As it sounds, we spent a bit of time here in Mount Isa just catching up with friends, and doing some small maintenance on Deli-chan.
Our friends, Dave and Renee, were co-incidentally expecting their first baby boy at the same time that we were expecting to arrive. We just managed to beat the birth by a couple of days, so we had time to see Renee before she checked in to hospital.
Firstly, as is usually the case when catching up with friends, we’ve been doing a LOT of eating. From a Mexican taco feast on Friday, to more feasting on Okonomiyaki on Saturday, followed up with feasting on Pizza on Sunday. I have to give a special shout-out to the pizzas. Best homemade bases yet. Actually, the whole package was awesome (toppings and sauce, too). Cooked on a stone in a BBQ. Monday night was some locally caught red-claw yabbies, Tuesday night was mud crab, and Wednesday night was curry night (from a random café/restaurant – Abyssinia Café)
But, my stomach still wasn’t quite right… and as such, I shouldn’t have indulged in the feasting. So, after the weekend binge, I was back to basic staples to settle it down. I’m really only mentioning it for the sake of my memory if I read it in a few years time, I know no one wants to hear about gastronomic problems… Sorry.
Delica repairs. Firstly, it’s been a slightly over 5000km since we left Brisbane, so a oil/filter change was due. Also gave the air filter another clean and re-oil. Made some adjustments to the cabinetry that houses the upright fridge and water bottles (put the fridge on top to make it easier to access). Installed LED dimmers for the rear LED lights. Improved the projector screen. And, I’m sure there were several other things… Oh, yeah, the broken front-left stabiliser link – replaced that.
But, the exciting news is little baby Archer (codename Frankie) Diehm! It was the first time I’ve been so close to a birth. The experience was a little surreal. On the morning that he was due (Monday 17th) Renee woke up like every other morning, had a sore back, but otherwise seemed like any other morning. Hospital appointment then she returned home to rest. Then that evening everything got a little bit hectic! Dave and Renee rushed off to hospital and pulled an all nighter before giving birth to little Archer Tuesday morning at 7:30. I’m sure it wasn’t, but to me as an outsider, it was a little surprising how quickly it escalated (*insert Ron Burgundy meme here*)
We were lucky enough to visit the little man that afternoon, even though Renee was weary from all the work of birth. I’m far too scared to hold babies, so I left that to the chuffed parents and Risa. I was happy to give his head a quick rub, squeeze his squishy cheeks and just take photos. Dave was enamoured with his new son. So he should be.
Every night since we arrived we had been treated to phenomenal sunsets, but we’d been a little busy with other things to get out there and photograph it. And sadly, when I finally set aside the time to get out there and photograph it… it was cloudy. First time we’ve seen clouds in Mount Isa! It was a dud compared to the others, which reminded me why it’s so important to get the shot when it happens. It’s funny looking at the night view, you could almost be fooled into thinking it was much more metropolitan… except all the lights in the distance are the mine, not the city.
３２日目〜３９日目 ６月１４日（金）〜６月２１日（金）
ご無沙汰ぶりです。 Lawn Hillからは、ロスの１３歳からの大親友のDavidとReneeさんのお家があるMt.Isa (マウント アイザ) とい町に来ていました。
Mt..Isaは、今年で９０周年の古い鉛の採掘場が町の中心にあり、それが街を造った小さな工業都市で、どこからでも見える大きな煙突があり、そこでは、２４時間稼働してるとい街が工場のような場所です。
金曜日は、Davisは、メキシカンパーティー、土曜日は、ピザパーティー、日曜日は、お好み焼きパーティーと毎晩たらふく大食い三昧。
6月１７日 月曜日がReneeさんの出産予定日だったので、その前後で到着できれば良いねとこの旅が始まる随分前から話していたのですが、なんと律儀な赤ちゃんでしょう。予定日夜に陣痛が始まり、翌朝７：３０に無事元気な男の子が生まれました！ とても不思議なとこに、この時間に赤ちゃんが生まれる夢で目覚めました。 そして９時頃にDavidが病院から電話をくれて7:30に生まれたと聞かされたときは、かなりびっくり！ 病院は、家から５分ほどの所なので、彼は冗談で奥さんの叫び声が聞こえたんじゃない？と言っていました笑
その日の午後に赤ちゃんとご対面してきました。 生まれたてなのにとってもイケメンくんで、（パパにそっくりだけど笑） 将来が楽しみです！
出産から翌々日の退院の日、赤ちゃんの名前は、Archerくんに決定しました！ かっこい名前〜 すくすく元気に大きく育てね〜♥
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