Waratah Day

The much awaited day arrived and over fifty people found their way to the Gembrook Retreat to spend some time there and enjoy its beauty. Steve gave us a demonstration on how to prune, so when selecting any flour we wished, we were also enhancing future growth. There were loads to pick from.

As well as waratahs we also selected from the wide range of Proteas growing there. Both types of "related" plant relished the semidry areas they were planted in, and most of them had already grown high over our heads. We were small people in a large garden of surprises.

Barb showing off her selection. This will have to be a regular event.

School Bus Story

When Barb was five, the family were living by a salt water inlet. Her dad maintained and hired out fishing boats. Barb’s mum had just given birth to her fourth child and was more or less housebound. This meant that from the very start of school, a year some call “prep”, Barb had to catch the school bus to get to the town’s school.

Brave little Barb would be dropped off at the highway bus stop to wait there with the bigger children till the bus arrived. When the bus did arrive, a few bigger boys would grab her school bag and keep it off her. This happened numerous times. They would hurl Barb’s little school bag into the long grass behind the bus stop. As all the other children clambered aboard the bus, Barb was scrummaging about in the grass, which was as tall as she was, looking for her bag. Somehow she always managed to make it back before the bus departed. This was a painful ritual she quietly endured at the hands of the bigger boys who thought it was such fun. This was something that Barb never talked about till much later.

Barb’s 51st

Last year the “big” party was in Devonport, Tasmania. This year it was at our favourite coffee stop at University Hill, nearby to where we live. We had the pleasure of sharing it with the Funks. It was really neat that they came back in time for Barb’s birthday and were living with us for the weekend. The place was perfect for our needs because it was casual and open, allowing Piper and Jasper to venture off at times to play nearby.

The Funks are Back

Last Friday Bec, Gord, Piper and Jasper touched down and we and our son Dan were there to meet them. Their ten month stint in Canada was concluded with four days in New Zealand, getting their body clocks back on track, and their safe arrival in Melbourne. When Bec came into our house she felt as if she had not been away because nothing had changed. That’s a worry! She promptly got to tiding up a few things, and now the place is changed. The pictures show how a walk to a nearby park went. We brought a ball and it was a nice relaxing time, but one glance at the grass and the dusty hard packed earth reminded us just how dry this Spring has been up to now. This is indeed a concern for what Summer might be like. 

We really enjoyed having them stay for the weekend before they left to live in Gembrook.

The Fiery Furnace.

We had a bonfire at a recent men’s Bible study. The reasons were very practical in that one of our group had to do a massive clean up of his back yard. Council and fire brigade permissions were obtained and the night arrived. There were passing rain showers so hose and bucket precautions were not necessary. The heat from the hot coals was so intense that we had to stand at least three metres from it and turn from it occasionally even though the wind was chilly. Our Bible reading that night was Daniel chapter three, a story about a fiery furnace prepared for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the most high God. They had refused to worship the image of gold that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up and were thrown into this furnace. There was a fourth person in the furnace protecting them from being burned. 

The names of the three characters are difficult to remember and Peter recalls their names by saying: my-shack, your-shack, and a bungalow. :)

Big Crazy Man

Our youngest son Dan likes to draw his pseudo-character whenever he doodles. On one occasion when their happened to be a cutting blade around, he attacked our empty packet of Planet Organic Chi Spice tea. It is a very enjoyable drink which we opt for if we have not had the time to brew up our own chi tea with all the various ingredients we like to use. 

So this is a blog from many perspectives. Dan has a pseudo-character “Big Crazy Man”, which he answers to, especially in the electronic media. He managed to patiently cut the image out of the cardboard as we chatted. And we discovered it would glow if our lamp was above it. It is a strange logo in the sense that that is not the Dan we know. He doesn’t seem crazy at all.

A Seuss Tree

There are trees in Australia that remind Peter of the trees in some Dr Seuss books. This one grows in the Stables Shopping Centre car park, Mill Park. These eucalypts shed their bark totally, revealing a smooth under-skin. They have bumps and ripples. They are nice to touch and feel. 

Peter can remember quite a few Dr Seuss books in his life, but would like to highlight the first one he was ever exposed to. It was about an elephant that was willing to sit on a nest with egg in it. He agreed to do this for a lazy bird who wanted to fly south on vacation. He sat on this nest through terrible weather and peer ridicule to be rewarded for his perseverance with the hatching of a baby elephant bird! The tree, suitably propped to take the weight of the elephant, had the look of the tree at Stables.

Two Fiftieths

Just recently, a good friend Janet and another good friend Shane had their fiftieth birthdays around about the same time. This is the time in our lives when many of our friends are turning fifty. This means that there will be many of these parties from now on. Janet’s was an evening and Shane’s an afternoon. We enjoyed the fellowship and love shared at both parties. What was definitely the same were the good food and the liberal use of helium balloons, complete with dangling ribbons. These balloons proved too tempting for children and at both places, towards the end, the young ones were leaping up to pull them down. Soon a number of them had great numbers in tow. The adults did not mind. It was all part of the fun. 

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Shane’s cake was decorated very artistically in an Australian Navy look. Peter enjoyed seeing the navy symbolism again after nearly twenty-five years being away from it. He has many good memories of his nine years in navy reserve. 

Black Opal

This has not been discussed before. Peter purchased this black opal from a gem shop in Yungaburra to give to Barb at the time if his graduation in April this year. Peter was only able to do what he did on the strength of Barb’s support, both emotionally and financially. It would have been impossible otherwise and life would have been very different. The opal was not good enough to go on display with the expensive opals because of the clouded upper surface. So in a sense the stone was an orphan. Yet from deep within the stone is a red flashing heart that flickers in the light. This is Barb. This is many people who have discovered their redemption in Christ and have the light of God within them for all time. 

Pa

Peter’s Dad, who ended up being called Pa, is nearly eighty. He is not so well. His bones seem to be more and more brittle and he has to be careful, avoiding twisting to get out of bed. Pa bravely puts on a good face as much as he can and tries to be careful. It is hard to change from old habits of jumping up to help in a task. His mind wants action and participation, but his body is going through a slow cancerous degeneration and is about to fall apart. Even in his old age Pa is teaching his sons, and this time it is about how to manage the last years of life. May God be merciful and take away the pain Dad has to bear.