Sunday afternoon musings

Well hello everyone! Hope you have all had a great week. Spent a lot of time this week trying to sort out our photos and films from our trip. We ended up with over 600. There was 127 films of varying lengths. Unfortunately we didn't realise until nearly the end of the trip that when we thought we were filming it was actually on pause and when we thought it was on pause it was actually filming. So about 100 of them were of the ground, peoples legs and bus seats. So the delete button got a good workout. I have focussed mostly on getting the Laos photos and films done so that they can be given to friends and family of the Spragues. Working with a new camera and new computer has proved challenging.
Patrick had a good game of basketball on Wednesday, he does look like a duck out of water at times but he is still improving greatly each week. He will make a great defender when he gets a bit more confidence. His height is a great advantage. I'm sure his fitness will improve to. His coach is pretty good and can see when he needs a rest whilst at the same time giving him as much game time as possible. Shooting is his major problem and we will have to get in some practice.
Nicholas (or Nicho as he has decided he likes to be called) had a much improved game of cricket today at Bass (about 20 minutes from home). He took 3 wickets (2 bowled and 1 caught behind). When he went in to bat he was a great support to the batsman who was already at the crease and stayed in for quite a long time and added 3 runs to the score (2nd highest for his team). The hour and a half that he and Dave spent in the nets on Saturday afternoon paid off. His coach was very impressed especially with his bowling, he said Nick was spinning it about 50 cm off the pitch. Needless to say he was very excited. Unfortunately he broke his bat in the process which we only bought this week so we will have to take it back this week and see if anything can be done.
Dave started work at the College this week 6 hours a week cleaning plus mowing. It will take a while to work out what needs to be done when and with what chemicals. But it brings in some money so that is good.
I have 2 half days at school this week and I will probably spend Wednesday there as well. Patrick is having some issues with the home ec and arts teacher who comes on Wednesday so I'm going to go and see what he is up to. As Vicki and some of the other CCC teachers would know Patrick has at times to made things a little difficult for teachers in subjects he doesn't particularly like. Unfortunately due to the size of the school there is very little practical work in any subjects. He was very spoilt at CCC. He loves his main teacher Mr Provan. They get on really well. Patrick is well behaved, works hard, is respectful and supportive when others misbehave but on Wednesdays turns into something totally different (apparently). So I will spend the day as a helper and help guide him in his behaviour. Nicholas is in the same class for part of the day so this may also be affecting Patrick.
Patrick's rabbits Ginger and Jet have very quickly become much loved. They are very soft and cuddly.
We have decided to change from margarine to butter. We got an email that said that margarine was originally designed to fatten turkeys. After eating it the turkeys died. Apparently it has no nutritional value and is only one molecule away from plastic. While we are at it we have decided to remove preservative 282, mostly in bread products, from our diets as well.
Well I hope you all have a wonderful week. May God Bless you all greatly.

Four Things Meme (still don't know what Meme stands for)

Carolanne nominated me to do this Four Things Meme so here it is:

Four Jobs I’ve Held (hard to choose only 4):
1. Milk order packer (in a coldroom)
2. Primary teacher at a state school in Cloncurry, north west Queensland.
3. Owned and ran our own retail and wholesale fruit shop with my husband David.
4. Mushroom picker and packer.

Four Films I Could Watch Over and Over: (and have)
1. Pretty Woman
2. Dirty Dancing
3. Back to the Future I, II and III
4. Grease


TV Shows I Watch:
1. City Homicide
2. House
3. CSI/NCIS/Numbers
4. According to Jim

Four Places I’ve Lived:
1. Gympie (south east Queensland)
2. Cloncurry (north west Queensland)
3. Toowoomba (south east Queensland)
4. Phillip Island (southern Victoria)

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Most desserts
3. Home made lasagna
4. Mangoes

Four Websites I Visit Daily (I'm not really a daily sort of person more like a couple of times a week):
1. My blog
2. Carolannes Blog
3. Outlook Express for emails
4. Nine msn (because it is currently my homepage and opens automatically)

Four Favorite Colors:
1. Blue
2. Purple
3. Most pastel colours
4. Pink is growing on me

Four Places I Would Love to be Right Now:
1. On a holiday
2. Having morning tea somewhere chatting with a friend
3. Travelling Australia
4. Visiting friends in Gympie

Four Names You Love, But Could/Would Not Use for Your Children:
1. Aidan
2. There are lots of girls names I love but I had sons so I couldn't use them (Patrick was going to be Jessica Lauren and Nicholas was Emma Louise)
3. Benjamin (Patrick does have Benjamin as a middle name instead of a first name as a friend named Ben committed suicide while I was pregnant with him)
4. I like older names like Victoria and Elizabeth

Hope I did this right. Don't know anyone to nominate to do this as well.

GMC MotoGP Motorcycle Race

Well the big race has been and gone. I didn't realise it was so short only 27 laps and about 45 minutes and it is all over. But an Aussie won. This was our first GP on the island. Everyone kept telling us how busy it would be and that we should avoid town and driving. For those of you in Qld it was sort of like Noosa on a sunny weekend. But for people down here who are used to the quiet sleepy hollow that is Phillip Island there were a lot of people around. I have never seen so much leather. We weren't really affected by the GP. We walked into town yesterday afternoon and went to the supermarket. Apparently it had been busier earlier but we were asleep (still haven't quite got over the jet lag).
We went to Berwick (about 1 hour away) this morning for Nicholas to play cricket (they normally play on Friday night but after we signed up they said the first few games are on Sunday mornings until daylight saving comes in). There was a continuous line of traffic coming towards the island until about Grantville. It thinned out a bit after that as it is then double lanes. But we were heading in the opposite direction and were the only ones on the road. I said to Dave that it was like the world was ending and everyone was heading to the jump off point and we were going in the other direction. Dave said that we were on the narrow path and they were on the wide and easy road. Which makes you sit back and take stock. The numbers were probably pretty accurate. Are we doing enough to spread Gods word so that all those people on the wide road have an opportunity to join the narrow path? Unfortunately (personally) I don't think we are.
Nicholas' first game of cricket was not a raving success. He was out first ball for a duck. He'd never worn a helmet before and it wasn't tied properly (due to the quick demise of the batsman before him) and he couldn't see where the ball was. The whole team only made 35 (the other team made over 100 last week) and there were several ducks. Nick had a good time and is eager to play next week so that is good.
On the way home we bought Patrick his birthday present (only about 14 days late). He got 2 bunny rabbits. He has named them Ginger and Jet (they are ginger and black). When I work out how to get the photos off the new camera (that we bought in Singapore) I'll put some photos on.
Watched the GP on TV and saw Casey Stoner win. The bikes were a bit noisy all coming back into town after the end of the race but it only lasted about an hour and now you wouldn't even know they were here.
Have a great week!!

Home Safe

Well we arrived home yesterday morning to find all 4 cats alive, healthy and very glad to see us. We had breakfast and Dave and I went to bed and slept for 5 hours. We had tea last night with the Caseys (best meal we've had in weeks). Nicholas fell asleep in the lounge about 7:30pm and the rest of us went to bed at 9:30. Nick was up early but the rest of us slept until around 1pm. The last 3 days of our trip were probably the worst as far as normal sleeping patterns are concerned. We left the hotel in Bangkok at 4am to be at the airport by 5am to catch a 7am flight to Singapore. The security at Bangkok and Singapore airport was a lot more than the other times we had been there. We lost an hour between Bangkok and Singapore. In Singapore there was the usual armed airport police but also Special Military police with machine guns (fingers on the trigger) wondering around. We spent the day in the airports (there are 4 terminals) before leaving at 8:20pm. Arrived in Darwin at 2:30am. Lost another 2 hours between Singapore and Darwin. Took a couple of hours to get through customs and the taxi queue. Slept till 2:30pm. Spent the afternoon in the pool. Stayed up until we left for airport at 12 midnight. Flew out at 1:15am. Arrived at Melbourne at 6am. Lost another 1/2 between Darwin and Melbourne. Arrived home around 9:30am had breakfast and slept.
Boys will probably go to school tomorrow. Motorcycle GP on Phillip Island this weekend. Should be an experience.

Last hours on foreign soil

Well here we are at Singapore airport less than an hour away from takeoff. By early morning we will be in Darwin and back on Australian soil. By Tuesday lunchtime we will be home at Phillip Island. I can't believe we have been away for 3 and 1/2 weeks they seem to have flown and yet it seems like forever since we were in Darwin starting our holiday. We have been in 6 different countries. We've technically been to Singapore 3 times, China and Hong Kong about 8 times, Bangkok and Udon Thani in Thailand twice each.
Highlight of the trip was probably Laos. We've discovered that most of our enjoyment comes down to the people we meet. Don't think we will do China, Hong Kong, Macau again but will probably do Thailand and Laos if we have the opportunity. Well thats all for now. See you soon.

Bangkok

Bangkok is another big city. Have to watch and negotiate all prices they are always inflated for westerners. Masses of traffic and the smell is horrendous. It is also filthy. We went for a train ride yesterday which was quite good. Had a great time at the night markets last night. The boys got some brand name shirts (billabong etc) (probably fake) for $5 - $7 each so they were happy. Hoping to go to the river, shrine and major park today. Off to Singapore and Darwin tomorrow and home on Tuesday.

Laos

Had a great visit with the Spragues. They have after much searching been able to find a house to rent which will make life a lot easier and cheaper. Their maid has worked for an English speaking family before and Rosanna and her are slowly starting to understand each other. She is able to buy food at normal prices instead of inflated prices that they usually give to westerners. Most of their grocery shopping etc is done in Udon Thani in Northern Thailand. The children all seem to be adapting quite well. They have quite a large home with plenty of room inside and good air conditioners. There is also a side yard for the kids to play in. They are in need of a car. Laurie rides a push bike to work which is fine but Rosanna and the children have to take tuk tuks where ever they go. This is expensive and can be quite harrowing (holding onto the 2 younger ones and getting the pram in and negotiating a price and hoping they understand where you want to go). If they can sell their car which they have left with their Mum in Australia they will be able to afford one but haven't been able to find a buyer.
There is also need for a teacher (preferably high school) to organise and develop the education program for about 40 home schooled western kids. It costs between $1800 & $8000 per child to send them to school and most families do not have that. Anyone interested let me know. Rosanna said that even if they could get one for 6 months to set it all up that would be a big help. (If you've got a family she even has a house picked out for you across the street from them). They really appreciated all the messages from home and seeing familiar faces. Lauries Mum arrives next week for a few weeks so that will be good.
Laos itself - quite hot, humid and dirty. People very friendly and reasonable amount of people have basic English. Riding in tuk tuks was definitely an experience. There does not seem to be any real road rules. Push bikes, motor bikes, tuk tuks, cars and trucks all sharing the same streets riding in which ever direction they like and can find a path through. Next to no one wears helmets. We saw a motorbike accident where one lady was killed and the other seriously injured (neither wearing helmets) Coral and Frank saw one 2). Plenty of places to eat at good prices. $4 for steak, chips, salad, bread.