Dad finished up his course on Friday and he was very happy to be done! All the guys were really happy with the instruction they received and they really liked the two instructors: Dad and John. The guys in the class even asked Dad, John, and Dave (another instructor, but who was a student on this course) to go to dinner with them on Wednesday night. It turned out that John had previous plans and Dave ended up getting sick that day, but Dad still went along and had a really good time with the fifteen guys who showed up. They wouldn't let Dad pay for anything which was really nice of them. After teaching for five weeks, Dad was tired - he often feels exhausted by the time he is done these longer courses.
On Monday night, Dave, Dad and I went out for dinner. We both got along with Dave really well and thought it would be nice to have a good meal and chat with him where they could relax and enjoy themselves. We went to a local italian restaurant (which Dad's boss really likes) and they didn't disappoint - the food was really nice and the service was excellent! We even tipped the waiter which you don't normally do here in Australia.
I continued with my usual things this week I am still stuck on my baby sweater since the instructions were not complete on the internet. I am going to have to do some more thinking about it, but I still wanted to knit this week, so I started knitting a doll sweater - I am hoping that I might get some ideas from knitting that which might help me to figure out how to knit the baby sweater.
My knitting group (along with two other groups) had a catered Christmas luncheon at the Aquatic Centre on Friday. There were party pies, party quiches, sandwiches, fruit and cakes - very yummy. I also received two Christmas cards from ladies in my group and two gifts from the group as well - hand lotion and a bag with a lined booklet, pocket calendar and pen in it. It was such a thoughtful gift and I was surprised and pleased to receive it. I have really enjoyed being part of the group and they were very welcoming to me - they even told me to be sure to come back and join the group again the next time I get back to Melbourne. I told them that I would miss them, but not their Melbourne weather. 😊
Dad and I flew to Cairns yesterday - the flights (Melbourne to Brisbane and Brisbane to Cairns) were uneventful, but our luggage ended up being taken off in Brisbane for some reason and so it wasn't on the plane we flew on to Cairns. Fortunately for us, we know this can happen and so I had put another set of clothes in my carry-on bag. Dad and I are really trying to 'go with the flow' these days in whatever happens and so it wasn't stressful at all. They brought the suitcases right to the hotel last night. We picked up our rental car at the airport - a little red Hyundai Accent - and drove to our hotel which is right on the Esplanade and the views from our top level floor are amazing!
We went grocery shopping to buy stuff for breakfasts and lunches (there's only a small fridge and microwave in the room so our choices for dinner will be limited) and then we went and picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut. I think that I must have eaten too much because later in the evening, I started not feeling well. It took me ages to get to sleep and even when I woke up this morning, I still wasn't 100%. We decided that it would be best if we stayed in the hotel - I just rested all day and Dad had to work on the course which starts tomorrow. He started working on it last night, but the engine which he is going to be teaching about isn't done that often and so he had to do some revision on the instructor notes. He also had to work out how he was going to teach one other fellow who also needs Dad to instruct him separately - he will have to do this after he teaches the engine guys and also on next Saturday - it's going to be one VERY busy week for him.
Tonight, Dad and I were going to go to a 'Carols by Candlelight' event which the city of Cairns was putting on, but just when we were about to leave for it (and for dinner at one of the vendors which would be there), it started pouring down. We waited for a bit to see if it would let up, but no such luck, so instead we went out for dinner to a local pub (the Cock and Bull) which the hotel front desk man had recommended. I read the reviews from TripAdvisor and they were really positive with many of them saying that the portions were huge. We checked out the menu online and decided on the ribs with mashed potatoes and salad. We ordered one meal and shared it - there was plenty for both of us in one serve - and it was delicious!! I went up to the chef afterwards to tell him how much we enjoyed it and that we would be back for more meals this week - he was very pleased to hear that. We are not too fussed about eating out too much, but this meal tonight was just like a meal we might cook at home and so we have decided to eat out a few more times this week than we would normally do.
When we got back from dinner and while I was writing this blog and Dad was working on his course, we heard the fireworks which were part of the 'Carols by Candlelight' event - so we went out onto our balcony and watched them. It would have been nice to have been there, but it rained all night and even began pouring down towards the end of the fireworks.
No comments:
Post a Comment