Sunday, 8 May, 2016

This was another busy week for me - trying to fill in the void of Dad being away.

Monday was Labour Day here in Queensland and so there was another holiday Monday.  That meant no Tai Chi, but fortunately for me, Robyn invited me to drive with her up to her son's place in Bundaberg (90 minutes from HB) for the day.  Her son, Mark and his wife, Naomi have four children and Robyn's daughter, Sandra and her husband, Joe, also have four children.  Sandra and Joe live in HB and they also drove up to Bundaberg and we all met at Mark and Naomi's and then proceeded to drive to the beach.  We spent about 1 1/2 hours there just enjoying swimming in the ocean (while Mark and some of the kids surfed near us).  I love being in the water - I think I was meant to be born under the sign of Pisces.  After the beach, we went back to Mark and Naomi's where we had a nice light lunch.  We then just hung around and chatted for the rest of the afternoon before we headed back to the Bay.

I did my usual Aquafit classes on Tuesday and Thursday and Yoga class on Wednesday.  I love my time in the water (ocean or pool, I am in my element).  The yoga class was led by a different teacher this week - she was okay, but I prefer the one we had last week who is our regular teacher - she tends to do more moves which encourage stretching.  I also had my standing facial appointment which, as always, was wonderful and relaxing.

On Wednesday, after yoga (which Robyn came to) we drove to our Bishop's place to go swimming with his wife, Diana, at their complex - yeah, I just can't get enough of being in the water. :-)  We had a lovely lunch there with them and spent the afternoon yakking and laughing - a lovely day.

On Thursday, Robyn and I had lunch together and then went visiting teaching.  I really enjoy VTing - I love getting to know the sisters better as it's hard to do much socializing on a Sunday.  The furthest you have to drive here in HB, though, is only fifteen minutes which is a lot less time than I used to have to go sometimes when we lived in Canada.  After we finished VTing, Robyn came over for dinner.  I had bought some curry sauce to make a chicken curry with and I wanted to share it with her.  I can't have curry when Dad is home because he can't handle the smell and it also has affected his stomach when he has eaten it in the past.  I love curry and it was great to be able to try Chicken Tikka Masala - on the packet, it said it was 'mild', but Robyn and I both agreed it was more like 'medium'.  We decided that we would need some yogurt for it when we ate the leftovers.

On Friday, Robyn and I went out to lunch with our friend, Alison - she is a member of our ward here and is going through a difficult time, so I thought it would be nice to treat her to lunch to celebrate her birthday.  We went to a cute little cafe called 'Migaloos' which is right by the beach and had a nice time chatting and eating.

Me, Robyn and Alison celebrating Alison's birthday at 'Migaloos'

After talking with you girls yesterday morning, I went to our ward activity which was a barbecue at a park by the beach.  Again, it was a relaxing time just chatting with some of the members of our ward.  It was a lovely day - the temperature was 27C (what a surprise ;-), the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze.  Hamburgers were barbecued for lunch by the men and it was great to just sit around and be served. :-)

Ange, Robyn, Diana, me and Maureen relaxing by the beach at the ward barbecue

After the barbecue, I went to Robyn's to make molded chocolates.  We weren't sure if the men had organized anything for the women for Mother's Day and so we decided to make some chocolates to give to the sisters today.  I had bought a mold which was 16 hearts and Robyn had a mold which was a variety of shapes.  We bought both milk chocolate and dark chocolate buttons to use for the molds.  We gave them to the sisters today and they were very much appreciated.

I picked Dad up at the airport this afternoon - YAY!  It is so nice to have him back home and he is very very happy to be home.  He will only be home for four days before he heads off to Dubai on Thursday, but at least it's four days, right? :-)

Sunday, 1 May, 2016

This week was busy, although not as busy as last week.

I tried tried two new classes at the Over 50s Centre this week: Weight Management and Yoga.  Again, I was the youngest in both classes and some of these oldies put me to shame, but I will keep on trying.  The Weight Management class is more of a social group with a little bit of talking about food.  The ladies were very welcoming and interesting - one of them even told us about some new pretty underwear she had bought and proceeded to show them to us (the ones she was wearing!  Oh my!).  I was hoping it would be more like a Weight Watcher's meeting - however, I will give it one more shot to see if it's going to be helpful or not.

The yoga class was fabulous - the woman leading it was so flexible - amazing!  She led us through a great yoga class for 45 minutes.  She then had us lay down on our mats with our eyes closed and led us through a 15 minute meditation - this was so much better than last week's meditation class - this woman talked calmly the whole time - I was focusing on her and trying to relax as she was asking us to do and I found it quite calming.  I will definitely make this class a part of my regular routine when I am in HB.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Aquafit classes again this week.  It was so funny on Thursday, though - I arrived at the pool with only a minute or two to spare.  When I walked in, there were five women (one was the instructor) there and they started cheering - what a nice welcome! :-)  It turned out that they were happy to get any body coming in - they need to have five woman showing up for class and I made the fifth - they were worried that the class was going to have to be cancelled.  I felt like a celebrity for a couple of seconds. :-)

I had another facial with Helen this week - this weekly routine is something I am totally enjoying - I would never have spent money on something like that up until now - I couldn't bring myself to spend that type of money on me prior to this - I like spoiling myself now! :-)  

I only had one lunch out this week (poor me ;-)  and it was with some more teacher friends - it's always nice to meet up with them and to find out how things are going at Kawungan S.S.  The teachers were saying that they are having to do more and more work outside the classroom these days and it's just annoying for them - they just want to be able to teach and not have to deal with more and more admin stuff.  It seems that there are more and more behaviour issues with the students, as well - sounds like a good time to get out of teaching here and that is what many of them are doing - the older ones are retiring as soon as they can (even if it's in the middle of the year) and many young ones are quitting before they have even been teaching for five years.

I got to babysit two little girls this week - Scarlett (4) and Indiana (3) - who are in our ward here.  Their parents, Lisa and Ben, don't have any parents here in HB so I told Lisa that I would be happy to look after the girls if they wanted to go out on a date.  Ben is in an entry level accounting job and Lisa is a stay-at-home mom, so they don't have a lot of money left over at the end of the month.  She was really happy when I offered to watch the girls for them.  She called me last Sunday and asked me if I would watch them on Tuesday - Ben had a church meeting and she wanted to go to her squash game - she said that she knew it wasn't a date, but would I be willing to babysit anyway.  I told her I would love to - I asked if the girls liked having books read to them and she said yes, but she didn't have many books.  So, before I went to babysit, I stopped at the library and picked up seven books.

When I got to the house, after Ben and Lisa left, the girls and I played with their new Lego creations.  Just before bed, they asked me to read the books - I had to read all seven and then one of them, I was asked to read twice.  Just before bed, I asked which one of them would like to say the prayer and Indiana said she would like me to say it.  They are such cute little girls and remind me a lot of when you girls were little.  I hope that I get to take care of them again - it's kind of like getting in my 'grandma fix', too. :-)

I started a four week free university course this week - I found it online and it sounded like it would be really interesting.  It's called 'Indigenous Studies: Australia and New Zealand' - it explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Maori history, society, culture, language and demography.  I have to watch ten videos (average 7 minutes in length) each week and answer a pop quiz (one question) after each video and then take a 10 question assessment at the end of every week.  It's been really interesting so far - the presenters are university professors - one is an aboriginal and one is a Maori.  I have had an interest in first nations peoples for many years and this is a great start to learning more about our Australian first nations peoples.  I love the learning, but I sure wouldn't want to start having to worry about taking exams again - I wonder if you can audit a full university online course.

Dad's teaching went well again this week - and everyone passed the exam with a higher score than last week - phew!  He has been going on the treadmill at the gym at the complex which he likes.  The trouble is the food - he was eating at the hotel restaurant for both breakfast and dinner, but he was finding the buffet at breakfast too much.  So, he bought some breakfast cereal and milk at the grocery store last week.  He has no bowls, etc. in his room so he is using a mug and spoon which is meant for drinking coffee/tea.  He also has not been able to eat any vegetables and the only fruit he can eat is imported apples and canned fruit.  He cannot wait to get home to HB and get back to eating his fruit and veg.  He is very happy that he only has one week to go there.

Sunday, 24 April, 2016

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.

Sunday, 21 February, 2016

Another busy week - it's a good thing that Dad and I don't have full-time jobs - we wouldn't have any time for them! :-)

Monday was 'chokkers' as they say here in Australia, which means it was a very full day.  After having another lovely facial and a visit to the chiropractor, Dad and I went to Robyn's so that he could work on the 'to do' list which she had for him. :-)  Two of the items were technology based - he had to help her renew her antivirus software and also help her with another computer related issue she was having.  He also had a look at her kitchen tap which was leaking.  Robyn really appreciates having Dad here to help her with things like that since Geoff is no longer here to help her.

After that, we went to visit with our Bishop - he was going in for a hip operation and it turned out he had to have a 3-artery bypass heart operation instead!  A number of 'co-incidences' (which I don't believe in) occurred along the way - Heavenly Father sure was watching over him!  The operation was a success and within a week, he was back home in HB (he went to Brisbane for the operation).  He was looking tired and will have a long recuperation, but his wife is taking good care of him and I am sure he will get lots of visits and meals brought to him.

Tuesday was another visit to the doctor for me - these sunspots are getting to be annoying!  I had the stitches on my arm taken out and had to have another sunspot removed from the left side of my right leg near the bottom.  I did much better controlling my anxiety this time (which both the doctor and the nurse commented positively on), so I was really pleased with myself.  I had thought about how I could use the 'self-talk' I used when I was going through the anxiety in university in this situation (I hadn't thought of that before and it was an answer to prayer) and it helped quite a bit.  I still had some anxiety, but it was so small compared to what I had experienced last week.  The doctor was very pleased with how my arm looked once the nurse took the stitches out.

On Tuesday, Robyn came over so that we could work on Relief Society stuff - I really wanted to get as much done, with regards to the activities we are having this year, as I could while I was in HB.  Dad had to work on installing a new garage door opener while we were inside working.  We had been having issues with our garage door opener with it sometimes not opening and/or closing.  It was so expensive to buy it in town, so Dad ordered it over the internet.  I am so grateful that he is so handy - it was stinkin' hot day, though, and so he was sweating something awful by the time he was done.

That evening, the missionaries came over for dinner again and Robyn stayed to eat with us as well.  These missionaries seem to like to do object lessons and so this night, they used the visual where one shook pepper into a bowl of water and then put a squirt of dish soap into the water at which point, the pepper went to the sides and then sank to the bottom.  They equated that to pepper being our sins and the dishsoap being Jesus Christ (so Jesus washed our sins away).  Another wonderful message.

On Thursday night, we went to Robyn's to help her celebrate her 70th birthday with her daughter, Sandra and her family and another couple, Jan and Gil Townson (church friends).  We all brought food and drinks and very much enjoyed eating and chatting together.  Robyn's daughter, Sandra, bought a lemon meringue pie for dessert - since it's my favourite pie, I just had to have some (after all, it would have been impolite not to have some since we were celebrating Robyn's birthday ).  

Robyn and her yummy birthday lemon meringue pie (with a 7 candle and a 0 candle on it)

On Friday, I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor so he could check out the stitches on my leg.  He was very happy with how they looked and I will get them out in about ten days or so.

Yesterday, we had our February Relief Society Homemaking activity and I was very pleased at how well it went.  There were 18 sisters in attendance and this month's activity was working on a quilt.  Robyn and I had cut everything out, so all the sisters had to do was take two pieces of material and put a piece of batting in between them and then do a running stitch (with very thick thread) to make a pattern on the material.  Robyn is going to take the squares and sew them all together to make a quilt which will then be donated.  The sisters enjoyed learning the skill and chatting with each other, as well.  Each month, we are having a treat after the activity which goes along with the theme of the month.  This month, I asked a sister in the ward to make three cakes (with strawberry cream filling in the middle) and decorate them like patchwork quilts.  She did a great job of them and they were delicious!

 Robyn, Lyn and Efigenia working on the squares to make the quilt

Cake decorated as a patchwork quilt which a woman (Robyn Nixon) at church made

In the evening, while Dad was packing and getting his work stuff ready for his trip to Canada (he leaves shortly), I went to a birthday party for my friend, Fiona.  She just had a few people over and it was nice to get to know some of them a bit better while we chatted and ate.  One of the girls, Lisa, always seemed very quiet at church, but she is really a chatty person I found out from having some time to sit down with her and talk.  That is why we really like having people over for dinner - we just don't have time at church to mix and mingle with everyone.

I said good-bye to Dad at the airport this afternoon - not a fan of staying at home by myself, but it will be nice for him and for Grandma Martin to have some time together;

Dad at the airport (in front of the departure lounge)

Sunday, 14 February, 2016

What a busy week!

On Monday, Dad and I went to our friend, Denise's home, as she needed help with updating her anti-virus software onto her computer.  She had received advice from other people about what to purchase and it wasn't working for her, so she asked me if Dad could tell her what to do.  I told her that we would come over on Monday and Dad would do it for her.  She balked at that at first saying that he would never accept payment for helping.  I told her two things: Dad would be blessed for helping her out (so that was payment enough :-)  and also that she was always doing service for others and that sometimes she had to let others do service for her.  She finally agreed! :-)

On Tuesday, I had another facial from Helen - she is amazing - I love going there and relaxing while she works on my face (and my head and my feet).  She massages my face for a bit, then puts on some goop and lets it do its thing while she massages my head.  Then, she wipes that off, puts on some more goop and while that does its thing, she massages my feet.  Well worth the money, she is!

After that, I met up with a friend (Sandy) I used to teach with at Kawungan.  We talked about how things are going at the school compared to when I was doing my contract/supply teaching work there, and it looks like it's gone a bit downhill - especially when it comes to behaviour.  It was nice to catch up with Sandy and to have another iced chocolate! :-)

Me (with my iced chocolate) and my friend, Sandy

While I was visiting with Sandy, Dad got a special visitor - a new foster cat, Jordie.  He is a Blue Russian cat and he is lovely.  He did jump onto the counters in the kitchen a few times, but we have sure cured him of that behaviour.  He loves to be petted, but doesn't like to be held.  He often follows us around the house and sleeps for part of the night on our bed.  We are going to have him for a couple of weeks while we are here in the Bay.  I love that we can have a cat whenever we are in HB, but then don't have to worry about them when we leave.

Our new foster cat, Jordie (he does have a really long tail which you can't see in this pic)

That evening, we had the missionaries and a couple from the ward - Elaine and Martin Cooper - over for dinner. We miss having the missionaries over - we used to have them every week when we were here in HB a lot.  We have been to the Cooper's a couple of times for dinner and so we decided to have them for dinner this time.  The missionaries gave us a spiritual message at the end of dinner - about love.  They asked us to try and make a cross out of a piece of paper and to be able to use the leftover paper to spell 'love'.  The catch was that we could fold the paper as much as we wanted, but we could only make one straight tear.  I actually was the only one who figured out how to at least get a cross out of it (although one of the missionaries said it looked more like a plus sign. :-)  They related the exercise to the love which Christ has for us - he died on the cross for us.  I love hearing the messages they have for us each time they visit.

Elaine Cooper, Elder T., Elder E., and Martin Cooper

Elder T showing us how it's done (the cross with the word 'love' out of one sheet of paper)

On Friday, I met up with my friend, Haidi, at - where else - the Coffee Club .............. for - what else - an iced chocolate.  Mmm - they are so yummy!  It was great catching up with Haidi - she and I get along so well, but since I am away so much from HB and she is homeschooling her children, it is hard to find the time to get together too often.

While I was socializing so much this week, Dad was kept busy around the house.  Since we are not home so much, it seems like there is a list of things for Dad to work on when we are at home.

Sunday, 7 February, 2016

Our friend, Thea (from church) is moving to Adelaide and so we had her staying with us for a couple of days this week. She and her family have lived in HB for two years, but feel it is now time to move on.  On Tuesday, Thea and I met up with some other friends from church at a local cafe as a send-off for Thea.  We met at a tapas restaurant and had a great time chatting and laughing with each other.  We will all be sad to see Thea go as she has become a good friend, but thanks to technology, we will be able to keep in touch regularly.

Left side, front to back: Elaine, me, Fiona, Lisa........Right side, front to back: Jan, Thea, Jessica

On Tuesday, I had another appointment with my doctor to get another excision of a sunspot (freckle) that he was concerned about - it looked a little funny under the magnifier he uses when doing a skin check.  This time, for some reason, I was even more anxious about the needle and tears began welling up in my eyes when I was called by the nurse into the surgery.  Fortunately, for me, both my doctor and the nurse are very understanding about my fear and calmed me down.  The excision itself went fine and I got the results on Friday when I went back to the doctor for a check on the incision.  The results were good news - yay!  I can take off the waterproof bandage tomorrow and then I go back to him in two weeks for him to take out the stitches.

On Thursday, we drove to Brisbane with Thea.  Dad had a meeting at work in Brisbane, I was meeting up with Dad's boss's wife, Dawn, and Thea was meeting up with her daughter.  Dad's meeting was long, but was very informative.  It was led by the quality manager of QAC who is a really on-the-ball kind of person and is trying to works out the kinks in the operation of the company.  They provided lunch for those in attendance which dad enjoyed.

Dawn and her daughter, Kathryn, came to the QAC office to meet up with me.  Dawn and I get along really well and so I asked her if she wanted to come in and hang out with me and have lunch.  Dawn doesn't drive and I don't like to drive in Brisbane, so Kathryn was our driver for the day.  We went to a quirky area of town called 'West End' and ate at a restaurant there which Dawn had been to previously.  There wasn't a lot on the menu that sounded good to me, so I just chose a hamburger.  Dawn was the one who turned me on to iced chocolates and so, when I saw it on the menu, I just had to order one.  The waitress told me that they had no whipped cream and was that okay - I declined - I mean, what is an iced chocolate without whipped cream. :-)   Dawn and I had a great time catching up and it was nice to meet Kathryn and to get to know her a little.  She has travelled a lot around the world (she has been to 73 countries) and so it was interesting to hear about her journeys.

On Friday night, our friends, Faye and Bill (Bill is an instructor with QAC) came to dinner.  Since both Bill and Dad teach so much, we are seldom in town at the same time.  So, when we are, we meet up at either our house or their place (which is about half an hour from us).  We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed chatting with them and catching up with what we have all been doing since we last got together about six months ago.  Bill is retiring soon and so he won't be doing as much teaching, if any, for QAC, which means that we should be able to get together with them more often.