Heavenly Beverley : On Your Mark...Get Set...GO!

The start of the Easter Long Weekend. One o'clock, two sales and three guests in the Gallery. A photographic opportunity as well. Plus September 2017 Artist-in-Resident Marta Salamon has just sent us two of her utterly exquisite prints painted in Beverley of local flora. We are both absolutely delighted with this beginning to Beverley's Easter extravaganza.

Sunday night found me completely spent. After a marathon few days fine-tuning and cleaning the Gallery, I felt every one of my (hundred and) fifty-six years. Michael had not been idle either; he quietly achieved spectacular results with our big front windows. Over two days, he transformed approximately thirty square metres of gungy, grotty and grubby glass into a sparkling transparent wall, showcasing the Gallery's interiors.

Monday found me undertaking a rigorous clean of Station House at a rip-roaring rate. Catching up on the washing. Removing the fine dust that is the bane of my existence until the lane is bitumenised. Vacuuming tumbleweeds of dog hair, cat hair and bird feathers. All the bloody hangers-on seem to be furiously and inconveniently moulting at the moment.

I also undertook a Mission From God on Monday arvo. Apparently, I was supposed to be the motivating force to assist Jan into moving her all her (currently) superfluous frames to her studio and her beading collection into her sewing room. In reality, we drank a great deal of tea, Jan made me lunch and we undertook a modicum of manual labour. As we left, Jan assured me that I had been quite helpful in my allotted task.

Tuesday found us en route to the Big Smoke. Haircuts and a monster shop were on the agenda. We also were paying a visit to Michael's respiratory specialist, Scott, to quiz him about Michael's weird episodes of the previous two weeks and check his somewhat dodgy lungs.

Scott Claxton is one of the Good Guys. Four years ago, Michael became seriously ill with double pneumonia. We had only seen Scott once at this point and to our dismay, he had taken leave. Instead, we ended up with a different respiratory specialist and hospital, both from Hell. Five days later, after a series of near disasters, I packed Michael up on a Monday evening and drove him to Joondalup. Admitted under Scott again, Michael spent the next two weeks in hospital. I came to trust Scott's judgement implicitly, was won over by his inclusive manner regarding Michael's condition and blown away by his commitment to us. I think the whole time Michael was in hospital, Scott missed seeing him only on a couple of days.

The upshot of our latest visit to Scott was that Michael's lungs are still dodgy, albeit stably dodgy. "Stay off the smokes" is the overwhelming advice. And he took a punt at the reason for Michael's illness. A particularly bad dose of reflux? Next up is a rendezvous with Matt, Michael's gastroenterologist and a look down into Michael's troublesome gut.

Taken in hand by Sharon, at Midland's Salon Express, the appearance of our hairstyles was returned to decency, rather than resembling a startled chook and an ultra-feral Julius Sumner Miller. We then performed the Shop of the Century in order to survive the entire Easter period without having to go near any more grocery establishments.

Staggering home, we arrived just before dark...Ye Gods.

Yesterday, we found ourselves going back to the vet. Madame Cat for blood pressure monitoring, the Problem Child for a check of her cough and weight and the Ever-Alert Jack Russell for a diagnosis of his dreadful breath.

Michael needed to take Lily for her first service, so I suggested taking the Three Amigos in Goldie to keep his vehicle clean. Hence, I was subjected to an ongoing chorus of meowing and yowling all the way to Muluckine (about seven kilometres from Northam) and my ears were ringing in protest. Ruby the Cat was taken inside but the canine clowns were told to remain outside just in case they did have kennel cough.

Ruby the Beagle was found to have an irritated and swollen throat and promptly prescribed prednisone and antibiotics. Pip's teeth were deemed to be the cause of his halitosis and Her Feline Majesty was given the thumbs up due to her reducing blood pressure. After lunch at Lucy's Cafe, we resorted to a bit more shopping at Woolies(!), then returned to pick up the animals and head for home. I gave Michael the privilege of driving with the animals...

Last night, we collapsed in front of the telly and enjoyed the pain-relieving benefits of some lovely vino. We retired to bed, only to be woken by the street cleaner just after six this morning...

Well, I did need to get up early to be ready by eleven o'clock.