Wow, another busy week - and I am glad for that - it's so boring here without Dad, so I am filling each day as much as I can. :-)
On Monday, I started a new class - tai chi - being held at the Over 50s Centre. They have tons of classes - both physical and intellectual - and they only cost $3. or $3.50. I have wanted to try tai chi for a while and we are having it for our next Homemaking activity and I have the time to do it, so it was the perfect time for it. A lady named Margaret taught the class and she is the lady who will come and teach it to us at Homemaking next month. The class was an hour and 20 minutes and I thought it would be too long, but it wasn't. It is such a relaxing exercise and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. After that relaxation, I also had a facial which was relaxing - a very nice day. :-) Tuesday and Thursday, I went back to Aquafit class and more really good workouts.
On Wednesday, I decided to try a mediation and relaxation class at the Over 50s Centre - I thought it might be good for learning how to relax if I felt stressed. Well.................the class started with a woman welcoming us and then telling us to close our eyes. She then proceeded to talk with us in a calming voice telling us to relax, let go of our worries, etc. for about five minutes or so. We then sat in silence for over half an hour. You can imagine how difficult that was for me - eek! After that, she asked each one of us how things had gone, what we had 'seen', where we had 'been', etc. I told her that it has been very difficult for me to just sit there. She said that it would come over time and that she hoped that I would come back again. I thought to myself 'there is no way I am ever coming back here' - way too stressful. :-) I am going to try yoga next week which is taught at the same time.
After that, I met up with some church friends (Elaine, Jan and Fiona) at lunch at a restaurant called 'Hogsbreath' - I keep forgetting to take my camera with me when I go out - I really need to remember it so that you can see who I am talking about. Elaine and her husband are moving from HB and she wanted to get together with us before they moved house. It is always sad when we lose people from our ward - we get to know them and they contribute to our ward and then they leave. We had a lovely lunch together talking and laughing - it's always nice to hang out with friends. :-) Speaking of hanging out with friends, I did the same on Thursday with my teacher friends (Bronwyn and Luise) and on Friday with my friend, Haidi. Friends, talking, laughing, hanging out - such good 'medicine' for me. :-)
Dad's work is going well - the guys had their first exam this week and they all passed - phew - although one of them only barely passed. Dad says it's hard cuz the men don't work on these kinds of planes much and also some of them are older and not really up to learning about a new airplane. Dad spends most of his time class at the hotel doing his preparation for the next day - he has only taught this course once before and so he has tons of prepping to do to make it acceptable for him. There are different exams compared to last time as well, so Dad has to make sure that he specifically mentions those areas - there is too much information in the course for Dad to cover completely and so he has to make sure he covers what might be in the exam plus what he feels is important to cover.
I want to share an amazing experience I had on yesterday - I am not sure that words will be able to really get my feelings across, but I will try. Last week, I mentioned that a friend of mine had really let me down and that I was really upset with her. I knew that I had to forgive her, but I really didn't feel like it last week and it was still hard this week when I thought of the situation. I have been doing a seminary course on the Book of Mormon and this week's lesson really hit me. I was reading about how Nephi had been bound in ropes by his brothers. He prayed to Heavenly Father to give him the strength to change his circumstances (as opposed to asking to have his circumstances changed). That hit me - maybe I should pray for help to change the way I felt about my disappointment with my friend's decision which let me down. Then, I read more about Nephi and how, after he had gotten out of the ropes, he forgave his brothers. It hit me again - if Nephi went through such a horrible experience and still forgave his brothers, then I should forgive my friend. I prayed again last night to help me to forgive my friend - this morning, when I was on my way to church, the negative feelings returned and I pushed them away. When I got to church and saw my friend, things were the same they used to be - all my negative feelings had disappeared and it was as if the Homemaking situation had never happened. WOW, I thought - how amazing! I loved it! I didn't like feeling that negatively, especially towards my friend. I pondered on this today and realized how similar it was to us when Heavenly Father forgives us - it's like the situation never happened. What a wonderful spiritual experience!
Sunday, 17 April, 2016
I have been a bit slack with getting back to my blog after being in Canada, but here I am again, back on track. It was nice to be able to pick up Dad from the airport on the 6th of April on his return from Canada. I really don't like being by myself - just too boring without Dad here. Dad only had a few days at home before setting off again, so it was a busy time fitting in appointments (haircuts and chiropractor) and two dinners with friends. Dad and I also found one geocache - he had one travel bug from Canada to put in here in HB. After that, we went for a walk on the beach - it was a perfect day and the beach was beautiful. Then, on the 10th, Dad was off again to Melbourne. He was only there for the week, so I was not able to go with him.
the geocache
a man paddleboarding in the ocean
Dad on the beach
Me with one of our local city councillors (Robert Garland) - he and another fellow were returning from a local activity which was held on the beach - they invited me to jump in and get a photo taken
Me at the beach (love walking in the water - ahhhhh!)
I filled up that week so that I was very busy: swimming with my friend, Diana; working on Homemaking stuff with my friend, Jan; baking bread with my friend, Denise; afternoon tea and a movie with my friend, Maureen; hanging out with my friend, Haidi, at her place; going to an aquafit class and a pilates class; and getting a lovely facial. PHEW!
bread rising (from my day at Denise's making the bread for Homemaking refreshments)
Buns rising - they were made with the same recipe as the bread, but I added a little mixed spice and sultanas
Yesterday, it was our homemaking meeting at church - baking bread from scratch. My friend, Denise, was supposed to teach it, but on Thursday, she told me that her husband was taking her away for the day and that I would have to teach the breadmaking class. I was very stressed and very anxious - I had had two lessons with Denise, but I didn't feel confident at all. My friend, Jan, and I set everything up on Friday, so we didn't have to do it on Saturday before the meeting. We had planned on having bread for the refreshments for Homemaking which I had started making at Denise's on Thursday and then finished at home - I wasn't positive that the bread and buns were good enough for refreshments, so I went out to a real bakery and bought two loaves of bread, just in case.
There were 15 sisters at Homemaking - I was really pleased with that turnout. We had set up the tables outside so that there wouldn't be a mess on the carpet in the classrooms. I gave the sisters the recipe for the bread and had the ingredients ready for them to use. I stood in front of the tables and instructed them on what to do. Fortunately for me, there was one sister at one of the tables who knew how to make bread, so I asked her to keep an eye on the sisters at her table while I assisted the sisters at the other table. Once the sisters got the dough ready and it was doing its first rise, we had the bread/buns for refreshments. Although the ones I had made were a little dense, the sisters said that they tasted good - I was so happy! Saying a prayer before the meeting started really helped me to calm down - I completely forgot about my anxiety - and the whole meeting went so well. One of the sisters even sent me a picture of what her bread looked like after she took it home and baked it. So far, we have had four really good Homemaking meetings this year - I hope the rest turn out as well as these four have.
Last Friday, Dad left Melbourne and flew to Brisbane. We were hoping that he would be able to come home for a day or two before he went off to his next teaching assignment, but it wasn't to be. He stayed overnight in Brisbane and flew to PNG (Papua New Guinea) yesterday - he will be teaching there for three weeks It is not our favourite place for him to go to as it's not a safe place in general - fortunately, Dad is staying in a really safe hotel which is heavily guarded and he also has a driver who drives him back and forth to work. He eats breakfast and dinner at the hotel and takes soup and snacks (which he buys at the grocery store - driven there by his driver) for lunch. We will both be happy when he comes home from there. So far, he says the course is going well and the 14 guys on the course seem to be taking all the info in and have been asking lots of questions which Dad likes.
I have been a bit slack with getting back to my blog after being in Canada, but here I am again, back on track. It was nice to be able to pick up Dad from the airport on the 6th of April on his return from Canada. I really don't like being by myself - just too boring without Dad here. Dad only had a few days at home before setting off again, so it was a busy time fitting in appointments (haircuts and chiropractor) and two dinners with friends. Dad and I also found one geocache - he had one travel bug from Canada to put in here in HB. After that, we went for a walk on the beach - it was a perfect day and the beach was beautiful. Then, on the 10th, Dad was off again to Melbourne. He was only there for the week, so I was not able to go with him.
I filled up that week so that I was very busy: swimming with my friend, Diana; working on Homemaking stuff with my friend, Jan; baking bread with my friend, Denise; afternoon tea and a movie with my friend, Maureen; hanging out with my friend, Haidi, at her place; going to an aquafit class and a pilates class; and getting a lovely facial. PHEW!
Yesterday, it was our homemaking meeting at church - baking bread from scratch. My friend, Denise, was supposed to teach it, but on Thursday, she told me that her husband was taking her away for the day and that I would have to teach the breadmaking class. I was very stressed and very anxious - I had had two lessons with Denise, but I didn't feel confident at all. My friend, Jan, and I set everything up on Friday, so we didn't have to do it on Saturday before the meeting. We had planned on having bread for the refreshments for Homemaking which I had started making at Denise's on Thursday and then finished at home - I wasn't positive that the bread and buns were good enough for refreshments, so I went out to a real bakery and bought two loaves of bread, just in case.
There were 15 sisters at Homemaking - I was really pleased with that turnout. We had set up the tables outside so that there wouldn't be a mess on the carpet in the classrooms. I gave the sisters the recipe for the bread and had the ingredients ready for them to use. I stood in front of the tables and instructed them on what to do. Fortunately for me, there was one sister at one of the tables who knew how to make bread, so I asked her to keep an eye on the sisters at her table while I assisted the sisters at the other table. Once the sisters got the dough ready and it was doing its first rise, we had the bread/buns for refreshments. Although the ones I had made were a little dense, the sisters said that they tasted good - I was so happy! Saying a prayer before the meeting started really helped me to calm down - I completely forgot about my anxiety - and the whole meeting went so well. One of the sisters even sent me a picture of what her bread looked like after she took it home and baked it. So far, we have had four really good Homemaking meetings this year - I hope the rest turn out as well as these four have.
Last Friday, Dad left Melbourne and flew to Brisbane. We were hoping that he would be able to come home for a day or two before he went off to his next teaching assignment, but it wasn't to be. He stayed overnight in Brisbane and flew to PNG (Papua New Guinea) yesterday - he will be teaching there for three weeks It is not our favourite place for him to go to as it's not a safe place in general - fortunately, Dad is staying in a really safe hotel which is heavily guarded and he also has a driver who drives him back and forth to work. He eats breakfast and dinner at the hotel and takes soup and snacks (which he buys at the grocery store - driven there by his driver) for lunch. We will both be happy when he comes home from there. So far, he says the course is going well and the 14 guys on the course seem to be taking all the info in and have been asking lots of questions which Dad likes.
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