Day 56 – Solomon Mine Rail Spur Project/Tom Price

Hello Bloggies, sorry about last night….but we had a call from a site 200km from Tom Price asking if I could urgently go across and do some talks for them. So the best business manager in the world automatically bumped up my prices(not really) & said I could attend at this short notice. (It will pay for the Bullbar & Winch on the Land Rover when I get home) It had also better buy something nice for wife and daughter….I don’t think the Bullbar & Winch is a very feminine accessory.

So I drove across to Solomon Mine & this is where I’ll be until Sunday. It means that Ness & Annie will be on their own for a couple of days so for those of you who can…..Give her a call, she will appreciate the company. Don’t call me though…I’ll appreciate the silence! (I mean that in the nicest possible way).

I’ll take some pictures of this camp, it is pretty basic….not at all like the Christmas Creek Resort. And I’ll get Ness to post them when I get home.

Some information on this project?...Ok the actual mine is 60km north of Tom Price, but I am working at a camp 200km North of TP because they are building a rail link between the mine & existing rail facilities. When I did my induction I found out that this project is worth 3.6Billion dollars! Yep Billion (Ness you should have bumped my price up some more!) the rail link project that I am on is costing $850 million. The port facilities $1.2 billion, the actual mine $850 million and an ore processing plant for $700 million….. and that is before they start producing iron ore! It’s owned by Fortescue metals group( FMG) & they are doing things in a clever way. They have 3 large leases fairly close together so they will share infrastructure (rail & processing plants, port facilities) so it should all work together in the next few years or so. Andrew Forrest just has to hang in there & hopefully survive until it all starts turning a profit!

Tonight I cooked myself Chicken Kiev with spicy cous cous…must thank my hubby as he bought the Kiev’s for us but he had to go away!!  Might have the second one tomorrow night.  Sorry Rob…only got a food update…absolutely no-where to buy shoes here but I do have 3 pairs outside the caravan door to select form each day.

Reader’s replies & responses

Got a few bones to pick with people tonight, didn’t have time last night.

Firstly Pete A, mate I don’t believe you were in Laverton….. Especially if you used the Michelin Road Atlas you gave us!..... It would have taken you to Lavington in Albury!!!

Heather tried to encourage Annie to learn the NO word, as she recently had four kids at her place that did not understand the word. Don’t worry Heather, I have other ways of teaching Annie Yes & NO…. She will learn very quickly, and her Mum is also not afraid to use the N word. With proper explanation why…fingers crossed it works. So far it has worked, when asking her to leave her hat on in when she is outside in the sun.  It is quite funny though, as soon as I take her in to the caravan she pulls it off.

Tereasa made fun of the poor guy with one arm, That’s terrible T….. you should have seen him trying to open his stubby! & spread butter on his toast!!!!.... I was almost crying!!! (Now for those of you who get offended by this sort of Armless fun!!!....Ha get it??? …Bad luck!) Oh dear….you two are shockers.

Meredith also reappeared with a really bad Irish joke….. Good to see you are back M I thought I had offended you….. Oh did you hear the one about the Aussie girl living in NZ with worms whose partner just built new steps from a plan on you tube?.....Aw it’s not that funny after all!!!

Brad A, Heather A & Georgia S… I was going to say more about your comments regarding my descriptive writing, just goes to show, when someone does something half decent there are always plenty of people ready to whack them back down again!!!

I just want you to know that Georgia, you are the best teacher in the world, you had a dream & followed it, the hard work & effort was tough but you persevered & your passion for the indigenous kids is amazing, Heather your home is a work of art, it should be in Vogue magazine it is spotlessly clean & your garden is immaculate, not a weed in site & a pleasure to just sit & take in, Jamie & Syd are a beautiful reflection of the effort you have put in over the years and you are and should be very proud of them both. Oh and your cooking is awesome, I really look forward to every time I visit your place for a meal. And Brad A, Mate I admire the guts & determination you have harnessed to fight a fight that will ultimately lead to a decision where many people’s lives will change for the better or for worse…Keep it up Brad.

I hope the three of you feel like shit now for criticizing my writing!!!

Annie’s Blog

Dad had to go to work today and he said he won’t be home till Sunday! Now I can’t work this out? My Dad tells people how to be safe, but why do they need him to stay there for the whole time? I mean does he go around and make sure people’s are sleeping safely? Does he make sure people’s are showering safely? Does he make sure that people’s are tying their shoelaces up properly? I just don’t know why they need him there all the time.

I stayed with my Mum today, but I was a bit grizzly, not sure if it was because Dad is away, or my tummy hurts, or I have grow pains? Do adults get grow pains? Do any of my friends get grow pains? Hey Jack, maybe you are growing all the time and that’s why you cry sometimes? My mum took me for a walk in the pram, she took me for a walk carrying me, she took me to the bathroom with her, but I was still grizzly. Then to top it all off Mum gave me the same dinner as last night. Now last night I loved sausage casserole and rice made kinda soft and lumpy…but not two nights in a row Mum.  At least she gave my yummy fruit and yoghurt instead.  I heard Mum say to Dad that she hopes I sleep all night & I am better tomorrow. Me too!!!!

Ok I’ll go now cause I’m not in a good mood, Night to you all.

Love AnnieInAVan….XXX

Day 55 - Mt Nameless

Apologies to you all, but I had a job come up that was unexpected. So instead of sitting typing to you all I will be earning some money. I have to leave Ness & Annie for a couple of days. But ill explain in tomorrow nights blog.

Stay tuned for  Ness & Annie’s Blog while James is away. J

Sorry for the morning readers…… Go buy a newspaper you tight A#@$’s

 Love from James, Ness & AnnieInAVan….XXX

Day 54 - 502,000km2

Tonight’s cryptic clue is the size of the Pilbara, Half a million square kilometres!  Lots of land to get lost in!

Kristine D won’t like this but Trombone Man was at it again tonight, he played most of Mozart’s 23^rd symphony in his cubicle tonight! Combine that with the person over the back of us that coughs like a seal & we have a lovely little orchestra going on!

Had some brilliant sunsets the last couple of nights, so brilliant that we were so caught up in them that we did not think to take a photo! Except on the mobile phone…you can see one on facebook.

I made a guy pass out today! I was at a mine site 75km away from Tom Price & was giving my talk. Now most of you know that I tell people the story of my accident & how it changed my life & affected other people. One of the questions I ask is to think about who would be affected if they had an accident! This guy fell forward & was caught by the person sitting next to him. He went pale & his eyes were blank! The nurse was called & they took him out of the session & to the first aid room Poor bugger, I hope he is ok.

Hey there is a guy here with only one arm! He has this camper trailer thing & a Toyota Landcruiser. I laughed the other day when he was trying to reverse his trailer….He was ok going one way but shit trying to turn the other! You are a horrible man….

Reader’s replies & comments

It’s Box’s birthday today, Happy birthday Box, I hope Dubai is treating you well & Lou & Chelsea got you a new Toyota 86 (I want one!)

Both my sisters accused me of plagiarising my description of the sunrise! You disappoint me girls, I had Mrs Booth for Year 9 English at Gunnedah High School, she teached me heaps of good stuff to right about!

Jack & Grace also hear the NO word heaps, but they are twins & it is always going to be two against one

Edward, when you go to Jack’s on Monday….Let his Pig out, even if your Mum & Jack’s Mum say NO

Arama, caught up on the blog. Nice to have you back, we were starting to worry about you.

Shayne compared her day to mine, early starts & late finishes…..Only difference is I don’t have anything in between Shayne. I do one session in the morning & one at night! Still a long day though!

Annie’s Blog

Lots of my friends agree with me about the NO word, their Mum & Dad says it to them heaps too, I’m just going to keep doing my things until I find out what NO means.

I saw my cousins Archie & Anika on TV today, Mum plugged her computer into the box on wheels & there they were. I could hear them & see them….. so I tried to touch them. I nearly knocked mum’s computer off the bench….and she said that silly NO word again! I think it was more like…arghhh…Nooooooo!!  Hey if any of you have this thingy called Skype can you let my mum know? It would be great to see some of you on the TV.

We haven’t done much the last few days, so can some of you tell me what you have been doing? I’m getting bored.

Love from us to you

AnnieInAVan…..XXXX

Day 53 - Jarndunmunha

I fell asleep on my bike today! This morning I had a 6am start, so I was up at 4am, left just after 5 and arrived at site in the pitch black just before 6am. They decided to have the session outside on the veranda of the training room. So there were about 50-60 guys & girls standing on the veranda ready to listen to my story. I was out the front and as I was talking, behind the group of people I was able to watch the most beautiful Pilbara sunrise….. Wow it was soooo cool, the sun reflected off the red rocks, the ground went from black to brown to the now familiar Pilbara red that we will be washing out of our clothes for months to come, The sun’s rays shone over the hill long before the bright sun changed the colour of the spinifex, and when the sun eventually made it’s way into the sky…. I couldn’t see a bloody thing so I had no idea how the crowd were reacting to my message!

But getting back to what I was saying, I came home (have you noticed how easily I say that? Home… is the Trakmaster & Land Rover) and got changed to get on my bike. I did half an hour of pedalling and was sitting in the morning sun (it was still only 9am) and I actually nodded off!.... Oh it’s a hard life I live.

Did you see that overseas newspapers have run headlines saying that Australia has the deadliest coastline in the world! Well like I said last night & Tereasa backed me up….If you don’t wanna get bit, stay outta the fricken water! Or swim somewhere that you know is safe! Duhhh! It’s not rocket science! Would you put a child in a yard full of wild dogs? Would you put your hand into a snake hole? Would you go into a cave where bears sleep?.....NO NO NO…. so why get into the water where Sharks with heaps of teeth have lived for millions of years then!!! You idiots!

Ness & I have a new game, it’s called “Catch Annie” she is standing up more than she sit’s down now, all she needs is something to steady herself and she just gets up on her feet. But once she is up, she is sometimes not that steady. So several times in the last few days we have had to “Catch” her on the way down! It’s a learning process & there will be bruises & tears, but it’s fun to be a part of.

Hey how come you guys are not commenting on our daily location quiz? Have you not seen that each night we put a cryptic alternative to where we are? But no one has said anything. Are you reading the blog or not?

Reader’s Responses

Kristine D does not like communal toilets or toxic water…. C’mon Kristine, you only live once! Especially if you swim in that water!

Tereasa’s Touretts syndrome has kicked in, she wrote the same comment comment twice twice! Just don’t start swearing T.

Jo also sent an email filling Ness in on mothers group, way to go Jo, now Ness is homesick!!!...J

Annie’s Blog

Oh you all have no idea how funny my Mum & Dad can be. We get lots of people come to visit us and my Mum & Dad have to say the same things over & over again. I can tell if they like someone or not because they are really chatty & friendly, but if someone comes to visit that they don’t want to speak to they don’t say much! Adults are so weird! I will talk to anyone for as long as they will listen to me.

I been trying to catch a bird, Jack has a pig so I want to catch a bird & take it home with me! They come onto our mat & eat the food that I spill from my high chair. I’m getting faster every day and I reckon I’ll catch one soon.

What the heck does NO mean? My Mum & Dad have also been saying that to me heaps lately. I go under the caravan & they say NO, I take my hat off and they say NO, I pull the cover off the bench and they say NO, I spit my food out and they say NO…… I’d be fine with it if I knew what it meant!

Goodnight to you all.

 AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 52 - TPTP

Good evening, and I mean that literally, some people say “How ya goin?” & we say “Good mate” but we don’t really mean it….I mean you might have had a crap night’s sleep or a fight with your partner or a friend someone says “How are you?” and you say “Great thanks.”

Tonight I say it honestly and hope you are having a good evening (Or morning if you read this tomorrow).

Hey how many of you have used communal bathrooms? I was in the bathroom tonight, now picture this, you have a corrugated iron shed 25m long by about 8m wide. At one end is the wheelchair bathroom (which is quite nicely set up) then the laundry is in the middle then you have the Male & Female toilets & showers. Now the roof is tin & there is a 3ft gap between where the walls end & the roof. So what I’m trying to say is you can hear everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! Have some people got no pride?

When I go to the bathroom & I have to do number 2’s I try to do it as quietly as possible, even if I have wind…. If I know there is a chance that someone will hear me I try to be extra silent!

But some people!!!!.....TONIGHT I HEARD SOME BLOKE  PLAYING THE TROMBONE IN HIS CUBICLE! It was disgusting, it had several different octaves and went for ages! Jesus Christ!

Have you guys over east been hearing about the shark attacks over here in WA? Now my sympathies are with families of anyone who loses a loved one, it’s just not right. But if you are going to put yourself in a position where a dirty great big shark can come and eat you…..Why should we then hunt and kill the shark? Sharks have been in the ocean for thousands and even millions of years, dickheads on fibreglass have been acting as bait for only a hundred years or so. So who’s turf is it? In the papers the other day the headline was “Police hunt killer shark”….. I get a mental image of a shark with dark sunnies on & a fag hanging out the side of its mouth. But seriously why do we have to kill a shark for doing something it has done for millions of years? Leave it alone guys. If you don’t want to get eaten, go to a swimming pool, or to somewhere you won’t get chomped!!!

Hey Egg & Pete A, guess what happened today? We were sitting in the caravan park outside in the 25 degree heat (Yes 25 degrees!!!) and this Roadside assist truck pulled into the park with a caravan attached to it….. But guess what it had on the back?.... yes you guessed it, A Discovery 2!!!! It brought back memories! (For those of you who don’t know, on our last trip our old Disco broke down and had to be towed with the van on the back!) I got some photos as I knew you guys would understand! No smart comments please.

Reader’s comments

Alan N said I need to come back so Melbourne Storm start winning again…. No Alan they need Billy back not me!

Cath & William said hello…..Hello back guys, see you soon. Congratulations on the recent engagement Cath…awesome news!!  Hope the ring doesn’t take too much longer to be resized.

Tereasa said she wishes she was here, I do too T, there are heaps of places I want to go but won’t go by ourselves. If you guys were with us we could go to really scary places! And Jack is just growing up, everyone is different, Jack is his own person & will find his way.

And Sandy checked in on Panda for us. Thanks Sandy, can’t wait to see her when I get home.

Annie’s Blog

I’m sick of crawling around on my tummy, so the other day I decided I was going to stand up more. So for the last few days every time I can, I stand up. Mum & Dad have been blowed away by how good I am getting at standing. I still have to hold something with one hand but I’m going to try to stand up all by myself really soon.

I like that we have been here for a long time, because we now have a cool system, I wake up & then I play in my bed. But once I get bored or feel hungry I yell out to Mum or Dad to come get me, then we have a play in the bed, then Dad gets dressed in his bike stuff while Mum gives me some boob, Then Dad goes out to ride his bike & Mum puts me in my Pod or high chair with a treat, usually some banana or pear & I watch Dad ride his bike…. He says funny things to me & I laugh. Mum makes her coffee (if dad hasn’t made her one) & she makes my second breakfast. While Dad is on his bike lots of people come past on the way to the bathroom & laundry, they try to talk to him while he is riding his bike….. Some people have no brains!!

Anyway I gotta go now cause I had a big weekend & I’m so tired.

Night Night

AnnieInAVan

xoxo