Season's Greetings (and I am still alive :) )

I have a list of a zillion things to do and this is one of them so am taking some time out to update on the crazy thing that is my life, over the past few weeks.

I read through my last post and I was waiting for Phil to decide what he was doing with the house and was also beginning to house hunt. I looked at several properties - there were five in the same street I was living in, so checked them all out. I looked at a couple of older houses that were reasonably cheap ($250 week) and although one had screens on all the windows to keep insects out, there were holes in the kitchen cupboards where I could see the ground so goodness only knows what could have crawled up that - eek. I was dispairing when I spotted this amazing house on line, rang up about it to find there was a look see in an hour. Dropped everything at school, zoomed over and WOW. It was a four bedroomed, lounge, games room, sunroom, office, laundry, two loos, one bathroom, two car garage, and back garden property, woohoo. A family pulled up at the same time as me so after walking through the place and making a snap decision I WANTED it, I spoke to the real estate person as to the next step. There was a for sale sign on the lawn which slowed me down a bit, but she said that they were taking it off the market for the period of the lease. The family had walked out when I was talking about the for sale sign (whew) so I went straight down to the real estate agency, got the application form and had it dropped in first thing the next morning. I then had to wait for the owners to decide if they liked the sound of me, to have the house cleaned and the last bits of their things removed. I was told there would be a decision mid the following week so kept fingers crossed.

Meanwhile Phil was still making up his mind so started packing my gear just in case. On the job front, my position at school was advertised so put my application in. I got a call from Phil to say he was not coming back and he was getting a quote to get his gear back to Sydney. When he got the quote, he decided he could not afford it and would I take his stuff when I moved - OK, and would I take his car as well - OK. He then rang back to say, the tenancy there was ending on the 2nd Dec which was a week away. No pressure!!!!!! I was still working both jobs and had in effect three days to pack and one window of opportunity to move which was the Friday before the 2nd Dec. I had my interview during this time, got told I had my new house, but couldn't get the key until 4.40pm the day I had to move. I hired a truck for $150 that had a lift on the back of it, and Bronwyn, Gerard, the two boys and Emily turned up and we moved Phil's entire house five houses up the road in the hottest day of the month in 40+ Celcius. We made up two beds for Jude and I in the new house, put a few bits of furniture in place and put all the rest in the 'games' room before I bought Noodle Box noodles for dinner for everyone. I think it took us about three hours non stop. There was one more trailer load from the garage the following day, and then two days of cleaning, lawn mowing and tidying up the section before closing the door on Phil's forever.

I spent the weekend unpacking and sorting and as I was heading out the door to work on the Monday got a call from the Honcho from school that I did not get the position for next year. They had decided to rejig what and who they wanted to accommodate a head of campus/ plus a teacher, social worker mix, and employed an indigenous youth worker instead. That was a blow as I was only three days into the new house which I had based on having the two incomes. It was a hard week working with the kids knowing I would not be back and had hugs from every single one of the boys who were there on the last day. I had let the DCP people know I was available for as much as work as possible from the 10th so have been lucky enough to pick up extra work there in the meantime, especially as we now have 9 children in care.

Meanwhile there were two more jobs advertised in the paper for a worker at the local Women's Refuge and a residential supervisors position at the Catholic boarding school which is on the same site as the Flexi Learning Centre. I got interviews for both positions, was declined for the Women's Refuge and have been offered weekend work at the boarding school until the end of the first term when they expect to offer me a full time position - woohoo. I could probably have had the part time job they had but I had asked for full time work and they appointed someone else for that but still want me for the rest in the meantime. I signed a roll over contract for another five months at DCP so it is looking as though I should be able to manage.

During the last two weeks, I have also had a friend here who rang me in crisis when her new accommodation of one week turned ugly over her cat. I was working shift and keeping odd hours so barely saw her but did notice she was not travelling too well, only to find out from Jude (who was also staying a few nights),that our friend had stopped taking her medication a couple of weeks before (she has been diagnosed as bi-polar) so I woke up one morning last week to find the mental health team on my door step (they tracked her down after a couple of ph calls), who then became daily visitors as they administered meds each day. The downside of this was that my friend bought her cat with her, and I am not allowed pets in the house. I had asked three times for it to go, but it took two days of meds being administered before it happened. In the meantime (she arrived with all her furniture and bits and pieces as well) I went to look for a table cloth for the Tardun Christmas we had here and could not find it. Jude in the meantime, had been told by our friend that she had got rid of all her stuff (it tells you how tired I have been that I did not even notice a couch and two chairs missing from the front porch area) asking the maintenance man to take it away when he fixed some lights here. It took me about four days to piece all this together amidst work, odd hours etc, and to track the guy down and yes, he had taken stuff of Phils as well which was also in the games room with all her stuff. Some things had already gone to the dump and I have managed to get one box of linen less three blankets back. Not sure if there is anything else I can do about the rest.

As of yesterday, our friend has left, address unknown as she does not believe she is unwell and does not want the mental health people in her life....... There wasn't much I could say when she handed me her key except good luck and keep in touch. I am left with a massive king sized sleigh bed that she bought the first week she was here, which she found after three nights sleeping in it, that it hurt her back, causing her to move into the spare bed I got from Phil's. Not sure how long that is here for as she said she has moved into a semi-furnished flat. You can see my life is not dull and I maybe need a sign, furniture and household possession storage r us, lol.

The week I moved in to my new house, it was decided the Tardun Christmas would be held here - so had fourteen people for a shared dinner which was a huge success. We all bought one present under $10 and were then given a number in order we were allowed to pick one out of the sack. You could either keep the gift or pick one off someone else that you might like better. It was hilarious as some things got swapped several times and as everyone left Jude and I sat outside on the front patio and watched the firework display from Christmas Carols at the Park in town. I did not mention at the beginning of the blog the this house is on a hill, and I have 180o view of the Geraldton coastline, ocean, port and the city, woohoo.

Bronwyn and Gerard had been nagging me for ages about getting all my stuff from Tardun out of storage, so in conversation on the Christmas night, everyone made the decision, it would happen last Friday as we all had the time off. No pressure again!!!!!. Another truck hire, $110 to the removal people, instead of the $1500 they wanted to deliver it, another 3 hours, and it was all moved. Yp, you guessed it, the games room copped it again. I had several days work in a row and now for the last four days have done nothing but unpack and sleep. I got hurt at work on Sunday when one of the boys kicked off. As I held him while he tried to bite,kick, scratch, punch and spit on me (after threatening to hit me with a cricket bat), it seems I put my bakc out. By the end of the shift I could hardly move. So, inbetween unpacking I have been walking about very gingerly and resting lots in between. Whilst not moving like a gazelle yet, I am able to get up and down and move about more freely today.

OMG, I did not realise how much stuff I had accumulated at Tardun. Also, they packed the entire house, regardless of whether it was mine or not so have ended up with tables, two couches, fridge, washing machine, plates, cutlery, pots etc inherited from Tardun. Clothing was the other surprise - I have much, much more than I remembered so am going to have a bit of a cull I think. As I have existed with two pairs of jeans and three pairs of 3/4 length pants all year, with about 6 shirts, I realise I can do with much less, though it is nice to see some of my more dressier bits for going out (should that happen, lol). Most of you would be shocked at how minimalist I have been this year, heh heh.

I am faced now with girding myself to go to town to do some Christmas shopping. I have not done any, sent Christams cards or done anything about food for the next week or so. I work tomorrow (Christmas Eve) 6.45am - 3.15pm, then Christmas and Boxing Day 8am - 8pm. I am not sure how or when I will be able to contact anyone given the time differences. The plus is, that I have more days off next week, so am hoping to retreive the threads of my life and get some sort of normalacy going or maybe I will just aim for some routine, lol. I have been blessed by receiving three parcels from home - from No 1 & 2 Son's (or should I say the daughter in law's and grandsons :)), and one with a heap of gifts in from sister Kay, Mum and the Bulte family. I am going to Bronwyn and Gerards on the way home from work around 8.30pm and will catch the tail end of a dinner they are hosting for several Macca's friends so that will be nice.

Next posting will hopefully have photos - I am working on getting them off the camera and need to wait till I have everything unpacked, (or near enough), rather than the mess it is in at the moment. To all of you patient readers, who have given me support during the year, and been part of this journey, thank you very much. The feedback is much appreciated, and also the emails that come my way. I wish each and everyone of you a blessed and happy festive season. Love Lynn

Ups and Downs

It seems I exceeded my internet limit by over 1,700 whats its, so the hamster in the wheel has merely looked over from its reclined position to put an occasional paw to the wheel, lol. There has been no rhyme nor reason to my ability to get connection or what to what I have been able to access. I rang the providers over the weekend as I could not connect at all at one point and when they said I had gone over my limit I reminded them my contract says it will slow after 6g to 60% not stop completely so they rejigged something at their end but connection has remained intermittent. For some reason, I checked my account tonight after 20 mins attempting to connect and yes, the universe does sometimes gives one a win, as there was an option of 7g a for $20 cheaper a month than I have been paying - woohoo. I changed my options on the spot. I believe the new optionn kicks in a small amount of megabites after midnight tonight and then on the 7th should have the full 7g available - yippee.
I have made the odd foray into my email at work but have not had huge amounts of time to do that hence the hit and miss contact over the past ten days. Have looked for folk at times I think they may be about but not with a deal of success and not sure if skype would connect anyways.

Halloween has been and gone - I see on the news that it is becoming more and more popular in Australia causing a huge amount of retail spending. Neither work place took part in celebration of the day and I had no one visiting here so apart from an ecard from a friend, that was the sum total of the event for me. The other event that has been celebrated that stops Australia in its tracks on the day, was of course the Melbourne Cup. There were four days of horse racing that began on Saturday with interviews, fashion, info on the horses, jockey's, trainers, uncle Tom Cobbley and all, lol that led up to the big race on Tuesday. The morning tv show broadcast from there over the four days and it seemed anyone who was anyone was there. A big focus on the news was about Bart Cummings, who has trained 12 previous winners, who was hoping for his 13th win this year. He ended up in hospital over the weekend (he is in his 80's and had pneumonia) but made it out for the big day, unfortunately his horse came third. It was the most backed horse on the day and was touted to be another Phar Lap. I hear the horse was sold for $40,000,000 to an Irish Stable.

As part of our celebration classes at school were tailored to the big race. Everyone was in the draw for a horse in the sweepstake - the winner got a box of chocolates. They played bingo with horse names on the cards, and maths over the last two days has been calculating odds and payouts which has been a novel way of reinforcing times tables and addition. I made a stack of sandwhiches - all posh with the crusts cut off, lol, and we cooked a batch of scones eaten with cream and strawberry jam which seemed to go down well. Students got to design their own jockey silks as the jacket outline had been printed on A3 paper for them to colour in. We did not have a TV to watch the race live instead we watched a lot of previous races via "You Tube" on the WM's computer - listening to the race in the end on radio.

There was no outing in the longboat this week which was a shame and yesterday our trainer was not available at the gym, so damn, had another session on the pool table while a group of others were shooting hoops downstairs. I played doubles with one of the girls against two of the boys and we only lost by one ball so did not disgrace myself and oh my, giddy heights when I potted two balls in a row. My misspent youth was not spent around pool tables so it is by guess and by god that I connect with anything but my aim at the moment is to at least hit something so the others do not get two shots and to actually get a ball down, well that is the bonus, lol. This afternoon we took the troops to the local pool where we had hired this huge inflateable float thing that was like an adventure course in that you had to get over and around connected inflateable shapes from one end of the pool to the other to get to the end, climb up an inflateable wall and then down a slide. It certainly kept them all amused and provided lots of laughs as people fell off into the pool at any given moment. I was amazed that anyone completed the course at all.

Have just watched a clip on the news of this old digger who at 98 is still working full time - 5 days a week - in a news agents and who also is still playing badminton. He said he retired for three weeks when he was 65 from running a hardware store but after three weeks in the garden was planting weeds to dig them up, and found retirement too boring lol. Bless.

Went to the movies with one of my workmates from the residential home on Saturday afternoon. We went and saw "Eat, Pray, Love" with Julia Roberts. The highlight for me was seeing Rome on the big screen and revisiting some of the places I have got see when I was there (five years ago now!) - the story line was average - sort of travelogue meets the 70's path to enlightenment via India and Bali after JR decides her marriage is not what she wants after all. I would rate in OK for a DVD on a wet afternoon. I went out for lunch beforehand to a place called Skeeters which is located on the waterfront which was a nice treat. That was the high light of the weekend as I think the combination of the week before, the anniversary (6th) of Dad's passing, and the disappointment of not getting home for Christmas, led to a fit of the blues so was not fit for much else. Still they do say, if you do not have some downs, you cannot appreciate the ups, - I put that in the same basket of when one door closes another opens and being sick of standing in the draughts, lol. Ce la vie.

We are experiencing the obnoxious effluvia (saying of my grandmother lol) of dead rat/s at school at the moment. I am beginning to think I may have blood links to the Pied Piper of Hamlin in that vermin seem to be continually present in my life! It began with our alarm system throwing a fault and the fix it man told us that rats had chewed through the wiring , with a snide comment that they would of course, since we fed them so well??? We had been used to leaving a loaf of bread out on the table for breakfast toast and I guess had got a bit casual about putting things away. I had noticed two rats running along the wall in the entry way into the building but the piece de resistance was looking out to the passageway where the freezer, toaster and breakfast making table reposes, to see a flipping rat, sitting in the toaster and when I yelled at it, it just looked back!!!! (We have one of those industrial type toasters not the pop up variety) Also there was a whole the size of my fist in the loaf of bread that had been left there by mistake.... The WM had been meaning to get traps for ages but that was the last straw for me, off I went and got several boxes of rat bait from the shops - of mega death strength and that would kill even if they were resistant to the ingredients in usual rat bait (take that, lol!!!!). It was a Friday and by Monday the whole box was gone and I mean the whole box, cardboard and all. On Monday one of the boys found one of the ra ra's comatose in the boy's toilet and removed it with a shovel. Tuesday, we became aware that another one had died in the ceiling in our meeting room necessitating the room being sprayed with eucalyptus oil to mask the smell. Unfortunately, with the advent of summer weather it was extremely ripe today, and we gave up the unequal struggle and moved to another room to start the day. I am picking by next week the smell should all be gone as hopefully it will mummify with the heat - here's hoping. Today another demised rat was found behind the freezer so at the moment its rats O Lynn 3 so to speak!!! I know there are those who keep rats as pets who say they are loving pets, but these rats are the bubonic plague carrying variety so no mercy is shown.

While I am waiting for Phil to let me know what is happening about the house, I decided today to ring up two rental agencies to put my name down to look at other places just in case this one does not pan out. Over here renting is not as easy as it seems at home. Very few houses seem to be privately let so the process is that you ring an agency, they call back with a viewing apt where you get to see the place with whoever else maybe wanting to check it out, and then you take it from there. They are not open in the weekends so it will mean time out from work I am picking, to view said rentals. They do not seem hungry for business either as I rang this morning and have not had a call back yet. You can not make the apt at a time to suit you but have to fit in with the rental managers schedule hence the challenge.

Got a photo this week of the No 2 grandson and he is just gorgeous. Will try and upload photo once I have full hamster power again. He is so like his Dad at the same age and has mischief written all over him. At 18mths he is chattering already so maybe he takes after his nana as well heh heh.

The wind has finally dropped over the last two days and yay the heat has arrived to the point I have the ceiling fan going and am sleeping with open windows to let some breeze in (the windows are all screened so am safe from insects and anything else). Am also using aircon in the car to cool down the inside but find I take it of iceberg chill once the desert heat has dissipated as the inside of the car can become too cold for continued use. It is definitely hat wearing, sunscreen weather if one plans on being outside for any length of time. I notice I am drinking a lot more water so guess summer is finally on the way.

It is past the witching hour once again so will sign off for the night :):)

You gotta take the rough with the smooth!

At this point I am wondering what smooth may look like, as once again life is throwing some curve balls at me. I have had to make the decision that I will not be going back to NZ for Christmas which has been a hard decision to make. I was searching the net last week for airfares that wouldn't break the bank, when I got the bill for a new water heater in the house at home (NZ) which also involved something to do with taps or pipes which had to be done. I had thought around $1000 -$1500 but have been flattened by the $2550 bill which in effect has taken care of the air fare.

I was wondering whether I could still swing it but today got news that Phil is staying with family in Sydney and not coming back to WA. He has finally made the decision that he will need to wind up his lease on the house that I have been house sitting for him. Phil is ringing the landlord tomorrow to see what his situation with the lease is, whether I can take it over and how long for, whether there will be an increase in rental, and then I have to work out how to manage. At the current rent, I would have to get someone else in, if it goes up, it would be a stretch I think. He is also working with the removal people to get his household packed up to go before Christmas, so if I do stay on, would not have a skerrick in the house until I can get my stuff out of storage. I had thought of going home for a month which would be a month of outgoings with no income so just a step too far at the moment.

When I left Tardun I was under the impression my moving was taken care of by the school and because I had no job before I left, it was agreed that it could go into storage in town with the moving company until I knew where I was going to be. When I went to get it moved once I finally got the jobs at school and DCP so knew I was finally staying in Geraldton, I rang the movers only to be told it would cost $1500 to be delivered!!!!! When I managed to get hold of the money bloke concerned, I said if I had thought that there was going to be a charge to deliver to the final destination, I would have had them ship the whole lot back to NZ and be done with it which would have cost them a fortune - silly me for thinking I would be saving them money. I told the bloke it would be next Christmas before I could manage that on top of everything else, so at this stage it continues to sit in storage, which they are paying for until I can work out the next step. I can go pick it up myself for a release fee of $110 but there are challenges there too.

I had borrowed a trailer from Janette from out at the farm about four weeks ago as this particular Friday the WMH had a day off, I had a day off and the WM's boys were on school hols. I rang the movers to see if I could maybe pick some of the gear up but was told that they would need several days notice as there was no one there to drive the forklift to move anything.- Could I get it on the Saturday - they do not work Saturdays. They do not work after 4pm, and they do not move stuff after 3pm therefore I cannot go get it after school, nor can I get it on the weekends - so back to square one. At this stage, I am thinking I am going to have to take a day off work and see what I can do. Unfortunately when they packed up my stuff, they packed the whole house which involved a good amount of Tardun property so have no idea what I am to do about that. More sleepless nights as I try to work all this out.

Last week while working at the home, two of the boys decided to go off with some neighbouring boys technically absconding from the home, so the police had to be notified. They finally came back around 9pm very sheepish after having been missing for four hours. Have to say, only having the two younger boys to manage was a piece of cake. To even things out, we had a new boy start at school last week who got squirted with a water pistol on his first day. When he nudged the boy who squirted him, he ended up getting a torn teeshirt, scratched chest and he walked out after a mere two hours. Needless to say the boy who thought it was just a joke to begin with, cooled his heels at home for the rest of the day after getting the Lynn lecture before he went - and on his return, which is an eye glazing experience at best. He has been trying very hard to be on his best behaviour since. Meanwhile the new boy has returned.

Got to go out on the long boat again on Monday which was awesome. It was a very windy day in contrast to the almost calm outing of the week before. (I tried to upload photos but the hamsters are not working at full potential tonight so could not get the photos to attach). The swell was about a metre high and there were times the front of the boat was airborn and then would crash into the waves. The boys tacked up the harbour and we doing about 30 knots which is a fair speed indeed. Believe it or not, in the wind that we had, two boys climbed up the mast while we were zooming over the waves - have no idea what it would have looked like if they had fallen, and me thinking health and safety nearly had a conniption but apparently they had done it before and the guy who took us out seem unperturbed by the whole deal. Then what was also a little disconcerting was that one of the boys threw a water bottle over board as a man overboard practice, so the others had to tack and try to come around - the bottle completely disappeared and when finally spotted was some distance away and even though we did turn about, we were not able to "rescue it" - note to self - do not fall overboard with this lot sailing lol.

Tuesday was back to the gym so our students could continue with their fitness training. I had a go on one of the bikes during Friday session and had hoped that seeing most of the students had their programs already organised, I might get one set up, but no such luck. On arrival, we were told that one of our boys who had only just come back after time out, had been banned from the place for abusing one of the staff after he and his mates had tried to nick some pool balls the previous week. I was delegated to take him home for the afternoon but as this was being discussed, he kicked off and said he didn't want to come to the poxy place anyway, and he would burn the place down (or words to that effect). To give him a wake up call, the gym called the Police, who turned up and made him realise what a foolish thing he had done. Ah, all in a days work, lol.

Just as I have been trying to work out the issue of Christmas, I have been inundated with mention of NZ on the telly. I was semi-dozing late the other night when the sound of a haka bought me to my senses - woohoo, it was a particularly vigorous one with the NZ team going up against the English team playing rugby league in Wellington. I actually ended up by watching the game the the poms being beaten, heh heh. On Sunday I was watching the V8 racing on the Gold Coast and there blazing home in second place, the commentators were raving about the NZ driver who nearly took out the winner in the last lap by some brilliant driving (even though he was driving a Ford). Then on Monday - up pops Grant Denier (not sure if that is how you spell his surname) who does the weather from some amazing places all over Australia for GWN morning tv program, popped up in Christchurch, and then at Lake Tekapo today ??? Yesterday afternoon while drifting through the channels avoiding hideous children's programs (lots of noise and colour) there was Paul Mecurio of "Ballroom Dancing" fame, (who now does cooking programs amongst other things), - you guessed it - he was in NZ, doing "New Zealand on Plate". He was teamed up with a Maori woman who does a cooking program of her own, showing him through Moana Fisheries in Auckland where they got fish for several different dishes, and she also featured *Rush Munro Ice Cream (which is to die for)as part of a dessert that she made. And last but not least, on the World News this afternoon (again avoiding children's programs) there was mention of a list of the least corrupt countries in the world - New Zealand was second after Denmark!!!!!! lol It has been a little like having salt rubbed into a wound and kind of surreal to see the haka, to hear a karanga and to see people hongi on an Australian tv channel but is also wonderful in its familiarity.

Last week was the Number one Grandson's 8th birthday - another tug at the heartstrings. I rang on the day but there was a small gathering of mates playing treasure hunts and army so said a brief hello and rang back on the weekend. He had some friends around after school and the treasure hunt ended with a chest with a skull in it (not a real one Nana just a pretend one) with Halloween type lollies such as lips, fingers,etc. I am waiting on photos to be emailed of the event. I had posted a Harry Potter card (owl post) and sent him two Ben 10 teeshirts and the next two Harry Potter movies that he did not have which he was very pleased with.

Since not being able to go home for Christmas, the next decision I have made,is that I will be home for Easter instead. Sister Kay and friend Viv (wave) are organising a school reunion for Kariaotahi School - the primary school I attended from 5yrs until the end of my 9th yr. Definitely something to look forwards to.

*Rush Munro Ice cream is 100% natural product - no additives or preservatives and has the best flavours. It is made in the Hawkes Bay but goodgle them for an outlet near you :). My particular favourites were licorice - which I see they no longer make, feijoa which is devine as is their rum and raisin. After checking out their current list, I want to try their Lemon gin, Lemon Honey, Manuka Honey and Mocaccino.

Had better go get some shut eye so night night all.

Life on the Ocean Wave

Just thought I would let you all know how hard life is at the moment lol. Once again have been busy, somewhere over 65hrs last week but things are slowing down somewhat over the next two weeks. After my last post, I actually had the luxury of several days off - unfortunately it was too late notice for me to have planned anything so was a little disappointed at first, but then, oh the joy, time to stand still and catch up with some of the little things in life such as finishing a book I had on the go for weeks, some shopping for summer clothes, and actually catching up on some long overdue emails to friends and family. I had several days work at the home during the second week of the holidays and then a meeting with the Principal of the school who made a lightening visit from Queensland.

The upshot of that visit, is I am now employed until 10 Dec for 30 hrs week and have changed from being a casual to part time. That means I am entitled to sick pay if I get sick etc. So, just a little bit more security woohoo. The job that I am currently doing which is a mixture of youth worker, teacher aid and social worker is to be advertised as a full time position for next year which I am able to apply for so watch this space.

I am still working at the home though am adjusting hours there and will probably do one afternoon shift and some weekend work as required. I got two twelve hour shifts last weekend and two afternoons which just pushed things a bit so was feeling less than my usual tranquill self (lol) by Monday afternoon when I got home from school, reached the couch and slept like a log for a couple of hours. Jude bless her heart was staying a couple of nights and I woke up to a roast chicken dinner on the go.

On Saturday (at the home) we went down to Dongara for the day and took the kids fishing. Well, I watched one who wanted to spend most of his time in the water, and my co-worker watched the three who wanted to fish, thus saving me from the icky bits of handling bait etc. One of the boys caught one small fish but threw it back into the sea before I could get photographic evidence and surprisingly, they kept at fishing and hunting for crabs for several hours.

We went to Port Dennison at Dongara and were at the harbour when the tide was going out so it was a very safe place for the boys to swim. There was even some sandcastle building with a castle wall and a moat with water so lots of fun for all. All this plus a playground beside the public barbeque area/toilets/showers. We had gone prepared, so after the two youngest had done with all their swimming we got them into the showers and into fresh clothes so skipped that job on our return to the home. We had taken a picnic lunch with us, snacks and drinks and got an ice cream as a treat later in the afternoon and apart from some arguing over who was going to sit where in the van before we left, we had a pretty good day out and some very tired boys on our return.

Keeping in theme with all things tidal, the next day at school, the afternoon activity was going out on the Batavia long boat replica around the harbour. The original Batavia longboat was used by Fransisco Pelsaert in 1629 to sail to Batavia (present day Jakarta) in order to get help after his ship (the Batavia) struck a reef at the Abrolhos Islands and sank on its maiden voyage. The Batavia longboat replica was launched in March 2003, the result of a shared vision between the WA Museum Geraldton and the central West College of TAFE.

This boat is used as a training boat to teach kids how to sail - Suffice to say - when I first saw it, I thought, they had to be joking that we would all fit on it, followed by, how the heck will I get in and out of it without disgracing myself, (does this longboat make my bum look big,) lol.



This is two views of the boat. To get into it, the chap who took us out pulled it up to the side of the wharf with one of the long ropes that attached it to the wharf. Then you had to crawl through the rail at the edge of the wharf and basically manage to get yourself from hands on the rails, feet on the wharf to dropping down into the front of the boat hands on a rope and feet feeling their way down a piece of wood that ran down the middle of the front of the boat before the boat pulled away from the wharf as water lapped around the boat. As I said I made it without incident. (On return, I had to pull the boat close to the wharf with a rope, get one of the students to hold that then haul myself up by another rope, feet walking up the side of the boat and then had to launch myself to grab the rails before sliding between them back onto the wharf!!!!!) Then where to sit - there were a few planks at strategic places on the boat that one could sit on, keeping an eye out for sails etc being moved about the place once we had got under way. It felt we were very close to the water, maybe only a foot or two once underway which was a little disconcerting when the swell was about the same. We motored out of the dock area into more open water before the sails went up - and what a buzz it was to be out on the water. Very like being on a bucking horse to start off with when there was more of a swell I must say but then it was like being on one of those rocking loungers - very relaxing I must say.

Splice the main brace, lol
As we sailed about the harbour, we had marvellous views of Geraldton and the port where several ships were docked. There was also a couple of pens fenced off in the middle of all this which is a fish farm run by the local polytech. It is quite bizarre to see it as it is in the main thoroughfare where all the ships come and go. Then not far along from the fish farm, is a pile of rocks known as seal rock where there were about nine different seals were basking in the sun. It was amazing to see them and at first I only noticed two because they blended so well with the rocks and then as we got closer, they became more noticable. I have to say, there was a particular odour about the place, so am not sure whether it was the seals who smelt rank or droppings from cormorants etc but on reflection I think it must have been the seals.
With a bit of luck, this will not be my last outing as the chap who runs the boat is keen to run a course for some of our students that will result in a certificate for them. Depending on how many go out next time, I may have a go at getting the sails up myself and who knows, maybe even a turn at the tiller. All good practice to be a pirate, heh, heh.

Each week our students attend a sporting complex that is run by the police. They have been doing a program of various things such as boxercise, stunt work, gym exercises, trapeze work and rock climbing. Last week there was nothing specific planned so while some of the kids shot hoops, I played several games of pool with some of the others .. again, life is tough, lol. What was very exciting was by sheer fluke I actually hit some balls into the pockets and again did not disgrace myself totally. Today they did rock climbing - I did not have a go at that and took photos instead. The thought of being trussed like a fowl in the harness they had to wear put me off to say nothing of the lack of strength in my arm that is still twinging with tendonitis.

Summer is finally on its way with temps some days around 37o. It means that during the heat of the day, I am now down to one layer, though evenings and mornings I still keep a jumper handy. Have switched to summer night attire and down to one duvet and had one night last week with just a sheet but again, there are still some cool temps at night so keep the second duvet handy. Jude got the hose out and watered the lawn on Sunday night and last night I worked out the tap and hose system so we were able to just switch it on rather than hand hold the hose. I need to find out the days we are allowed to water and what all the gen is around watering as on the news tonight, people are going to be fined if they water when they should not be doing so.

Got very caught up in watching the Commonwealth Games while they were on. Of course Australia won a trillion medals it seemed, - there was not much coverage on anything else that did not have an Aussi competing. How good was it though that NZ got the gold for the rugby 7's and for the netball. Both nailbiting efforts I have to say. Nearly had to turn the telly off at one stage and had to google to see how we did so I could keep watching the rugby. When the Silver Ferns won the netball, it was such a buzz. It was nice to be able to rub those two efforts in lol.

Have just seen on the late news that another Hollywood identity has passed away - Tom Bosely who I remember best as Mr C in Happy Days which was a must see in the seventies with the Fonz and Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham.

Have just noticed the time and it is way past the witching hour. I am working from 8.30 till 11pm today so had better go get some sleep. Catch you later

Days of My Life.

I should be heading to bed but just as I was about to go, after watching a detective programme, before I got to move, up came the next programme - which is a documentary about Pink Floyd - how good is the universe to serve that up completely unexpected - woohoo. It is one I have not seen before, so even better. If I sound a bit random through this its because I am writing and watching at the same time. The other challenge I am coping with as I type this is that the letter "n" has bounced off the keyboard of my laptop and I am having to press a soft plastic thingie instead.

So, since I last wrote - the house inspection has been and gone and for 10 days gardening and tidying up outside, plus a zoom through inside, all I got was a note on real estate paper left on the kitchen table saying "inspection completed"!!!! That and the satisfaction that the place looked mint, if I say so myself. I didn't use the kitchen for another two days just to have it remain spotless lol. It was the last two days of school and I had work at the home so had all of my meals taken care of which worked out well.

I am happy to report, my lurgy seems to have pretty much disappeared. I still get a sore throat early morning and in the evening plus the odd cough here and there so hope I have not ended up with the 100 day cough or whatever it is called.

We finished school last Friday with a day at the local swimming pool and a barbque lunch which everyone seemed to enjoy. I have a meeting this Wednesday morning with the Principal of the school who is coming from Queensland to talk about next term. I then worked on the Saturday at the home which ended up being from 7.45am until 9pm. One of the staff had resigned on the Thursday and there were three off sick imcluding the person I was meant to be working with that day. I ended up having three different people from the main office come and help me during instead, ending up with the boss , his wife and adult daughter late afternoon and evening. The day was interrupted by the big clash in AFL between Collingwood and St Kilda - two Melbourne teams fighting for the Premiership which is the eqivalent of the Bledisloe Cup in Rugby if not bigger. I watched the last quarter and got totally caught up in it when buggar me, the score at the final whistle was 68/68. The woman who was helping me seemed gobsmacked and I said, its alright, there will be a kick off and one will win and one will lose. No, that is not how it works in footie over here. There had to be a rematch. It was the weirdest thing to watch. The players lay on the ground, utterly spent, the crowd was in shock and unusually quiet and the disbelief on their faces was like witnessing a death occurring. People had arranged weddings, holidays etc around the final so this threw the country into a turmoil immediately. To really complicate things, Virgin Blue - the airline that hundreds had been booked on to and from Melbourne had rolled out a new computer system which crashed on the day the game was played that ended up taking over two days to sort. Happening the first weekend of the school holidays, it compounded the chaos. So, after the final footie shows for the year the previous week, programs were rescheduled and there was another round of final programmes for the year again which lead up to the rematch. I can report that today Collingwood absolutely vanquished St Kilda by over 50 points and it was a great game to watch, although I still have difficulty accepting forward passes, lol. I had Jude here at the beginning of the game before she went to work and we were discussing the differences between AFL and rugby - great armchair critics that we were, lol.

Last Monday was a public holiday - I think it was Aussie's Queen's birthday but worked so was oblivious to anything but that. It also happened to be the Sunshine Festival in Geraldton and there was a parade that we took the boys to see. I tell you, the Waiuku Christmas Parade would have put this one into the shade but the boys enjoyed all the hoopla of the trucks, floats and people walking about dressed up - especially the ones handing out lolly pops, lol. The 7 yr old wanted to know if the parade was a party, and made a comment on the army music when the Scottish Pipe band marched past playing some uplifting skirrling type song. I was fascinated in how he put the pipe band and the army together. There was a firefighting koala on the back of a fire engine - that is when I realised it was not another NZ parade lol, and there was a float with a kangaroo, to say nothing of the decorated Holden cars being driven in the line up.

Since then, I have been on holiday - unfortunately, I did not find out until Wednesday I was going to have so much time off so was ill prepared to make plans for anything grand. Probably just as well, as I feel I have recouped some energy and it has been nice poodling about the house, doing a few errands and shopping in town, watching tv etc. I did go to Jude's son's farm on the Tuesday for a run. It is about 10 mins before Dongara. Jude was babysitting her grandchildren so it was kind of a busman's holiday for me, lol. This is the family that were at the camp draft last year so I had met the children before though I think only the two older girls remembered me. They were halfway through watching High School Musical on DVD so Jude and I had a cuppa then after that we went for a walk outside to view the chooks, ducks, rabbit, lamb, and the horses. The shetland pony was caught and the eldest girl brushed him and cleaned out his hooves before letting him go again. She is 11 years old and it took me back to when I was the same age riding, the preparation before you could ride and the lack of fear you have at that age dealing with animals that potentially could do you serious damage if they chose. Their farm runs right to the sea as it is on the coast line so we decided to go down for a look. The kids ran up and down the beach exploring and jumped in and out of the water before we headed into Dongara for an ice cream to round of the afternoon.

I have been utilising my DIY skills over the last week. I have been up a ladder rescrewing the downlight into the ceiling that I had tried to change the light bulb in some weeks ago. I had left it hanging in the ceiling as at that time my arm was aching post working at Maccas and I could not hold the thing in place. The inspection and I guess gaining some strength back in my arm sorted that out, lol. Also had the step ladder out changing the outside light bulb again. Not impressed that the two year guarantee barely lasted two months. The other hiccup was the shower rose dropped onto the shower base and split last week. This meant that as one tried to shower there was this whole other spray of water shooting over the top of the shower box hitting the wall beyond while dripping on ones head at the same time. I found some tape and tried that first but not luck so off to Bunnings I went armed with rose and hose I managed to unscrew from the fixture after finding a pair of pliers in the kitchen cupboards. It was a bit like trying on Cinderella's glass slipper trying to find the right one. This one was too small, that one was too big, that one was too expensive, until after much consideration I made my choice. I asked at the desk if the fittings were the same as the one I took in and was told they were pretty much stock standard and I could return it if it didn't fit. So, armed with pliers and thread tape I attached the new rose and hose to the fixture in the shower and hey presto, it all works and no drips - woohoo. So, I now add plumber to my list of things I can do, heh heh.

Pink Floyd has now finished and am watching something called "rage" which is also brilliant - it is a music programme with heaps of clips of band includind the Travelling Wilberries, the Kinks, John Lennon, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Doors, Dylan (woohoo )to name a few which has been a bonus indeed.

Had the compliment of the centuary paid to me two weeks ago (this when still under the weather and not at my best). We were discussing ages in general when one of my co-workers said she thought I was only in my forties - (and no Kay, she was neither p......d nor was it a dark night, lol). She has become one of my new favourite people, heh heh.

Midst all the sport, I see that Eddie Fisher erstwhile husband of Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor, and Tony Curtis who was married to his sixth wife, have both passed away this week. Not much was said about Eddie Fisher but there were tributes all day re Tony Curtis with clips of "Some Like it Hot" with Marilyn Monroe featured as the movie that was his most famous one. .... Am watching Jim Morrison and the Doors as I write this - what a waste his death was. I got to go to the cemetary in Paris where he is buried, which was something I had set my mind on seeing while I was there.

Speaking of work, I really had better go get some sleep. I think I can leave James Brown wearing a orange jumpsuit and jacket, lol. Catch you all later.

OMG, I said No!

Decided not to mention ze word work in this title, lol. After two extra shifts at the home last week and an 8pm -8am shift Saturday night/Sunday morning, I am choosing to have a couple of afternoons at home this week. I was rung this morning and offered extra work this afternoon, but actually said no! This was not too hard as I am working on about half a lung at the moment having picked up a cough last week - possibly from one of the kids, or perhaps being a bit run down. I have been regularly coughing the other half of my lungs up morning and evening with just a few bouts during the day. I do not often subscribe to illness (it is a waste of time when I could be doing other stuff, lol) so am treating this as a mere flesh wound so to speak. I have armed myself with a variety of potions to ward off things getting worse and am pleased to report, overall they seem to be working. First in the armoury of potions is good old Vicks or rather the Black Gold brand of Chest rub which is a generic brand over here. It has one less ingredient than Vicks but one does not have to take out a second mortgage to buy a pot of it either. Vicks sells for $12 a jar over here which seems rediculously expensive. Have been slathering the chest rub on my chest, bits of my back that I can reach and the bottoms of my feet (at bedtime), as I read somewhere that putting it on your feet does the best job. So far so good! As I felt like death slightly warmed up on Friday afternoon, I stopped at the chemist on the way to work, and asked for their 245D (lethal weed killer now banned in NZ lol) variety of cough mixture. After forking out $18 (you can tell I was not feeling that great on that day) I got to work and took a dose -15 mls. OMG, it was the most disgusting stuff bar none that I have tasted in ages, so much so, after smelling it I held my nose to get it down and have only had the one dose to date. Paint stripper with a nasty aftertaste comes to mind - what happened to the merry cherry flavours or that interesting orange alcohol flavoured ones of child hood?, lol. Yesterday a mild sore throat developed just before I did the grocery shopping so bought three packets of butter menthol cough drop thingies and they have been great. Although I sound like some two packet a day derro when coughing, I think I am winning.

The other reason I have chosen to have the next few days off is that the house is having an inspection on Thursday and there is still much to be done. Friend Jude, bless her, has stayed the last two nights while she has worked at the local rest home (in the kitchen) and has helped both days out in the garden. All lawns have been mowed, hedge trimmed, gardens weeded, edges trimmed at the front plus the roadside verge, and all the driveway has been weeded both sides down to the garage at the back of the section. I have some weeding between pavers out the back to complete tomorrow and then it will be the once over twice in the house on Wednesday. As the weeds were thigh high down the driveway, it was with a deal of satisfaction we stood back and surveyed the realm this afternoon when we decided to call it a day. In response to sister Kay's comments re wildlife - it is not hot enough for snakes and thankfully not a spider has been sighted. Everytime I go into the back shed, I do have to say I am on hyper alert for anything that might move - so far so good there too.

Being home for a period of time has its advantages - I have cooked two meals in two days. After getting back here yesterday at 8.30am I decided to garden first, then cook lunch (lamb chops, new potatoes and salad) and then when Jude went to work, I crawled onto the couch and slept for six and a half hours. I decided tonight we would have a roast and bought a piece of pork yesterday. It was cooked to perfection along with roast pumpkin, sweet potatoe, new potatoes, courgettes and cauliflower. What a treat! Jude had bought some Vienetta ice cream and I did baked apples stuffed with dates for dessert, so it was pure indulgence indeed.

Another advantage of being home this afternoon - I got to ring the No 1 grandson, and what a joy that was. He will be 8 next month and he was a delight to talk to. He has been studying silent movies at school and told me Charlie Chaplain walks like a penguin! He was in a group of six who made their own silent movie - Red Riding Hood! I got the names of all his group and their parts, lol. I asked him about choir and had three songs sung over the phone that he has been learning or should I say the edited highlights of them. We then discussed his upcoming birthday and he is having an Indiana Jones party this year - he has designed treasure map invitations and a map with footprints on to his place from school if I understood him correctly. Got the update on a new Wii game - he has Indiana Jones lego and a couple I have not heard of. He has also seen Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and in fact all the Harry Potter movies, lol. I asked him if he felt the earthquake in Christchurch and he said no but got told that they had talked about it at school, that there were still aftershocks and it was 7.4! Just as we were getting to the dog, cricket and swimming this summer, it was time for his dinner so he handed me over to the No 1 son whispering to him "it's your Mum on the phone". Had to have a chuckle at that. He (grandson) is still taking lots of photos with the camera I left him at Christmas so who knows, we may have another Peter Jackson in the making, lol. He told me his Mum had bought a video camera that is brilliant because you can twist the screen and see youself being taped as it is happening so doesn't need to borrow my one now!

Have put some photos here that I took a couple of weeks ago. The heron I spotted in the river/estuary over the road from the residential home. It felt a bit wierd taking photos of wildlife in the middle of town, lol.




The two above are of a lizard found in the garden - a gecko. I spotted it out of the corner of my eye when it moved as I was hanging washing out on the line. I managed to tear back into the house to grab the camera and get some shots before it disappeared and got some more the next day when it was out around the same time of the day again. These were taken from one side of the section to the other side so as not to spook it - thank heavens for 20 zoom, lol.

It is the school holidays next week, woohoo. I have made no plans as am not too sure how I am fixed workwise - will not get paid for two weeks from school, so have to take that into account. It would be nice to think I could go out Tardun way for a drive at least to check out the wildflowers this year, but will have to see.

Big news on the TV here at the moment was the announcement by Oprah (at the opening of her final season last week), that she is bringing the entire audience that was at the show that day to Australia for 10 days in January next year. As the crowd was going wild, the back walls of the stage parted and a Qantas jet wheeled in and who should step out of the plane as pilot, but John Travolta, who is going to fly the 400 audience here. Oprah is going to do two shows from the Sydney Opera House which they have already nicknamed the Oprah House, lol so this is huge. The boost to tourism is likely to be a major spinoff from this and though the Govt has put up over a million dollars towards this event, it would be cheap at twice the price for the exposure that her program will give to audiences around the world.

And on that note, I shall sign off for the night and get some sleep. :)

And just for a change - more work!

Have been feeling like a hamster on a wheel somewhat over the past few weeks. Thanks to all of those who have sent emails and have skyped me recently, who have been concerned at my absence on the wires. Work has continued to keep me in its thrall doing 50 hrs a week most weeks over the last month if not more. I actually threw caution to the wind today and took the morning off school, as I had no work at the home this evening. I think this makes it my first complete day off in maybe two months. I did sleep until 8am before making it to the couch to watch morning tv, and dozed again. Around mid day decided to have a shower, thinking I would luxuriate under a good hot spray without haste. Wrong! Had barely covered myself with soap (ok,a job in itself, lol) when I noticed the temp wasn't that hot. Cranked up the hot tap which would usually have the skin scalding off me and the water kept getting cooler. Turned the cold tap off completely and still the temp was dropping, so just as it was about to go hypothermically cold, I turned the tap off, sluiced remaining water draining out of the shower to rinse the last of the soap off, turned the hot by now cold water off and hurriedly got dry and into warm clothes. I wasn't sure what the cause was but thought oh well, maybe if I leave it a couple of hours, it will heat up again. Wrong, lol. Poor Jude came home from work, jumped in the shower to refresh and it was still cold. Not sure if it was on gas or what (only house sitting so have taken no notice of the finer details of the inner workings of the house) we walked around outside, finding a ?gas or water heater outside. Jude made a comment about electricity and I had one of those Eureka moments and zoomed inside to the water heater switch, and yes, (thank heavens as I was imagining dollars flying out the window) it was switched off. Jude had turned it off thinking it was a light switch early that morning. Go figure, the light switches are actually in the door frame of the front door and the hot water is just inside where you would put your hand to turn a light switch on, and in the wee hours of the morning, poor Jude had mistaken it for just that. I am happy to report, the water is now hot enough to scald the bristles of a hog again, lol.

After lunch, I decided to tackle the back lawn, as in mowing it. I had given it a trim two weeks ago without the catcher so put the mower down two notches and remowed again without the catcher. The lawn is kikuia grass so doesn't grow much, but is very springy and therefore a pain to mow. I miss good NZ grass on a lawn I have to say, though do not miss the speed that it grows, lol. When Jude arrived back from I stopped and caught up with her before she headed home and thought I would check the letter box as she left. There was a letter from the real estate agent and next Thursday I have a house inspection. There is a list as long as your arm of how they expect to find the place - right down to cupboards wiped out and cleaned, to say nothing of the stove, floors, shower etc etc. The added kicker is that the place has to be weeded outside, gardens maintained and lawns done. Mild panic attack ensued. I have done some gardening out front but the back has been neglected somewhat, grass has grown down the drive way and it is a bit of wilderness at the back of the garage. Nothing like an incentive to get things done. I ended up by spending several hours outside and have weeded the gardens down both sides of the property, one in front of the patio and have trimmed nearly 3/4 round one side of the lawn, pulling weeds out of the path as I have trimmed. Midges were starting to come out and I needed to stop to ring sister Kay in NZ for her birthday.

Last Friday spoke on Skype to the Principle of the Learning Centre (school) and my contract is to be rolled over for next term, and it is likely I can continue next year as well. The big news is that the Workmates Husband has resigned as of the end of term to take up managing the brand new Maccas that is to be built and opened in town by Dec 8. It was one of those offers too good to refuse. Ads have gone into several papers and on line to replace him so it will be interesting to see what eventuates there. The big boss is flying in on the 6th Oct for a meeting so may know more then.

It has been full on at school - should have checked if it was a full moon, lol, as we have had more than one pupil cooling their heels at home over the past week. We have had a challenging two weeks with several things impacting on our students. Two weeks ago a boy in yr 11 from Nagle (Catholic school that the workmates three eldest go to) went home from school and hung himself. As per the usual in todays world, the eldest daughter heard it by txt as she was home sick. She rang here to tell her Mum who then rang the DP at the school to check if it was true, which unfortunately it was. The lad had been to the spring dance two nights before, and had appeared happy and was also laughing and in good spirits (outwardly) on the Monday at school, but something seems to have gone wrong that afternoon so the school was in deep shock as the news started to ripple through on Tuesday. We were just mentioning it at morning meeting at our school the next day as one of our students had known the lad, when news came in that a family friend of one of our girls had gassed himself - mid thirties with small children left behind. Without knowing anyone concerned, I felt the impact myself seeing how others were affected. It gave cause to some discussion during of our morning meeting to say the least.

As all of the students at school have been at odds with mainstream schooling - for one reason or another, so we have some interesting dynamics. One of the boys told one of the girls not to touch his jumper as they were cleaning up the classroom and when she picked it up and threw it at him, he shoved her and she went for him. This all happened in front of me and as I am standing there yelling at them to leave each other alone, they moved apart, he shoved her again and she went for him again, this time with her hands around his throat. I am now watching a fight happening in front of the projector and yelling at both of them to get out when the lad moved to go outside, picking up a chair throwing it across the room in anger, nearly taking out our brand new stove, then kicked the door open before heading outside. Got them separated and calmed the girl down as the WMH took care of the lad which led to him having a few days off. The girl apologised to the rest of the group (something she had never done before) I left for work at the home, and she finished the afternoon off at a sporting activity with the rest of the kids. The following day, amongst the girls there was talk of a party they were going to have in the weekend. This resulted in a conversation in another morning meeting as they had spoken about drinking (they are underage) and had to be told, they cannot talk about stuff like that in front of us as we have to do something about that information eg tell parents etc. The short version is, two of the girl's lied point blank on the Friday to the WM and I re permission to be dropped at the one girl's home and one of them lied point blank again when challenged on the Monday morning which resulted on said girl marching out plus the WM copped a mouthful of swearing for good measure. The one girl we had dropped off at home, had gone to the party and never went home so we had her parents looking for her as she also took off on the Monday, being picked up by the Police later in the week for being in a car with a drunk driver who was unlicensed to boot. That is to say nothing of the boy who abused another boy's girlfriend on facebook and nearly got thumped before I headed that off at the pass. Forget being a youth worker (which is my job title) - I am now thinking of bedcomming referee for serious boxing/wrestling matches instead of soccer, lol.

And for light relief ..., there has been work at the home. Again, not without challenges. Two weeks ago, one of the boys decided to have a meltdown after I stopped him riding a scooter at speed where two toddlers were playing. After two warnings I went to take the scooter off him which resulted in a total explosion where he tried to punch, kick and bite me (9 yrs old). He also threw stones hitting a staff member and then threw plastic furniture about the back lawn at the glass sliding door and the staff member who went out to talk to him before he calmed down and came back inside again. It is a pattern of behaviour he has learned, to lash out when he cannot get his own way, or is thwarted in some way, so as you can imagine, we have had some interesting interactions. He has thrown furniture about inside, yells and swears, and has broken two CD players's in the last few weeks. On the plus side, he hates being ignored, which is what he gets from me when he kicks off. After making sure everyone is safe, including him, I pay lots of attention to the others and take no notice of him until he makes good choices and behaves appropriately. He has begun to manage his temper much better during the shifts I have worked with him over the past two weeks and go figure, the last three shifts, I have been his favourite person!!!! - his other modus operandi is to play staff off against each other if he can. As I do not work like that, he is having no joy there either and slowly he is working out, if he wants something, he has to come halfway to get it. The two little ones that I mentioned last time have left and we had another two littlies come and go since. The coming and going is hard on the three who remain especially the 9 yr old who has been at the home since last year. (The other two arrived just before I started work four months ago).

I was rung by the home yesterday and have been offered a permanent part time position, but it would mean doing mornings and working nights which would mean I could not manage to do the school job as well. As it is only 37hrs a fortnight, I can not manage on that so will stay a casual which gives me more flexibility and will think about amybe looking at a full time position if one comes up there instead.

Midst all of this, I am happy to inform you that I do not have bowel cancer!!! Not that it has been an issue before anyone gets concerned on my behalf. Over here there is a program of 55yrs and over being tested so a testing kit arrived in the mail some weeks ago. Will not go into the details but the samples sent away were all clear. I guess this will happen from time to time which is very proactive in my opinion.

Since I last wrote, the election has been done and after a torturous 10 days, two independent MP's and one of the Greens decided to throw their lot in with the Labour Party headed now by Julia Guillard and the new govt was sworn in yesterday. I think she has 76 to 74 MP's so cannot afford a single bi-election in the next three years as it will mean going back to the polls for another general election.

I have caught snippets of news about the earthquake in Christchurch, NZ and could not believe the damage I saw. It was great news that there was not a single death in the 7.1 quake and I have to say, Christchurch!! who would of thought. It is always Wellington or Rotorua that I thought the big one would hit as in Rotorua (where I lived for some years) there were frequent tremors. I was in Christchurch four years ago at a boarding school conference and got to see a bit of the city on the tram ride that I took and it is difficult to comprehend how much damage there has been.

It is now two days since I began this - got called back to work at the home twice extra this week and have a twelve hour shift on Sat night to Sunday morning and am off again shortly. Apart from the staff member who left yesterday, another one has pneumonia and another fell badly and hurt her leg so things are a bit stretched to say the least. Am going to post this as is and hope to surface again some time next week. :):):)

Pinch and a Punch for the 1st of the Month

(This was begun, well, on the 1st of the month, lol, but has languished in the drafts section for want of time to finish it , so will post it retrospectively).

OMG it is September, the ninth month, three and a bit months to Christmas!!!!! and the first official day of Spring. I know this because one of the comprehensions we have been doing at school used the months of the year and the seasons. Remembering that the kids we have range from 12 yrs to 16, there were some who did not know how many days each month has, nor when the seasons fell, or even the entire list of the months in the correct order. This is all stuff I knew by the time I was 7 yrs old. We had lots of information printed on the back of our exercise books, - the times tables, weights, 30 days hath September, measures eg 22 chain makes a furlong how many feet to a mile etc etc. It is scarey the deficits these kids have in general knowledge but rewarding at how much they are learning and how their world is expanding. All are aware now that a federal election has occurred, and are even asking has the government been picked yet? The answer to that one is no - Julia Guillard and the Labour party are still in office and she picked up the representative from the Greens party today, but there are three independent representatives who have yet to agree to either party. Watch this space, lol.

Have continued to be extremely busy with no complete day off, though this week I have had three half days at school with free afternoons. The first two I pretty much slept through catching up on working all weekend and have finally come up for air today. We have two new students at school - a boy who has hardly attended for the last five years but has been a reader of books at home, and a girl who has been in bother at her last school and looking for a fresh start. Both seem to be settling in well and have altered the dynamics in a positive for a way. Several boys chose to have time out for not managing to be working under the four principles of the school, being honesty, safe and legal, respect and participation, and had various amounts of time off ranging from overnight to several days. Each time time out happens, it requires a re-entry interview with parents or guardians in attendance so it was a very busy week in that respect. Our lad who holds the record for attendance is up to his 32nd day of continuous attendance which is awesome. The next closest is 28 days with one of the girls holding that position. We started reading a class novel today and it was so good to hear the lad mentioned above read out loud the first twelve pages and laugh at some of the funny bits, thereby reading for meaning and comprehending what he was reading as well. He put himself up a level in spelling some weeks ago, so his vocab has grown and the best part is, he has no shame in asking what a word means now. Shame is a very indigenous thing, close to whakama in Maori I think but conveniently used by all over here. Can't do that Miss, its shame, though said shaaaamme, lol.

It was a busy week at the residential home last week with the two mentioned last time leaving and two new little ones arriving. Our lad with the broken arm also had an operation at the hospital to remove two more teeth at the back so he was not in a good place over the weekend. After mainly dealing with boys, it was a nice change to have a little girl about the place. It took me back to when I used to look after my niece Laura, doing hair in pony tails and plaits and working out which outfit suited the day. Two of the older boys had sports days at their respective schools and both returned with ribbons that they had won in various events so there was much excitement over that.

I have had friend Jude stay again for a couple of nights. On Monday we had both worked in the morning and had both worked the weekend so after having an afternoon tea visit with the workmate and her family, we looked at each other and thought, blow it, we would have take aways for dinner. The Noodle Box was suggested - I didn't even know there was one in Geraldton, and we had a feast. Jude chose Nasi Goreng, I had garlic prawn noodles and decided we would get lemon chicken noodles as well. We both had two bowls of every thing and there was still enough for me to eat last night for dinner and it was delicious. I have a sneaking suspicion I will go back again, lol. I had tried Noodle Box food in Hamilton (NZ) and remembered it was excellent value for money then too. Am sleepy so hope to finish this tomorrow.

Work and work

It cannot possibly be 10 days already since I last wrote a post - maybe I am in a parallel universe, lol - or it could it be because I am still working both ends of most days. Have not a day off since I last wrote though have had two only half days, woohoo.

I have just got in the door - not long after midnight, the second night in a row from the residential job. Tonight I had to negotiate round unfamiliar roads back here as there was some sort of drama at the second roundabout on the way home, with water flooding the road and I was diverted. Don't you just love driving around streets you have know idea where you are. I decided to head straight down to the waterfront knowing I would connect up to the main road a little further along sooner or later - whew. Although I miss the great outdoors at Tardun, there is a certain magic driving home along the waterfront on a clear night (which is most of them, lol) with all the lights of the port and the shipping lanes, combined with the lights of Geraldton at night - the colours are amazing and it looks like fairyland. The boys at school told me last week there was to be a special moon on Friday night - it was overcast so never saw it - and driving back tonight, I wasn't sure whether I saw a huge moon with a reddish light on the horizon like an upside down sickle shape but much bigger, or, was it was something to do with a ship maybe - it looked amazing whatever it was.

Last week did not start well, I think maybe tiredness had me at low ebb and missing contact with nearest and dearest due to my crazy work schedule at the moment. It also rained, lol and it seemed that the mood infiltrated both jobs. We had a new boy start at school and two less than compliant ones return so that completely changed the dynamics of the group. We had had a great week the week before so was quite a stark contrast. Kids that have been doing ok turned somewhat feral and the rest of the staff also struggled. We have strategised and debriefed at our Friday meeting so hopefully have come up with some positive ideas to better manage new enrolees and the comings and goings of others. The good news continues re attendance with our best lad reaching his 20th day in a row tomorrow and nearly 10 "ten day in a row" movie tickets have been given out.

I worked all bar Thursday and Friday evening at the residential home last week and that has been interesting too. We had two children arrive for a respite care situation - aged 1 and 4yrs old. It was full on as that meant there was three under four in the house. The 1 year old took her first steps at the beginning of the week she arrived and was doing up to 30 steps in a row by the time she left. I got heaps of work as it was decided to increase staff to three for morning and evening shifts and they had an extra person on nights sleeping over as well. Having the two new kids altered the dynamics in the home as well so reckon I could referee for FIFA by now, lol. I spent most of my time with the two older children so concentrated on homework, stories, and kept them amused with games outside in the afternoon.

We have had a game about snakes and rabbits going for about a week now - which began when I was trying to direct the boys in play without doing too much damage to each other. The round trampoline is on the ground at the moment as the netting needed replacing so that has become a burrow that a snake lives down. One boy was the snake, and the other two were rabbits who hopped near to the snake's lair, who could possibly be caught and eaten. We started with the snake asleep, in hibernation for winter (I have played with artistic licence here as not totally sure of snake facts, lol), then it would be spring, the snake would wake up, and pretend to be asleep so the rabbits would hop nearer and onto the trampoline where the snake would feel the vibrations as they were coming, wake up and with hissing and arm up in the air to be the head and teeth, and would try to leap onto the rabbits and be venomous (the boys word, lol although it was more like vemonous heh heh).

The following day, one of the boys had to go off site so they were a snake short and you guessed it, after one of the other staff had to go do another job, yours truly did not only have to continue to direct the game,(yelling out warnings to snake and rabbits,), I had to BE the snake. I was good at hibernation - ie lying and resting on the trampoline and waiting. One of the rabbits decided to gang up on me with the other and try and get me from behind. Managed to grab one and sink my fangs (fingers) into his leg whereupon he wanted to become a snake too. I was now a snake who got bitten by the other snake and hope you will be impressed to know I died brilliantly - arms and legs in the air,hissing and writhing in death throes to great appreciation from my audience. I thanked the almighty fervently that there were no cameras about, nor any other adult witnesses.

The following day it was decided to play pirates and superheroes again using dress ups. There was only one cape so improvised with a black wrap around skirt that I found and two pillowcases tied round the necks of the two smallest boys. The playground was used to good advantage and there happened to be foam swords in the toy cupboard so there was lots of slashing and sword fighting involved which went down a treat. One of the boys has a very interesting imagination and threads all sorts of stories into his play. Q Lynn, are pirates good guys? Hmmmm, thinking the only pirate that comes to mind of late is Capn Jack aka Johnny Depp so maybe I am biased but isn't he a good guy??? So, we decided sometimes they are good and if they are on the other side, sometimes they might be bad. Note to self - need to read some pirate books pronto. The sword play gave pause to the continuous noise of gunfire that emits from these lads as they spend hours shooting each other and laying waste to the planet. What ever happened to cowboys and indians???? Today the two older boys were being firemen and I had to have my cat rescued from up a tree and then to call them as my house was on fire. It is great to see these boys use their imaginations to play outside - it certainly keeps me on my mettle coming up with new ideas to keep one step ahead.

Last night unfortunately their play came to an abrupt halt as while I was in the kitchen getting the roast pork on for dinner (I know, and I am being paid as well, lol), the boys were playing swimming in the sea and jumping off the playground equipmentinto the sand below when the 3yr old jumped after the two bigger boys and broke his arm on landing. They were being watched by another staff member who immediately gave aid and took him to hospital where by some miracle he was seen straight away. He came back later that night with his arm in plaster happy enough to have been given an ice block by the Dr for being so good when his arm was set. Meanwhile, the two others decided they did not want to come inside for dinner and were going to camp out for the night. I finished cooking the dinner, served up mine and started eating and then decided to check where they were at - they were under the net on the trampoline so fished the younger of the two out, got him inside and when he saw my dinner, he immediately wanted his and the other one followed him so all was well.

The bonus of the week was having Jude come stay a couple of nights. She has a part time job cooking for a rest home just around the corner and coming up from Dongara each day did not make sense. We passed like ships in the night for most of the week until Thursday when she finished by 7pm and I had the night off. She had 6am starts so needless to say, I never heard her go in the mornings and got her to leave the tv on at night so she did not wake up when I got home. She will be back tomorrow I think and this week so far, I do not have any work in the evenings so hope to catch up with her a bit better.

Everywhere you look at the moment, there is news of the federal elections coming up next weekend. I am unable to vote as I am not a citizen and do not really understand the convoluted politics over here. There is federal government and then state government. There seems to be news coverage of Julia Guillard doing the rounds kissing babies, cracking jokes with blokes at work, mooching about schools and not much different with Tony Abott, the main opposition. Not sure either would be my choice if I could vote. Other news of note is that it is 30 years since Azaria Chamberlain was taken by a dingo and her mother Lindy Chamberlain was jailed for her alleged murder. I missed a documentary last week where she and her family returned together for the first time collectively since then to Ayers Rock where they were camping when the baby was taken. It is a case that has always fascinated me coming after the case that divided NZ not long before with Arthur Allen Thomas being incorrectly jailed for the alleged murder of his neighbours. What a toll it has taken on Lindy Chamberlain and her family.


I did catch up with Mum briefly during the week. I snuck on to msn in the morning when I woke up to check if I had any msgs and up she popped so went to skype but was busted as I was still in my pjs while it was after midday in NZ, lol. It was good to catch up on all her news. It is well beyond the witching hour so will sign off. I am working at school in the morning and have set up an anti-hag treatment at the hairdressers in the afternoon. Am really looking forwards to that.

Two in two days, lol

I know, two posts in two days, what is the world coming to. It is Friday night and I do not have to work, though I am working Sat and Sunday at the residential home on the morning/afternoon shift. Like school, working at the home means no two days are the same. Last Wednesday I got called in to work at the home so went straight from school - the last time I will go unprepared anywhere lol...

While one of the boys had a supervised visit in town with family, the other two wanted to go to the beach for a walk. No problem I thought. The boys initially wanted to run along the top of the large bank above the beach so ok, even though I was in jeans and knee high boots it looked fairly ok. Of course, it was not long before the boys wanted to go down on the beach - still ok as I was happy to sit and watch, until the water beckoned. So now I am up a large bank, they are on the beach lobbing sand in the water, then wanting to drag driftwood into the tide, which by my calculations was coming in. Boys being boys, they chose to ignore requests, demands and subtle threats to come back up the bank, until I noticed someone trying to take off with one of their scooters which they had dropped at the beginning of the walk along the bank. They then shot up the beach and I retraced my steps which was fortunate as when I had stumbled over a bush on the way in, the work phone must have fallen out of my bra where I thought I had stashed it! There it was, slightly sandy but lying in the vegetation - phew, grabbed that and caught up with the other staff member who was by now waiting at the beginning of the walk. The older boy decided to give the other staff member (who had turned up in time to rescue the scooter from the family who were trying to nick it), a mouthful of language and stormed off up the path beside a river/estuary that runs into the tide, with the younger boy following him.

Great. Deciding not to follow them along the path in case they would run further away, I took off up the beach, soft sand, puff, pant, lol until I could come up behind them which I did just as the older boy was walking into the estuary with the younger one behind him. There was nothing for it but to go in after them, so there I am, literally boots in all, in swampy water, fishing out smallest child before walking him briskly back to the other waiting staff member. I had to spend the rest of the shift with damp jeans rolled up, in damp socks, while my boots started to dry out. The older boy followed us back to the house thankfully, so it was showers all round once we got them inside.

On Monday when I got to work at the home, the boys had decided they wanted to go for a walk to the beach again (had worn sneakers this time to be prepared) and then to a park. We had the three boys this time and another staff member with me, so off we set up the beach alongside the estuary which eventually became a walking track which led to St Georges beach and a playground - a good 2k walk which took us an hour. The two renegades from the last outing almost ran the whole way, needless to say, I came up the rear with the other boy who dawdled by comparison. Again, another excellent council park with playground, toilets, seats, and a gas barbecue right on the water front. To the left of the beach is Geraldton and north of the beach is the coastline that heads up to Horrocks Beach and Kalbarri. We did not even attempt to walk back but called back to the house and another staff member came and picked us up in the van, as by now we had three very tired boys.

Meanwhile back at school, we have started a project on pollution and recycling. On Tuesday morning after spelling it was decided to research four areas around town to see what rubbish was lying about and what if anything could have been recycled. We went to St Georges beach again so after not knowing that beach even existed, I have now been there twice in the one week. We also went to a council car park opposite Woolworths that backs onto a reserve, some vacant land and the council skate board park. The kids were disgusted with the amount of rubbish we found and could not get over some of the things they found dumped such as fast food wrappings, empty alcohol bottles and cans, cigarette butts, a used condom, plastic etc etc etc. We got back to do a quick debrief before they headed off to a local gym to do boxercise and I headed off to the home for another shift.

Wednesday I got to school to find we were off to Ellendale pool for a barbecue lunch as soon as we had got spelling out of the way. Ellendale is about 3/4hr south east of town. We drove out into the countryside and again through wheat and canola and shrubs just starting to come into flower along the roadsides. Ellendale pool apparently has never dried up, and is fed by a river when it runs and from springs. It is not so much a round pool as more of a very slow moving stream/river surrounded by vegetation on both sides, bull rushes and gum trees amongst other scrub type bushes. It is the first time I have been aware of birds being about, there were bird calls continuously the whole time we were there. I saw a white heron type bird fly off as we drove in and there were ducks on the water - I imagine in another month or two, there would be ducklings as well. The area at the pool is open to campers and there were several tents, camper vans and caravans from people who were camping. There are toilets and gas barbecue there, though we took our own barbecue out with us on the back of the ute. The kids had taken out some footballs so while some of them threw them about, a couple braved the very cold water and jumped in for a swim before eating lunch. We may get out again before the flies start being a major pest so will keep fingers crossed as I did not have my camera with me that day.

Yesterday we had another outing at school - this time we went to the TAFFE careers expo which was a little underwhelming this time. Last time I went, we had a very thorough tour around the campus and got to speak to people in each area. This time we had a lightening tour through four areas and then it was up to folk to go and look at what they might want to themselves. The mining industry was well represented and did an excellent pitch through a video session that we were taken to. Everyone got a sausage in bread for lunch and they had the brother and sister illusionists who were finalists in "Australia you've got Talent" do a show after lunch. I got back to school in time to turn around to pick up my new glasses and go to the Dr's apt for my F endorsement before yet another shift at the home - an extra one as we have two new kiddies in for a week on a respite care set up. And then the flat battery jinx struck AGAIN.

Jumped in my car to head off and nothing - I think I must have knocked the lights on when I got out of the car!!!. NOT a happy camper at all but no time to dwell so raced and got the ute keys,went and picked up my glasses from the optometrists,then to the Drs, so far still on time. Met with the nurse first who did an eye test - (have perfect vision with my glasses on), took my height, weight and my blood pressure. I think it was 112 over 72 which she said was excellent - good oh, round one done. I then met the Dr who turned up wearing jeans, sneakers and a shirt with his sleeves rolled up. What happened to Drs looking like Drs,lol!!! First impressions are that he is ok - he has a sense of humour at least. He did a range of neurological tests, reflexes, peripheral vision, heart and lungs and ticked all the boxes so all good for my licence. He made a comment that I did not see a Dr often and I said I hadn't had a GP for over 20 yrs but along with the licence I thought it was time to do a medical warrant of fitness given my age and stage. He has given me a form to get a fasting blood test which I am to do when I have the time and then make another apt. I told him about my arm which has been painful at times and then he asked what had I diagnosed - I told him tendonitis and he said it was exactly that. Woohoo, all that "Shortland Street" and "All Saints" medical training has paid off lol. (hospital soapies for those not familiar with either of those TV programs). It would seem it does not mend in a hurry, not what I wanted to hear - so have to be careful when using it and I need to get an arm bandage if I am going to do physical work. I went to pay and was told it was $118!!!!! She said something about a cost for the licence but he had made it into a consultation because I had talked about a few other things. Just as well I didn't have my blood pressure taken at that point. I get around $60 back on medicare apparently but was still in shock. I asked how much is it to see a Dr normally and the receptionist said $65 - another gasp. I am surprised they are in business. I think there maybe a medicare component to that as well so have no idea how you would manage if you had a chronic situation. I think the last time I went to Dr in NZ I paid something like $25.00. Note to self - keep well.

I was already meant to be at work by the time I finished with the Dr but also needed to return the ute as the WM needed it later. Neither of them were at home so made a lightening dash to Auto 1, bought a set of jumper leads and headed back to school to get my car going. Good oh, the bonnet lifter switch thing in the ute was broken and obviously not working but there was a wire coming out from behind it. Great, now needed to pull with both hands, (sore arm) and was terrified in case I pulled the whole thing out. Needn't have worried but it did take some force to get the bonnet to pop. Of course the battery was not on the right side for ease of connecting it to mine, so had to manoeuvre about the car park to park at right angles to my car, lift my bonnet up, connect jumper leads to the ute, connect leads to mine, start the ute, out of gear with handbrake on, leap into my car start my car and hey presto it worked. Then had to take the leads of my car, off the ute, move the ute as Nagle boarding school bus was trying to get into where the ute was, re park the ute, then zoom down the road to the WM to drop off the keys before heading to work. Luckily she was home by then, the WMH was in a meeting in town hence having to do all this on my own. For all that, I was only an hour later than I thought I would be getting to the home. At least I now have jumper leads, so I will laugh in the teeth of any future flat batteries (as long as there is someone else around with a car that goes, lol). I probably will not get another flat battery now for years but can live with that kind of Murphy's Law.

Today was another good day - Friday school only goes till 11.30am so after our morning meeting and weekly spelling test, the kids wanted to go sandboarding again so off we went out to the sand dunes. I was wearing my new glasses so getting used to the new graduated lenses so chose not to hurtle down the one in one gradient cliffs of sand but was happy to sit and watch the rest having various successes at getting up and down the dunes. I had worn sandshoes again today, even so it was quite a hall walking sideways up HUGE dunes of sand to get where the kids were. The coastline looked magnificent from where I sat and it was great soaking up the warmth of the sun as we are now in the mid 20's for temp. Am down to two layers of clothing lol.

It almost seems sinful to be paid for having so much fun at work, at either job. We threw out a challenge two weeks ago at school and said we would give out movie tickets for anyone who made it to school 10 days in a row and this morning we gave out four. If they miss a day other than being legitimately sick, their score goes back to zero. We have another four who will get their tickets on Monday and by the following Monday all going well some will be receiving their second ticket. Call it incentive or bribery, lol, the pay off has been an amazing change to how much they have achieved because of the continuous attendance. People who get two or three right on a Monday for spelling are now getting 8 -10 right on a Friday. Two boys have asked to go onto harder words and the participation and the confidence they have gained has been awesome to see unfold. We have taken on two new students this last week and likely to have two more new ones next week so the official role is up to 21 I think. We have gone from having five or six a day turn up to I think it was fourteen today and we have not had under 10 all week. This may not sound like much, but these are kids who have been completely disengaged from the school system from a term to a year in some cases.

Will have two very busy days over the weekend at the home but have Jude coming to stay on Sunday night so will look fwds to that.