CAMBODIAN BABY JUMPERS

The future has many names: For the weak, it means the unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity.

 Victor Hugo

I am trying to be courageous about the future. My future is changing. I am hoping that for me it offers opportunity.

I work as a teacher in a very small school of 15 students. They are aged 15-18 and have major behavioral problems. They have been unable to finish their education in a mainstream school. Things are changing. A different organization is taking over my school, the name is changing and we 3 staff members are having our positions advertised. Well the jobs have now been advertised and it is time to apply. The powers in charge have said they hoped we would apply for the positions.

I will have my current job until the end of 2012.

It was a bit of a shock. I have had my current position for over 14 years and had thought it was mine as long as I wanted it.

If worst comes to worst I won't starve, there are a number of options I can follow - craft, tutoring. Or I can apply for another type of job completely. (I am limited by a bad back.) In some ways it is very exciting.

Our School Knitting Circle

Talk about excitement - we are knitting at school. A lovely volunteer has been teaching the students to knit (with a little of our help) and we are knitting jumpers for Cambodian babies with a AIDs.

We have a colorful   assortment of wool. The variegated colors are particularly pretty.

There is a specific pattern that has to be followed.

Below is one example knitted by Kerry, our volunteer.

Below  are a couple of jumpers started by students.

This is the jumper that I am working on.

It is really quite enjoyable sitting around knitting with the kids. Some of the tough boys are especially amusing. We have suggested they start having knitting parties instead of drinking parties in the evenings, but they were not impressed, even though we pointed out it would be much better for their livers and their brain cells.

A lot of our students are heavy drinkers, and drink quite heavily every night. They often come to school hung over. Of course it is illegal here to buy alcohol if you are under 18, but many of the parents supply it or is is bought by older siblings or friends.

No matter how much we try to point out the dangers - year after year to different kids - they won't be told. They either don't believe us or think that any problems are too far in the future to bother about.

We had a girl turn 16 one year and her grandmother bought her a case of beer and two bottles of Jim Beam for her birthday. With such family influences teenage drinking is very hard to combat.

Anyway, the people who are taking the jumpers to Cambodia are going in October, so I wonder how many we will have finished by then. One good thing is that the babies won't notice the mistakes.

 Interesting Sites

1.

Photo source

A new study pinpoints Monsanto gm crops as a reason for the decline of the Monarch butterfly in the USA. Click here to read more.

2.

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  Air pollution could be making us fat. Just my luck! Click here to read more

3.

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Click here  to read about this beautiful floating house in Sweden.

WINGS OVER THE ILLAWARRA

 Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds
Albert Einstein

P:-) and I enjoyed the weekend. On Sunday we attended the Wings Over The Illawarra air show at Albion Park Aerodrome. We hadn't planned to go until Saturday when we heard about it, but it was definitely worth it.

Albion Park Aerodrome

The photo below shows the Roulettes, an acrobatic flying team, flying overhead, and below, a large green plane with folding wings from an aircraft carrier.

Below are the Roulettes. The Roulettes are the Royal Australian Air Force's elite formation aerobatic display team that showcase Air Force flying skills to the Australian public. Team members are flying instructors at the Air Force's Central Flying School.

People queuing to look inside an Airforce Helicopter

 

I think the clear nose in the bomber below is interesting. Apparently it is where the machine gunner sits.

Bomber

I took about 85 photos at the air show.  Culling them is an interesting exercise. Firstly the blurry shots go. Then I  choose the best out of repetitive shots and delete the rest. Lastly I choose those that I think are most representative of the feeling of the day.

The photos I have chosen don't really give an indication of the crowds of people who attended, nor perhaps the overall size of the show, but I think they give a fair representation of the day.

I was taken back to a time, many years ago when I could not have been much older than 5 when my family drove up to watch an air show at RAAF Base Richmond, on the Western outskirts of Sydney. I couldn't help but think how much my father who died 48 years ago as a young man of 41, would have enjoyed an airshow so close to home.

Interesting sites
1.

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 A new study reveals that any amount of red meat is bad for your health. Click here to read more.

2.

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Click here to see some really interesting and varied examples of street art.

3.

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  Click here to read about William's floating teepee.

SUNSET AND CHICKEN LOAF

  . . words are the passkeys to our souls. Without them, we can’t really share the enormity of our lives.

 Diane Ackerman

The school holidays are well and truly over and I am back on the merry-go-round of life again. I grab minutes here and there to try and get things done.

I cooked a chicken loaf on Tuesday night which was quite tasty.

 It was low fat and low calorie. I seldom use chicken mince and was quite pleased with the result.

One of the tools I have in my kitchen which I really like is my mazzaluna which means 'half moon'.

It is great for cutting herbs finely and was very handy when making the chicken loaf which contained half a cup of finely chopped parsley.

My daughter R and I continue to walk most afternoons. Last night we returned just on sunset as the sky was putting on a pretty pink show.

 

 

It is Friday at last and I am looking forward to the weekend. Things slow down a bit.


 Interesting sites

1.

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 The before and after shots of this tiny apartment are unbelievable, but I don't know where they put all the stuff. Click here to read more

2.

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  These tents in the trees are great. Click here to read more.

3.

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 Click here to read about Paul's tiny house in the woods.

WORONORA DAM

 Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.
Unknown

On the blog  Meant to Be Happy  Ken Wert writes about 6 Obsessions That Will Make You A Better Person.The 6 areas that he looks at are:

• family
• values
• health
• learning
• making a difference
• balance.

He states that these are the things we should be obsessed with. I agree that these are things that are necessary to make life fulfilling.

•  In my own life my beliefs and values underpin everything else. My Christian beliefs make me who and what I am.
•  P:-) and my family are most important to me. They are the reasons I do most things, including looking after myself. I need to be strong and independent for my family.
• I look after my health reasonably well. I don't do enough exercise (although I always plan to) and I do have the occasional binge (especially on chocolate Flakes that I have around the place for Manna House. )
• Learning is really important to me. It is part of living and growing. I am always reading and investigating things, especially to do with food and self help.
•  I like to think I am making a difference in my work that I do with young people with behavior problems and in my work for Manna House. 
• And finally, I think I have a pretty balanced life. I would like to spend my time bring a bit more creative - I love craft - but there just isn't enough time.

One of the things I have learned over time is that you cannot be happy just hoping all those who you love will be happy and getting your happiness from them. You have to work to your full potential to make yourself a complete person.

Vintage flowers

The last week has been very busy. I haven't managed to do a a post for a week.


The minister from church gave me a lovely reference. I was very pleased with it.


On Saturday we went to Woronora Dam for a picnic for P:-)'s eldest son's birthday.  It was a lovely day and we walked down to the dam.

Spillage from dam

Dam Wall

Dam Wall

View across dam

I am hoping to be better organized this week. I was up early this morning and that made all the difference. Mornings aren't usually my best time, but for some reason I felt good this morning and have been up since 5, doing dishes and writing this.





Interesting sites

1.

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 I would love to live in this house. Click here to read more about it.


2.

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  Click here to see some fascinating bikes that turn into strollers.

3.

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  Click here to read about this beautiful old Bedford truck.

CAR MUSEUM

You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.  

Shrii Shrii Anandamurt

On Sunday P:-) and I visited the Australian Motorlife Museum at Kembla Grange. It was quite a large area of  vintage cars, motorbikes, bicycles and caravans. 

Museum

Vintage car

I was fascinated by the caravans.

Caravans

This was a Propert folding caravan and was especially interesting.

Propert folding caravan

The interior was quite spacious.

Interior of folding caravan

If you look at the side of the caravan you can see where it folds.

Side of folding  caravan

This cute little Fiat has 3 wheels. it reminded me of one my next-door neighbor had many years ago.

3 wheeled Fiat

This is the oldest registered bus in Australia.

Australia's oldest registered bus.

Many of the cars had solid rubber tires

Solid rubber tire.

We came across this museum in a book about the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven.  There is very little advertising about it any where.

Yesterday was the first day back at school after the holidays. It was fairly quiet. We had a few more kids in today.


 Interesting sites

1.

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 Click here to read about Simon Dale's hobbit house.

2.

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Google dives underwater to map the Great Barrier Reef. Click here to read about it. 

3.

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  Click here to see some wonderful tree stump carvings. 

MY COOL CARAVAN

 

The pleasure of doing a thing in the same way at the same time every day, and savoring it, should be noted.

Arnold Bennett

I am a creature of habit. I like the days to pass smoothly. I  like to know what I am doing and when I am doing things. I have had to change some of my habits now P:-) has retired.  During the week I used to see P:-) in the afternoons and the evenings were my own. Now P:-) comes over for dinner and we spend the evenings together. I am still getting used to our new schedule, but I know that soon the days' activities will fall into place, and the days will seem natural and normal again. I think rhythms and patterns are important to humans. Daily patterns. Weekly patterns. All part of what makes us work as a community. We synchronize our patterns with those in our families; with those with whom we work; with society at large. 

Vintage image of lady in an apron

The weather has been wet for the past few days. P:-) and I had planned a few days away to Davis Town in our caravan but it has been far too wet for that. We haven't done anything special but I have had lovely days relaxing and doing those chores which get put off during the school term - a bit of tidying; some bill paying; some correspondence; and some filing.

View from my computer room in the rain

My back deck in the rain

I was pleased to book P:-) and I some seats to go and see Flight of the Concords when they come to the Entertainment Center in Wollongong on 11th July. We also bought some tickets for M and B (Peter's daughter and husband) for their birthdays which are in July. They are quite excited.

P:-) has been spending much of his time working on our caravan. It has needed a new skylight which he is in the process of installing.

Caravan skylight in progress

You can see from the photo above where the roof has been leaking. Much of this has been done before we bought our caravan - it was very cheap. P:-) is a perfectionist and the skylight will look great when it is finished. I really want to paint the marked ceiling with some green vines, but P:-) is not very enthusiastic.

I have a book entitled My Cool Caravan by Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddon.

My Cool Caravan

The book is full of ideas for the inside and outside of vintage caravans. I'm not sure if ours is quite vintage - 1981 - but I love a lot of the ways they pretty up the interiors of caravans.

My Cool Caravan pages

I don't think P:-) is quite as 'cool' as I am - a little more conservative. I haven't quite convinced him of some of my ideas yet - but I am working on it! Really - I don't mind. We have so many practical things to get done on our caravan and P:-) does such a great job, I can't complain.

P:-) has been busy installing an extra light ion our caravan.

 

P:-) has moved the silver light from the center and put a brighter two directional light in the middle of the ceiling.  It is still a work in progress.

I have one luxurious day of holidays before the weekend and then back to school on Monday. I wonder if things will be different.

On the very last day of the end of term we learned that because of the changes at my school, our jobs were to be re-advertised. I'm not quite sure of all the ramifications yet, but the 3 of us who teach at the little school will be vying with each other for a position which I can't see as being very healthy.

All my qualifications look good on paper - but I'm sure my age will be against me. I guess it depends on how many bright, young go-getters  apply. But in the end it is in God's hands.

 Interesting sites

1.

Photo source

Click here to see more of these beautiful paper sculptures.

2.

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Click here to see some Pooktre or live tree sculpture.