Click go the Shears.

Am up early today as four of the girls are going crutching/shearing this morning until lunchtime. They have a cooked breakfast at 7am. I imagine it will be hard work if the temperatures remain in the 40's like the last few days.

Not sure what the atmospherics are up to but was not able to connect to the internet at all last night and am only on one bar this morning! However, my time was not wasted - I spent over an hour last night helping one of the senior girls with her homework, and had my youngest girl do some reading out aloud to me for practice. These girls who are in yr 9 and yr 12 respectively struggle with work that I would have been doing in Std 3 & 4 (yrs 5 & 6). Many of our students have missed chunks of their schooling life and it is difficult to work with them with many of the basics missing in their schooling. I was talking to my year 9 girl the other day when I received a beautiful book on Egypt from a dear friend in NZ, and she had never heard of Egypt, didn't know what a pyramid was, had never heard of the 7 Wonders of the World, .......... . It is not just general knowledge of the world they live in but their own country as well that they know so little about. However ask about Rianna and Chris whoever and you will be told all the details of why he beat her up and why she left him!!!!. Makes me very glad for the wonderful schooling and the encouragement to learn I received at Kariaotahi Primary School, and View Rd Primary School back in the day.

I spent most of yesterday not far from the cell phone as I was awaiting news about Mum's Clive. On Friday Mum txtd me to say the decision had been made to amputate his 'good' leg. The ulcer that began late January, was not healing and getting progressively worse. Clive was able to go home for the weekend and from yesterday morning at 7am Aussi time I got regular updates as the day unfolded from being in pre-op to surgery, until around 1.30pm Aussi time to say that he was back in recovery - as Kay said, with more wires and leads than a rock band. So far, so good. He had done remarkably well after losing his right leg and apart from driving the car, was pretty independent - even to the point of getting on a ladder (and you thought we never knew, lol). He has gone into this op much fitter than when he had the first op so the hope is his recovery goes well. I did remark to Mum that Douglas Bader escaped from Colditz with no legs, flew a plane and played golf once he got his prothesis legs!!!! All the best Clive in the meantime as I know Mum will be reading this to you.

Other than numerous phone calls to NZ and being on skype a lot over the weekend, it was reasonably relaxing. On Saturday morning went with the WMH and boys to Morawa to do some shopping for a change. We had just got off the dirt road onto the main road when the WMH said snake! I was busy talking so missed it and we decided instead of turning back (it was an ex snake) we would look at it on the way back. Did the rounds of the four shops that are open on a Saturday morning - the hardware/gardening shop, the stationery/ gift/ lotto shop, the clothing/material/wool shop (think miniature Duthies, Waiuku folk) and then the IGA for a top up of groceries. To complete the outing, we then stopped at the local cafe/bakery for a cappucino and something to eat. Unfortunately we were too late (1pm) for the home made pies - I only eat homemade ones these days - so settled for a foccacia bun with chicken, avocado,etc etc.

Finally got back to the ex snake and in Crocodile Dundee terms - this was a snake (compared to others I have seen). It was a metre and a bit long and about as wide as two fingers together ( hey, you have to use what you've got, lol). There was a tyre mark about 20cm from its head where it was extremely flat to the ground. Bearing in mind, I have been told every snake is poisonous in WA until it isn't... I stood about a metre away from it again, with arms stretched out to take a photo and SOD! the camera had no battery left. As I hopped (leapt) back up into the car, I then saw one of the camels on the farm opposite to where we were parked - arrrhhh no camera going and this was the closest and best I had ever got to the camels that live there. It seemed to be a very large beast and was grazing under a tree. I think the second one may have been lying down, as there was a rather large rock shaped looking something that we could not quite distinguish that could have been the companion. Apart from an ex fox closer to Morewa, that was as interesting as the drive was.

Got back and flopped on the couch and watched two DVDs before wandering home. Watched 'The Bucket' with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman - a light entertaining movie - with Jack playing his usual angry man who softens roll that he does so well. Sunday did some house cleaning and tidying and put up new curtains. There were some spare ones going up at school so I now have trendy tab drop curtains in the windows which has lightened and brightened the place up. I had finally got organised and planted out some basil and spinach earlier in the week - the basil has survived but the spinach perished - I think I was a week too long in getting the seedlings in.

One of my missions since I got back from holiday this year has been to enroll at the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane for the Associate Degree in Residential care. I managed to get my records of achievement from Waikato uni and Waikato Polytech and in speaking to the course co-ordinator yesterday, I will get 10 credits for my prior learning which means I only have to do 6 papers to get the degree and I can probably do three next semester. I thought I may as well while the numbers of the girls are so few. I have to laugh as I can hear Dad saying 'you're the most educated unemployed person I know'! and this was after doing a secretarial course and just before I went to university for the first time (for my fortieth birthday present to myself). It's to be hoped that there will be further employment at the end of all this, lol.

Its still reasonably cool so think I will walk back down to my place to water the plants that are still alive. I will stop on the way downstairs and have a cappucino from the 'you beaut' coffee machine that would put the average cafe to shame, that was gifted to the school from .... somewhere.... I am sure we will be taking a mortgage out before we are through to keep enough coffee beans to hand to keep it going. It grinds the beans, zooms out frothy milk and adds shots of caffine to your mug. You can do cup or two - usually need to push the two cup button for the coffee mugs we use, heh, heh. I see after reading my nieces blog it is St Patricks Day today - in the news free bubble that we live in out here, that had nearly escaped my notice. Will go downstairs now and give the Catholics grief, lol.