Meeting important people

I've had the opportunity to meet a couple of our State politicans since I've been a chaplain.

Firstly, our state premier, Colin Barnett, over 18months ago at my first school.  He is very supportive of the role chaplains play within the school community, and spoke at the 40th anniversary of chaplaincy and CRE in schools within WA, last year.

Then a couple of weeks ago the Minister for Police and Road Safety, Liza Harvey.

I don't envy any politicians, the pressure on their time and the tight-rope they must walk as there is always somebody that isn't happy about any decision that is made.

To ride - camels or elephants

Just over a year ago, January 2012, we were travelling and enjoying places like Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Petra in Jordan and Israel, plus other coutnries mentioned in an earlier post.

I got to experience camel rides in Cyprus, Sinia Peninsula along side the Red Sea and Cairo, at the Great Pyramids.

I got to experience an elephant ride at Mysore Palace in India in July 2012.  (Sorry about the quality of the photo, it was taken on a friends mobile phone, as cameras were not allowed in at Mysore Palace).  It's me in the pink, an Vinolia Lincoln next to me, the pastor's wife that Justine and I stayed with while Jim was away preaching in different places. 

My impressions?  I'd have a camel ride any day, a more elegant gait then the elephant, and to think elephant rides were the ride of the "kings" - sultanas in India's history.

I count it a privilege to do the travelling I have done with my wonderful husband, and to see the amazing places and people, God in His master plan, created.

Raggedy and Friends mini quilt

A couple of years ago I really liked Kaaren’s Raggedy and Friends quilt she had as a free BOM. Visit her blog and look down the right hand side to see the patterns are still available.


I stitched the embroideries and about that time we had a small group swap in our local patchwork group. I put my stitcheries into the bag and asked if they would add pieced blocks and fabric around the stitcheries. When we swapped the bag each month we met at a local café and usually my daughter was with me. As a result she got to know the ladies and therefore the story of the quilt of how it was added and sewn too. She really liked the quilt, so I decided I would give it to her.

However, as is often the case with a UFO, it sat in the cupboard until December last year when I got it out to sandwich it and quilt, yes that’s all that needed doing!!! I gave it to her for her birthday which is two days after Christmas. It is now proudly hanging on her wall.

Raggedy Ann means something to my daughther.  When we went to pick her up in the Philippines the gifts we took her not only included a soft toy kangaroo, but pencils, paper and a Raggedy Ann colouring-in book and other itens. She remembers that very distinctly that colouring-in book and the pictures in the book.

It is interesting to read up the story behind Ann and Andy.

 

Months have turn into over a year!!!

A number of blogs I keep up with have had "time off" for a while.  Life's happenings happen...and before you know it, time has flown.

Since I last posted we had two months away travelling across the world - USA, London, Paris, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Petra and the Philippines.  Christmas 2011 was spent in the US and we celebrated our daughter's 13th birthday at Disney World, Florida. 

July 2012 spent two weeks in India.  While my husband was preaching and teaching at Pastors and Deacons meetings and in villages, my daughter and I experienced true village life in Kotagiri.  Walked the streets with hundreds of people, animals and vehicles!!!  Spent time in the home of many and prayed with and for many, including police on duty at a tourist destination.

October 2012 my husband and son went to Fiji for two weeks. Us "girls" stayed home this time.  Upshot of the Fiji trip is that our son has met a lovely Christian girl, and they have kept in contact since.

January 2013 already had three weeks in Mwanza, Tanzania. Again ministry amongst the pastors, deacons, leaders and their wives, plus children's ministry.  All very rewarding and a great blessing. We also had two days in the Serengeti National Park, experiencing all the wonderful native African animals up close.  Including many lions and cubs, elephants walking around the vehicle, giraffes, buffalo, leopard and her cub in a tree and much more.

In amongst it all, I worked full-time as a chaplain in three schools. Then the normal home duties and local church ministry.  I didn't get a lot of crafting done, which I really felt, as it is definitely my way of relaxing and having quiet time to think, plan and be in a state of contentment.

So this year? I have finished working as chaplain in the first school I started at, which will save me a lot of travel time. I'll be working three days a week in my own town instead.  Hopefully from this I can get some crafting time again.  I need to get back into my "Dear Jane" quilt and a few other things like that.

Feeding lambs

I was asked about our lambs, so I've posted a couple of photo's.

I think we need to change the song "Mary had a little lamb....." to "Justine had a little lamb...." and "Everywhere that Justine went...the lamb was sure to go"!!!

Another lamb was rejected overnight, so we're now bottle feeding a second lamb.

Even a "lamb kiss"!!!

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.

Cyclones....!!!!!

The cyclone that travelled down the coast of Western Australia, stayed out to sea and slowed down, it then hit the colder waters which downgraded it as it crossed over land, into a rain depression. Which we're all thankful for.

However, Queensland is really struggling. Not only with flooding since December, with nearly 2/3 of the state under water, about 3 times the size of Texas, which did go into New South Wales, then Victoria. Then they were hit with two cyclones. With the worst one last night, a category 5 cyclone, Yasi.

It's ladies like Jenny of ELEFANTZ I'm concerned for.

With all the flooding both in north WA, in the eastern states and the cyclones, the food bowl of Australia is severely descimated.