I only had 18 children at school on both Thursday and Friday and it was like a dream - it reminded me of when I only had 20 children in my class at RJ Lee - it's so great with numbers like that - it's like having one whole group of children less in your class. It was much easier to teach to that many children and less noise - I wish it could be like that all the time. On Thursday, we had a 'Walk for Daniel' to raise money for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Daniel was a young boy (about 13 years old) who was taken from the side of the road where he was waiting for a bus and then killed later on. His parents run the foundation and try to ensure children are taught about safety. Both the local tv station and the local newspaper were out at our school this day and it turns out that I was on tv as the Preps were first in the line for walking (there were about four students in front of us carrying a banner). I didn't see the news that evening, but my friends did and told me later that they had seen me leading the children around the school oval. On Friday, we had a special 'parade' (assembly) at school - it was 'International Teachers' Day' and the administration wanted to acknowledge us in a special way - they had us come up in front of everyone in the school to receive a special appreciation certificate and a pen (which has my name on it). It was nice to be appreciated and to receive such a nice memento.
We had a busy social life this week. On Wednesday, we had the Gilbert's over. They are a south african couple with five children (two born in South Africa and three born in Wales) who moved to HB within the past year (they are the couple whose house/yard was damaged in the storm and Dad and the SES were over there helping to clean up a couple of weeks ago). Brother Gilbert wanted his wife to learn how to input names into the church genealogy internet site, so we invited them to dinner beforehand to get to know them a little better. On Saturday, we had our friends Robyn and Geoff over for dinner - we had invited our friends, Trudy and Peter over as well, but Trudy got really sick and couldn't come. Robyn and Geoff are our closest friends here in HB and we always have a good time when we get together. We taught them how to play cribbage and they caught on really quickly. On Saturday, our friends, Rob and Rosalea came into town from their trip up north. They were staying with Robyn and Geoff and so we went over there for dinner to say our good-byes to Rob and Rosalea as they are heading back to Western Australia.
On Saturday morning, we got to Skype with our boys again - they are so cute! :-) They were on their way to bed so the talk was short, but they did get to tell us the talks they gave for their Primary Sacrament meeting presentation. Both Colin and Caleb memorized their talks and it was so neat to be able to hear them say them to us. On Sunday, we Skyped with Grandma Martin and Jackie (with Scott in the background). Grandma is doing okay - she's very happy that Jackie is still staying with her.
On Sunday, our ward had the Primary Sacrament meeting presentation. Things went very well, I thought, and I was told the same by people in the congregation. I spoke for about a minute at the beginning of the program to let those in the congregation know what the children have been learning about this year in Primary. Then our 11 Primary children read their parts and sang their songs really well. Some of the children spoke really quietly so it was a bit hard to hear them - and others spoke really loudly - and the singing, although quiet, was really sweet.
We have been exercising just about every day for the past three weeks. We either go for an hour long walk around the neighbourhood or for a 6km bike ride along the road near our house. We feel really good about getting so much exercise in and we feel better physically for it, as well. I was thinking that I would go swimming once a week to do lengths, but that hasn't happened as yet. :-) We have also been eating very healthily and feeling better for that, too. I have lost over 2kg in our 'summer slimmers' competition at school so far - I'm still not winning percentage-wise, but there's still time for that. :-)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
It's been a pretty good week and a very busy week. School has been pretty much the same this week although I did have Monday off - well, sort of - it was a 'pupil free day' which means that I had to go to work, but there were no kids there (if only that could happen more often ). It was supposed to be an interview day and I had three scheduled and hoped that two more would happen (I had sent home two letters asking them to come in for an interview on that day). As it turns out, I had one interview - sheesh. Anyway, I just wanted to let the parents know that their children were struggling a bit and tell them what they could do to help their child so that they would be able to learn what they needed to, to get ready for grade one.
Dad spent Monday working outside on the lawn and other outside stuff. Tuesday, he spent the afternoon helping our friends from church to move to a temporary home (the ones who I told you about last week whose rented house/property was wrecked by that storm last week). Thursday was SES - they spent the time there counting supplies as the 'boss' is going to meet soon with the powers-that-be on the council to report on the readiness of the SES for activation during the storm season which will be upon HB in December/January.
We had a really lovely day yesterday - we decided to celebrate our anniversary then. We started off by having a lovely chat with Colin, Caleb, Benjamin and James (Terri-Ann was at a church women's conference). We love talking with 'our boys' and they are 'true' boys. :-) We talked with them for a few minutes and then they wanted to get moving again. While we talked to James and Benjamin, Colin and Caleb ran back and forth behind them laughing and having a great time. :-)
After that, Dad made our usual Saturday breakfast: poached eggs, toast, baked beans, tomatoes, and for a little treat, a little piece of bacon. We then got in the car to enjoy the beautiful weather of the day. We were driving down to the esplanade (where the beach is) when we passed the botanical gardens and decided to back up and go for a walk in there. It was a lovely place to walk with lots of trees and paths and a big pond in the middle with ducks swimming on it. We also happened upon a wedding and watched from afar as a bagpiper piped in the bride. We also 'happened' upon a teacher from the school I was at last year and found out that there's a possibility of a one-day-a-week job going in grade two next year - I will go into the school this week and talk with the vice principal about it.
After our walk through the gardens, we drove down to the esplanade and walked along Urangan Pier which is 800 metres long. There were quite a few people fishing off the pier and we actually saw one guy holding a fish which had to be about two feet long. After our walk on the pier, we went to a lovely cafe by the water (the harbour) and sat at a table overlooking the harbour and all the boats - it was a really nice place to sit. The food was just okay this time - I went there with my friend once and had a really yummy meal. Dad had a club sandwich with fries and I had a steak sandwich with wedges. The wedges were very yummy, but the rest of the food was pretty ordinary, so we were a bit disappointed. We went to the Cheesecake Shop after our meal to buy ourselves a pavlova (thanks Nana! :-) There weren't any small ones left, so we HAD to make do with a large one. :-) We had a piece when we got home yesterday and then another piece at night and have had one piece today after lunch and will have the other piece tonight before bed - what a yummy way to end our relaxing day.
Dad spent Monday working outside on the lawn and other outside stuff. Tuesday, he spent the afternoon helping our friends from church to move to a temporary home (the ones who I told you about last week whose rented house/property was wrecked by that storm last week). Thursday was SES - they spent the time there counting supplies as the 'boss' is going to meet soon with the powers-that-be on the council to report on the readiness of the SES for activation during the storm season which will be upon HB in December/January.
We had a really lovely day yesterday - we decided to celebrate our anniversary then. We started off by having a lovely chat with Colin, Caleb, Benjamin and James (Terri-Ann was at a church women's conference). We love talking with 'our boys' and they are 'true' boys. :-) We talked with them for a few minutes and then they wanted to get moving again. While we talked to James and Benjamin, Colin and Caleb ran back and forth behind them laughing and having a great time. :-)
After that, Dad made our usual Saturday breakfast: poached eggs, toast, baked beans, tomatoes, and for a little treat, a little piece of bacon. We then got in the car to enjoy the beautiful weather of the day. We were driving down to the esplanade (where the beach is) when we passed the botanical gardens and decided to back up and go for a walk in there. It was a lovely place to walk with lots of trees and paths and a big pond in the middle with ducks swimming on it. We also happened upon a wedding and watched from afar as a bagpiper piped in the bride. We also 'happened' upon a teacher from the school I was at last year and found out that there's a possibility of a one-day-a-week job going in grade two next year - I will go into the school this week and talk with the vice principal about it.
After our walk through the gardens, we drove down to the esplanade and walked along Urangan Pier which is 800 metres long. There were quite a few people fishing off the pier and we actually saw one guy holding a fish which had to be about two feet long. After our walk on the pier, we went to a lovely cafe by the water (the harbour) and sat at a table overlooking the harbour and all the boats - it was a really nice place to sit. The food was just okay this time - I went there with my friend once and had a really yummy meal. Dad had a club sandwich with fries and I had a steak sandwich with wedges. The wedges were very yummy, but the rest of the food was pretty ordinary, so we were a bit disappointed. We went to the Cheesecake Shop after our meal to buy ourselves a pavlova (thanks Nana! :-) There weren't any small ones left, so we HAD to make do with a large one. :-) We had a piece when we got home yesterday and then another piece at night and have had one piece today after lunch and will have the other piece tonight before bed - what a yummy way to end our relaxing day.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
We've had a busy and lazy week. :-) School was pretty much the same as it's been since we got back from holidays. The kids seem to have settled down a bit - except for Fridays - they go swimming on Fridays, so after the lessons, they have a difficult time settling down. We have a PD Day (they call it a 'pupil free day' here) tomorrow which will be nice. Not so much fun to have to do some kind of workshop in the morning, but we do get from 1pm onwards to do interviews (I have three booked already and hope two more will show up) and then we get to work on whatever we want. That means I can do preparing for the coming week which has meant that I didn't have to do any school work yesterday which was a real treat.
On Tuesday, while Dad was at his Priesthood Executive Committe, I was able to go and visit teach with my friend, Diana (the Bishop's wife). I have always loved doing visiting teaching - I love being able to get to know the sisters on a more personal level - being able to have a good yak as well. :-) Diana is really good at yakking (like me) so we had a lovely time. I usually stay between 45 minutes and an hour when I go visiting teaching, but Diana and I were having such a great time together that I called Dad and asked him to get a ride from the Bishop to their place so that Diana and I could have more time together - we ended up visiting for almost 1 1/2 hours. :-)
Yesterday, Dad and I had the loveliest of days. We spent the whole day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. We started off watching a movie (Eat, Pray, Love) - a good one, but not as good as the book - I have got to stop watching a movie made from a book if I have read the book - I have never seen a movie which is as good as the book. We had a great chat with Krystal over Skype (sad that her boys were sleeping, but Krystal has her voice/guitar lessons on Friday night, so we have to wait until she gets back from them to Skype). Dad and I then took our books outside and lay down on our chaise lounges in the beautiful warm sun. We both read for a while and then had a nap - I love these kind of days. We then drove down to the beach and went for a short walk (half an hour) and ended our lazy day by watching tv.
We had an enormous storm last night - out where we were it was just really powerful (and loud) rain, but in other parts of Hervey Bay, it was much worse. When we got to church, we heard that one of our families had it really bad last night - a mini cyclone went through the area of town in which they live. A roof off a school building out their back yard had come off and parts of it landed in their trees and in the yard; many of their trees had fallen, so much so that they were told to stay inside their house until help had arrived to clear things away. Just after that, Dad got a call from SES putting him into activation. Lo and behold, when he got to the SES shed, he was told he was going to be working at our friends' house. :-) There were 29 SES members called out today and 15 of them were working on our friends' property. It was really warm today and the SES uniforms are long sleeved - Dad sweat so much today - they worked for 8 hours on that property and there's still tons of work to be done. What a blessing for people here to be able to call on the SES for assistance - and it's all free. This was Dad's first call-out to assist in an emergency - although he is exhausted from the hard work, he feels good that he was able to help someone in need.
On Tuesday, while Dad was at his Priesthood Executive Committe, I was able to go and visit teach with my friend, Diana (the Bishop's wife). I have always loved doing visiting teaching - I love being able to get to know the sisters on a more personal level - being able to have a good yak as well. :-) Diana is really good at yakking (like me) so we had a lovely time. I usually stay between 45 minutes and an hour when I go visiting teaching, but Diana and I were having such a great time together that I called Dad and asked him to get a ride from the Bishop to their place so that Diana and I could have more time together - we ended up visiting for almost 1 1/2 hours. :-)
Yesterday, Dad and I had the loveliest of days. We spent the whole day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. We started off watching a movie (Eat, Pray, Love) - a good one, but not as good as the book - I have got to stop watching a movie made from a book if I have read the book - I have never seen a movie which is as good as the book. We had a great chat with Krystal over Skype (sad that her boys were sleeping, but Krystal has her voice/guitar lessons on Friday night, so we have to wait until she gets back from them to Skype). Dad and I then took our books outside and lay down on our chaise lounges in the beautiful warm sun. We both read for a while and then had a nap - I love these kind of days. We then drove down to the beach and went for a short walk (half an hour) and ended our lazy day by watching tv.
We had an enormous storm last night - out where we were it was just really powerful (and loud) rain, but in other parts of Hervey Bay, it was much worse. When we got to church, we heard that one of our families had it really bad last night - a mini cyclone went through the area of town in which they live. A roof off a school building out their back yard had come off and parts of it landed in their trees and in the yard; many of their trees had fallen, so much so that they were told to stay inside their house until help had arrived to clear things away. Just after that, Dad got a call from SES putting him into activation. Lo and behold, when he got to the SES shed, he was told he was going to be working at our friends' house. :-) There were 29 SES members called out today and 15 of them were working on our friends' property. It was really warm today and the SES uniforms are long sleeved - Dad sweat so much today - they worked for 8 hours on that property and there's still tons of work to be done. What a blessing for people here to be able to call on the SES for assistance - and it's all free. This was Dad's first call-out to assist in an emergency - although he is exhausted from the hard work, he feels good that he was able to help someone in need.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wow, I didn't realize that it had been that long since I had written, so here's the Reader's Digest version of what's been happening in the last week and a half.
I loved being on holidays (except it being lonely at night without Dad here) - no work, no kids, no stress! :-) School started again last Monday and it's actually not been too bad at all. On Monday, they were really well behaved and listened well - however, on Tuesday, they were back at it. :-) One of the teachers said that the kids don't get any better than this - she reckoned that by this time of the year, the kids are 'over school' (meaning that they had had enough of it for the year).
Dad got home on Thursday night after one false start. He almost got out on the first night he tried, but then at the last minute, the reservations agent had to tell Dad 'sorry, but no go'. Fortunately, he was able to get on the plane the next night (got the last seat on the plane in the back). He was able to get on both flights within Australia and I met him at the airport (he wasn't sure if I would feel comfortable driving out there, but it was an easy drive) and he was very happy to see me and to be home.
We went out for dinner on Friday night to celebrate Dad's birthday. He had a lovely big steak and three jumbo shrimp and I had chicken parmigiana. We went to our favourite restaurant/pub, Hoolihan's, and the food was as delicious as always. If it's your birthday, they will give you a free meal (entree) up to $25. so Dad's meal only cost us $10. We had bought a pavlova for dessert which we had some of when we got home. We also rented two movies (we would recommend one of them called 'Unknown') and enjoyed watching them together. Dad said it was a really nice way to spend his birthday.
We spent yesterday relaxing all morning and doing school stuff all afternoon. We watched another movie last night. Jet lag started to affect Dad last night and so he went off to bed early.
It was General Conference today and we were able to see two sessions. Because of the time difference between here and Utah, they tape the Conference sessions here and we view them the next weekend. I love our prophet - he has such a great sense of humour and a very strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. I love listening to him talk and am looking forward to getting the Ensign magazine so that I can read his talk. One thing I noticed today was that, when we read the talks in the Ensign, we can't read the emotions of the person giving the talk. Two brethren got really emotional when giving their talks today and I am glad that I could actually see them give their talks and experience their emotions, so that when I read their talks, I will be reminded of these emotions. The power of the Spirit was amazing today! :-)
I loved being on holidays (except it being lonely at night without Dad here) - no work, no kids, no stress! :-) School started again last Monday and it's actually not been too bad at all. On Monday, they were really well behaved and listened well - however, on Tuesday, they were back at it. :-) One of the teachers said that the kids don't get any better than this - she reckoned that by this time of the year, the kids are 'over school' (meaning that they had had enough of it for the year).
Dad got home on Thursday night after one false start. He almost got out on the first night he tried, but then at the last minute, the reservations agent had to tell Dad 'sorry, but no go'. Fortunately, he was able to get on the plane the next night (got the last seat on the plane in the back). He was able to get on both flights within Australia and I met him at the airport (he wasn't sure if I would feel comfortable driving out there, but it was an easy drive) and he was very happy to see me and to be home.
We went out for dinner on Friday night to celebrate Dad's birthday. He had a lovely big steak and three jumbo shrimp and I had chicken parmigiana. We went to our favourite restaurant/pub, Hoolihan's, and the food was as delicious as always. If it's your birthday, they will give you a free meal (entree) up to $25. so Dad's meal only cost us $10. We had bought a pavlova for dessert which we had some of when we got home. We also rented two movies (we would recommend one of them called 'Unknown') and enjoyed watching them together. Dad said it was a really nice way to spend his birthday.
We spent yesterday relaxing all morning and doing school stuff all afternoon. We watched another movie last night. Jet lag started to affect Dad last night and so he went off to bed early.
It was General Conference today and we were able to see two sessions. Because of the time difference between here and Utah, they tape the Conference sessions here and we view them the next weekend. I love our prophet - he has such a great sense of humour and a very strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. I love listening to him talk and am looking forward to getting the Ensign magazine so that I can read his talk. One thing I noticed today was that, when we read the talks in the Ensign, we can't read the emotions of the person giving the talk. Two brethren got really emotional when giving their talks today and I am glad that I could actually see them give their talks and experience their emotions, so that when I read their talks, I will be reminded of these emotions. The power of the Spirit was amazing today! :-)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
I didn't write on Tuesday cuz there really isn't much going on with me - and Dad is pretty much doing the same thing at Grandma's as he's been doing for the past couple of weeks. So, using the emails back and forth between Dad and I, I will fill you in on what we've been doing since I last wrote.
Monday
My Monday was delightful. I slept in 'til 9:15am which I thought was a very respectable time to get up. :-) After breakfast, I started working on my plan for the first day of school. I absolutely loved doing it - it reminded me of how much I love teaching - just not in Hervey Bay. I asked Heavenly Father what we were supposed to do - I want to teach - I am not ready to give it up yet - but, I also don't want to teach in the conditions here in HB - I'm not sure what the answer is yet. Anyway, after I was planning for a while, I thought to myself - what am I doing inside when it's such a beautiful day outside (27C today), so I went outside and read my book out on my chaise lounger. This book is a crime thriller and it's quite good - it's about a blind woman who 'sees' the last 18 seconds of a dead person's life when she touches their hand. I didn't get my nap in today as I didn't really feel tired at nap time - likely cuz I had slept in late. After the wind got too cool outside, I came inside and ran a bath and read for another 90 minutes. I know that it will cost a little extra having all these baths, but I figure that since I am not doing anything or going anywhere that costs money, I can afford to pay for a few bathtubs full of hot water. :-)
Tuesday
I got a call from Rosalea about 9am to say that were up and ready for me to come over to help them clean the house. As soon as I got there, I got to work on cleaning out the kitchen cupboards - that's a big job and one that I could do without Rosalea's help - she was busy packing things into their fridge. Rob was busy packing things into their sea container. We worked until about noon and then they wanted to go and get something to eat, so we drove over to 'Subway' on the Esplanade and then ate on the foreshore, beside the ocean on one of the tables there. It was another beautiful day in HB. :-) After that, we went back to their house and worked until almost 5pm. I told them that I wanted to leave by then as I didn't want to drive in the dark (not quite comfortable with that yet).
Wednesday
Today I went to the Lovelock's for lunch. Alison and I sat down at their kitchen table and chatted while Graham made pancakes - they asked me if that was okay and I told them how you used to make it all the time for us when the girls were little. The pancakes were yummy! We talked about how they met and they showed me their wedding albums. We will have to have them over for dinner when you get home. After lunch, I went over to help Rob and Rosalea clean again. They asked me if I would like to go with them to Rainbow Beach tomorrow, but I declined as I really need to do some planning - I have only touched a little of it on Monday and haven't done any more since then. They also wanted to take me out to dinner tonight for helping, but I told them that I was quite tired and just wanted to go home and relax. Since getting home, the only energetic thing I have done is make 'Bev's Garlic Chicken'. It's been a night of tv watching - what a lazy slug, eh? :-) Oh yeah, when I was on the way to the Woodcott's from the Lovelock's, I stopped at 'Cut it out Christa' and made an appointment for 11am on Friday to have my hair cut - it is getting way too long and it's starting to make me look old - and I don't like looking older than 29! :-)
Thursday
I slept in until 9am again - yippee - I'm getting good at this - just in time to have to wake up early again next Monday. :-) I spent some time reading before getting to work on my planning. I am now reading a book called 'The Secret Life of Bees' - it's one of my book club book list books. I was able to completely plan for the first week of school which I was pleased about. Tomorrow, I will start to get all the supplies I need for the week so that I can take the stuff into my classroom on Saturday (or maybe tomorrow if I'm really organized). My evening was spent watching tv again - I have it on every night just to have noise in the house - I just don't like the silence in here when it's not on. If it's during the day, I have the CD player on, but it just doesn't do the trick in the evening. If there's 'nothing' on, I put on the news channel just to have some background noise (although often on the news channel, it's actually interesting. :-)
DAD
Monday
I walked Mom through sending an email today. Krystal had written and sent along a few pictures of Alexander and Dominic. She opened the email, read it and looked at the pictures, then replied and sent it off. All in all not bad for her first go. I spent the day today, after making 5 trips to the garbage bin and recycle with all yesterday's garbage, helping Mom with all sorts of things. We found phone numbers for almost all of the companies who she will need to call in the next couple of days. It took nearly all day, and still a dozen or so calls for Mom to make. Jackie is still sorting photos with Mom. Which to get rid of, which to keep and put into albums. Tomorrow I also need to get a small mailer box and send if off to myself with all the family history documents and old photos that are passing to me. In going over documents and photos with Mom we have found a few holes in the family history that will need looking into.
Tuesday
Mom really likes having me here helping her out. She really does not like having to deal with all the red tape and forms, etc that go with someone passing. Doug, or Scott, or Erika can help her, but I think she just likes me being here to take it on straight away and get things sorted out, or at least moving on. Today Mom and I went to the airport and picked up my Zed ticket. A stop at the funeral place to see how the memories book is coming. Jackie needs some of the photos back to scan for Victoria who is working on Dad's memoirs book. The memory book computer version should be finished by tomorrow. So all is well there for Jackie to get the stuff back in time to scan it before they head out to Calgary. Speaking of Calgary it looks like Scott may not be going. He does not have enough time off available and is having trouble seeing if someone can swap a day or two with him. Also today included stops at the drug store, the post office and the grocery store. Several more phone calls (they're neverending, it seems). There really is a lot to tidy up after someone passes on. I can see the 'business wisdom' in a company requiring all this red tape, but it sure makes it difficult for a grieving spouse to deal with all the paperwork and red tape. Tomorrow Dad's work has arranged for a courier to come and pick up 2 boxes and a paper roll tube of stuff we have come across that needs to be returned to his office. Then they can decide what happens to it all. Much of it they did indicate they would like back when Mom talked with them.
Wednesday
Jackie has decided to come back to Vancouver after Thanksgiving and will likely stay until Christmas. That way she doesn't have to rush through sorting photos and books. She can also continue to help Mom with email, Skype and other things which come up. So today was stops at the drug store, pet store, Walmart, Dad's Dr's office to get some forms signed for insurance. Also Jackie and I went over and had a look at the memories book. We found a few missing pages and a couple of typos they had made, so they will fix those tomorrow morning and give us another call. Mom's visiting teachers came by tonight and they are really nice and supportive. They offered to give her a ride to church if required and stop by if she needs any help. They talked about the VT message that Terri-Ann put a quote from in her blog the other day regarding being hit over the head. We also had a very nice stew dinner tonight. Yesterday at YW, they had a cooking lesson and made the stew. They made tons and when the girls asked what they were going to do with all the extra, the leaders said they were going to be giving it to some sisters in the Ward that were on their own and could use the help. Right away the girls said to make sure Sister Martin got some. So they brought enough by for the three of us. It was pretty good. Certainly better than fast food.
Monday
My Monday was delightful. I slept in 'til 9:15am which I thought was a very respectable time to get up. :-) After breakfast, I started working on my plan for the first day of school. I absolutely loved doing it - it reminded me of how much I love teaching - just not in Hervey Bay. I asked Heavenly Father what we were supposed to do - I want to teach - I am not ready to give it up yet - but, I also don't want to teach in the conditions here in HB - I'm not sure what the answer is yet. Anyway, after I was planning for a while, I thought to myself - what am I doing inside when it's such a beautiful day outside (27C today), so I went outside and read my book out on my chaise lounger. This book is a crime thriller and it's quite good - it's about a blind woman who 'sees' the last 18 seconds of a dead person's life when she touches their hand. I didn't get my nap in today as I didn't really feel tired at nap time - likely cuz I had slept in late. After the wind got too cool outside, I came inside and ran a bath and read for another 90 minutes. I know that it will cost a little extra having all these baths, but I figure that since I am not doing anything or going anywhere that costs money, I can afford to pay for a few bathtubs full of hot water. :-)
Tuesday
I got a call from Rosalea about 9am to say that were up and ready for me to come over to help them clean the house. As soon as I got there, I got to work on cleaning out the kitchen cupboards - that's a big job and one that I could do without Rosalea's help - she was busy packing things into their fridge. Rob was busy packing things into their sea container. We worked until about noon and then they wanted to go and get something to eat, so we drove over to 'Subway' on the Esplanade and then ate on the foreshore, beside the ocean on one of the tables there. It was another beautiful day in HB. :-) After that, we went back to their house and worked until almost 5pm. I told them that I wanted to leave by then as I didn't want to drive in the dark (not quite comfortable with that yet).
Wednesday
Today I went to the Lovelock's for lunch. Alison and I sat down at their kitchen table and chatted while Graham made pancakes - they asked me if that was okay and I told them how you used to make it all the time for us when the girls were little. The pancakes were yummy! We talked about how they met and they showed me their wedding albums. We will have to have them over for dinner when you get home. After lunch, I went over to help Rob and Rosalea clean again. They asked me if I would like to go with them to Rainbow Beach tomorrow, but I declined as I really need to do some planning - I have only touched a little of it on Monday and haven't done any more since then. They also wanted to take me out to dinner tonight for helping, but I told them that I was quite tired and just wanted to go home and relax. Since getting home, the only energetic thing I have done is make 'Bev's Garlic Chicken'. It's been a night of tv watching - what a lazy slug, eh? :-) Oh yeah, when I was on the way to the Woodcott's from the Lovelock's, I stopped at 'Cut it out Christa' and made an appointment for 11am on Friday to have my hair cut - it is getting way too long and it's starting to make me look old - and I don't like looking older than 29! :-)
Thursday
I slept in until 9am again - yippee - I'm getting good at this - just in time to have to wake up early again next Monday. :-) I spent some time reading before getting to work on my planning. I am now reading a book called 'The Secret Life of Bees' - it's one of my book club book list books. I was able to completely plan for the first week of school which I was pleased about. Tomorrow, I will start to get all the supplies I need for the week so that I can take the stuff into my classroom on Saturday (or maybe tomorrow if I'm really organized). My evening was spent watching tv again - I have it on every night just to have noise in the house - I just don't like the silence in here when it's not on. If it's during the day, I have the CD player on, but it just doesn't do the trick in the evening. If there's 'nothing' on, I put on the news channel just to have some background noise (although often on the news channel, it's actually interesting. :-)
DAD
Monday
I walked Mom through sending an email today. Krystal had written and sent along a few pictures of Alexander and Dominic. She opened the email, read it and looked at the pictures, then replied and sent it off. All in all not bad for her first go. I spent the day today, after making 5 trips to the garbage bin and recycle with all yesterday's garbage, helping Mom with all sorts of things. We found phone numbers for almost all of the companies who she will need to call in the next couple of days. It took nearly all day, and still a dozen or so calls for Mom to make. Jackie is still sorting photos with Mom. Which to get rid of, which to keep and put into albums. Tomorrow I also need to get a small mailer box and send if off to myself with all the family history documents and old photos that are passing to me. In going over documents and photos with Mom we have found a few holes in the family history that will need looking into.
Tuesday
Mom really likes having me here helping her out. She really does not like having to deal with all the red tape and forms, etc that go with someone passing. Doug, or Scott, or Erika can help her, but I think she just likes me being here to take it on straight away and get things sorted out, or at least moving on. Today Mom and I went to the airport and picked up my Zed ticket. A stop at the funeral place to see how the memories book is coming. Jackie needs some of the photos back to scan for Victoria who is working on Dad's memoirs book. The memory book computer version should be finished by tomorrow. So all is well there for Jackie to get the stuff back in time to scan it before they head out to Calgary. Speaking of Calgary it looks like Scott may not be going. He does not have enough time off available and is having trouble seeing if someone can swap a day or two with him. Also today included stops at the drug store, the post office and the grocery store. Several more phone calls (they're neverending, it seems). There really is a lot to tidy up after someone passes on. I can see the 'business wisdom' in a company requiring all this red tape, but it sure makes it difficult for a grieving spouse to deal with all the paperwork and red tape. Tomorrow Dad's work has arranged for a courier to come and pick up 2 boxes and a paper roll tube of stuff we have come across that needs to be returned to his office. Then they can decide what happens to it all. Much of it they did indicate they would like back when Mom talked with them.
Wednesday
Jackie has decided to come back to Vancouver after Thanksgiving and will likely stay until Christmas. That way she doesn't have to rush through sorting photos and books. She can also continue to help Mom with email, Skype and other things which come up. So today was stops at the drug store, pet store, Walmart, Dad's Dr's office to get some forms signed for insurance. Also Jackie and I went over and had a look at the memories book. We found a few missing pages and a couple of typos they had made, so they will fix those tomorrow morning and give us another call. Mom's visiting teachers came by tonight and they are really nice and supportive. They offered to give her a ride to church if required and stop by if she needs any help. They talked about the VT message that Terri-Ann put a quote from in her blog the other day regarding being hit over the head. We also had a very nice stew dinner tonight. Yesterday at YW, they had a cooking lesson and made the stew. They made tons and when the girls asked what they were going to do with all the extra, the leaders said they were going to be giving it to some sisters in the Ward that were on their own and could use the help. Right away the girls said to make sure Sister Martin got some. So they brought enough by for the three of us. It was pretty good. Certainly better than fast food.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
It's been a wonderful relaxing week - it's been all about sleeping in, reading, bike riding and napping. :-) I was so stressed from teaching this past term and I knew I needed to just relax for a while. I have been sick almost the whole term - cold symptoms - due to stress, I believe. I have really enjoyed doing 'nothing' this past week. :-) I love reading and it's been fabulous spending so much time reading this week. I have been spending a lot of time reading outside, too - it's been 25C every day with blue skies and a shining sun. :-) I spent time finding book club book lists online and made myself a list of 12 books which sounded like they would be worth spending time on reading. The first book I found was over 500 pages - a bit of a long book for my liking, but I had seen part of the movie which had been made from the book and it looked good so I gave it a shot. It was a good read - and I also found the sequel (much less pages, thank goodness! :-) on the shelf in the library which was an okay read. The third book I finished today - it was a really good read - a crime thriller - my favourite kind. I am now reading my fourth book which is also a crime thriller. I have a fifth book ready to read called 'The Secret Life Of Bees' - it sounds like a really interesting story.
I will have to start planning my last term of school tomorrow - our main unit is on 'community helpers' - sure wish I was in Canada and could go to 'Scholar's Choice' to get a theme book on it. :-) I did a lot of internet searching before the holidays and have the outline done for the unit, so it should be easy to put together. I need to put together a language and math program as well geared towards getting the students ready for grade one.
Dad is still keeping very busy with Grandma - he's been doing some work around the unit and also he, Grandma and Jackie are still sorting through things and working on getting things organized for a memory box which Grandma and Jackie are putting together. Dad says it's a really slow process having to do all this work and also running around doing things to cross off the list of things to be done because Grandpa passed away, but he's glad that he and Jackie are there to help Grandma go through it all. He says that things are starting to come together and he's hoping it will all be done before he goes.
Scott is going to drive Grandma and Jackie to Alberta on Thanksgiving weekend and Doug, Sharon and the two boys are going along also. They will all spend the Thanksgiving weekend with Kathleen, Rob and their kids. I am sure that Grandma will be really happy to have most of her family around at this time. I have read that all the holidays in the first year are really hard to go through for someone who has lost someone. So, having her children and grandchildren around her will help Grandma through this first holiday.
I will have to start planning my last term of school tomorrow - our main unit is on 'community helpers' - sure wish I was in Canada and could go to 'Scholar's Choice' to get a theme book on it. :-) I did a lot of internet searching before the holidays and have the outline done for the unit, so it should be easy to put together. I need to put together a language and math program as well geared towards getting the students ready for grade one.
Dad is still keeping very busy with Grandma - he's been doing some work around the unit and also he, Grandma and Jackie are still sorting through things and working on getting things organized for a memory box which Grandma and Jackie are putting together. Dad says it's a really slow process having to do all this work and also running around doing things to cross off the list of things to be done because Grandpa passed away, but he's glad that he and Jackie are there to help Grandma go through it all. He says that things are starting to come together and he's hoping it will all be done before he goes.
Scott is going to drive Grandma and Jackie to Alberta on Thanksgiving weekend and Doug, Sharon and the two boys are going along also. They will all spend the Thanksgiving weekend with Kathleen, Rob and their kids. I am sure that Grandma will be really happy to have most of her family around at this time. I have read that all the holidays in the first year are really hard to go through for someone who has lost someone. So, having her children and grandchildren around her will help Grandma through this first holiday.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Hello all. Sorry I didn't write on Sunday. I was going to, but friends showed up unexpectedly and then they didn't leave until late and I was too tired by then to write. There really isn't that much to write about, though, since I am on holidays, but I will catch you up anyway - I'm going to do it by cutting and pasting my emails to Dad which tell about what I have been doing............
16 September - Hooray - it's Friday - I am so glad we're done for two weeks - phew!
Just thought I would give you a laugh for today. Last night, the lamp on my side of the bedroom blew out and I tried to get the bulb out, but I twisted and twisted and it wouldn't come out, so I gave up and moved to your side of the bed. When I woke up this morning at 6:20am, I turned over to see what time it was, and I fell out of bed.
Hope the rest of my day is a bit better.
16 September - Well, I am finally on holidays - yippee! Today was okay, but the kids were so off - and so were all the other kids in the school. I thought that I might have had fewer children than usual, but nope, I had 21 of them there. I told some of the parents today that there was no way we were doing any work today - that the kids were spent - and the parents thought it was a good idea to just let them play. So, our day started off with going out to the fort (playground) to play which the kids loved - the whole fort to themselves. After fruit break, we went outside to the Prep/grade one eating area where Paula, our indigenous TA, taught the kids an indigenous dance which the kids enjoyed. After lunch break, we were going to have activity time in the classroom, but earlier in the day, the music teacher came to me and told me that she was going to take my kids for an hour for my non-contact (planning) time - what a lovely surprise that was and very much appreciated. While they were at music, I spent time talking with Sam about what I want to do next term and we also reorganized the classroom so that all the tables are in one area rather than being split by the carts. After music, we went to science and then down to the great hall to judge the things which had been built by the students with recyclable materials. Some of them were really good - the kids were very excited that there were many tickets inside the box beside our 'recycle man' (every student got to vote on which one they thought was the best by putting a ticket in the box in front of the item). After last break, it was off to the computer lab and that ended our day. I spent about ten minutes in the classroom doing some final tidying up and then I was out the door.
and........... guess what? ................. I drove all by myself into town. That's right - you read it right - and I am so pleased! I first went to Coles and parked way far back by the road. I didn't buy much to actually eat - well healthy stuff anyway. I did buy milk and eggs and meat pies and fries and sausage rolls for food - most of that will do me until next week when I might have to buy some more milk. Then, I went to the library, but it was past 4pm, so I didn't get to get any more books out, but I did return two books. I might go down to the library later this week to get a book or two or three to read over the holidays - I really do want to take some time to relax over the holidays. After the library, I drove to the post office. I was just a little startled when I got to the roundabout at Beach St. and Boat Harbour and there were two lanes - I didn't know which lane to go in, so I crossed over the first one and went to the second one - I was hoping I was doing it right - I made it to the post office, picked up the package with no problem and then drove home via Nissen St. I was so happy once I got onto Nissen - I even cheered out loud! I have been relaxing since I got home, although I do wish that I had a movie to watch as there isn't anything on tv tonight other than 'The Glee Project'.
I was going to clean the house yesterday, but I just didn't have the energy to do it. I will do it tomorrow in spurts, though - it really needs a good vacuum and the toilets need cleaning desperately! I also want to do some laundry - and just for the record, that reminds me, I have made the bed every day except for the day I had to wash the sheets.
17 September - I was so happy to be able to talk with you today via Skype. I look forward to being able to do the same thing in the middle of this coming week.
Thanks for that info about the roundabouts - now I know what the right thing to do is - I will make sure to follow those rules when I have to go through that one this coming week when I go to the library. I want to go and get some books to read while I am on holidays. I checked out some more book club lists and found a really good site (goodreads.com) which has reviews by actual readers - I found a dozen books I think I will like and so I have put a couple on hold and will go and check out some of the others when I go to the library; I am going to also get some dvds out for when there is nothing on tv.
It was really nice being lazy today, but I really do need to get doing some house cleaning next week. You might not be here to mess it up, but it's getting dirty anyway. It really needs a good vacuum and a good clean off the bathrooms. I do the dishes every night, so the kitchen is clean and I make the bed every day, so the bedroom looks neat, but there is dust on the furniture, so I will have to do that, too. My daily plan for my holidays is this: biking to the store to get a newspaper, then eating breakfast and watching 'Touched By An Angel', reading outside on my chaise lounge, having lunch, having a nap, reading some more, doing some cleaning, having supper, watching tv, reading some more, going to sleep. Doesn't that sounds like a lovely plan for a vacation?
It was interesting Skyping with Terri-Ann - Colin was his usual goofy self taking over the computer screen with poor Caleb in the background. Benjamin just wanted to touch the computer and so I didn't get a chance to really talk with Terri-Ann. I figured that she was there to visit with Mom anyway, so I told her that I would talk with her next week. Terri-Ann and Colin told me that Colin and Caleb made an instrument at home this week and then took them to school to be part of a marching band there. Colin sang 'Clang, clang rattle bing bang, gonna make my noise all day' over and over (that's from a Robert Munsch book). Benjamin actually said 'hello' which sounded more like 'hewo' - it's weird to hear him actually saying words.
It was good to get caught up with Jennifer. She is in a grade four classroom with one other TA and they are looking after three children that Jennifer has worked with before at this school. Would you believe that she has been working for five years now as a TA - the time sure flies fast, eh? Everything is going fine with the baby - she showed me her belly - it's all out in front, though, like when I was pregnant with Terri-Ann. She and Derek have started going to pre-natal classes and they are doing it at the Bolton Library complex - where Jennifer found out they have an 'Early Years Centre' as well which she is looking forward to going to when her baby is older.
Oh yeah, here's some more news: Elders Johnson and Karee have been transferred and we now have two Samoan sister missionaries. What a surprise that was! I will meet them on Sunday.
18 September - As soon as Primary was over and I cleaned up the room, I drove home, got changed and went over to Rosalea and Rob's for lunch. I had a lovely time over there just eating and chatting and chatting and chatting. Rob and Rosalea and I talked about various and sundry 'til Rob got a call from a friend and then Rosalea and I got to have a nice long chat on our own. I left their home around 5:30pm, so that I could get home before dark. I managed to drive there and back with no problem (well, one little one when I didn't realize I had to make a left and was in the right lane so I made a left turn from that lane - oops!
When I got home, I was just relaxing a bit and deciding when to have dinner - I was watching a couple of episodes of 'Raymond' when someone knocked on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone, so I gingerly went to the front door and turned on the outside and hallway light. It turned out to be the Chris and Christine Vakas. We hadn't gotten a chance to chat at church, so they decided to come and see how I was doing - and they just left about half an hour ago, so I just finished dinner and it's 10pm. So, I didn't have to worry about there being nothing on tv tonight. We had a really nice chat, actually and it was nice to have someone to talk with - it gets really lonely not having anyone around. That reminds me: I talked with Alistair Gilbert and he invited me to come to their FHE; Diana Brown asked if I was okay for meals; many others asked when you were coming home and if I was managing okay on my own. It was very nice of so many people to be worrying after me.
19 September - I was able to sleep in until 9am - isn't that good? So, I didn't get a chance to bike down to the Foodworks to get a paper, but I did have brekkie while I watched 'Touched By An Angel', put a load of laundry in, had my shower and drove downtown. Yep, you read it right.......*I* drove *downtown*. I went to the library (I had printed out a list of the books I wanted to look for, but forgot it at home - sheesh) and borrowed three books and 4 dvds My next stop was to Aldi's, but not to shop there. I was talking with Christine and Chris last night and telling them that I wanted to go to Terry White's (drug store), but that I didn't want to go through the roundabout at Main and Boat Harbour and Christine told me that she parks at Aldi and then walks to Centro. So, I did that and got some Vitamin C tablets and some throat lozenges. I then stopped at the chapel again to talk with Denise (who was busy with patrons, so we arranged to meet up on Friday at 3pm as she will be at the FHC that day as well).
I was so pleased with myself at driving all that way by myself. And I felt really comfortable doing it, too. Rosalea said that I will be so comfortable with driving around HB by the time you get back that I will be telling you to move over and let me drive. :-) I did make a few boo-boos in my directions. I wasn't sure where to turn (which street Coles was on) so that I could go to the library that way and I ended up going down Taylor and so I went down to Torquay and up Hunter and to the library that way. Then, when I was driving to Aldi, I wasn't sure which street to turn on to get there on my way from the library, so I had to pull over and check things out in our little map book (I was right about which way I thought I should go) and so I am starting to learn the lay of the land in HB.
After lunch, I took my book outside, lay on my chaise lounge (in 26C temps) and started reading one of the books which I got out of the library. I must have been out there for over three hours and it was lovely. I can't wait to do the same tomorrow! It was so relaxing and the weather was so beautiful - it was a great way to spend the day and to do nothing, but fun things.
20 September - It's been another relaxing day today, but a bit boring, so I went for a bike ride, but more first...........I woke up at 7am and decided to run a bath and I read 'til 9am. It was glorious! I am reading a book called 'The Deep End of the Ocean' - it's a really good read so far. At 9am, I had breakfast and watched 'Touched By An Angel'. By then, I was bored and decided to go for a bike ride. It took me ages to get the bike out since you had really tucked it away behind the freezer. Today was a beautiful sunny day and it was perfect for taking a bike ride. I decided to ride to 'Foodworks' to buy a newspaper. It felt a lot longer from our place to Doolong Road when I was riding my bike, but I was able to make it all the way to the store, no problem. After picking up a paper (I decided on the 'Courier Mail'), I rode to the Vakas' house. I was so hot from riding and figured that I wouldn't make it home without a drink of water or two. After my drinks of water, I rode home - however, it was harder riding home than it was getting to the store. I had to stop a couple of times (just for a few seconds) to give my backside a rest. I spent the afternoon laying outside in the sun reading and napping. I just finished cleaning the toilets and main bathroom (I did the vacuuming yesterday) and now I am just sitting in my chair watching tv while a pizza cooks in the oven. How's that for a fabulous restful day, eh?
I emailed Krystal today to let her know when I could Skype with her and she emailed me back and we are going to do it on Thursday at 9am my time which is 7pm Wednesday her time - she said that evenings are best and that way I can see the boys before they go to bed. I don't think I have seen Dominic since we were there in January which means I haven't seen Alexander in ages, either. It will be good to see all of them and see how Alexander talks now and I can't wait to see Dominic's hair via Skype.
So, that's what has been happening here with me. I'm afraid that the rest of the days this week will be filled with the same as today - nice for me, though, eh? :-) Dad says that things are going well at Grandma's - they are getting tons done between Dad, Jackie and Grandma. Dad says that for every thing they cross off the list of things to do, though, Jackie puts two more on. :-) Since this entry is so long already, I will write more on Thursday about how Dad is doing in Vancouver.
16 September - Hooray - it's Friday - I am so glad we're done for two weeks - phew!
Just thought I would give you a laugh for today. Last night, the lamp on my side of the bedroom blew out and I tried to get the bulb out, but I twisted and twisted and it wouldn't come out, so I gave up and moved to your side of the bed. When I woke up this morning at 6:20am, I turned over to see what time it was, and I fell out of bed.
Hope the rest of my day is a bit better.
16 September - Well, I am finally on holidays - yippee! Today was okay, but the kids were so off - and so were all the other kids in the school. I thought that I might have had fewer children than usual, but nope, I had 21 of them there. I told some of the parents today that there was no way we were doing any work today - that the kids were spent - and the parents thought it was a good idea to just let them play. So, our day started off with going out to the fort (playground) to play which the kids loved - the whole fort to themselves. After fruit break, we went outside to the Prep/grade one eating area where Paula, our indigenous TA, taught the kids an indigenous dance which the kids enjoyed. After lunch break, we were going to have activity time in the classroom, but earlier in the day, the music teacher came to me and told me that she was going to take my kids for an hour for my non-contact (planning) time - what a lovely surprise that was and very much appreciated. While they were at music, I spent time talking with Sam about what I want to do next term and we also reorganized the classroom so that all the tables are in one area rather than being split by the carts. After music, we went to science and then down to the great hall to judge the things which had been built by the students with recyclable materials. Some of them were really good - the kids were very excited that there were many tickets inside the box beside our 'recycle man' (every student got to vote on which one they thought was the best by putting a ticket in the box in front of the item). After last break, it was off to the computer lab and that ended our day. I spent about ten minutes in the classroom doing some final tidying up and then I was out the door.
and........... guess what? ................. I drove all by myself into town. That's right - you read it right - and I am so pleased! I first went to Coles and parked way far back by the road. I didn't buy much to actually eat - well healthy stuff anyway. I did buy milk and eggs and meat pies and fries and sausage rolls for food - most of that will do me until next week when I might have to buy some more milk. Then, I went to the library, but it was past 4pm, so I didn't get to get any more books out, but I did return two books. I might go down to the library later this week to get a book or two or three to read over the holidays - I really do want to take some time to relax over the holidays. After the library, I drove to the post office. I was just a little startled when I got to the roundabout at Beach St. and Boat Harbour and there were two lanes - I didn't know which lane to go in, so I crossed over the first one and went to the second one - I was hoping I was doing it right - I made it to the post office, picked up the package with no problem and then drove home via Nissen St. I was so happy once I got onto Nissen - I even cheered out loud! I have been relaxing since I got home, although I do wish that I had a movie to watch as there isn't anything on tv tonight other than 'The Glee Project'.
I was going to clean the house yesterday, but I just didn't have the energy to do it. I will do it tomorrow in spurts, though - it really needs a good vacuum and the toilets need cleaning desperately! I also want to do some laundry - and just for the record, that reminds me, I have made the bed every day except for the day I had to wash the sheets.
17 September - I was so happy to be able to talk with you today via Skype. I look forward to being able to do the same thing in the middle of this coming week.
Thanks for that info about the roundabouts - now I know what the right thing to do is - I will make sure to follow those rules when I have to go through that one this coming week when I go to the library. I want to go and get some books to read while I am on holidays. I checked out some more book club lists and found a really good site (goodreads.com) which has reviews by actual readers - I found a dozen books I think I will like and so I have put a couple on hold and will go and check out some of the others when I go to the library; I am going to also get some dvds out for when there is nothing on tv.
It was really nice being lazy today, but I really do need to get doing some house cleaning next week. You might not be here to mess it up, but it's getting dirty anyway. It really needs a good vacuum and a good clean off the bathrooms. I do the dishes every night, so the kitchen is clean and I make the bed every day, so the bedroom looks neat, but there is dust on the furniture, so I will have to do that, too. My daily plan for my holidays is this: biking to the store to get a newspaper, then eating breakfast and watching 'Touched By An Angel', reading outside on my chaise lounge, having lunch, having a nap, reading some more, doing some cleaning, having supper, watching tv, reading some more, going to sleep. Doesn't that sounds like a lovely plan for a vacation?
It was interesting Skyping with Terri-Ann - Colin was his usual goofy self taking over the computer screen with poor Caleb in the background. Benjamin just wanted to touch the computer and so I didn't get a chance to really talk with Terri-Ann. I figured that she was there to visit with Mom anyway, so I told her that I would talk with her next week. Terri-Ann and Colin told me that Colin and Caleb made an instrument at home this week and then took them to school to be part of a marching band there. Colin sang 'Clang, clang rattle bing bang, gonna make my noise all day' over and over (that's from a Robert Munsch book). Benjamin actually said 'hello' which sounded more like 'hewo' - it's weird to hear him actually saying words.
It was good to get caught up with Jennifer. She is in a grade four classroom with one other TA and they are looking after three children that Jennifer has worked with before at this school. Would you believe that she has been working for five years now as a TA - the time sure flies fast, eh? Everything is going fine with the baby - she showed me her belly - it's all out in front, though, like when I was pregnant with Terri-Ann. She and Derek have started going to pre-natal classes and they are doing it at the Bolton Library complex - where Jennifer found out they have an 'Early Years Centre' as well which she is looking forward to going to when her baby is older.
Oh yeah, here's some more news: Elders Johnson and Karee have been transferred and we now have two Samoan sister missionaries. What a surprise that was! I will meet them on Sunday.
18 September - As soon as Primary was over and I cleaned up the room, I drove home, got changed and went over to Rosalea and Rob's for lunch. I had a lovely time over there just eating and chatting and chatting and chatting. Rob and Rosalea and I talked about various and sundry 'til Rob got a call from a friend and then Rosalea and I got to have a nice long chat on our own. I left their home around 5:30pm, so that I could get home before dark. I managed to drive there and back with no problem (well, one little one when I didn't realize I had to make a left and was in the right lane so I made a left turn from that lane - oops!
When I got home, I was just relaxing a bit and deciding when to have dinner - I was watching a couple of episodes of 'Raymond' when someone knocked on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone, so I gingerly went to the front door and turned on the outside and hallway light. It turned out to be the Chris and Christine Vakas. We hadn't gotten a chance to chat at church, so they decided to come and see how I was doing - and they just left about half an hour ago, so I just finished dinner and it's 10pm. So, I didn't have to worry about there being nothing on tv tonight. We had a really nice chat, actually and it was nice to have someone to talk with - it gets really lonely not having anyone around. That reminds me: I talked with Alistair Gilbert and he invited me to come to their FHE; Diana Brown asked if I was okay for meals; many others asked when you were coming home and if I was managing okay on my own. It was very nice of so many people to be worrying after me.
19 September - I was able to sleep in until 9am - isn't that good? So, I didn't get a chance to bike down to the Foodworks to get a paper, but I did have brekkie while I watched 'Touched By An Angel', put a load of laundry in, had my shower and drove downtown. Yep, you read it right.......*I* drove *downtown*. I went to the library (I had printed out a list of the books I wanted to look for, but forgot it at home - sheesh) and borrowed three books and 4 dvds My next stop was to Aldi's, but not to shop there. I was talking with Christine and Chris last night and telling them that I wanted to go to Terry White's (drug store), but that I didn't want to go through the roundabout at Main and Boat Harbour and Christine told me that she parks at Aldi and then walks to Centro. So, I did that and got some Vitamin C tablets and some throat lozenges. I then stopped at the chapel again to talk with Denise (who was busy with patrons, so we arranged to meet up on Friday at 3pm as she will be at the FHC that day as well).
I was so pleased with myself at driving all that way by myself. And I felt really comfortable doing it, too. Rosalea said that I will be so comfortable with driving around HB by the time you get back that I will be telling you to move over and let me drive. :-) I did make a few boo-boos in my directions. I wasn't sure where to turn (which street Coles was on) so that I could go to the library that way and I ended up going down Taylor and so I went down to Torquay and up Hunter and to the library that way. Then, when I was driving to Aldi, I wasn't sure which street to turn on to get there on my way from the library, so I had to pull over and check things out in our little map book (I was right about which way I thought I should go) and so I am starting to learn the lay of the land in HB.
After lunch, I took my book outside, lay on my chaise lounge (in 26C temps) and started reading one of the books which I got out of the library. I must have been out there for over three hours and it was lovely. I can't wait to do the same tomorrow! It was so relaxing and the weather was so beautiful - it was a great way to spend the day and to do nothing, but fun things.
20 September - It's been another relaxing day today, but a bit boring, so I went for a bike ride, but more first...........I woke up at 7am and decided to run a bath and I read 'til 9am. It was glorious! I am reading a book called 'The Deep End of the Ocean' - it's a really good read so far. At 9am, I had breakfast and watched 'Touched By An Angel'. By then, I was bored and decided to go for a bike ride. It took me ages to get the bike out since you had really tucked it away behind the freezer. Today was a beautiful sunny day and it was perfect for taking a bike ride. I decided to ride to 'Foodworks' to buy a newspaper. It felt a lot longer from our place to Doolong Road when I was riding my bike, but I was able to make it all the way to the store, no problem. After picking up a paper (I decided on the 'Courier Mail'), I rode to the Vakas' house. I was so hot from riding and figured that I wouldn't make it home without a drink of water or two. After my drinks of water, I rode home - however, it was harder riding home than it was getting to the store. I had to stop a couple of times (just for a few seconds) to give my backside a rest. I spent the afternoon laying outside in the sun reading and napping. I just finished cleaning the toilets and main bathroom (I did the vacuuming yesterday) and now I am just sitting in my chair watching tv while a pizza cooks in the oven. How's that for a fabulous restful day, eh?
I emailed Krystal today to let her know when I could Skype with her and she emailed me back and we are going to do it on Thursday at 9am my time which is 7pm Wednesday her time - she said that evenings are best and that way I can see the boys before they go to bed. I don't think I have seen Dominic since we were there in January which means I haven't seen Alexander in ages, either. It will be good to see all of them and see how Alexander talks now and I can't wait to see Dominic's hair via Skype.
So, that's what has been happening here with me. I'm afraid that the rest of the days this week will be filled with the same as today - nice for me, though, eh? :-) Dad says that things are going well at Grandma's - they are getting tons done between Dad, Jackie and Grandma. Dad says that for every thing they cross off the list of things to do, though, Jackie puts two more on. :-) Since this entry is so long already, I will write more on Thursday about how Dad is doing in Vancouver.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
