)

I kinda got the idea for this blog reading Tjilpi's and admiring his Google Earth pictures. We like to play with Google Earth especially for plotting our fishing and crabbing expeditions.

The IRONY is that I always wanted to grow up in the Adam's family. In a small way - I have succeeded with that!I completely live with the coal dust and have made peace with it years ago. On occasion I have taken my friend Rox's advice and played with leaving doilies on surfaces to create great new patterns.

Moth and Anna HATE where we live and always claim they want to move. William wouldn't care less if we lived in a cardboard box under the bridge so long as he had a bike and a soccer ball.

I - love it. I can walk to the supermarket, the post office, the video shop, the club, work (both paid and volunteer) and to the beach and boardwalk. (Ok - so it isn't the prettiest of beaches but it will do. I will fish in a bucket of water if necessary)

There is a bulk billing doctors surgery too (which means swipe your card and its free) but unfortunately the doctors all come from overseas and have NO IDEA how to prescribe the cheaper medicines... And all the drugs they do prescribe you think.. I have seen this before - and it dawns on you the same drug name was on their notepaper, pens and clock on the wall.

If you ask for Ducene - you get a lecture on how they don't prescribe narcotics that makes you feel like a terrible mad druggo... when really all you wanted was a little peace from feeling like your a wound up spinning top and lets face it - I doubt THEY have ever sat to figure out a weekly budget wherein you have to make sure three kids attend whatever sporting, social, school excursion or concert and at the same time feed and house 5 people or attend a P & C meeting and host a child's birthday party that same day. Waffled again. I have been Ducene free since I arrived in Gladstone. I probably should put that on my list for our next trip to Brisbane.

Woops waffling again.

I like where I live because I am close to everything I need. It takes five minutes to walk to the boardwalk. Its a funny boardwalk - they must of spent so much building it. And it is all mine. Never ever do I come across anyone on it. I can walk the dogs as far as the beach - and never see anyone. When you get to the beach there are giant signs warning of $375 fines for having dogs there. Somewhere - sometime - Gladstone must of had someone who really hated dogs working in local council.

William and his mates utilise the mud flats by building bike jumps. They spend hours having fun with their bikes there. And afterwards it is a five minute bike ride to the beach. We have lost so many shovels and picks to those bike jumps. Will comes home and asks to borrow them - I tell him bring them home... and sometimes he forgets. Smart parents probably turn up every day at dusk and obtain heaps of cool gardening equipment. Sadly I never remember.

Hey! That is probably why other parents can afford takeout all the time and I have to spend hours cooking! I outlay more on garden tools!

I love the children in our area. I love the fact they cant do anything madly wrong - because all the parents know each other and will DOB. There are one or two troublemakers.. but my dogs hate them and they are wary of my dogs. It works just fine. I like the fact I have a dozen other parents phone numbers in my cell phone address book. I like the fact I know these other parents also watch out their windows at 3 pm to watch the children come home from school.

William's school has a pool. And is now completely airconditioned. William used to sink in water. Now he .. swims .. even if it is a little uncoordinated it is still swimming. He rides his bike to school - and refuses my offer of a lift even if it is raining.

Anna wont walk or ride or even catch the school bus. This would be beneath her. And woe is me if I am late. Or worse if I am in a hurry and cant wait for her to finish talking to her friends and honk the horn or WORSE - get out of the car. And normally her best friends mother does the morning lifts and I do the afternoon ones. But if they have a tiff - both of us have to do both. Which drives me to absolute DISTRACTION AND MADNESS because - S has better things to do than play taxi and so do I.

Or .. maybe we don't. It still frustrates me. If I have to drive I am happy to take the other kids. I couldn't give a rats ass if they are fighting today. Tomorrow they will be best buddies again. And S doesn't mind mornings whereas if I don't have paid work or if I don't have something I committed myself too.. I like to stay in bed and laze around till after 9 am. S also has little kids to pick up as well - at the same time.

Moth has to drive across town usually to get to work. That takes 10 minutes really. He claims he would like to live closer to his work. I find that ironic because he always proclaims he hates his work. Moth doesn't like the fact the police frequent our area a lot because - especially in the past- the area had problems with the ATSI housing residents - but that has kinda sorted itself out now. The local newspaper reported some of them went to jail and the others all were relocated into houses in other suburbs.

I like the fact that as I walk anywhere in my little area - I know the names of the dogs and some of the people. I genuinely like and care about some of these. Well I like ALL the dogs. I seem to especially like the yapper dogs that bug everybody else. Their yapping is amusing to me - and when I hear a complaint - I as politely as I can say I like it. I like the security in waving hello at them (yes people and dogs) and knowing they are safe and well.

Hoping everyone is safe and well.