Sunday, 26 June, 2016

Another week of work for Dad and socializing for me. :-)

Dad and Harry finished the course on Friday and everyone, students and instructors, were really pleased with how the course went overall.  Dad, as usual, received a lot of positive comments written on the course evaluation forms.  Both Dad and Harry found some things which needed to be changed re: the course and they will be making revisions before the next course on this aircraft.  Dad flew into Brisbane yesterday and I picked him up from the HB airport today.  He is very happy to be home and I am very happy to have him back home!

I continued on with my exercise classes this week - still enjoying all of them and look forward to going to each of them.  I also had my usual Tuesday 'standing appointment' with Helen and my facial.

I spent some more time with Robyn this week.  We were working on getting the new Visiting Teaching lists organized.  It took a number of hours to do it, so I was glad that I could help Robyn do it.  She decided who should be partners and who should visit teach who and I did the typing up of the lists.  Our Relief Society secretary, who would normally be involved in the typing, was out of commission this week, so that's why I was helping Robyn out.  It's so much nicer to be able to do tasks with someone else rather than on your own.

I had my 'grandma fix' this week again babysitting Scarlett (4) and Indiana (3).  Last time I babysat them, they tried to become little cats by taping pipe cleaners to their faces - needless to say, it didn't work. :-)  So, I told them that I would bring something the next time I babysat them, to make little cat faces.  I went on the net and found these cute little cat masks.  I brought all the supplies needed to make these masks. We worked on them after dinner and they turned out really cute.  The girls really liked them and today, at church, their dad showed me a picture of the girls wearing the masks at the mall - how cool is that that they loved them that much. :-)  They told me that the next time I come, they want to make dog masks, so it's back to the net to see what I can find.

My teacher friend, Bronwyn, was in charge of a 'Biggest Afternoon Tea' (a way to raise money for cancer) at Kawungan State School on Wednesday and invited me to come along.  It turned out to be more a retirement party for a teaching assistant than an afternoon tea, but I did enjoy catching up with some of the teachers and others who I know from working at Kawungan.

On Thursday, we had our weekly get together with teachers who work/worked at Kawungan.  We went to a different cafe (I'm liking this change of venue each week) and there were six of us this day.  As usual, it was a great gabfest with a lot of the talk being about teaching and students and other education topics.

 Look what I had for lunch :-)  My tasty iced chocolate.....

Hazel, Kim, Bronwyn, Ingrid and Luise (my teacher friends) at the 'Sticky Fig' cafe

On Friday, I went out with my friend Maureen to a movie and late lunch.  I had read the book 'Me Before You' prior to Friday and then we went to see that movie.  The movie was pretty close to the book and I would give it a 7.5.  The only thing I didn't like was that, because I had just finished reading the book, I knew what was coming next which didn't really make it very exciting.  After the movie, we went to 'Open House' and had a lovely lunch.  I decided to try the filo lamb with a salad and it was delicious.  I get along with Maureen really well and always enjoy our times out.

 My iced chocolate for our late lunch after the movies on Friday

Maureen with her yummy chicken sandwich and strawberry thickshake

Sunday, 19 June, 2016

Another week of socializing for me and a week of teaching for Dad.

The unit Dad and Harry are staying in is a two storey apartment which is serviced every day.  It was in a little better shape than the hotel room which Dad stayed in last time he was in PNG.  There are 13 guys on the course and they are the same ones who Dad taught the theory of the airplane to last time he was there - a nice bunch of guys, Dad says.  Both Harry and Dad taught on the first day (Monday) - Harry has never seen Dad teach before - and, at the end of the day, Harry told Dad that he was very impressed with his style of teaching this POC (hands-on) course and that he wants Dad to come to Brisbane to demonstrate to other instructors (who teach about different aircraft than Dad does) how he has set up this course.  That was such a nice positive comment for Dad to receive from Harry.

Air Niugini Fokker F100 - the airplane which Dad was using for the practical training

I went to tai chi and yoga as usual this week and was very happy to get back to my aquafit classes again this week.  I couldn't believe the difference it made being away for those two weeks - I could notice the difference in the difficulty I had doing the workout compared to the last time I did it.  I am for sure going to have to find a place to continue to do my aquafit classes when we are away from HB.

On Tuesday, I went to the HB pound to do an orientation of the place.  I want to be able to go there and play with the cats since the pet rescue place has closed down and I can no longer have cats stay in our home, for now.  The lady at the pound said that if I was to volunteer for a while, they might consider allowing me to take a cat home for a bit.  I have to do a take-home test about workplace health and safety and return that to the woman at the pound and then I can start volunteering there.  I will be volunteering with the cats - playing with them and giving them lots of hugs and cuddles. :-)

After the orientation, I headed off to have my 'standing appointment' with Helen - the woman who does my facials.  I love this part of my week! :-)

Robyn and I took our friend, Denise, out for lunch this week to celebrate her birthday.  Our other friend, Jan, had suggested we go to a new cafe at the back of a housewares store called 'Open House' so we decided to try it out.  We had a lovely time chatting with Denise, and the food (and iced chocolates) were sooooooo delicious - I am going to take Dad there when he gets back from PNG.

 My iced chocolate from 'Open House' - it was the best I have had so far - I am sure that the cream on top was real whipped cream

 My lunch at 'Open House' - the lasagne and salad were so delicious - I brought half of the lasagne home for lunch the next day

 Me, Robyn and Denise at 'Open House'

I spent a lot of time with Robyn this week organizing things for our Homemaking activity which was yesterday.  We had to do a fair bit of shopping as the activity included a luncheon.  The theme of the activity was 'When life hands you lemons, make lemonade'.  The Relief Society presidency and secretary and myself were making the food for the luncheon.  Robyn and I were in charge of making the dessert (lemon mousse) and the treat which was to be taken home (lemon bar).  Jan made the lemon chicken and Daphnie made the rice.  Robyn, Jan, Jan's visiting sister, Karen, and I went to the chapel on Friday to set things up for the Homemaking activity.  Jan has a lot of decorating skill and she and her sister made the tables look beautiful.  Robyn also found a cute way (from Pinterest) to make table decorations (hollowed out lemons with ferns in them) to add to the middle of the tables.

 The tables set up for the activity

 a close-up view of one of the tables

Jan and her sister, Karen, with the centrepieces placed on the table

The program of the activity included three talks by women who had had 'lemons' handed to them in their lives and how they made lemonade from their experiences.  The first one, I read from an article I had found on the net about a woman who had suffered from depression and how she had dealt with it in a positive way.  The second was given by Jan and was about her physically disabled daughter and how she (the daughter) had dealt with her disability.  The third was a video of our former Relief Society president (who has moved to Adelaide) telling us how she had dealt with her son having autism (this was about 20 or so years ago when there wasn't as much known about autism as it is today).  We were all touched by the strength of these three women and hopefully were encouraged to do the same when handed lemons in their lives.

The food at the luncheon was enjoyed by all the sisters as was the time to chat and get to know each better.  I sat with two older ladies, Audrey and Jeanne, and enjoyed their company.  I was disappointed that we only had 13 sisters in attendance (especially because of all the effort put into preparing for it), but, like Robyn said to me, as long as those in attendance enjoyed themselves, that is what counts.  The sisters each received a lemon bar to take home (in a bowl with a tag on it which read 'When life hands you lemons, eat a lemon bar' - which Dad made in PNG and sent to me via email and I printed out - isn't technology amazing!).  We have been having these activities for six months now and the sisters who have attended them have really enjoyed themselves at each one.

 The drink table at the luncheon - lemon drink, lemon water and lemonade

The food table at the luncheon - buns, rice and lemon chicken

Sunday, 12 June, 2016

Another busy week...........mostly more of the same. :-)

I missed not being able to go to aquafit this week (because of the fungal infection - yeah, I know, yuck!), but I still went to tai chi and yoga.  I find both really relaxing and I also am finding that I am becoming more limber from the yoga.  I am really hoping that when Dad and I travel, I will be able to find places which I can go to to continue on with my exercise classes.

On Thursday, I went out with my teacher friends again - it's becoming a weekly activity and, as usual, I enjoyed this time out with Luise, Di and Ingrid.  Dad and I also had lunch out twice this week - Dad was happy to do that as he doesn't get to eat the way he likes when he is in Papua New Guinea.

 Enjoying a hot chocolate with my teacher friends

 View from the 'Beach House' where Dad and I had lunch - we ate on the patio

 Dad loving his bbq ribs at the 'Beach House' (can you see the bbq sauce on his cheek? :-)

Iced chocolate Dad and I shared for lunch at 'Migaloos'

Steak sandwich and chips which we shared for lunch at 'Migaloos' - I wasn't impressed with the sandwich, so Dad got to eat most of it which he was happy with :-)

 View from our table at 'Migaloos'

 After lunch, we went for a short walk to the pier - here's a view of the beach from the pier

 Someone enjoying a sea-doo

 Dad on the pier

Me on the pier - what an absolutely beautiful day!

I dropped Dad off at the airport yesterday - he headed off to Brisbane and stayed in a hotel overnight.  I went to our ward activity which was a dinner and karaoke.  The dinner was a spit with lamb, pork and beef.  And no, I did NOT sing.  But it was a fun evening.  I sat beside a woman named Irena who I didn't know very well and we had a good long chat - I love activities like this because it gives me an opportunity to get to know members of the ward better - it is hard to do that on a Sunday.  
Dad flew to Papua New Guinea today and is staying in the same complex as he did last time, but in a unit this time as opposed to the hotel.  His boss, Harry, is also staying at the unit.  It will be interesting to see what Harry thinks about how Dad has prepared this new course.

Sunday, 5 June, 2016

Another busy week here!

Dad spent many hours this week planning and prepping for his course in Papua New Guinea in a week.  This is the first time that QAC is teaching this hands-on course and Dad is developing the material to present the course.  It is taking him ages - no time to rest for him.

Dad and I were at the doctor's every day this week - for me: a skin check, a biopsy of a spot on my face (all clear, thank goodness), a pap smear (oh joy) (all clear), getting the stitch out from the biopsy and also had to have a renal and pelvic ultrasound (both clear).  For Dad: skin check and prescription renewal, a jaw x-ray (Dad's jaw has been moving in and out of alignment on the left side - the x-ray didn't show anything, so the doctor said to check with the dentist and see what he prescribes) and a renal ultrasound (all clear) Every time we go to an appointment, we have to pay $40 as the government health insurance only covers part of the cost, so I told Dad that he had to get back to work so that we could afford to pay the doctor this week. :-)

On Tuesday, Dad, Robyn and I went out for dinner to a restaurant called 'Gringos' - a Mexican place here in town.  Dad and I have wanted to go there for a while and figured that we would try it out while he was home for these two weeks.  It's just a little restaurant (about 40 people if it was full), but it had cute decor and the food was yummy.  We were enjoying the food so much that I forgot to take pics, so we will have to go back again so that I can show you how good the food looks. :-)  Dad had fully-loaded nachos and Robyn and I had enchiladas.  Although the food was a bit spicy for me, it was very tasty and Dad and I have plans to go back again.

 stained glass windows inside 'Gringos'

painting hanging on the wall at 'Gringos'

 wall decorations at 'Gringos'

Robyn, me and Dad at 'Gringos'

Robyn and me outside 'Gringos'

On Wednesday morning, our friend, Alastair, asked us if he could treat us to breakfast.  He has been trying to get together with us for ages, but between his schedule and Dad's schedule and our travels, we couldn't find a good time until now.  Alastair had us meet him at his home and then drove us to the restaurant - 'Arkarra Tea House'.  It is set in two acres of beautifully landscaped gardens.  We had a delicious breakfast with nice conversation and then a lovely walk in the gardens down to the pond.

 Kookaburra at the 'Arkarra Tea Gardens'

 Property around the 'Arkarra Tea Gardens'

 If you choose to eat outside, the tables are under these huts

 Dad with his big breakfast: eggs, bacon, tomato and toast

 Dad and Alastair

 my breakfast: egg, bacon and cheese wrap with orange juice

 wild turkey at the 'Arkarra Tea Gardens'

 more scenery at the 'Arkarra Tea Gardens'

turtle peeking its nose out of the water hoping to get some bread from us - as soon as the three of us walked up to the edge of the viewing platform, a bunch of turtles came swimming up really quickly hoping to get a feed - we had a feeling that they were used to being fed by people on the platform (we did not feed them)

For lunch that day, Robyn and I took our friend, Diana, out to lunch.  Diana is the Bishop's wife and they have been having a bit of a hard time lately.  About six weeks ago, the Bishop went in for a hip replacement and ended up having a heart operation instead.  This coming week, he is going to have that hip operation.  Needless to say, Diana has been very stressed worrying about the Bishop.  Robyn and I thought that Diana could use a day out with lots of eating and laughing and chatting.  We took her to our favourite little cafe beside the beach - we had a great time together!  After lunch (we closed the cafe :-), we drove Diana back home and spent another 2 hours there with her.  Diana was very grateful to have had such a lovely and carefree afternoon.

Robyn and Diana (I ate half my chicken, avocado, sundried tomatoes and cheese on turkish bread and took the other half home for Dad)

On Thursday, I met up with some of my teacher friends at another local restaurant I like - 'The Beach House'.  There were five of us this time: me, Luise, Carole, Hazel and Di.  As usual, we mostly talked about school stuff, but since I know most of the people and teacher jargon they were talking about, I was able to be a part of the conversation.  I always enjoy getting together with these women.  I loved it when the grade one and two teachers accepted me right into their groups when I started volunteering at Kawungan State School six years ago and I love that I am still friends with so many of them even though I haven't been teaching for three years.

my delicious chicken burger (I ate half and took half home for Dad)

I got to have a 'Grandma fix' on Friday night by babysitting the little Louws girls, Scarlett (4) and Indiana (Indi) (3).  They are such adorable girls and it was fun going over there and watching them while their mom and dad went out for an anniversary celebration dinner.  I went to the library earlier that day and borrowed ten picture books.  The girls love to be read to and, of course, I had to read all ten of the books!  After reading and doing the night time routine, we had prayer and then they went right to sleep.  I did the dishes (just thought that Lisa and Ben wouldn't want to come home and do them after their lovely night out) and then I did some scripture study and reading.  I told Lisa and Ben that they can ask me any time I am home to babysit for them. :-)  P.S. Indi looks like she could be Kendall's sister - cute and blonde with chubby cheeks :-)

Sunday, 29 May, 2016

This week I travelled with Robyn up to her sister's place in Gladstone.  Robyn wanted to pick up some art work she had left there and asked me if I wanted to join her.  I gladly accepted her invitation!  We stayed in a granny flat on Lynda's property (Lynda is Robyn's sister) and did a lot of relaxing there.  We also spent some time gathering garbage on a couple of beaches - Lynda is creating an art display to show how much garbage ends up in our ocean and needed to collect some garbage from nearby beaches, so Robyn and I helped out.  We also went to the Botanical Gardens one day and went on Lynda's postal run one day (which took about four hours).  Below are some pics of our time up there.

On the way up to Gladsone:

we stopped for lunch in Gympie and I just HAD to have a lamington - freshly made at a local bakery - sooooooooo yummy :-)

In and around Gladstone:

 Robyn in front of artwork

 Someone had taped these two pieces of artwork onto a tree on the beach

At the Botanical Gardens in Gladstone:

 

 Robyn's sister, Lynda, walking in the botanical gardens

 Robyn

 Japanese Tea Garden

 Look what we had for dinner (the three of us shared this and I also had an iced chocolate

 It's hard to see, but you can sort of see the noses of the turtles sticking up out of the water in the pond

A lovely kookaburra sitting on the garbage can near the parking lot of the botanical gardens

 Lynda's cat on the roof of the granny flat (she calls it 'roof cat' cuz it almost always is up there on the roof)

 The granny flat which Robyn and I stayed in (on Lynda's property)

 Lynda's chickens

Lynda's dog, Diggety

Some pics along the way on Lynda's postal run - she works part-time for the Post Office - she does the run twice a week to take mail to farmers who live way out in the boonies

a postal box where we delivered mail

On the way back home:

 In a little town we stopped at for morning tea, I saw this giraffe and just had to have my picture taken in front of it :-)

 More giraffes inside the store

 One for the boys - snot coming out of the warthog's nose - I thought they would think that was funny (cool?) :-)

Robyn eating watermelon for morning tea

Me eating a sausage roll (with Heinz ketchup!) for lunch - yummmmmmmmmm!