It's been a while!!

Time, that is "days and months" have disappeared rather rapidly. Even my daughter is worried at the pace of time.

Family changes have been happening this year - Our son has moved out into his own unit. This was a big thing and hard for me as his time with us seemed so short, considering his first 6 years were in an orphanage. During the past school holidays hubby and son were driving together, to go walking on Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges, and had a car accident on the way. The car was a write-off, but they walked away no injuries, but a big lesson for our son, yes, he was driving, still on his "L's".


For us the ornamtental cherry blossom is once again covering the trees; the ewes are having lambs; and we're bottle feeding one lamb, rejected by it's mother; we're starting to get warmer days, which I love as you feel the warmth right into your bones.



My crafting days have been limited with my part-time chaplaincy work. So I've not been as productive as I once was. However, I participated in a CQ Asian Challenge on the yahoo gruop CQ4Newbies. I was excited to tie for first place with this block.







Gerry on "Block Talk" has done a very helpful critique on my block, and so I will be working on it to make some changes.

I can't guarantee when I'll post again. But I can tell you we will be away on holidays at the end of the year, visiting Bali, Paris, America, London, Malta, Cyprus, Egpyt, Israel and the Philippines. This trip is to take our daughter back to her birth country for a visit.

Months disappeared...Where? and What?

I’ve wanted to post, for some weeks, but other things kept happening!!! Then a dear friend posted a comment, hoping I was okay, so I knew I just had to sit down and get it done!!

So where do I start?
My new job – as a school chaplain, started off and went very well. By the end of the term I knew over half the students by name and started to place sibling groups together. Coming into my office for “teddy hugs” has been a huge hit.

I also made some cushions for the office, using a very colourful cardigan someone had knitted, which I bought at a second-hand shop. It wasn’t complete – just the back and two front side panels, which had been joined, but no sleeves or anything else. I unpicked it, and made cushions with them. The photo’s show the outcome.

Just before I started the job I managed to get some DJ blocks made for someone I’ve been swapping with for a while. I made great progress then they came to a halt.

I made progress in getting 3 mug pouches sewn up for my giveaway, commenced the embroidery work after completing the colouring-in on the stitcheries, then they came to a halt.

Everything changed as my hours and days changed with working and affected my creative/sewing times. Plus I was feeling quite tied.

On top of all that, my sister-in-law was getting married and asked my daughter to be a flower-girl, along with her cousins. So making a flower-girls dress became priority one, in what little time I had. I really enjoyed making this dress, it's been a few years since I last did some dress making, which was also for a wedding. Back in my teens I used to make most of my clothes.

From this:-

To this:-

Along came Christmas, with family coming here. When we have Christmas here in our home, it’s become our tradition to make a ginger-bread house. So this is our 2010 Gingerbread house!!

Our son now has his "L" driver’s license . . . some of you know me as calm, quiet and easy-going. Well, we may have to now add, “she’ll go grey very quickly!!!”

Then yesterday morning…….my daughter had gone into the kitchen, when she called out “Mum!” I said “What?” (Hubby and I were lying in bed relaxing and talking.)

“Mum, there’s a snake in the kitchen!!” (Action…..fast jumping out of bed, unbelief that it could be so….)

There it was right in front of the kitchen stove. Hubby raced out for a shovel, while we kept watch, as it turned and slithered back across in from of the cupboards and sink.

My husband has said “it ‘naturally’ died of ‘natural’ causes!!!” It was a 3ft “tiger snake”. Some interesting stats: one person a year dies from snake bite in Australia. 60% of people die from a “tiger snake” bite.

We can only guess it came through the front door, when the flywire door wasn’t properly closed. Don’t try and think about it being in the house for the day and night, without us knowing!!!

So I’m happy to say we are all safe and well and I’m hoping for some creative times in coming weeks. I’m suffering badly from “withdrawal symptoms”!!

School Chaplain

In the 52MMMC, mentioned here and here, I had down as item no 7:- Get a part-time job – after being out of the work-force for 7 years.

I applied for a position as a School Chaplain, in a District High School, in a nearby town. I went through the stages of the Vocational Assessment, the interview process which involved two stages. The second stage held yesterday, with a panel of four at the actual school. In the afternoon I had a phone call, offering me the position as the school chaplain.

Yes, I was successful and thank the Lord for it all. It was a situation that arose completely “out of the blue.” Honestly, not a position I’d ever thought of doing, let alone applying for. So through the whole process I was praying about it and leaving it in the Lord’s hands, as to what He’d have me do. If it’s what He wanted then it would happen. I commence in term 4 - October.

What does a school chaplain do?

Chaplains provide general personal pastoral care and spiritual advice, comfort and support to all students and staff, regardless of their religious denomination, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

However, I’ve yet to learn and walk the path of this position to see and understand fully what it will involve.

I’m a little nervous as it’s something very new. But again with the Lord’s guidance and help, I know things will unfold and I’ll find my place and abilities within this position.

Edit Note: I did this post about an hour ago....walked away and did a few things. Then had an "ah huh" moment!! I know what else I can use some of the denim for!!! I need to buy a good diary now - a day a page with time break-up's in it - so I can make a diary cover for it!!! Like Jenny did to her "brown expenses" book!!