Winning Station {Visiting}

….. and hello again to Winning.

Two reason to come back, one so that Justin could build a few more rooms and two a place for Justin and the kids to stay while I flew to Perth for Mum’s birthday {with Dad, Alison & Michael}.

I had a full on week in Perth helping pack up our family home and celebrating Mum’s birthday.  Visiting people, driving, visting and driving somemore.  All the while Justin was just as busy with cooking for the mustering crew and doing some schoolwork with the kids.

 

No rest for the wicked, I arrived home on the Monday and it was off to our next stop first thing Tuesday morning!

Winning Station {Visiting}

Can't drive past without stopping in and of course it gave me a chance to catch up with Nana & Pop for a few days before we disappeared {and they returned back down south}.

It was lovely to catch up with everyone, Justin took some measurements but really we didn't do much at all.  Well I reviewed some family history in the form of hand written recipes, all in preparation for my sisters 30th Birthday present.

Winning Station {Working}

Another year, another visit to Winning & more bib making for the Gymkarna!




What a difference 12 months and a heap of rain can make.  Our normal spot had to be cleaned up with a whipper snipper before we could even set up our camper, in the cool night.  The buffle grass was just so high, green and lush looking I didn't want to cut it down.

Justin had some new rooms to build, next to the finished bathroom from last year. The kids and I had to do schoolwork, as always. I had a great time taking pictures in the grass, of all the flowers that area around and of the abundance of butterflies around the place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids even got in some driving lessons from Aggie. They can actually drive reasonably well considering it was their first time.  Kaleb can start the car and drive through to second gear, alone and Kyla is getting better with the concentration whist steering the car.

 

 

They even drove us to check out how full the lake was.  I was more surprised than I expect, we couldn't even drive over the sand hill and down the other side.  It was that full!

 

We took a drive over the the old Marilla homestead for another look, having been two years since our last.  It to looked different with all the feed around, there was more cactus {which they are now trying hard to get rid of} and a few things missing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sewing day saw 26 more competition bibs made for the gymkarna with help from Lorriane and Aunty Jenny.  It certainly made it much faster with all the help and was nice to have it finished in one whole day.

 

Even better than a day of sewing with wonderful woman was the plane ride over Winning to see how different it looked from the sky.  An amazing trip around the east side of the station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I even had a small walk around the tip, looking for some old cast iron baths that Kim had brought years ago. Four, old and amazing baths.  Can't wait to see one of them end up in their new bathroom when it is up and built.

 

Another plane ride, this time Kim took us to Glen Florrie for J to look at what is was that they wanted done.  After driving over their driveway I am so glad that he offered to take us, it really would've been a full day drive, especially on that 88km red dirt and super windy road.  I blinked and it was time to move on again.  We backed up in the early morning drizzle to head back to Mia Mia for J to do the work on the cottage.

Winning Station {Visiting/Working}

Back again and again it was like we had never left.

We arrived and hit the ground running.  J got right into work and the kids & I got right into schoolwork.  Well for four days we did school work, then Aggie and I disappeared for an epic shopping trip to Geraldton {honest it was just for bathroom supplies}.  We took off before the sun rose on the Thursday, leaving the two smalls in the capable hands of their Dad, Kim and four lovely Italian WOOFERS.

I honestly never thought I would say it but there is such a thing as too much shopping. We had three nights in Geraldton and after arriving early evening Thursday we hit the ground running Friday morning with our many page list.  We visited more places than I can even name and had filled the trailer.  Saturday saw much of the same with a few trips back to empty the car into the trailer and I am pleased to say that at just after 5pm we had an early dinner and then treated ourselves too ‘The Great Gatsby’ at the cinemas {along with everyone in Geraldton it would appear}. Sunday was another sun rise started and we got home Sunday just as it started raining right on 6pm.

Four every long but productive days and Monday was a day of rain!  I honestly though while the smalls and I did school work that we would have to do a quick move of the camper as the creek that has always been empty was quickly rising.

 

It was lovely to see Winning finally during/after some rain.  And thankfully come Wednesday the road in was open again which timed well as my folks popped up for the night to see us all. We had a lovely afternoon pottering, chatting and exploring and then listening to the great debate over who would be the new Prime Minister {I had no idea until I saw everyone standing around listening to the radio at the hanger}.  We ended up with Kevin Rudd AGAIN!

Thursday Mum & Dad took off at about lunchtime and we spend the afternoon pottering again.  The smalls annoying the Italians and J working.

Saturday was the busy bee at Winning Bush Gymkarna so we all piled into the cars to clean up and repair everything ready for the big event in a few weeks.  After getting covered in dust from head to toe we had some lunch and then left Justin and Nicola to head home again.

The next few days passed in a blur that was bib making for WBG {don’t ask safer not too} and thankfully we had 50 bibs {front and back so 100 squares} cut, painting and sewn together with sometime to spare.  Nana & Pop arrived somewhere here too {terrible but I can’t remember exactly when}.

The bathroom was finished {along with the other things that J did} and after a wonder feast for Kyle’s 17^th Birthday we hit the road with a solar hot water system on the car/camper and made our way to Lyndon