Where We Live, Work and Shop

On Monday 21st November, we dropped the caravan off to have its 10,000 km service, then headed to Midlands to find a Caravan Park to live in so we would be closer to where David was to start work at Connect Source (owned by Murray) the next day.  We booked into the Midlands Caravan Park for ....?..... long, went back after lunch, collected the van and set up camp at Midlands Caravan Park. Midland is the suburb in the North East corner of Perth just a few km's from the Perth Hills.   The Caravan Park isn't the fanciest park we have been in but it's cheap and close to work - we are surrounded by cigarette smokers who pollute the air outside and inside the van but thankfully we are at work a lot of the time!!!
Tuesday David started work - 7am to 5 pm for 5 days a week.    On Saturday we went to the Connect Source Family Fun Day Christmas Party at The Maze, Bullsbrook.   Murray asked me if I was looking for a job and when I said I was he said he had one for me.    So the next Thursday I started work at Connect Source also - but only for 4 days a week as I wanted to have Wednesday off to do housewife stuff and I knew that 10 hour work days 5 days a week would be too much for me as well as keeping up with the shopping, cooking, washing and cleaning.  (And I'm glad I'm only working the 4 days - that's still nearly 40 hours a week!!)

Connect Source makes automotive electronic products (for a wide variety of industries) such as Wiring Harnesses for diesel engines designed and manufactured to suit the customers application; Electronic Engine Protection Controllers to suit diesel engines for power generation, lighting towers and pumping sets and 240V AC Panel Wiring.   They also have a computerised Router for cutting different holes in Control Boxes, Automatic Wire Processing Machine that cuts electrical cable of all colours to any length required and crimps terminals on to the ends of the cables for different applications, a Braiding Machine that encases a bundle of wires in a woven braid, Crimping Machines for the application of different terminals onto the ends of electrical cable/s in many different combinations.     A VERY different job to any I have ever done before!!!! but interesting to learn what all the different things we do will be used for when completed.    I have learnt to solder, crimp (by the 1,000's), heat shrink, test finished products at the test bench, wire up Control Boxes, make wiring harneses  all in a days work!!!!    After poking coloured wires by the 1,000's into rubber encased holes my fingers are screaming out for a break - I was down to the third layer of skin on some fingers after the first 3 weeks of work!!!     We finished work on Friday 23rd December at about 1p.m had a bar-b-que lunch provided by Murray and we don't go back to work until the 9th January, 2012.

The Midland Caravan Park is only 2.2 km's from Midland Gate Shopping Complex which is a very large place with over 130 speciality shops with all the big name shops like Coles, Woollies, KMart and Big W. so it's a great place to shop. Between Midland Gate and the caravan park is Swan Valley Fresh Fruit and Vegie Markets where we get all our fruit, vegies and nuts.  There is also a butcher, cafe and deli in there too.   So we are pretty well placed for our food needs too.

Our temporary living spot.

View of our neighbours garden and potplants from our dining window. (Nice to have some flowers and green lawn to look at. 

Midland Gate Shopping Centre (before Christmas), a busy crowded place!!!!

Swan Valley Fresh Markets

One section of Connect Source.

 Above and Below -assembling everything needed  to start making 100 wiring harnesses 

Above and Below - two different crimping machines

 Above and Below - A completed control box ready to close up and test.

An order of control boxes completed, tested and ready to be delivered to the customer.

The test bench - if a product doesn't pass the test then it's time to find out why - a wire in the wrong hole, a wire not pushed in far enough: so fix it and test it again and hope it passes the next time!!!!

An order of control boxes  partly completed.

The outside of Connect Source.