Sunday, December 6, 2015

Wow, it's been 2 1/2 weeks since we arrived back in Australia - where has the time gone!  Dad and I both had a good flight back to Oz - I was so happy to be upgraded from Vancouver to Sydney - I got the best sleep I have ever had on that leg of the journey.  It took us about three days to get back to our Aussie body clock - I do not enjoy getting up at 3am, I can tell you. :-)

I was called as the Relief Society Meeting Co-ordinator before we went to Canada which basically means that I will be working with Robyn, 1st counsellor in the Relief Society presidency, to plan and carry out activities for the women in the ward.  We are planning on having one activity a month, so we are going to be very busy organizing things during the year.  I was so happy to be called to this position as it will help me to feel more a part of our ward - it's been tough with not being at home much.  Everyone is so welcoming when we come home and that makes us feel really good, but it's nice now to be able to contribute to the ward even when I am away.

So, I spent time in Montreal (mostly on Pinterest - love that site!) coming up with some activities which I think the sisters will enjoy.  I also came up with a spiritual thought that would go along with the activity.  We want to have activities for the sisters which will  help them get to know each other better and also give them an opportunity to serve others.

I spent most of our one week at home with Robyn going over the activities I had come up with and she added her thoughts (two heads really are better than one!).  We also planned out the December activity (which I won't be at) completely so that Robyn knew what she needed to do for that day.  We also bought all the supplies she will need for the day.  They are going to have a 'speed friendshipping' activity first - kind of like speed dating where you ask questions of a person in front of you and then change to a new person every three minutes.  They will then have a progressive dinner - usually this is done by going to a different home for a different course of a meal.  We are doing it a little differently.  We are making a hexagon with six tables which will sit four sisters on the inside and four on the outside of each table.  The older sisters will sit on the inside and they will not move.  The younger sisters, who will be sitting on the outside of the tables, will rotate one table for each course of the meal.  I wish I could be there, but Robyn has promised she will take lots of pics for me.

We have been down here in Melbourne for a week now and the weather has been crazy - there's a saying down here: 'if you don't like the weather in Melbourne, wait five minutes!'.  They are not wrong.  It will be super hot one day and then the next day, you will need a sweater - crazy!  Dad's course has been going really well - there are 12 guys on the course - some of them are newbies, though (meaning that this is their first course after their basic training) and that has been a bit of a challenge for Dad.  It means that he has to find the 'sweet spot' of when to stop and let the newbies catch up (they have to use their laptops to figure out how to troubleshoot a fault which Dad has given them - they then have to make notes and answer questions electronically on what they found) and when to go on so that he doesn't lose the other guys.  One of the part-time instructors, Neil, from QAC is a student on the course and is staying with us in the unit.  He is very nice, but very quiet - it's been hard to get to know him.

I have been spending most of my time trying to get the nitty gritty details down for each of the activities Robyn and I have planned for Relief Society in 2016.  Some of them include: card making, quilting, bread making, learning Tai Chi, family history and gift bags for the needy.  I will keep you posted as we have each of the activities.  We are planning on having the activities on the third Saturday of the month so that the sisters can plan their other activities around that date.  We are hoping that the sisters will enjoy these activities and getting to know each other.

Dad and I spent last weekend (both days) geocaching.  We had brought back five geo travel buddies from Canada to put into geocaches here in Australia.  One of the owners of one of the travel buddies asked each person who found it to take pics of where the cache which it was being put into was.  We took some neat pics of this fabulous cache where we put it (one of our favourite caches so far) and also a pic of a kangaroo we saw nearby.  The owner of the travel buddy was so happy to see the pics of the cool cache and the kangaroo. :-)  We went geocaching again today after a quick nap (for me).  We set out to find six caches and we found all of them. :-)  We are getting really good at finding the exact spot of the caches, although we did have to get clues for a couple of them today.  Sometimes, it's obvious where it is, sometimes it's pretty clear where it could be and sometimes there are so many places it could be hidden that we generally look for a bit and then, if we both can't find it, we check out the clue.  I have also been out on my bike a couple of times since we've been here and also Dad and I try to get out for a walk each day.

 Cactus we saw when we went geocaching today - just out in the middle of nowhere - almost as if someone had planted them there

One of our favourite geocaches - a pipe inserted into the ground - a fake rock attached to the other end of the pipe which slides into the pipe into the ground - so cool

 Can you see the geocache in this tree trunk?

 Dad pointing to where we found a geocache

 Me pointing to another geocache we found

 Kangaroo watching us as we passed by him on the way to another cache

Tree I really liked by the path we walked onto to get to another cache

Yesterday, the ward here (Glenroy) held their Relief Society Christmas party.  We were all asked to bring a salad and a $5. gift.  I brought 'salad in a bag' as it was easy to do here in Melbourne - it was actually really nice.  The gift I bought was a selection of creams for the body.  Along with the salads, the ward provided chicken and ham and desserts.  There are a lot of Samoan people in the ward and so there were a number of foods which I didn't recognize - and you know me, I didn't try any of them. :-)  I did ask one of the Samoan sisters to tell me what had been cooked.  After eating, each table was invited up to sing a song - we chose 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' - thankfully, the other people at the table could sing. :-)  At the end of the afternoon, the gifts were handed out to the sisters - I ended up with a cute Christmas globe and a fan.  It was a really nice afternoon - this ward is so welcoming and I was able to get to know some more sisters in the ward as I talked with other sisters at my table.

Sunday, 6 September, 2015

A busy week of geocaching and socializing - pretty nice life, eh? :-)

Dad and I are really enjoying getting into geocaching.  This week, we went back to some ones we had visited previously - we have been trying to pick up as many geocoins/travel bugs from HB as we can to take back to Canada.  Dad checked out online which ones were supposed to be here in the Bay, but some of them were listed as being placed here up to two years ago.  We figured that those ones had probably been picked up by someone, but they had not recorded it being done.  Sure enough, when we revisited the ones we had been to previously, they weren't there.  Dad was then able to let the owners of the travel bugs know that they had gone missing.  We now have four bugs to place in Canada - we hope to take the grandkids geocaching when we are in Canada so that they can help us place these travel bugs in caches there.

 geocache found in small tube under a rock in between those two big rocks

 geocache found in small medicine bottle in the hole in the tree

 geocache found underneath this footpath on top of the wood plank it is on

 geocache found in this stump of a tree (it was covered with branches)

 geocache found underneath this pagoda

 geocache found in the middle of this woody area - it was in an ammo box covered with a green tarp and covered over with branches

 woody area - I was a little anxious about going into this one as the snakes are just starting to come out of hibernating - fortunately we didn't meet any creatures

pelicans we saw on our walk along the pier (doing another geocache)

 the pier we had to walk along - we had to count the number of tables used for cleaning fish and the number of benches on the pier - we then used these numbers to calculate where the geocache was near the pier

 seagull on the pier

 seagull in flight (I thought that this was a great photo that Dad took)

 ibis near the pier (they are called 'bin birds' cuz they scavenge from garbage bins - they are always at the schools so that they can eat the leftover crumbs from when the kids eat their lunches outside)    

we found another geocache underneath this bench

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Tuesday night - Elder Kishi from Japan and Elder De Young from Utah.  It's always nice to have them over for dinner and to get to know them.  Elder Kishi is quite shy - probably due somewhat to his English not being very strong.

Elder Kishi and Elder De Young

On Wednesday, I visited with the grade two teachers at Kawungan at morning tea time.  I had told Terri (one of the teachers) that I was coming and she had bought some muffins from the tuck shop for us to enjoy.  She is such a sweet person and we both enjoyed working with each other when I did the contract teaching in grade two a few years ago.  I had a lovely visit with her and the other grade two teachers.  One of the other teachers there, Sandy, told me how nice it was to see me and how I always am so happy - that was nice to hear.  Bronwyn was there helping out and we had planned on going out for lunch, so I stayed to help out in Terri's classroom.  I took a small reading group - it was nice being able to step right back into things. :-)

Once Bronwyn was done, she and I went out for lunch to a little cafe in town.  It was good to catch up with her and to find out what she has been doing since we last saw each other.  She and her husband are heading off to Europe soon for a 6 week trip around various countries over there starting in Paris.

On Friday, I got together with my friend, Maureen (from church).  We both enjoy going to movies and so I checked out what was on and chose one called 'Last Cab to Darwin' - an Aussie film based on a true story.  It started off slowly, but then became more interesting - I would rate it a 7/10.  Since the movie was at noon, Maureen and I decided to have morning tea and afternoon tea and no lunch.  We went back to Bayaroma where I went with my friend, Thea, last week.

 Maureen and me at Bayaroma for morning tea (I had a hot chocolate and a scone with jam and cream)

The very yummy Hawaiian Hula fruit juice I had for afternoon tea (orange, apple and pineapple juices) - I also had half a slice of apple and walnut bread with maple butter (I brought the other half home for Dad)

Dad and I spent Saturday organizing things for Dad leaving on Monday.  He will be flying on Qantas from HB to Brisbane and then on to L.A. on Air New Zealand.  He will spend the night there and then head to Vancouver on Tuesday morning.  He is going to spend three days with Grandma Martin there.  He will get to see Erika and meet Erika's husband, Terrence while he is there as they are going to be living with Grandma for the school year.  I will meet Dad in Vancouver on Friday and we will fly to Toronto together.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone again! :-)

Sunday, August 30, 2015

We spent Monday and Tuesday in Brisbane.  Dad needed to spend some time at QAC to work on getting things ready to teach in Canada and to get his airport pass renewed.  It was nice to see everyone at the office again and to meet some new employees.  We also had to see an accountant about our taxes.  We stayed at a motel overnight - it was a bit dated, but the bed was comfortable.  We also did two geocaches in a nearby park and found both of them.

On Wednesday, I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor to make sure that my stitches were healing nicely and that the incision wasn't red anymore.  Everything checked out okay.  That night, we went to dinner at our friends, Bill and Faye's ( Bill is a co-worker of Dad's).  We haven't seen them in a while as we have been out of the Bay for ages and so have they.  It was really nice to see them again and to see what they had been up to since we last saw them.

On Thursday, Dad and I went geocaching again - this time we found three of them.  We chose ones which had a geo travel bug in them.  These are special trackable items that people place in a geocache near where they live and then other geocachers take them and place them in other caches around the world.  We want to pick up as many as we can before we come to Canada so that we can place them in caches over there.

The first geocache we found was in a garden at the front of a cafe - it was placed there by someone who did it in memoriam of their mom who liked to sit on these benches and look at the view of the ocean (geocache on the table was behind the large plant in the background)

The view of the ocean from the benches

The second geocache underneath some prickly plants at the base of a tree

view from the second geocache

Third geocache we found under a rock at the base of a tree

That evening, we went out to dinner again.  This time, it was to Elaine and Martin Cooper's - new move-ins from church.  They are trying to get to know people in the ward and so have been asking people to come over for dinner.  It was nice spending time with them and getting to know them a little.

Martin and Elaine Cooper with me

On Friday, I went out with my friend, Thea - girl's day out.  We went to the Hervey Bay Regional Art Gallery - we both enjoy art.  There were two exhibits showing there: The Fraser Coast Gems features work of retired artists, draftsmen and engineers from the Fraser Coast, and The Annual Competitive Exhibition for the Hervey Bay Art Society - that one attracts over 300 entries from across Australia.  I took some pics of the first exhibit, but there was a big sign in the second one forbidding photos, so I didn't get any of that exhibit.  Some of the artwork we really liked and others we weren't so fussed on.  It was really enjoyable walking around and taking in the various types of artwork.  After visiting the art gallery, we went for afternoon tea at a local cafe called 'Bayorama'.  After checking out the menu, I decided on an iced chocolate (surprise, surprise :-)  and a scone with jam and cream.  Both were really delicious! :-)  It was really nice having a 'girls's day out' with Thea  we get along really well and are becoming good friends.

Piece of artwork that was part of The Fraser Coast Gems exhibition - this chair was covered with some kind of cement and then the pieces of tiles were placed in it - Thea wanted to take it home :-)

Piece of artwork in The Fraser Coast Gems exhibition

Piece of artwork in The Fraser Coast Gems exhibition - it shows various things you would see around the bay: whales, dolphins, ibises, seagulls, fishing, boating, windsurfing, people running, walking, biking, scootering on the boardwalk, people sitting on a bench looking at the view of the ocean

Thea and me with our treats at the Bayorama Cafe

my iced chocolate

my scone with jam and cream

Sunday, 23 August, 2015

On Monday, we went to the Animal Rescue place to pick up Garfield - however, when we got there, we were told that an older couple had adopted Garfield while we were in Melbourne.  That was great for him, but a little sad for us.  Marie, the lady in charge of the place, asked if we would take another cat and so we brought Peaches home.  She is a young cat - less than a year, we think.  At first, she was really skittish and when we would try to come near her, she would run away.  Over the week, though, she settled down and eventually came to sit/sleep with us - she likes being petted which we like.  We had to take her back on Friday, though, as we are heading to Brisbane tomorrow for two days and we didn't want to leave her at home by herself for that time.  We will pick her up again on Wednesday.

Peaches, our new Animal Rescue cat

Tuesday was procedure day for both Dad and me.  Dad had a biopsy on a mole on his shoulder done and he also had another mole completely removed.  We saw the doctor again on Friday and he told Dad that the results of both had been received by the doctor and both were clear - we were so relieved!  I had another one of my sebaceous cysts removed from my head - this was the third of four to be done.  This one was on the side of my head and the needles to freeze it really REALLY hurt!  This whole week my head has been so sore where my stitches are.  I felt a bit weak standing up and moving around for the rest of Tuesday and even didn't feel well on Wednesday when I got upright.  So, I spent the day laying in bed all day - thankfully, I felt better on Thursday.

On Thursday, I took Denise out to lunch.  She looked after our mail and house and plants while we were away in Melbourne.  We so much appreciate her for coming over while we are gone - it really makes us feel relaxed about leaving our house for so long.  I took her to a restaurant called 'EAT with Dan and Steph'.  Dan and Steph are a couple from Hervey Bay who won a cooking show here in Australia called 'MKR' (My Kitchen Rules) a couple of years ago and then opened up this restaurant the following year.  Denise and I both had a loaded corned beef sandwich.  It was so huge that we could each only eat half of it (I brought the other half home to Dad for his lunch).  Although it was a bit more expensive than I would normally spend on a lunch, it was nice to try out a new place.  After lunch, we went to the 'Coffee Club' to have an iced chocolate for dessert.

 'EAT at Dan and Steph's' restaurant

 My loaded corned beef sandwich (this was only half of it)

Denise and me at the 'Coffee Club' with our iced chocolates

On Friday, Dad and I had to go back to the doctor's so he could check out our incisions.  He was happy with Dad's, but thought that mine was a bit too red for his liking.  So, he gave me a prescription for antibiotics and asked me to come back on Wednesday to he can check it again.

Dad and I were treated out to lunch that day by our friends, Martin and Thea.  Martin is the High Priest Group Leader at church and Thea is the Relief Society President.  We really enjoy their company and it was lovely to go out to a new restaurant, which was right by the ocean, and have a relaxing meal with some lovely company.

 The view from our table at lunch at 'Aquavue'

 Dad with our iced chocolate from 'Aquavue'

Our chicken caesar salad Dad and I shared for lunch

Dad and me with Martin and Thea at 'Aquavue' 

 an iguana with its head in a hole in the tree - right beside 'Aquavue'

Dad's dessert - carrot cake - I had a few bites, too

Dad and I wanted to go for a walk down by the ocean and so yesterday we set off to do some geocaching along the esplanade.  We found two out of three of them this time - we were sure that the one we couldn't find wasn't there and when we came back home, Dad checked online to see if others had found it, and sure enough, the last six or so people had not found it.  So we figure that it must have been found and thrown out.  It was great to be outside in the sunshine and enjoy some exercising and the sound of the ocean waves.  We love living in Hervey Bay!

 we found our first geocache under rocks at the base of the tree

 see how close the ocean was to the tree where we found our first geocache

the tree in which we found our second geocache

Yesterday afternoon, Thea called me and asked me if I would teach the Relief Society lesson today.  Of course, I said 'yes' and then wondered how I was going to teach it - the lesson for today was based on a talk from one of the General Authorities which was in the Ensign magazine.  This is the hardest for me to teach because it means that I have to figure out how to teach it without just reading it or having others read it.  I prayed a lot for inspiration yesterday while I was preparing it, I can tell you!  I had a lot of people come up to me afterwards to tell me what a good job I did teaching the lesson - I told all of them that it was down to inspiration from Heavenly Father - and their participation.

Sunday, 16 August, 2015

What a very busy week!  Since we were in Sydney this week, I spent a lot of time with my cousins and their families.

 Dad, on the other hand, had to get up at 5am everyday so that he could get to the airport for 6am - that's when the airplane was available each day.  Niles, the instructor, showed the group locations of important equipment on the airplane.  He also guided the class through how to run tests and troubleshoot faults on the airplane.  Niles showed the guys how to operate the various systems in the cockpit of the 777 airplane.  Harry, Dad's boss, flew down on Wednesday so that he could instruct the group on Thursday on the avionics (electronic) systems of the airplane.

On Monday, after Dad's work, we took the train downtown to meet up with a person who was leading a walking tour of the area focusing on the history of Australia/Sydney.  The tour guide, Justine, started up this company called "I'm Free Tours" with her partner about 6 years ago.  There is no set price for the tour - you pay what you think the tour was worth at the end of the tour.  The tour was 2 1/2 hours long and it was really well done.  We learned a lot of history of the area and also little tidbits about Sydney at the present time.  We decided that Justine did a great job and so we gave her $40. at the end of the tour.

Before we went on the walking tour, we went inside the Town Hall to hear part of an organ recital by a woman named Amy Johansen - she is a University of Sydney organist and carillonist - it was an enjoyable concert and the organ was impressive

Justine, our tour guide on the walking tour of Sydney

St. Andrew's Cathedral

Town Hall

statue of Queen Victoria

Town Hall

Queen Victoria Building

The Talking Dog -  a statue of Queen Victoria's favourite pet, a Skye Terrier named 'Islay'

St. Mary's Cathedral

Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park

Sydney Tower

St James Church - oldest church building in Sydney

Hyde Park Barracks

Il Porcellino - statue of a wild boar - people rub his nose, make a wish, and drop a coin in his basket.  This is supposed to bring you good luck - the money goes to the Sydney Hospital

Australian coat of arms (kangaroo and emu) on the Sydney General Post Office

Sydney Cenotaph - one of the oldest World War I monuments in central Sydney

Forgotten Songs commemorates the songs of fifty birds once heard in central Sydney, before they were gradually forced out by European settlement. The calls, which filter down from the canopy of birdcages suspended above Angel Place, change as day shifts to night; the daytime birds’ songs disappearing with the sun, and those of the nocturnal birds, which inhabited the area, sounding into the evening.

Cool building I saw along the way

Dad sitting with bronze statue by artist John Seward Johnson II - called 'Waiting' - he created a variety of statues which are actually castings of living people of all ages depicting people engaged in day-to-day activities.

Sirius anchor and Sirius cannon - the wrought iron anchor and bronze cannon belonged to the H.M.S. Sirius, flagship of the First Fleet which arrived at Port Jackson in 1788.

Bonds of Friendship sculpture - represents two links in a chain and there is a companion sculpture in Portsmouth, England, from where the First Fleet sailed to Australia and represents the bond between England and Australia

In the Customs House - the ground floor of the building houses a 4.2m x 9.5m scale model of Sydney's city centre viewed through a glass floor

Customs House

Cadman's Cottage is the oldest surviving residential building in Sydney - it is from the first 30 years of the colony of Australia

old buildings in 'The Rocks' area of Sydney - The Rocks became established shortly after the colony's formation in 1788. The original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone, from which the area derives its name. From the earliest history of the settlement, the area had a reputation as a slum, often frequented by visiting sailors and prostitutes

another view of old buildings in 'The Rocks'

Me with the Sydney Opera House in the distance

Dad with the Sydney Opera House in the distance

Dad with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance

Me with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

On Tuesday, I met up with Rosie, her daughter, Becky and Becky's son, Liam (4).  We had our usual stop at the coffee place (another iced chocolate for me) and then we walked around the downtown area for a bit and then stopped for lunch.  It was nice being able to get together with them and hang out with them for the day.

Becky and Liam

Me with my iced chocolate and Rosie with her cappuccino and passionfruit muffin

Me standing beside a sign which mentions Wagga Wagga

On Wednesday, Dad and I took the train downtown again - this time, it was to take a guided tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens.  We almost had a private tour, but at the last minute, a young German girl joined us.  Our guide was very knowledgeable and we really enjoyed walking around the gardens.

 interesting tree in the Botanic Gardens

 view of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Gardens

 Me sitting on 'Mrs. Macquarie's Chair - it is a sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench overlooking the Sydney harbour.  It was hand carved by convicts in 1810 for Governor Macquarie's wife.

 Dad in the Royal Botanic Gardens

 Me in the Royal Botanic Gardens

 Me listening to our guide, Steve, as he told us about the trees and plants in the Gardens

 Interesting tree in the Gardens whose branches were entwined with a second tree

 The Wollemi Pine tree - one of the world's oldest and rarest trees - it was discovered only ten years ago by a bushwalker in a national park in Australia - very few people know the whereabouts of the find to help conserve this endangered species

another pretty tree in the Gardens

another pretty tree in the Gardens

Tree with the roots growing down toward the ground from above

That evening, we met up with Niles and a couple of his friends who he worked with at Cathay Pacific a number of years ago.  He treated Dad and me to dinner to say thanks for me cooking so many dinners for him in Melbourne.  We went to a restaurant called 'Hurricanes' where we had an amazing meal of pork ribs - yummmmm!  Niles' friends, Leoni and Sally, were super nice and so fun to hang out with.

Me and Dad with our yummy fruit mocktails

Dad and I shared a pork ribs meal - this was my half of the ribs - they were amazing!

Sally, me and Dad (in the back) and Leoni and Niles in the front

Dad and I shared a dessert - a caramel cheesecake that was so delicious!

On Thursday, I met up with Rosie at her place and we worked on our family history.  Rosie is really into it and is really good at finding information.  She has been imparting her knowledge to me and together we have found so much info about our ancestors.  I love it when we find a name or date or other information we have been looking for.  We also got some photos printed of some of our ancestors which Auntie Norma had at her place.  It's so neat to be able to put a face to the names we are researching.

my mandatory iced chocolate when I am out with Rosie and she needs her coffee :-)

On Friday, Dad and I took the train to Rosie's again and went out for dinner to a restaurant called 'The Brewery'.  Rosie's daughter, Lauren, joined us along with Cheryl and her daughter, Nicki.  We had a great time chatting for a couple of hours - it's always neat to get together with my cousins and their families - we get along so well.

Dad and I went out for lunch before meeting up with Rosie - the cafe is called 'Patchett's Pies' and was right across the road from our hotel - I got a beef pie with mashed potatoes and mushy peas (yum!) - naturally I added ketchup to it :-)

Dad and I shared a pavlova for dessert - this was not even half of it!

L to R: Lauren, Nicki, Cheryl, Rosie, me, Dad

Yesterday, we flew home from Sydney and, because it was the weekend, we got to fly direct to Hervey Bay.  It was so nice to be home - we enjoy travelling around Australia, but it really is nice to get home as well.

Today, we were welcomed back to our ward (from the pulpit even) and it was great to see everyone again.  I love how much they miss us when we get back from wherever we have been. :-)