Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing. My cold doesn’t seem to be getting better, so I haven’t been too chipper. So hanging out at Lou’s was just the right activity, although we did work on plans for a wheelchair ramp at his Rylstone church, St. Malachy’s. The sacristan, Angela, has a friend who professionally does planning and designing for building accessibility. She, Angela and Lou met and she sketched out some initial thoughts. Later, Angela, Lou and I went to the church to take some measurements based on the sketch. I thought the design was more than what was necessary and we debated pros and cons.
I wandered around Lou’s property enjoying the warm weather. Lou is really happy here and it makes us happy, too.
We watched some of the early round tennis matches of the Australian Open. We get a kick out of watching the AO in Australia.
Sunday we stayed home while Lou went to church and then a birthday party for his neighbor. Margaret and Clare came for dinner. Lou roasted a leg of lamb and it was really good. After dinner we played Uno, always a fun game. Christine was really tired and was having a hard time staying awake. We called it a night and went to bed.
Monday was another day of just hanging out. Lou and I walked to the cafe in the morning. It’s a really nice way to start the day. Of course, I don’t really need a cappuccino (full cream) every day, but hey, why not??!! Since we walk nearly 2 miles round trip, I can rationalize that it’s okay.
In the late morning, Lou said let’s go to the dam for a coffee. Christine didn’t want to go, so Lou and I set off. The countryside is so beautiful with rolling hills and the craggy mountains off in the distance. The dam is the Windemere and it is a very big dam that forms the Windemere Lake, which is a reservoir. It was nice to see on the welcome sign to the park that the reservoir is 90% full. The LA fires have been getting a lot of TV coverage here in Australia. We’re horrified to see the devastation and makes one sensitive to how full reservoirs are.
In Aussie speak, a dam is a body of water. Margaret calls her small ponds on her property dams, which really confused me initially. Lou pulled in to the Cudgegong Waters Park, which is a caravan park. It has a lovely little cafe overlooking the lake (or dam). I couldn’t rationalize the second cappuccino of the morning, nor the huge slice of carrot cake, but it was delicious.
On the drive home, I asked Lou to stop so I could take a photo of the landscape. It is so beautiful.
Once home, I did a little research on wheelchair ramps and found a company that makes modular aluminum ramps. I did some screenshots of various ramps in different settings and put together some information for Lou to show Angela. I think a straight on modular ramp right up the 3 steps into the church is better than what the designer suggested, and certainly more cost effective. We’ll see what happens.
Lou and Christine went to the beautiful outdoor pool in Kandos. It’s an Olympic-size pool. Christine did her laps while Louis paddled around. I’m glad Christine got a swim in. There were very few people using the pool in the late afternoon, so I think that should be a good time for a regular swim for Christine
We watched more tennis after dinner and then off to bed. I hope this darn cold finally gives up and goes away.