Ship Ahoy! (with pictures)

Am having a slow couple of days after three night shifts which always upsets my equilibrium, even though I make an attempt to get a good amount of sleep most afternoons - overcast weather and rain have not encouraged me to do much either.  This would make up for the whirl last week was.  I had afternoon shifts at the beginning of the week and then on Thursday, friend Jude and I were at the wharf opposite the Geraldton museum in part of the marina, to await one of the tenders that was delivering two family friends from NZ  off a cruise ship parked further out.  It was one of the Princess Line ships and after wet and windy weather, Thursday arrived like a summers day, with warm temps and blue sky all day.

Cruise ship taken from the memorial.
As we walked along the boardwalk to the wharf, there were people drifting in twos and threes past us who had already disembarked.  There were 1600 people on board the ship and the first to arrive had met with tour buses to maximise their 8 hours in Geraldton.  Nina and Violet duly arrived after a bit of a wait and after introductions all round we were off to see the HMAS Sydney Memorial on the hill above Geraldton as per our visitors request.  While we were waiting at the wharf, Jude had struck up conversations with several folk from the local tourist board who were there to meet folk off the ship with handouts of maps and other info about Geraldton and getting people sorted for their tours. 


Seagulls in the dome with the anchor and eternal lights.

We arrived at the memorial  in time to attach ourselves to a group with a local guide who took us round the memorial telling the story of the worst naval disaster in Australia's history with 645 lives lost when the Sydney was sunk by a German warship during WWII.  I knew a bit of the history from several visits during my time here, but learnt a few new things as we walked around.  I knew the memorial dome with 645 seagulls cut out represented the 645 souls of the men who died.  I did not know that each seagull touched another seagull to represent that no man died alone.  The memorial was a Rotary project and is full of symbolism.  The eternal lights are part of  an anchor shape which drops down from the middle of the dome.  The bollard on the path up to the memorial is one from the wharf where the HMAS Sydney would have tied up in Geraldton on its four trips to the town back in the day.  The actual HMAS Sydney was discovered just over two years ago and there are photos of the dives and remains of the ship in the local museum.  For all the families who lost loved ones, this has given a level of closure to know that the ship's final resting place was found and there have been ceremonies at the site with wreaths being tossed into the water to commerate the loss of life at the anniversary of the sinking of the ship after it was found.   The hill where the memorial stands overlooks all of Geraldton and surrounds so we got a panoramic view of town and the coastline stretching north and south.  Since the last time I visited, Rotary are completing the final phase of the monument which will involve a memorial water feature to go with the dome, the stele in shape of the bow of the ship and the sculpture of the woman, waiting for her loved one to come home.  The symbolism even includes the plants along the path to the memorial with rosemary for rememberence and yellow lantana with green leaves for Australia's national colours. 

We decided then to do a quick trip up to my place (cleaned again with an inch of its life, lol) so that Nina could report back to various family members that she had seen it.  Both she and Violet were very impressed with not only the size of the place but of course the view.  They could see the memorial where we had been, the cruise ship and then the Cathedral which was our next port of call at their request.

The Cathedral of St Francis Xavier is the Roman Catholic Cathedreal in Geraldton and not only is it a significant landmark, but is part of the legacy of Monsignor Hawes, who built it and numerous other churches and priest homes in the region.  John Hawes was born in London in 1876 to a devout Anglican family.  He trained as an architect and became a deacon in the Anglican church before converting to Catholicism and becoming a priest.  The Bishop of Geraldton met with Hawes in Rome and invited him to build the Cathedral in Geraldton, Hawes arriving in 1915.   The Cathedral was begun in 1916, opened for worship three years later and finally completed with its dome in place in 1938.    Hawes influence in architecture were the churches of  Rome at the time,  so the Cathedral and subsequent buildings that he designed are very mediteranean in style.

 
Inside Cathedral with orange arches

Once again, we were met by a guide as we arrived at the Cathedral and we sat down in a pew while  given a potted history of Hawes and the Church.  I have been to the Cathderal several times for various services and it was great to hear the background of the place.  There are several large pillars down the side of the Cathedral inside,  made of marble and on the back of each pillar is the name of various sheep/cattle stations that were owned by Catholic families who donated funds to build the Cathedral.  At the time it was built, wool was selling for a pound (money) a pound (weight) and donations were substantial.  There is a statue of St Peter along the right hand side wall inside the main door which was a replica of the statue in the Vatican in Rome.  The most unusual feature of the Cathedral is the paintwork.  Above each archway (and there are numerous) the stones featured inside the arch are painted alternatively white and orange giving the nickname the bumblebee church.  As the guide said, originally the colour would have been terracotta but in an update in the days before test pots and the likes of Bunnings in town, paint was ordered and was more orange than expected.  The highlight for me was the crypt, located to the right of the main alter and underneath the Cathedral, where the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows is situated, which is reminescent of the catacombs of Rome (Poem in Stone, pamphlet about the Cathedral).  Housed downstairs in the crypt are relics of the Cathedral displayed in alcoves behind glass such as original communion vessels, Bishop's regalia, and accoutrements, statues, linen, and in one instance a scale sized diorama of Jesus in the tomb at Gesthemone. 

Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel in the crypt.


Unfortunately for Monsignor Hawes, the Bishop who bought him to Australia died and the next Bishop did not share the same vision and in fact did not like Hawes at all, sending him out to Mullewa to work, where he built the Lady of Mount Carmel Church and priest's house, and closer to home (for me), St Mary's Convent and the Christian Brothers Agricultural School at Tardun, where I first began my time in WA,  so for me there has been an affinity for his work from the start.  There are many who say that the Lady of Mount Carmel Church was his finest work and closest to his heart from when he lived and worked there.  There are 15 other buildings he undertook to design and build which are now part of the Monsignor Hawes heritage trail from Carnamah to Carnarvon and out to Yalgoo.    Hawes left for the Bahamas in 1939 and lived as  Franciscan hermit on Cat Island until he died in 1956.

By now we were all feeling a mite peckish, so decided to head to town for lunch.  As we looked for somewhere to eat in the main street and along the waterfront, I realised that Geraldton has not been hit with the whole cafe society lifestyle and that most of the eateries here are licensed premises with the exception of maybe two or three small eateries.  All appeared full as we drove and walked about the place so we decided to head to the Camel Bar, a favourite from Tardun days and we were not disappointed.  It seemed that there were only locals there for lunch and there were plenty of spare tables.  Jude and I both had calamari salad that was fresh and the calamari melted in your mouth coated lightly in a tempura batter.  Nina and Violet had bruchetta as they were due to have dinner back on board with all the trimmings.  We had enough time to head to the post office for stamps, the chemist for some vitamin D tablets for Violet and the Vistors Bureau for some local postcards before we dropped Nina and Violet back to the wharf to catch their ride back to the ship.  As it happened, one of the ladies at the tourist bureau was one who Jude had met that morning and before we left, they had arranged that the woman would drop some plants of for Jude at my place the next morning at 8.15am!!  I have now have wild flower - everlasting daisies - growing in my garden amongst the other recent plantings of lavender.

I have to say it felt like I had been on a bit of an adventure after all our touristing and Jude and I decided, that as it was so easy, we would plan to see further places near and around Geraldton on our days off that co-incide.  There had been three options for tours when the ship came in that Nina and Violet did not do, - all places Jude and I both wanted to see so on Sunday as we had the time, we decided to head out to see one of them.  As it happened, Janet had come round for a coffee so she came with us to, to go visit Oakabella Homestead, said to be WA's most haunted location.  However, more about that in my next posting as I will try to do photos in that too.

On the Thursday evening after our day out, I had been invited to dinner where my favourite little lad from work was visiting for a sleepover with another ex resident now in foster care.  It was a delightful evening with lots of laughs.  My little lad asked if I would put him to bed like I had done at work which was one of those awwwww moments.  We had this routine where I would say "night, night, sleep tight, sweet dreams and happy thoughts" and he would say it along with me.  It became a bit of a mantra when he felt scared sometimes and couldn't sleep and I had to teach him what a happy thought was.  He came up and gave me a big hug before hopping into his sleeping bag (the boys were camping on the floor on mattresses in the lounge) and whispered the words as I said them which bought tears to my friend's eyes.  When my friend came round for coffee the next morning he came too and went from room to room in awe around the house.  He wanted to play with the pup tent I used to take to work, so we set it up in one of my spare bedrooms, and found a sleeping bag and pillow for him so he could play camping. 

I have continued in the garden, hacking away at plants that have spread too far, pulling old dead vines of wire trellis, nearly having a heart attack when two different locusts flew out of the leaves - loud squeals each time as I was taken by surprise especially as the first one was a brown locust looking similar to a weta (NZ insect) that I am terrified of.  I came across some other insect yesterday that actually went to stand on its hind legs as I approached - some sort of beetle I think.  I had a similar one in the house recently and was told it was harmless ........  I was thinking maybe I should carry a can of fly spray with me while outside as protection, lol. I have planted spinach, capscicums, runner beans and herbs in the past week and they are all growing, yay. Have added mulch to the sandy soil and with all the rain we are having it seems to be doing the trick in helping the seedlings take off.

Will now sort photos for next post about Oakabella Homestead. :):)

All in all, its just another Brick in the wall ....... 225 more sleeps :)

Ok, so never say never!  I swore after seeing Bob Dylan at Vectra Stadium in Auckland that I would never go there to see another show, ever.  I thought it a loathsome venue and bemoaned the greenies or whoever else had worked to ban concerts from the outdoors Western Springs Stadium which in my opinion,  is the icon venue for a serious rock concert in Auckland.  There is something not right about being seated when you need to rock the night away, lol.  The issue with the Bob Dylan concert was that although he remained brilliant, when you are seated the next city away up in the gods, it was a) difficult to pick him out on stage, and b) I go back to being seated - ick.  Since that concert, other family members have seen Steely Dan, (great comments about that concert and I believe a return match for their next tour) and the Wiggles (yup, we start em young in our family, lol) - again with good comments.  So, it is with trepidation that I am bypassing, Perth and Sydney,  to go home in Jan/Feb to see Roger Waters doing "The Wall" Live.  The reason I changed my mind about the venue is because I will not be going on my own (with a cast of thousands, lol) but will be going with No 1 and 2 sons,  No 2 daughter in law, brother, brother in law and nephew,  which will be a total buzz.  My boys and I saw David Gilmore (Pink Floyd, for those playing at home) in the "Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour",   at Western Springs in 1988 and Roger Waters (also from Pink Floyd) on his "Shine on You Crazy Diamond Tour",  with various family members at a stadium on the North Shore in Januaray 07, so this will be the hat trick.  Nothing like a Pink Floyd moment to galvanise the family into action which started with a phone call from No 2 daughter in law last Thursday and after four hours on phones, skype and email, tickets were booked, woohoo.

The bonus from all this is that I will be in NZ for my birthday, No 2 son's birthday, and No 2 grandson's 3rd birthday which will be the first one I will have been able to attend of his.  During the phone around the other day, I spoke to said grandson who can say, hello Nana, Australia, lol and then there was something about a tray as he went to the kitchen.   Oh, that I have lived long enough for No 2 son to have a son, (I think I have mentioned this before).  Apparently in  time out moments when sent to his room, No 2 grandson has pulled over a set of drawers onto himself,  removed a lightbulb from his lamp and put his finger in the socket getting a shock, and got stuck under his bed instead of being in it asleep like his mother thought he was!   I recall a particular episode with No 2 son in bed with a soldering iron fixing a turntable (as you do).  I was in the next room making my bed when there was a bang and a blue flash of light as he touched the wrong thing with the soldering iron and blew fuses - mine included, lol.  Words were said, say no more.  I also spoke to No 1 son and grandson.  No1 grandson was taking photos with the digital camera I gave him, of his teddy and other toys as he was wanting to draw a cartoon of some super hero, and I think he was using the photos for inspiration.  We had a great catch up.  He is in the choir at school so we were both singing over the phone one of the songs he is doing, then a song from his Kapa Haka group.  He tells me he is in a talent quest at school with some of his mates also.  He is still swimming, (Karori has a warm swimming pool in the complex there) and doing well in that so all is good in his world. 

It is truely winter.  We are down to temperatures of single digits.  I wore 5 layers to work the other morning and am sitting here at the moment with 4 layers, ug boots on plus the heater going at warp speed.  I had a ring from friend Donna this morning who reminded me I was on afternoon shift today.  Bugger, somewhere from yesterday to this morning it was firmly fixed in my mind I was doing night shift.  I was midst playing bejewelled or some other such game on the laptop and instead of hours lying out before me, I had just 1 1/2 hrs to go to work.  Was just about to leap into shower when got multi texts from the Gerard to see if I could go round to theirs and get some paper work for a colleague to pick up.  No worries.  A lightening shower and 3 layers later (the sun was out and it was almost warm) I shot round to theirs (the family is in Perth for the weekend) and tried to find the paperwork.  It was not on the kitchen bench so ph calls ensued.  After detailing every piece of paperwork on bench, on table, it was finally decided it might be on bedroom table and bingo.  Leaving paperwork in power box (it was with a great deal of nervousness I did that in case somehow it caught fire) I shot back home again only to get in the door prior to heading off to work,  when the phone rang to ask if I would mind changing to night shift as someone else was sick.  Go, the universe!!!  how good was that, lol. 

As it was beautifully warm outside (by now), I decided to give the gardens a water.  The plants transferred two weekends ago are starting to thrive  so am spending some time in nurturing them.  Have put extra mulch type materials around them as the dirt here is mostly sand if that makes sense.  Even though we had enough rain to launch the ark last week, the ground is already dry again.  I have more stuff to plant and hopefully will get it done this weekend if it stays warm and fine.

The ex workmate's family have gone to Perth to watch the Eagles (WA team) play Geelong (Victoria) who the family back.  Geelong lost their first game in six weeks last week and lost again tonight by the narrowest of margins (8 pts).  This is huge as last year the Eagles were bottom of the ladder or thereabouts, and young Hayden barely coped with his team losing last weekend.  To go all the way to Perth to watch the game to see their team defeated will be killing them.  Jude and I watched it from the warmth and comfort of our lounge and sent appropriate txts after the game.  I said ouch, and Jude being a staunch WA Eagles backer sent - go the Eagles, lol.  The game is a complete upset and will send shockwaves through the AFL world so will be interesting to read the weekend papers.

Work continues to be a rollercoaster.  We peaked with 14 kids in house during the week and have dropped by three since then.  The washing machine and dryer are going not quite 24 hours a day but not far behind as there is no one above 6 yrs at the moment and 3 babies.  I signed my full time contract on Thursday so that is a great relief.  I was in at the office and two different people told me I should go into there to work, one being the head honcho which took me by surprise.  I declined saying I was more than happy where I was and felt I could make more of a difference there than from being a social worker in town.  I am not sure that that was the response either expected.

Sunday
224 sleeps left to go :)

Was in the midst of waxing lyrical when I glanced at the time on my computer and realised I had 8 mins to get to work on time, oops and a thank goodness I could just pick up bag and run.  Left in ug boots grabbing shoes on the way out and made it four mins late thanks to travelling behind a  ute that was also speeding  in front of me, all the way to work.  As it was 23.37 when I noticed the time I did not have too much worry about being nabbed by the cops but did keep a weather eye out just in case.

Speaking of weather, have woken up at the crack of  8. 48 to drizzle after an almost magnificent day yesterday.  So much so, I forewent the heater mid-morning and went outside to hack about in the garden  again, trimming back a succulent that has triffid forebears.  I recall hacking it back three months ago and it grew back with a vengence and covers way too much of where I want to plant vegetables.  It is always with caution I garden,  just in case there may be a poisonous insect or two lurking about but so far so good.  There was one spider web without spider higher up that look fairly innocuous and I knocked it away with a stick anyway so that spider is now homeless.  Awhile ago now, in preparation for planting, I bought this instant garden coir mulch slab thingie.  It is maybe 1.5 metre in length and a foot in width (notice how I move from metric to imperial measure with ease, lol) in width, with cup sized holes placed strategically in a plastic wrap.  The idea is, that you water the coir mulch through the holes, then put your plants in the moistened mulch, water again and hey presto, instant garden that comes with its own nutrients.  I will give it a go, as it cannot be worse than trying to grow vegetables in the mainly sand soil that I have to contend with.  Am building up other gardens with blocks of similar mulch material so that the new plants I have put in have a better chance of surviving next summer. 

Forgot to mention earlier that I was watching Master Chef on tv last Thursday, and got there after the show started to see the were doing a NZ segment.  They had the NZ master chef judge over showing how to cook a venison dish, then they did a segment with two winners of a previous challenge on safari in Wellington in trying out different restaurants in Cuba Street (where niece of http://HungryandFrozen  blog fame lives ).  They went for Floraditas and then to Mothers Kitchen (have been there and had kumara chips with bluevein cheese dressing, to die for), then a stint at the Royal Yacht club from memory.  Had a little oooooooh moment when I saw it all.  Hello Wellington :).
Last night on an impulse moment I went to the movies.  Friend Donna had her new foster lad doing a sleepover at a friends so rang to see if I wanted to go grab something to eat and go see "Bridesmaids".  As my diary had a blank space, heh, heh, I said yes.  We tried a local Thai restaurant just opposite the picture theatre and chose several entrees all served at once which was quick and light.  I had seen interviews on "Ellen", "The View", "Letterman" and "Sunrise" over the past weeks with various actresses  as part of the hype around the release of the movie and I am pleased to report, the movie is everything that has been said about it and did not disappoint.  It was a laugh from start to finish and is possibly going to become the new must see in chick films, though the men (on tv) who have seen it also said they found it  very funny too.  Will not give too much away but the title says it all and it is the bridezilla of bridesmaids stories, mixed in with the lifelong friendship between bride and matron of honour.  Go see it.  Unfortunately Donna did not switch of her cell ph and not long after the movie began, just as she was going to turn it off, it rang in her hand.  Said child was not settling.  She moved out of the theatre, gave some instructions and returned but less than 20 mins later she got another call and had to go pick him up.  I was able to remain to watch the movie as after picking up the child she returned just as movie ended and dropped me off back home.  These things are sent to try us :).

Have just had a call from Jude and it is raining in Dongara as well so looks like a day of chilling back, catching up on some correspondence, maybe I will break out and do some baking, or sort some photos, or ......... too many choices, lol.  It is the final of Dancing with the Stars tonight so will be glued to the telly to watch that.  It has been an interesting season with a new judge and lots of controversial comments so anything could happen tonight.  My nose is streaming and have an irritating cough so am going to dose up on cold and flu meds to ward off the dreaded lurgy.  Lots of staff have colds at work which has not impressed me in the slightest as I will not be well pleased if I succumb from catching their bugs.  At least with the rain, the temperature has risen so may get away with 4 instead of 5 layers today :):).

From my lips to Gods ears!

Or beware what you wish for..... I drove home last night having a chuckle to myself after a crazy week at work.  A fortnight ago when we had no kids and were knee deep in cleaning, several of us bemoaned the fact.  I did mention that we should wait till the next full moon, and bingo, no sooner said than we had two on our doorstep.  Then the two left and nine arrived, (mentioned in last posting ).  I got to work yesterday to find four of the nine were moving on but before they left at 4.30pm we had two new little folk delivered. Talk about a one armed paper hanger, it was so crazy for one hour with so many comings and goings (staff changeover and after school) one lot were forgotten in the school pick up run (until phone call from school, -ooops, red faces).  It was like army manouvers for the rest of the shift.  Children delivered to new carer (the four), baths and showers run for seven, and dinner on the table with everyone in their pyjamas just before 6pm, and everyone in bed and mostly asleep by 7.30pm.  My boarding school experience has not gone amiss, lol.  I have cooked dinner the last two nights, good old cottage pie (mince with potatoe topping and lamb stew last night with mashed potatoe and pumpkin, carrots, onions and peas in the stew mix.  I made a baked lemon pudding the night before but last night settled for ice cream cones (mostly one scoop) dipped in sprinkles and chocolate hail which was a little easier to manage. 

Have had fun with my car over the past few weeks.  As I went to leave work after several night shifts in a row, I noticed oil on the grill of my car and my heart just sunk completely as I  mentally ticked off  blown head gasket, maybe worse. With a deal of trepidation, I lifted the bonnet and was utterly gobsmacked to see the oil cap off the motor,  wedged in on the top of the radiator. Also when I went to check the oil level, there was no dip stick!!!!  What was worse, I had driven around for over a week  since the last visit to the service station!!!!.  I drove very slowly about 2 k up the road to the servo where I  had got petrol and oil the week before and went to have a chat about getting more oil etc receiving  a wonderful response from the owner.  The woman apologised profusely and said I had to leave the car their to have the motor steam cleaned, new oil top up and get a new dip stick.  As I was heading home from work, she offered me her car to drive home and then her mechanic would deliver mine once work was completed and conversely, pick hers up.  She said in all the years she had worked in the service station she had never lent her car to anyone but I looked like a trustworthy person.  I guess there are some compensations for reaching nana looks, lol.  Anyhoo, that is what happened and at no extra cost to myself.  By working back to my last visit, I remembered two people had been involved checking my oil and putting petrol in so somehow in that mix, the oil cap did not get put back on properly and heavens only knows what happened to the dip stick.

But wait, there is more.  I zoomed over to work Wednesday early as we had a staff meeting before I started work proper.  I parked the car and it wasn't until nearly 6 hours later when I went to get something out of the car, I realised I had knocked the lights on, and therefore had flattened the battery.  Fortunately I had my trusty jumper leads in the car and got jump started from co-workers car  at the end of shift.  Now, you would think a 15 minute drive home would be enough to charge the battery, but when I went to go to work yesterday afternoon, the car made a feeble sound as it tried to turn over and no zoom zoom that I wanted to hear.  Fortunately (again), this time Jude had just driven in from work so managed to get a jump start from her.  This was however, after I had tried reversing down the one in one gradient that is my drive to jump start from in gear, except I misjudged where I was on the driveway and ended up too close to a wall to straigten up and with the rear wheel stopped by a couple of rocks on the side of the drive way.  I had started off by leaving 5 mins early for work and ended up by being 10 mins late.  I am happy to report that driving to work during the day, with no need for heater or air con, and no lights, this time the battery was charged once I reached work.

I have had two phone calls now from my special little lad who has moved on to other carers.  I had rung the carer during the day to arrange a suitable time after playing phone tag a couple of times.  He was very impressed with my tale of breaking down in friends care and being towed.  He seems to have settled in ok and I hope to have a quick visit one afternoon next week.  The carer got on the ph after the lad and I had spoken and said when she told him I was ringing that evening, he said "I know, I had a dream last night that Lynn was ringing today".  One of those awwww moments.  The second one was when there was a silence as we were saying goodbye and then he said, I am sending you a cuddle.  Awww again, lol. 

Due to extra children with a baby in the hospital now under our care, I got asked to come in for an extra shift tonight (11.45pm - 8am).  I had just caught up with Jude as she got in the door from work when the phone rang from the ex workmates to say youngest son Hayden was getting confirmed at the Cathedral at 6pm and would Jude and I like to go.  Help, there was my sleep time going out the window.  I managed a doze between 2.30pm - 5pm and am still awake 12 hours later.  It felt like a Tardun moment being in church on a Friday night and then back to the ex workmates for something to eat afterwards.  In one of those, you are now in another generation moments, Jude and I both commented on what the young girls wore for their confirmation as they were mostly in black and clothes that  wouldn't have gone amiss in a nightclub if only they were 10 years older. Only one girl was in white dress - a far cry when at a similar age (12 yrs old) you absolutely wore a white dress for confirmation and if I remember correctly, a blue type of veil over our hair.  Hayden was very pleased we were there and Jude and I both got big hugs.  After a snack type repast and a coffee we departed between two torrential downpours.  We have had several more and had to drive to work in one.  There was so much water on the road, I nearly aquaplaned coming along the water front.  All I can say to that is rock on wild flower season.