Sunday, 7 September, 2014

Not much has been happening this week, so there is not much to report about what we have been doing this week.

Dad started school this week.  Dad's boss, Harry, is teaching the course about the Fokker 100 airplane.  It's a smaller, older jet which is widely used in Australia for flying mine workers in and out of the mine sites.  Dad says that it's a lot of work learning about a new plane, but it's also very interesting.  He has been spending a couple of hours each night making notes - he has been doing double duty as he makes notes as a student so he is ready for the tests he will take during the course, and he is taking notes as a teacher for when he teaches this course in the future.  Dad had his first test this past Friday and he was the only one in the class to get 100% (yay, Dad :-)  

I have been spending my days knitting, reading, watching tv and doing stuff on the computer.  I have also been able to get in some exercise every day.  We brought two dvds with us from home - one is for resistance bands exercises and a pilates one.  I have been alternating between these two and also have been going downstairs to the gym and walking on the treadmill and riding on the stationary bike every day as well.  It's great having the gym so accessible - especially since it's been quite rainy since we've been here. 

Today, we went to church at a local chapel, but were only able to go to Sacrament meeting.  Since Harry is here and he owns the car, we didn't want to ask him if we could have the car for 3 1/2 hours to go to church.  The people in the ward were very welcoming and made me wish we could have stayed longer.  I love that wherever we have gone in the world, we have been able to go to church and worship with other saints.  I love the gospel! :-)

Sunday, 31 August, 2014

Dad got home from Newcastle on Monday and it was good to have him home.  He said that the course went well.

On Tuesday, Dad had two doctor's appointments to go to - the GP and a Specialist.  He had to go to the GP to get a couple of skin things taken out.  The doctor said that he is 99% sure they are nothing, but his motto is 'when in doubt, take it out'.  Dad had to get stitches afterwards and so they will have to be taken out next week here in Perth.  The specialist visit was to get the results  of the 'top and tail' test he had done a couple of weeks ago.  The results of the colonoscopy were perfect which was great to hear.  From the endoscopy, they learned that he does have some evidence of long term acid reflux.  Dad told the doctor that he takes Tums when he gets indigestion and the doctor said that that was fine, but that Dad should also take another pill which will lower the acid in his stomach.  He doesn't need to take it regularly, just when he feels the indigestion happening.  So, we were happy with all of the results today.

On Wednesday, my friend, Denise and her husband, Robert, came over to our house.  I had asked Denise if she could ask Robert to come over and check out our lawn and tell us  what to do with it.  It looks really awful right now - so many weeds and so much dried grass.  Everyone else's lawn on the street looks green and ours is mostly brown.  It's a bit embarrassing, actually, but right now, there's not much we can do about it.  We will have to do the fix-up when we are home for a few weeks.  Robert was so helpful - he knows so much about lawns and was able to tell Dad what he needs to do to get the lawn back to healthy.

I spent Thursday up at my friend, Haidi's, to help her clean her house since their move-in.  Haidi has a bad back and so cannot clean for any length of time before it starts hurting her.  As well as cleaning, we also managed to get in a nice walk and talk.  Dad spent the day spreading 'weed and feed' on the lawn to try and kill the weeds.  Hopefully, that will help the lawn to not look too too bad while we are gone.  We are thinking about getting an underground sprinkler system which our neighbour said he will put on for us when we are away.  I think that fake grass would be even better. :-)

Dad went back to the doctor's on Friday so that they could check his stitches.  All looks well so far.  We also got our hair cut that day - I asked Christa (our hairdresser) to make mine really short so that I don't have to get it cut again before we get back to HB.  I have had my hair cut twice by other hairdressers in the past year and I have not been completely happy with either of them.  I have had to come back to Christa each time and tell her to 'fix it'.  She always knows what to do. :-)

                                     my new haircut

                                     Dad's new haircut

We had to get up really early yesterday so that we could catch a 6:45am flight to Perth.  If we had gone any later in the day, we would have landed really late in the evening in Perth.  As it was, we landed in Perth around lunch time.  After dropping our stuff off at the unit, we went grocery shopping and then spent the rest of the day relaxing.

We are glad that we also have had today to relax before Dad starts his stint as a student tomorrow.  Dad's boss, Harry, arrived at the unit today - he's the instructor for the course.  We decided to let him stay in the master bedroom with the ensuite since he is Dad's boss and the instructor for the course. :-)

Sunday, 24 August, 2014

Dad and I took the sister missionaries on a picnic this week.  I noticed on Sunday that they didn't have many people signed up to have them for dinner, so I talked with one of them on Sunday and asked if they would be able to come to dinner this week at our place.  They are only given a certain amount of kilometres to use each month and they were getting tight for this month.  I then suggested we come over to Maryborough and bring lunch with us.  We picked them up at their place and drove them to a lovely park.  We bought a roast chicken, salads and watermelon.  One of the sisters had never been on a picnic and she thought it was so nice.  The day was absolutely perfect and it was really nice getting to know the sister missionaries.

Our sister missionaries

On Thursday morning, I drove Dad to the airport - he flew off to Newcastle (two hours north of Sydney) for five days to teach a hands-on course with another instructor.  After I dropped him off, I drove up to a little place called Burrum Heads to spend the day with my friend, Haidi.  She and her family had just moved into the rental house and I was hoping to help her get things in order, but she wasn't feeling up to it and so we just spend the day sitting and chatting. :-)

Haidi and me - notice my bare feet (in winter) :-)

I had something planned for every day that Dad was going to be away so that I was being kept busy, but then the weather turned horrible on Friday and Saturday - pouring rain - so, not good for going for a walk or a bike ride.  Robyn and Geoff invited me over for lunch today which was really nice - it does get lonely without Dad here - so it was nice to spend the afternoon with our friends.  I am looking forward to Dad coming home tomorrow.

Sunday, 17 August, 2014

I have been doing a lot of family history this week.  Dad and I started off the week spending Monday at the Family History Centre at church.  My friend, Robyn, has been quite sick and, as she helps out every Monday at the FHC and couldn't go, Denise (the Family History Director) asked me if I would come and be there for the day.  It's been an interesting week with doing my family history.  I am trying to make  sure that the info that is online is correct for my ancestors.  I have input my own info received from various sources, but others have put stuff on there which does not have the source for their info.  So, I have spent quite a lot of time this week trying to find sources.  My cousin, Rosie, who lives in Sydney, is very much into family history, too, and so she has been helping me along the way.

Dad had a 'top and tail' procedure this week (that's the nickname for an endoscopy and a colonoscopy here in Australia).  He had to go on a special diet for three days before the procedure and it was a very boring diet - he is glad that he only had to be on it for three days.  He could basically eat white toast with honey for breakfast, chicken on white bread for lunch and chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner.  The procedure went very well.  I waited at the clinic while Dad was in having it done.  Most patients have their carers go and come back later when the procedure was over, but I didn't want to leave.  So, I brought a lunch with me as well as my book and knitting.  We got there around 12:30pm and left at about 4pm.  Dad said that when they put this thing over his face that he thought it was the anesthesia, but that when he started counting backwards from 100, he didn't think it actually was the anesthesia as it didn't seem to be working. Next thing he knew, though, someone was shaking him awake. :-)  We go see the doctor a week Tuesday to get the results of both tests.

Dad has been trying to resurrect our lawn this week.  It is looking so sad in the front that I told Dad that the neighbours are going to kick us out of the neighbourhood. :-)  It used to look better, but since we have been away so much, the lawn hasn't been getting enough water and the weeds have been allowed to run wild.  So, Dad has spent time this week pulling weeds and putting 'Weed and Feed' on the lawn.  He has also been watering it regularly at night and then we had a lovely rain storm last night. We'll have to see how it goes this week.  

Sunday, 10 August, 2014

A new employee has been hired at QAC (Queensland Aerospace College) who will be instructing the basic courses and is also the quality manager.  His name is Gary and he came to stay at the unit this week.  He was teaching during the day and so Dad and I got to talk with him in the evenings when Dad wasn't working.  We got along really well and it's always nice to meet new people who work for the company.  We love that Dad is working for a small company with such a family feel to it.  It sort of reminds us of when Dad first started working for Wardair.

I thought that I was going to have very little to write about this week as most of the time was taken up with Dad teaching (six days this week) and me knitting and going for walks.  But then.......Dad came home from work on Thursday and told me to get ready right away to get in the car right then.  I was confused as to the urgency of the request.  When I got in the car, he filled me in.  There had been a theft at the hotel where Dad teaches - one of Dad's company's laptop computers and five of their ipads had been stolen - and Dad had to go and make a police report at the police station.  The computers are left in the conference room overnight as it's a hassle to have to set them up each morning.  The conference manager of the hotel was unlocking the door to the conference room in the morning when she got in and leaving it open so that it was available for whenever Dad and the guys got there.  Sometime between when she opened it early in the morning and when Dad got there at 9am, the items were taken.  Judy, the conference manager, told Dad that in all her 17 years of working for the hotel, they had never had anything taken out of the conference rooms, and she was quite distressed about it.  Dad and I went to the police station and spent about an hour and a half being questioned about the incident and waiting while the constable wrote it up.  QAC will be able to claim the items on their insurance, but it sure was a hassle to make the police report and for Dad's boss to make the insurance claim.  Dad thinks it was a crime of opportunity as the conference rooms are on the third floor where there are no guest rooms and QAC were the only ones who were using the conference rooms at the time.

On Friday, I went to talk with the administration person at the local primary school.  Since we are going to be in Melbourne so much with Dad's teaching, I thought I would like to volunteer in the primary classes at that school.  I miss teaching and this will let me keep my finger in education.  The school is also within walking distance from the unit which is handy since Dad will have the car during the day.  When I spoke to the woman at the school, she told me that I needed my 'working with children' card which requires a police check.  I told her that I was a registered teacher in Queensland and that I also had my 'blue card' from Queensland which is a 'working with children' card.  However, each state requires you to get a card from their state even though the police check is national.  I went onto the website that the woman at the school said I needed to go on to apply for the card and wrote an email to the contact address given.  I needed to find out how I would fill out the form as it asked for my Victoria address so that they could do the police check, but since my name wouldn't be associated with the company unit, I didn't know whether or not I could just put my HB address in and they would then do the check, but give me a Victorian card.  I have not received a reply from that email, so I might have to give them a call this coming week so that things are in place for next time we are in Melbourne.

Sunday, 3 August, 2014

This week was much like last week - Dad working hard at teaching his course and Faye and I relaxing, shopping and eating. :-)

Dad's course in the classroom went well, but the visits to the airport were not as much fun.  The weather was sooooooooooooo cold this week (comparatively speaking) and the guys had to go to the airport in the late evenings (finishing around midnight).  Dad says that we need to go and buy him some gloves and a hat for future visits.

Faye and I went out for lunch again on Tuesday (chinese food this time) and hit some more shops (again more looking than spending was done).  Faye and Bill left on Thursday, so it's been a bit quiet during the day since then.  

Dad had yesterday off and we decided to spend the day out.  We drove up to a city called Epping which is about 15 minutes from the unit here.  My great great grandfather (according to the info I have received) was born in Epping, but I have not been able to find a birth record for him.  My friend, who is a family history consultant, suggested I go to the local church in Epping to see if they had any baptismal records for him.  He was buried in a Presbyterian cemetery and so Dad and I went to the Presbyterian church in Epping to see what we could find out.  No-one was there, but there was a phone number on the sign there and so I called it and left a message with my inquiry. Last night, a fellow from the church called me back.  He told me that the records had been destroyed in a fire - I was so disappointed.  He said that he has a few other ideas to see if he can find me any info and that he would call me again.  I love doing family history, but it's so hard when I run into a wall like this.  I have a few other ideas, so I will continue to look for my great great grandfather.  

Presbyterian Church in Epping, Victoria

Closer view of Presbyterian Church

After Epping, Dad and I drove up to Kinglake National Park.  By this time it was lunch time and so we stopped at a little bakery/cafe called 'The Flying Tarts' which had been recommended to us by a woman at the Tourist Information place in Epping.  She said that they don't normally recommend one place over another, but that the food at the bakery was so good and that she was still working off her last visit there. :-)   She was so right - the food was A-MAZ-ING!   I had a sausage roll and Dad had a lamb meat pie (both award winning) and then we totally splurged on the baked goods.  I had a raspberry lamington and Dad had an apple turnover.  Dad also decided he wanted one of their huge muffins for breakfast, so we bought two of them.  Later on, we went back for a caramel slice.  They were also sooooooooooo fresh - it was unbelievable - I have never had such fresh and yummy baked goods - we are so going to make another trip up there.  Oh, and since it was Saturday, the food was calorie free!  

Typical Aussie farm

View coming over the hill

Sheep in the field

Snow in 'them thar hills' :-)

More snow

and more snow on the vehicles

Hard to see, but those dots are sheep - such a typical Aussie scene

Holding my sausage roll at the Flying Tarts Bakery/Cafe

Dad and I then drove into the national park and stopped at Masons Falls - what a pretty waterfall - and a nice 700 metre walk to get there.  The weather was 'fresh', but the sun was shining.  We then drove up to Mt. Sugarloaf (more like a little hill to us Canadians :-)  But, we were greeted with a lovely view, so it was worth the trip.  I love being out in nature and we are definitely going to return to this park when the weather is nicer so that we can go hiking on some of the trails there.

In the park

Tree burned by the devastating fires in Victoria in 2009

Path to Masons Falls

Dad checking out a burned tree

Masons Falls - hard to see how beautiful it is from a picture

Me in front of Masons Falls

Dad in front of Masons Falls

Close-up of part of Masons Falls

Lyrebird wood carving in the park

View of the valley through the trees (from Mt Sugarloaf)

View of the city of Melbourne in the distance (from Mt Sugarloaf)

View of a farm in the valley (from Mt Sugarloaf) - the dark parts are shadows from clouds

Wood carving of Ned Kelly - famous Aussie outlaw

Wood carving of a penguin and its baby

Our last stop for the day was in a little place called Thomastown which used to be called Westgarthtown.  In the 1850s, may German immigrants moved there.  The main industry there was dairying.  There is a heritage walk around the town stopping at various buildings which still remain from that time.  Since it was too cold to walk, Dad and I drove around to each of the sites and I got out and took pics.  I love old buildings and architecture.

Ziebell's farmhouse

white sheep who came right up to me at the fence

Siebel's farmhouse - it seemed so strange that there was a motorcycle on the verandah of this house :-)  - the little outpart on the right of the house was where the oven was which they used to bake bread in

Thomastown Lutheran Church

Thought it interesting that many of the graves in the cemetery had bricks around them and were filled with plants

 

Dry stone walls which define the open land 

Sunday, 27 July, 2014

Last Sunday, we were joined at the unit by Faye and Bill Duncan.  They used to live in Brisbane, but recently moved up to Toogoom which is about 15 minutes from HB.  Bill is another instructor for QAC (Queensland Aerospace College) and the four of us get on together really well.  Faye also knits and crochets, loves reading mysteries, enjoys walking, and watching cop shows - as you can see, we have a lot in common.

Bill and Faye

On Monday, we ordered some new luggage for  me and were able to pick it up on Tuesday.  It's so nice - I love it!  Both suitcases (one carry-on and one large one) have four wheels on the bottom and they are so easy to push along.  They are also both very light, so that I can fit in a lot of stuff in each  of them.  In Canada, you can put 10kg into your carry-on, but in Australia, you can only have 7kg, so I wanted a really light bag as the carry-on.

My new luggage (love the red colour! :-)

Dad's first course started this past Wednesday and it went very well.  It was an engine course and there were 11 guys on the course.  Some of the guys had been on Dad's courses before and were glad to see Dad was instructing this course.

Faye and I have mostly spent our days knitting - I have been working on a couple of new projects.
I finished knitting another baby beanie, am still working on the baby sweater and am also working on a toddler beanie (which will be given to a child in a developing country) and a trauma teddy (which which will given to a child who has experienced a trauma or to resident in a nursing home).

Toddler Beanie

Trauma Teddy

On Thursday, Faye and I went shopping at the DFO (Duty Free Outlet) where we did more looking than shopping. :-)  We did go out for lunch, though, which was nice - had japanese actually - pretty nice - pretty much the same as chinese from what I could tell from what I bought (black bean and beef plus sweet and sour pork over egg noodles).

Dad and I were planning on going on a day trip yesterday, but unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned.  We went to one store to buy a pair of track pants for me and when we came out, we were planning on going for a nice long walk by the river, but it was raining.  So, we went to another store where we wanted to check for something and when we came out of there, we thought we would go for a walk by the river, but it was still raining.  After going to one more store and there being more rain, we decided to head home and cut our losses.  We hope that the weather will co-operate next Saturday.

Last night, we went out for dinner to a local hotel with Faye and Bill.  It's a very relaxed place, the food is quite good and the prices are reasonable.  I had a chicken parma (parmesan) and Dad had a veal parma dinner.  We spent a couple of hours there enjoying our time with Bill and Faye.  We then came home and had a Boston Bun for dessert.  Bill had recommended it to us and we had bought one earlier at a bakery.  A Boston Bun is a large spiced bun with a thick layer of coconut icing.  It was freshly made and was quite delicious.

A Boston Bun