Sunday, 27 July, 2014

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

Bill and Faye

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

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

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

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

Toddler Beanie

Trauma Teddy

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

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

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

A Boston Bun

Sunday, 20 July, 2014

I have been lax I know in writing my blog, so here I am catching up.  We are in Melbourne right now and the weather is very cold (by Australian standards ;-)  Thankfully, our unit here has central heating. :-)

When I arrived in Melbourne after being in Canada and Dad arrived there after teaching in Perth, we had five days together to relax before heading back to HB.  On the Tuesday, July 8th, we decided that we wanted to get out and go for a drive.  We decided that we would go to a city called Geelong which is about an hour away from the unit here.  We decided that we would make one stop on our way to Geelong - at the Point Cook Aviation Museum.  It's an RAAF (Royal Australia Air Force) museum and is the birthplace of the Australian Flying Corps and the Royal Australian Air Force.  The museum tells one of Australia's most important aviation stories, that of the second oldest air force in the world.  Even though the airplanes were not ones that Dad worked on, he really enjoyed walking through the museum (and I did, too).

The day was grey and cool and it started raining while we were in the museum, so we decided to drive back home and leave our visit to Geelong for another day.

We had a week at home and it was a week full of appointments and relaxation.  On the Monday after we got back, I had a day of pampering.  I started off by getting a lovely hour long massage from Ali who is marvelous.  Dad took over after me having a half hour massage before heading over to his chiropractor.  While he was doing that, I headed over the have a manicure/pedicure - they did a lovely job - so relaxing - and I decided to go for a bright bold red colour this time (pic below).  Dad and I met up and went out for lunch to the Hog's Breath Cafe.  Dad then went home and I went over to meet up with my teacher friend, Bronwyn - I enjoyed an iced chocolate while we chatted for a couple of hours.  That evening, Dad and I watched the movie 'Non-Stop' - you were right, Krystal, it was totally my type of movie - very recommended if you like a good action film.

On Wednesday, we had the most totally lazy day we have had in ages - we didn't even get out of our pyjamas all day. :-)  We didn't have any appointments and we didn't feel like doing anything - so we didn't! :-)  It was actually really nice to relax so fully.

On Thursday, I had a mini pampering day.  It started off with another hour massage with Ali followed by a 45 minute facial (which included a mini hand and foot massage).  The girl who gave me the facial did a fabulous job!  They charged me $10. more than the price listed online which I was not happy about.  When I questioned the cashier, she said that the website says that prices are subject to change and that they had changed their prices in January.  I thought that they could have updated their website, but didn't say so.  I did send in a comment on the website, but have not received any feedback.  I will try another salon next time.

We met up with Robyn and Geoff on Friday - we met up for lunch at a local cafe which we wanted to try - it was just a so-so meal overall, so Dad and I were disappointed, especially since it was our choice of venue.  We went back to their house after lunch to get in a visit and also to have some dessert which Dad and I had made - banana bread with cream cheese icing - yum.  :-)  Robyn and Geoff were so sad that we had to fly out the next day and so had to leave the leftover banana bread with them. :-)

We flew out of HB yesterday around 11am - the flight to Melbourne was uneventful and, after landing, we took a taxi to the unit.  (rant coming :-)  We have always found taxi drivers here in Melbourne to be quite friendly and open to conversation.  I tried to start one with this cabbie, but to no avail.  (Dad said later that maybe he just doesn't like to chat).  Okay, I thought, that's fine.  But then, when we got to the unit, while Dad was paying the fare ($18. for a ten minute drive), I got out and waited by the trunk for the driver to get out and get us our luggage.  Next thing I know, Dad yells out that the driver said that the trunk should be open.  I had to get my luggage out myself.  Wow, how rude!  I have never had that happen before - I was quite surprised!  Dad said that the guy was likely upset  that the drive was such a short one to our unit and so the fare was a small (?) one.  It's not our fault that the unit is so close to the airport!  I wish I had thought about getting his cab number - I would have called the company to express my annoyance.  Anyway, rant over. :-)

Trip to Sunbury, Victoria - 31 May 2014

Dad and I went to this cute little town just for something to do, but we didn't get to download the pics before I had to head over to Canada in June.  So, here are the pics of Sunbury, a little town about a half hour from our unit.  

The former Sunbury State School - this structure dates from 1912

Rupertswood Gatehouse - Built at the entrance to Sir William Clarke's mansion, 'Rupertswood'

Rupertswood

Inside Rupertswood

Inside Rupertswood

Inside Rupertswood

Inside Rupertswood

Inside Rupertswood

On Rupertswood property - Salesians College

Clock Tower in Sunbury 

Sunday, 18 May, 2014

Dad finished up his first course yesterday and he was really pleased with how the whole course went.  All of the guys passed the exam which is always good. :-)  After each course, Dad gives out an evaluation form about the course and the instructor.  Dad received wonderful comments about his teaching - it always feels good when others appreciate your knowledge.  We had two visitors to our unit this week: Munir (a colleague of Dad's who is actually leaving the company) and Harry (Dad's boss).  Harry actually treated us to take-out last night.  After that, Dad and Harry spent the evening reloading the ipads which the students use for the course.

I have now knitted eight baby beanies and two adult beanies.  I was able to stitch up the adult beanies without assistance and they look okay.  I don't want to try and do it with the baby beanies on my own, though, as I want to make sure that they are done perfectly.  I also started on my online course 'Sharing the Gospel' this week.  After stating the objectives of the course, the main one being that 'the main purpose of missionary work is to bring people to Christ', I learned about the growth of the church in the past 150 years.  It's amazing how fast it has grown, especially since the 1960s.  There are little tests every now and then and, so far, I have passed the ones I have taken.  I had to take a pretest for one of the sections and got 6 / 12 - not too bad, eh? :-)  On Friday, I finally took advantage of the gym here in the building and did a half hour on the treadmill.  I hope to get more use of it in our final week here.

Dad had Tuesday off and so we decided to go to Rottnest Island which is 18 kms off the coast of Western Australia.  We caught a ferry from Perth and it took 1 1/2 hours to get to the island.  Once there, we took three walking tours given by volunteers on the island.  There are not very many permanent residents on the island, but there is a school and a teacher there (something like 5 - 9 kids over grades Kindergarten - 5 -- I'll put up my hand for that job :-)  The three walking tours we took were: 1) Reefs Wrecks and Daring Sailors Discovery Walk - Pilots were stationed on Rottnest Island between 1848 and 1903 to guide ships safely around the Island's dangerous reefs. This free walk from the Visitors Centre to the Bathurst Lighthouse involves enthralling tales of the exploits of the Pilots and crew on Rottnest. The tour incorporates the pilot crew accommodation, the boathouse and replica pilot boat;  2) Quokka Walk - Rottnest Island's famous marsupial, the quokka, is discovered in this informative walking tour. With an educational focus, this walk
leads participants to the quokka's natural habitats and imparts some interesting facts about this iconic animal; and 3) History of the Settlement Walk - A free guided history tour around the settlement. See where gaolers and ship pilots lived and worked. Discover why Rottnest

became an Aboriginal 'open prison' in 1839. The volunteer guides were fabulous - they have such an amazing knowledge of the island and its peoples and animals.  The weather was fabulous - we had a wonderful day out.

the red ferry in front is the one we took to Rottnest Island

a quokka

tree knocked down by strong winds which began growing upwards again

 a building built by aboriginal convicts 

our view from the seats at the back of the ferry on the way back to Perth

"Millionaire's Row" on the way back to Perth

Sunday, 11 May, 1990

Dad's course continues to go well.  Two new students joined the class for four days last week - they just needed to complete one part of the course.  One of Dad's colleagues, John, joined us in the unit on Wednesday for three days.  He was teaching a different course at the airport, but joined us for dinner each night.  We had met him once before in Melbourne, where he and his family live, but it was nice to get to know him better.

I continued on with my knitting this week and have now completed five baby beanies.  I am alternating between the three colours just to give myself some variety.  I also signed up for a free online course from BYU about preparing to serve a mission.  It's actually geared to young people getting ready to go on a mission, but I figure that it should be pretty much the same for older couples who want to go.  Since Dad and I want to serve a mission when we retire, why not start now to prepare.  I have also started reading a new series of books: Rizzoli and Isles - a detective series which has been made into a tv series - I like watching the tv show and the books have turned out to be quite good so far.

Thursday night Dad and I went to the movies.  Dad's boss had remembered that I had talked with him in Brisbane about how expensive movies were here in Australia ($19. per person here in Perth) and he sent us a movie gift card that was lying around the office and expires next month.  There wasn't much showing that we were terribly interested in, but we wanted to use the card since Chris had been kind enough to send it to us.  The best of the lot seemed to be a movie called 'Chef' - it received good  comments on rottentomatoes.com.  It was an 'okay' movie - nothing to write home about - more of a tv movie-of-the-week, I thought.  I was glad that I had not spent my own money to go and see it.  We are hoping that something better will come out in the next two weeks before I head back to Canada.

Dad finished work early yesterday and so we headed down to Kings Park - an incredibly beautiful park in Perth.  They have free guided walks given by volunteers and so we decided to go on one of those.  It was a walking tour through the Botanic Gardens.  The tour guide, Margaret, was so knowledgeable about the plants/shrubs/flowers/trees in the park and so it was interesting to be on her tour.  Dad and I want to go and take another free guided tour in Kings Park tomorrow - this one is called 'Kings Park: Past and Present'.

Saturday night, we went to a see a play with our friend, Rosalea, which was put on by an LDS theatre group in her Stake.  It was called 'The Importance of Being Earnest'.  It's a British comedy play and the actors did quite a good job.  After church today, we went to Rosalea's for dinner with her children.  As it turned out, her youngest son got the time wrong and so didn't show up until after we'd eaten and her middle daughter didn't show up as she wasn't feeling well.  Her oldest daughter came along with her husband and daughter, but wanted to wait until her brother showed up to eat and we had to go early to let another of Dad's colleagues into the unit here.  So, Dad and I ate dinner with Rosalea without any of her kids.  I felt bad for her since it was Mother's Day and it didn't turn out as she had hoped.  It was a delicious meal for us, though.