22nd - 31st August

Sunday 24th

Ross and my nephew, Jason, along with a couple of guys from the Landrover club went 4wding at Ormeau. They had a great time and Ross was very pleased with the performance of the Disco with the new diff lock in it. The only problem was that when they came back, Ross thought the Disco had blown a head gasket! Two major problems with that -heaps of money to fix and heaps of time too! We are supposed to be leaving Thursday!

Monday 25th

Ross took the Disco down to the Landrover specialists first thing this morning to see whwther they thought the head gasket was blown or not. Unfortunately there is no easy way to tell, so Ross rang his mate who is a mechanic to see what he could do. Ross took the Disco over to the mechanic shop and I told him to ring me when he was ready and I would come and pick him up. A couple of hours later he turnred up - not in the Disco, but on a moped! Pretty funny sight! It is the mechanic's "loan car". He has left the Disco with the mechanics shop for now and they are going to have a look at it.

They rang this afternoon and they don't think its the head gasket - they think its something to do with the cooling system - phew! They aren't positive mind you, so Ross is going to trundle around on the moped tomorrow to see what he can do to help.

Tuesday 26th

Ross spent most of the day in the workshop but they still haven't figured out exactly what is wrong with it and have sent it off for more tests - should know more in the morning - fingers crossed!

Wednesday 27th

Ross spent the day at the workshop again and the guys still reckon it isn't the head gasket and is something to do with the cooling system, so they have parts coming in in the morning, so Ross will go in then and see if he can get it fixed in time.

Thursday 28th

The parts came in but didn't get in until 1 pm, so he didn't get it all finished - running out of time to get it done by the weekend! Ross talked to the guy who is running the 4wd course on the weekend and he has called it off because there was only 1 other person who was doing it. He also talked to Fred and they are not in a hurry to get going as Jude's dad is visiting so the pressure is off to get it up and going by the weekend.

Friday 29th

Ross got home late in the afternoon with the Disco running, but he still isn't convinced that they have fixed the problem, he still has a suspicion that it is the head gasket, but will take it for a drive tomorrow to see what happens. He has put degreaser through the cooling system to try and get all of the oil out of it.

Also today, Lee's son, Shane came home with a broken arm after a fight at a club in the city and had to be put in hospital to get plates put in his arm - these young uns never learn!!

Saturday 30th

Ross rang Jason to see if he would go with him to take the Disco 4wding to see if they have fixed the problem, but Jason was working today, so they will go first thing in the morning - fingers crossed!!

Sunday 31st

Well, they took the Disco for a good run this morning and it seemed to be fine, though Ross is still worried becasue there seems to be a film in the radiator. Nevertheless, we are taking off tomorrow morning and we will call into the mechanics on the way out to see if they think it is ok. We have to tow the caravan up the Toowoomba range, so if it is going to play up, we will know pretty quickly anyway.

We spent the afternoon packing and will head off sometime tomorrow once we have finished packing - I am not as excited as I thought I would be, mainly because I am still nervous about the Disco, so if it makes it over the Toowomba range tomorrow, I will be REALLY excited!!

Letters from Boris

16 August 2008


Hi mummy and daddy. Boy I am having lots of fun! Last night, after I got over the shock of you 2 not coming on my trip in pa's bus, we drove till about 11.15pm, then pa took me for a pee and little walk, then we all slept inside their bus in a Rest Area (I think they call them) all night till 7.45am this morning. I was a good boy, mummy, I slept all night and never made a sound - didn't even snore, I think.
Nan and pa took me for a quick walk in the park, gave me a drink, let me have a pee, then they sat outside with me tied to pa's leg, while they ate their brekky. They spoilt me by giving me some "smackoes", but insisted I take my fish capsule, yuk!
I sometimes sit up between pa and nan so I can look at everything, but othertimes I'm just happy to lay down on the floor on my other bed and sleep.
They are very kind to me mum, but they're not quite like you. I don't miss you too much, but wish you were here with me, I guess.
Nan is especially lovely to me. She is always talking to me, patting me and taking me for walks - or is that pa? No matter - they both love me, I just know it!
Enjoy taking Missy and Sally for a walk each day (without me!) Boy, Sally will think she's king pin now (without me!) and the cats will just love it too (without me!)
Have a good trip (without me!) to the cape (without me!) and dont worry about me (how could you do that to me?) as I will be just fine (without you!)
We are having another walk at Ulmarra now and they gave me some of their bickies they were having with their cuppa - yummy!
Love and licks from your loving son Boris - nan just gave me a big smile and pat - see, she loves me!

22 August 2008

Hi mummy and daddy ... guess what.. I have pa and nan utterly confused!
When we got home pa put my bag of feed into the garbage bin and my Chewey chip things up high (that's what he thought) up on a shelf but not in a sealed container. Sooooo easy! I had a great feed that day! But, I left the tell tale ripped plastic bag on the back lawn.
Like good grandparents, they went out and bought me some Smacko bitie things, and guess what - pa left them in the garbage bin, but left the lid off! How dumb! Again, what a great feed I had that night!
I heard pa ask nan did she know where that red Smacko box come from and it was funny to see the look of realisation on pas face as he remembered what he'd done! Now they have to go out and buy me more - perhaps this time I'll get beef jerkeys or chicken necks - they will probably think of a way to keep me from finding them - they think!
Anyway, thought I'd let you know that I haven't lost my talent - finding food!!! Could have got a gold medal in Olympics if they had that event, eh?
Well, must away. Pa is taking me for a drive in the big bus and if David hadn't have been coming, I would have claimed the front seat - darn David!
Bye mum and love you both, but nan and pa are looking after me. No walk today as it is raining.
Woof and licks from yourfavourite son - Boris

24 August 2008


Hi mum and dad.
Guess what? Nan and pa have just brought me home from a swim and run on the beach! It was sooooo cooool! Yes, real cool (cold) but I had a ball! (to chase I mean)
Had a bit of an misunderstanding with a part collie re "who's ball is this?" Nan and pa yelled at me to stop, but as usual, my selective deafness cut in and I soon sorted him out! No one takes my ball off me!
Must have been at this stage I lost my collar and tag, but of course, no one noticed till we got up top - looks like you'll be paying for a new one. Sorry mum ...
Another first - it was so windy the other night and I got scared (only little bit) but with my small, continuous, pathetic little yelps - eventually, pa came down and let me sleep in their bedroom. Works every time!
Sunny but cool here today, but I'm tired and happy, so I don't care. I'll probably sleep most of the day.
Well - nan just shoved a half tablet down my throat, but I loved the peanut butter ... must go.
Love you heaps - licks and woofs from your favourite son Boris

31 August 2008


Hello again mum and dad.
Well, I don't know if you want the good news or the bad news first ...
actually, when I think of it, there is no good news!
Let me start by defending myself. You know I can't resist chasing cats! ... Well, here goes.
First time, pa and I were having a lovely walk together when I spotted an open gate and an enticing cat! Naturally, I pulled and jumped and yapped, attemping to get at it, and guess what? My lead broke!!! Heaven!
Can you imagine pas face? He was standing there with half a lead and I was FFRRREEEE!
I took off like a shot after that now unfortunate cat, through the gate and around into the yard.
Pa was shouting and chasing after me and a guy came out to see what all the commotion was about. Talk about cats having nine lives ... unluckily for me, that cat got away.
Not too bad yet, you say? Well, now to the other really unfortunate cat ...
Pa, nan and I went for our usual walk this morning and just down the hill abit, I suddenly lunged into a small bush right on the footpath and came out with a CAT in my mouth!!! Now, again, imagine nan and pas faces?
They started yelling for me to 'drop it' - pa violently shaking and pulling on the lead, but no way was I letting it go now!
Pa suddenly started to kick me in my side, hoping to force me to drop my prize - but NO WAY! I've worked very hard to finally snag a cat! It's his fault that he was stupid enough to try and hide in that tiny bush!
Well, eventually, I had to spit him out as pa was kicking the s*#t out of me. I took great pride in watching that stupid cat trying to jump up that fence - took him three times before he made it. Darn!
Well, we finished our walk, but I knew I was really in trouble when I was confined to my quarters and they wouldn't let me upstairs ALL DAY!
Sorry mum and dad, but I cant say it wont happen again. Poor pa and nan - I bet they wonder what will our next walk bring in excitement!
Well, not much else to tell you at the moment - at least by staying downstairs on my own, I keep remembering and savouring that absolute pleasure when I held that cat in my mouth! Sheer delight!
Bye for now ... talk again soon. Your clever cat catching son, Boris.

3 September 2008


ell, here I am again, mum ... in disgrace!
Pa was working out the front on his car and I was sneaky enough to wander out without pa seeing me and decided to call and say hi to my neighbour, Brockie.
We had sniffed through the fence a few times and I thought I had him well and truly 'sussed out' - he is a German Shepherd just like my old pal, Sasha.
Well, as I said, I'd wandered in to say hello, and his lovely parents thought we seemed to like each other, so they opened the screen door! Bad mistake!
I only wanted to be friendly, honestly mum, you know me! Well, Brockie decided I was a real threat to his man hood (obviously) and started to attack me ... well, what can a fella do?
I had things completely under control and well and truly had the upper hand, when all the humans decided they'd better break us up.
Talk about it! Give a guy a break - we were having a great time! I would have had him for sure!
Anyway, he was shoved inside and pa grabbed me by the collar and I was in a lot of trouble! Again!
I'm sure I wasn't this naughty when you were here - was I?
Well, that's all for now - oh, by the way, someone found my other collar and tags and I have it on again.
Bye again mum and dad - I love you both and do miss you, even if nan says I dont. Woof and licks from your boisterous son, Boris.

8 October 2008


Hi mum and dad. Why can't I just write to you with good news - why only when I have been naughty?
Well, let's start out by saying nan and pa had to go away for a few days to some stupid wedding somewhere or other. They asked David, accross the road, to take me for walks and feed me while they were away.
Well, David fell into the same trap that poor pa did, by leaving my tin of 'Smakkos' within easy reach. What an amateur!
Took me a while, but after I rolled it all around the floor, bashing it up against the wall - hey, wallah! - the lid eventually came off!! Bingo!
I took my time, but after about an hour, I had devoured the lot! Heaven!
When pa and nan came home, they thought I was pregnant! They soon worked out what happened when they found first the empty tin and then, eventually the lid. Dead give away!
Needless to say, I haven't had any 'treats' since they got home. Buggar!
Oh, well - cant be helped. Missing you still and looking forward to seeing you on weekend of 18th - I think they are still thinking of bringing me up? Let's hope!
Love, licks and woofs from your very fat son, Boris. ......

24 November 2008


Hi Gramma and Granpa, mummy said I have to send you a message to let you know that she is as big a sucker as you guys!! She bought some of that powdered coconut stuff that you showed her Gramma, she bought it for the caravan and put it downstairs in a plastic bag - what a stoopid thing to do!! She thought that because it was sealed in that silver stuff that I wouldn’t be able to smell through it - pfft - she didn’t bargain on the "Soopa Sniffa"!!! I forgot to wipe the evidence off my whiskas though, cuz it didn’t take her long to work out that I had been doing something I shouldn’t be!! I left the evidence on the back lawn again (gotta work out a way to fix that problem).

Lots of love and sloppy licks.
Boris

15th - 21st August

Well, the decision had to be made whether to take Boris up to the Cape with us or not, and I finally relented and gave in to the majority and decided to let him go back to Port Macquarie with mum and dad until we get back. I miss him like crazy, but I think it's for the best, I would never forgive myself if he got eaten by a croc!

We met up with Fred and Jude again and decided that we are going to meet in Roma on 1st September - we finally have some solid plans! Fred and Jude have to go to Alstonville to meet up with some friends on the 3oth (31st?) and we are going to go to Maryborough to redo the 4wd course (hopefully), so we will be meeting at Roma to start our adventure. We are all very excited and can't wait to get going. Ross only has 1 more day of work left before we go, so we can pretty much head off any time we like, but will be staying for the weekend so we can have 1 last get-together with family and friends before we go.

We have decided to head off on Thusday so we can spend the night at one of Ross' mates place who went up to the Cape last year - maybe we can pick his brains! From there we will head up to Maryborough to redo the 4wd course, then meet Fred and Jude in Roma on the 1st.

8th - 14th August

Sorry to tell you, but Boris hasn't got up to any antics this week - poor effort Boris!

I am typing about one word a minute at the moment because I have Lucky (one of Lees cats) sitting on my lap and if I don't keep one arm wrapped around me he will fall off!

I have been flat out working on my transcription this week I'm pretty slow at the moment, being a beginner, so I probably only earned about $20 this week, but I will get faster! If anyone is interested, the website for what I do is http://www.ozescribe.com.au/.

We had Ross' 40th birthday party this week and it went down a treat! We had a great night. With plenty of booze, singing and joke telling. The spit roast was a hit, and so was the singing on the Singstar, though some people were classed as "tone deaf" (mum)!

August 1 - 7

As usual, Boris is on the top of the funnies list this week. My brother-in-law, Gary, has a tray top ute with 2 big tool boxes on either side, with room in the middle for the dogs, so I took Boris down to the lake for a swim and picked up my sister-in-law Louise, and their dog, Chopper on the way. Boris was a bit put out by Chopper sharing his spot on the back of the ute and decided to ride on top of the tool boxes instead of in the middle! Needless to say this is not a very safe spot to ride and I had to stop the ute and explain to him that it wasn't safe. Anyway, we took the dogs down to the lake for a lovely swim, and when we went to leave, I tied Boris on the back of the ute and then turned around to get his towel off the ground, and when I looked around again, he had jumped off the back of the ute - while he was tied on!! He looked hilarious, because he had his harness on, so his elbows were up around his ears and his back legs could just touch the ground, so he was tippy-toeing on his back legs!! Dumb dog!!

More news on our trip this week, Ross got in touch with Fred, (Ross' old boss), and told him what we were up to and asked him what he was up to and Fred said that he and his wife, Jude, are about to take a trip up to the Cape and wanted to know if we wanted to join them. We jumped at the chance, because we still hadn't made any firm decisions on where we wanted to go after Frazer Island, so we will be leaving for the Cape at the end of the month.

Ross has been talking to the guys on the Land Rover forums, and they said that the Frazer Island trip has been cancelled because of lack of interest, so we won't be doing that trip after all.

Steve (brother-in-law), Gary, and myself went fishing in Gary's tinny at friggin 5am on Sunday (blimmin freezing!), and we were out for 6 hours and Steve and I never caught 1 fish!!! Gary managed to get a taylor and a sole fish (stupid looking fish), and that's it!! Unbelievable!!

Wed, August 6th - Mum and dad turned up today, they are on their way back down to Port Macqauarie to help look afer nan (97), who has recently been put in a nursing home and is going down hill fast - poor nan, she has done so well upt till now.

Mum and dad have offered to babysit Boris for us while we go up to the Cape. It originally wasn't an option, as they weren't due back to Port Macquarie until the end of the year, but they have come back early because of nan. So now we have to make the decision whether we think they can handle our fiesty little puppy. I would hate to leave him behind, but I can see the sense in it, not so much as us not being able to go into the National Parks, but more because I have been worried about him getting eaten by a crocodile, as he loves the water so much it would be hard to keep him out. So we will have to make that decision before mum and dad head back to Port Macqauarie. I really can't imagine going without him, as he adds so much colour to our lives, but it would only be for a few months, so I could probably handle that.

A sad day today too, as one of Lee's cats - Woody - was coming in for dinner this afternoon (the cats all get locked in a cage together at night time for safety), and on his way in somehow got trapped in the neighbours back yard with their Rottweiler. Woody put up a good fight, and Clinton, Lee's son jumped the fence and rescued him, but he was in bad shape when they got to him. They took him to the vet, but he had a punctured lung and internal injuries, so they thought it would be kinder to put him to sleep. Poor Woody, he was a lovely cat and a great mouser - he will be missed.

Sooooo, again, nothing too interesting and we are going to be staying put here at Lee and Gary's for a couple of more weeks, we still have stuff to get done to the 4x4 and caravan, so it will give us time to get that stuff done. It's Ross' 40th birthday party on this Saturday night, so that should be a good night. We are getting Dale's (my brother's (married to Louise)) spit roast machine to cook the meat on and Ross' brother, Robert, is briniging Sing Star, so that should make it interesting!!