Imintji Life Update

A very dear friend of mine recently sent me a message asking for
answers to the following six questions, whilst another lamented at the
number of times she's fruitlessly checked this blog for updates. So,
here are some answers which I hope will keep you interested, dear
readers.

1) With the soaring temperatures in the Kimberley, what time is
acceptable for beer o'clock?

The answer to this question depends on many factors, including...
a) what time I wake up, which is usually between 6 and 9am due to
sunrise which is shortly followed by escalating temperatures (it's
currently 5pm and 33.3 degrees at the back of the workshop, where our
lounge room is located, and I *think* I'm on my 3rd beer).
b) whether I am employed or required to perform any kind of rational
or logical thought, which I am not at present.
c) whether I need to drive anywhere, which I usually don't; lately
when I go anywhere I go with Neville and he likes driving so much that
he does most of it.
d) availability of said beverage, which at Nev's place is plentiful.

The short answer is lunchtime, but sometimes we have a bourbon at
lunch instead. But if we go for an early morning gorge/river walk, we
might have champagne for breakfast, thereby negating my previous
answer. Five o'clock is definitely late.

2) Do you ever sleep outside?
The answer to this question depends on how you qualify 'outside'.
Given that there are no floor to ceiling walls at Imintji, you could
say that we're always outside. However, we do sleep in the caravan,
so I suppose that qualifies as inside, even though the walls are
almost entirely flyscreen. When we go camping we ALWAYS sleep outside
(of course), but depending on the mozzies, we might put up a tent but
no fly unless there are storms...is that still outside?

Short answer: frequently - and it's great!

3) Where is the bathroom? In the caravan or in the repair shop?
Hmmm...bathroom...by which you mean room with a bath in it? We
haven't got one of those. There's a bath somewhere, which Nev says
he's gonna set up outdoors for us. We do have a tin shed with a
shower in it and it's out the back of the workshop, on the way to the
caravan. But it doesn't have a toilet. The toilet at the workshop is
a work-in-progress, but there's a shop next door and they have toilets
(full of frogs), which we can use. I recently met a woman who is
married to a grader driver and she waited four years for a toilet!

Breaking News: Neville has just promised me that he won't make me wait
four years.

4) During the wet season, will you live in an actual house that has
walls? Where is said house?
Actual house...no. Um...walls, yes. We're in the process of moving
to Location 8, which is NOT a bar in Melbourne, but Nev's 10 acre
block in the Phillips Range, 50km from Imintji. On the block there
are two 'dwellings'...I suppose you'd call them. One with walls, in
which we sleep. It's basically a shed, but there's a rug on the floor
and a sliding door and the mozzie dome is on a raised platform, which
I like to call a mezzanine. But no, no house.

5) Is Nev a good cook? What is his top dish thus far?
Yes, yes and yes! Nev is an excellent host and a very good cook. His
favourite thing to make is pizzas and roasts, but he also makes a mean
veggie curry and has shown rapid advances in his vegetarian cooking
skills, given that he only started out on this venture approximately
three months ago. He has also made impressive feasts as veggie
burgers (on a camp fire, no less!), veggie nachos, delicious egg
cookups for brekkie and inspired spontaneous creations that as yet
remain unnamed. In short, I'm always well-fed...possibly a little too
well-fed!

AND:
How long will you be in Melbourne?
I have just this very day booked our flights and we'll be in Melbourne
from 27 December till 9 January. We're both really looking forward to
it and hope to spend time with everyone who's in town.

Any further questions?! Email me! Look forward to seeing you Xx