Sunday, 8 January, 2017

Another busy week - looking forward to our cruise next Sunday!  As always, there were plenty of appointments this week, but also plenty of socializing time for me. 😊

On Monday, my friend, Maureen, and I went out for lunch and a movie - Maureen is about Nana's age and we get along really well.  She was one of my counsellors when I was the Primary President.  We enjoy going out for something to eat and to a movie whenever we get back from one of our trips.  This time, I chose the cafe for lunch and she chose the movie - it turned out to be in the same place.  The movie theatre here has a lovely little cafe attached to it where we were able to get an iced chocolate and a chicken wrap before watching the movie.  It's always nice to catch up with friends.  The movie Maureen chose was called 'Red Dog - True Blue' - she had seen the first movie called 'Red Dog' which was actually the sequel to the movie we saw - kind of confusing, I know.  The movie we saw started with Red Dog being found in the middle of nowhere and explaining how he came to be there and the first movie ended with him being left in the middle of nowhere and his adventures from then.  It was a beautiful family movie which we both enjoyed -  I was glad about this because the last two movies we have seen were not very good ones.

On Tuesday, I met up with my friend, Chantelle, who I used to teach with (iced chocolate time again) - she was doing her teaching country service for four years way up north and has decided to take a break from teaching here in Queensland and is moving with her boyfriend to northern New South Wales for a while.  It was great catching up with her - she is younger than Krystal, but we get on really well, too.  I love it how, when you get to be in your 20's (and older), age doesn't seem to matter as much when it comes to making friends. 😊

On Wednesday, Dad and I drove up to the Jayco dealership in Bundaberg.  The fellow up there had sent us some samples of colours to choose for our trailer, but we couldn't get a good idea of them on the computer, so we decided to make a day of it and drive up to see him in person.  We looked at the swatches of colour (for the couch and dinette seats' cushions) and the laminate colour (for the countertops).  I had chosen the colour I thought I wanted and Dad was happy with my choice, but when we got up there and looked at them again and talked about it, we decided to go with other colours.

On Thursday, I got together with my friend, Haidi, from church - another iced chocolate. 😊  Dad and I enjoy hanging out together and chatting, but it's just different with our female friends, isn't it?  I love it that it can be ages between our visits and yet we just pick up where we left off.  That night, we had the missionaries over for dinner - Elder Ha and Elder Potter are very diligent missionaries and I love the spirit that is in our home when they visit and share a message with us.

On Friday, Dad and I drove to the house of a young girl in our church.  She was moving and getting rid of a lot of stuff she couldn't take with her to her new place.  She told me that she had remembered how much I loved a ceramic giraffe she had in her garden and asked me if I would like it.  I couldn't believe that she had remembered this as it was a number of years ago.  I was thrilled that she did remember, though, as I really did like it and was so happy to be able to bring it home and put it on our back patio.  I am loving all these different giraffes I am collecting - especially since they are all so different, especially with the material used to make them.

Yesterday, Dad and I flew to Brisbane for the first leg of our trip.  We stayed at the Novotel Brisbane Airport - a lovely hotel right next to the airport - as we had an early morning flight to Perth this morning.  We are so excited to be going on this cruise - we have made a decision to go on one cruise a year from now on - we just love being spoiled! 😊

Sunday, 1 January, 2017

Happy New Year!

This week was a bit of a slow week for us - mostly due to me still working through things with my arm/shoulder.  I had one physio appointment this week - with a new girl (this making the third physiotherapist I have seen at this office) who is Canadian and was quite good.  She massaged my shoulder and arm and gave me some new exercises to do along with the others I had already been doing.  Yesterday, I told Dad how excited I was that I could actually wash my hair with both hands!  I was also glad that I was able to come off the medication by Thursday - I did not like having to take so much Advil and Tyenol, but it was really necessary for recovery.

I also had a facial appointment (always relaxing!) and an afternoon tea appointment with my friend, Bronwyn - iced chocolate time again - yummy! 😃  Dad and I also managed to get in two visits to the beach this week which was great - we both enjoy being. in the ocean especially in the hot weather we have been having - we are so happy that we live so close to the water.  We also had the missionaries, Elder Potter and Elder Ha, over for dinner on Thursday night - they are such nice young men and we loved the spiritual message they gave us after dinner.

I taught the Relief Society lesson at church today - I love teaching and being able to teach in our ward when we are home helps me to feel a part of the ward.  The lesson was on goal setting and the sisters said that the lesson was really good - which is what I was hoping for since we often talk about goal setting at the beginning of each year and I was worried that the sisters would 'groan' at having another lesson about goal setting.

Sunday, 25 December, 2016

Merry Christmas!

The week started off not so well with my shoulder/arm hurting so much.  You know how much I dislike taking medication, but the pain was so bad that I had to take something.  I am definitely a wuss when it comes to pain and there were a number of tears shed in the first half of the week.  I went to physiotherapy on Monday and he said to me that he thought it might have something to do with my rotator cuff or shoulder muscles (he used some long medical term).  Anyway, he gave me some exercises to do (it is called 'the pendulum') and told me to take the pain medication as it would help with the inflammation.  He also wanted me to continue to use the ice pack on it to help with that as well.  I got a facial that afternoon and that really boosted my spirits.

On Tuesday, Dad and I drove up to Bundaberg (about 90 minutes away) to check out if they had any sales on their camping trailer being the week before Christmas.  They didn't have any sales on, but we had another look at the 'Swan' which we want and had a sit down with one of the salesmen.  We knew exactly what we wanted including all of the extras.  He wrote everything down and went to his boss to get a quote.  The boss actually did take some money off, but not that much.  We told the salesman that we would think about it some more and call him back later this week.

On Wednesday, Dad and I went to visit with our friends, Faye and Bill, who just recently bought the same trailer as we are going to buy, to talk with them about what extras they added and why and to see how they felt about their purchase after using it to travel a long distance just recently.  They gave us some good ideas and suggestions and advice.  After talking with them and talking it over with each other, Dad and I decided that we wanted to add one more extra to our list - an outside shower and hot water system.  That costs $1,700, so I asked Dad to write an email and ask the salesman, Kurt, to see what deal he could get for us if we added that to the list.  He came back to say they could give it to us for an extra $1,500.  I asked Dad to email back and ask for the extra cost to be only $1,000. (after all, we were spending a TON of money to buy this camping trailer).  Kurt called Dad back and said it was a go and we put a ten percent downpayment on it right then and there.  We are both really excited about getting it even though we have to wait until March to have it delivered as it won't be on the production line until then.

I went back to the physiotherapist again on Thursday, but hadn't taken any painkillers before the appointment as I didn't know if I should or if he would want to see what my shoulder/arm was like without the meds.  It was so painful, though, so he couldn't work on me at all.  We just talked about what was going on with my shoulder and he told me that it could take up to six weeks for it to heal.  That was a bit of a disappointment since we are going on our cruise in two weeks.  He told me that taking the pain meds was very important (even though I don't like taking them) as it would allow me to do the exercises without the same amount of pain I had been experiencing.  So, I upped them to the max and it has been amazing how much it has helped along with the exercising.  I am getting more movement in my arm and I am having to take less meds in just that short amount of time.  So, I am feeling more positive about how much longer I will have to take the Advil and Tylenol and also about how long it might take to get this shoulder/arm back to normal.

I read something this week from President Monson about when we experience challenges - he said that "such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to become something different from what we were - more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were...' which really helped me be less pessimistic about my 'challenge'.  Although this shoulder/arm pain may not be a challenge for someone else, it has been a big one for me.  When I read this quote, I thought about how I have more understanding now about what Grandma Martin has to go through living with constant pain every day and also how I feel more empathy for Dad now with what he has had to deal with in his back pain.  I also feel grateful that, even though I have had to go through this now, it happened at a 'good' time in that it started on Dad's last day of work.  See, there is always a silver lining in every cloud.

Dad picked up our kayaks today!  We have been wanting to buy kayaks for ages and when we were down in Melbourne a big sale came on in the camping store in HB, so we ordered them online and the manager kept them for us in the back of the store until Dad could come and get them.  They look fabulous and we can't wait to get out on them (once this shoulder of mine gets better).  Mine is white and purple and Dad's is white and blue.  We still have to buy life jackets, seats and paddles - we are waiting for a good sale to come on in the camping store since we are not in a rush to get them.

Our 'Glide Reflection' kayaks - they are sit on kayaks, but they are quite stable as they have a flat bottom

Today has been a really lovely and restful day.  We started out going to church this morning - they just had Sacrament meeting and the talks were really good.  It was nice to see everyone again and to catch up a little on what has been going on since we were last here in HB.  After that, we came home and had a lovely Christmas lunch (barbecued lamb chops with salads); watched a church video about Jesus; made an advent calendar to start using next year; listened to Christmas music and watched a tv Christmas program with Andre Rieu.  We finished off our wonderful Christmas Day with pavlova.😃

 Our back patio with the Christmas spread on the table

 Our Christmas spread: barbecued lamb chops, garden salad, potato salad and coleslaw with V8 and cranberry juice

 Dad's Christmas lunch - a very full plate

Our advent calendar we made - it's made using a mini cupcakes pan - covering each cup is a picture of Christ with a magnet on the back - in the bottom of each cup, there is a scripture about Christ - the idea it to read a scripture each day of December until Christmas Day - there are also suggestions for how we can be of service for the 25 days, which we can perform as we strive to be and remember Jesus Christ during the month of December

 Our Christmas dessert

Sunday, 18 December, 2018

It's been a week of heat and humidity in Cairns.  Dad's course was only for the week here and everything went very smoothly.  He is now done for the year and is looking forward to getting some well deserved rest and relaxation in the next six weeks.  It is the rainy season in Cairns right now and it did rain every day we were there, at some point.  We were able to get out one day for some sightseeing, though.  One of the guys who Dad taught suggested we take a drive up to Port Douglas, so we did that on Friday.  It was a very beautiful drive between the ocean and the mountains (hills, really 😃).  When we got there, we checked out a few sights, but the humidity there was so high that we mostly enjoyed everything from our air-conditioned car.  I would love to walk the main street one day, though, and check out the stores - there looked like there were some cute shops to check out.

 More yummy meals from the 'Cock and Bull' pub (loaded nachos and shepherd's pie)

Dessert time - 'Death By Chocolate' - chocolate mudcake surrounded by chocolate mousse topped with chocolate ice-cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a strawberry on top - yummmm! 😃

 Scenery on the way up to Port Douglas

 Palm trees in Port Douglas

 Coconuts

 Dad in front of lighthouse in a park in Port Douglas

 Me on a beach in Port Douglas

 Dad taking in the view from a lookout in Port Douglas

 These trees are so pretty

 The marina in Port Douglas

 Old lighthouse in Port Douglas (front and back)

 Christmas banners which were hung along the main street (the pictures on them were drawn by local primary school children)

 On the drive back to Cairns, we stopped at this area which had a bunch of rock formationss (like inukshuks) - they have been stacked by people and when they get knocked down by the high tide or a storm, people come in and rebuild them

Yesterday was not a fun day - I woke up in the morning with not being able to lift up my left arm and so we went to a chemist (pharmacy) to see what the pharmacist would recommend I do until I could get in and see a physiotherapist back home.  After I told him what my symptoms were, he suggested I get an ice pack to take down the swelling, Advil as an anti-inflammatory and a sling to hold my arm still.  They all help for sure, but it's still a dull ache so I am hoping my physiotherapist will be able to tell me what's going on when I go for an appointment tomorrow

We arrived home this evening and I can honestly say "it's nice to be home" - we have been travelling so much in the past six months, that it's nice to be able to just come home to familiar surroundings and relax for a bit.

Sunday, 11 December, 2016

A busy week for us with a flight to another destination at the end of it. 😃

Dad finished up his course on Friday and he was very happy to be done!  All the guys were really happy with the instruction they received and they really liked the two instructors: Dad and John.  The guys in the class even asked Dad, John, and Dave (another instructor, but who was a student on this course) to go to dinner with them on Wednesday night.  It turned out that John had previous plans and Dave ended up getting sick that day, but Dad still went along and had a really good time with the fifteen guys who showed up.  They wouldn't let Dad pay for anything which was really nice of them.  After teaching for five weeks, Dad was tired - he often feels exhausted by the time he is done these longer courses.

The guys from Dad's course who took him out for dinner - it was to a Brazilian restaurant where it was all you can eat meat, etc. - Dad was in heaven

On Monday night, Dave, Dad and I went out for dinner.  We both got along with Dave really well and thought it would be nice to have a good meal and chat with him where they could relax and enjoy themselves.  We went to a local italian restaurant (which Dad's boss really likes) and they didn't disappoint - the food was really nice and the service was excellent!  We even tipped the waiter which you don't normally do here in Australia.

 Me with my iced chocolate at the Italian restaurant

 Dad, me and Dave with our meals at the Italian restaurant

Dad and I split this chocolate lava cake for dessert - it was so yummy!

I continued with my usual things this week  I am still stuck on my baby sweater since the instructions were not complete on the internet.  I am going to have to do some more thinking about it, but I still wanted to knit this week, so I started knitting a doll sweater - I am hoping that I might get some ideas from knitting that which might help me to figure out how to knit the baby sweater.

My knitting group (along with two other groups) had a catered Christmas luncheon at the Aquatic Centre on Friday.  There were party pies, party quiches, sandwiches, fruit and cakes - very yummy.  I also received two Christmas cards from ladies in my group and two gifts from the group as well - hand lotion and a bag with a lined booklet, pocket calendar and pen in it.  It was such a thoughtful gift and I was surprised and pleased to receive it.  I have really enjoyed being part of the group and they were very welcoming to me - they even told me to be sure to come back and join the group again the next time I get back to Melbourne.  I told them that I would miss them, but not their Melbourne weather. 😊

 The catered lunch for our knitting group

 The ladies in the knitting group

Judy and me (Judy is the lady in charge of the group and one skilled knitter)

Dad and I flew to Cairns yesterday - the flights (Melbourne to Brisbane and Brisbane to Cairns) were uneventful, but our luggage ended up being taken off in Brisbane for some reason and so it wasn't on the plane we flew on to Cairns.  Fortunately for us, we know this can happen and so I had put another set of clothes in my carry-on bag.  Dad and I are really trying to 'go with the flow' these days in whatever happens and so it wasn't stressful at all.  They brought the suitcases right to the hotel last night.  We picked up our rental car at the airport - a little red Hyundai Accent - and drove to our hotel which is right on the Esplanade and the views from our top level floor are amazing!

 The view from our hotel room

We went grocery shopping to buy stuff for breakfasts and lunches (there's only a small fridge and microwave in the room so our choices for dinner will be limited) and then we went and picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut.  I think that I must have eaten too much because later in the evening, I started not feeling well.  It took me ages to get to sleep and even when I woke up this morning, I still wasn't 100%.  We decided that it would be best if we stayed in the hotel - I just rested all day and Dad had to work on the course which starts tomorrow.  He started working on it last night, but the engine which he is going to be teaching about isn't done that often and so he had to do some revision on the instructor notes.  He also had to work out how he was going to teach one other fellow who also needs Dad to instruct him separately - he will have to do this after he teaches the engine guys and also on next Saturday - it's going to be one VERY busy week for him.

Tonight, Dad and I were going to go to a 'Carols by Candlelight' event which the city of Cairns was putting on, but just when we were about to leave for it (and for dinner at one of the vendors which would be there), it started pouring down.  We waited for a bit to see if it would let up, but no such luck, so instead we went out for dinner to a local pub (the Cock and Bull) which the hotel front desk man had recommended.  I read the reviews from TripAdvisor and they were really positive with many of them saying that the portions were huge.  We checked out the menu online and decided on the ribs with mashed potatoes and salad.  We ordered one meal and shared it - there was plenty for both of us in one serve - and it was delicious!!  I went up to the chef afterwards to tell him how much we enjoyed it and that we would be back for more meals this week - he was very pleased to hear that.  We are not too fussed about eating out too much, but this meal tonight was just like a meal we might cook at home and so we have decided to eat out a few more times this week than we would normally do.

 The 'Cock and Bull' pub - I am sitting on the right side of this photo

Our rib meal - see how huge it is and why we only needed to order one meal!

When we got back from dinner and while I was writing this blog and Dad was working on his course, we heard the fireworks which were part of the 'Carols by Candlelight' event - so we went out onto our balcony and watched them.  It would have been nice to have been there, but it rained all night and even began pouring down towards the end of the fireworks.

 Fireworks from our hotel balcony