Keeping in Touch with Teaching

Although I retired from teaching after 33 years, I still get offered short contracts at my old school. I rather enjoy these short times back in the workforce to keep me on my toes and the old grey matter ticking over, not to mention the extra money to go towards our travel fund. A few weeks ago I was asked to replace the teacher helping kids with difficulties, while she was away. It was interesting to see the changes since my last visit in April.

The hit up wall has gone from this concrete pad as it might fall down and squash someone, but the netball, basketball and tennis court is still there. The grounds are still looking nice.

This playground is still here.

Wow, and new play equipment and artificial grass has been installed between the buildings.

A brand new hall and offices are being constructed.

Many schools got new buildings this year as part of the government's plan to give the economy a boost and provide jobs. It seems to have worked as we are on the way out of the slump and we never fell into recession as deep as other countries, thank goodness.

On the last day at school I had finished all my jobs half an hour before the bell. I went into a Year 2 class to see if they needed any help. I helped them make a Chinese lantern. When the children had finished they could choose a free choice activity for the last few minutes of the day.

I was fascinated with this group of girls using the new interactive white boards. We never had them when I was teaching full time.
The teachers had to do an inservice course to learn how to operate them. The kids were having fun with an educational game.

This group opted to model with play dough or construct with Lego.

Some used the computers.

Sadly no one chose to read. However, many of them are still learning English.

BIRTHDAY BEAR GOES WHALE WATCHING

(If you are unfamiliar with our Birthday Bear tradition read about it HERE.)

Yesterday it was Ann's birthday and Helen and Paul's turn to dress Birthday Bear. Ann and George have been recently on a holiday on the Gold Coast. They were in a high rise apartment and could watch the whales from their balcony, migrating north to the warmer water for the breeding season.

So Birthday Bear came to the birthday lunch in her seaside gear and binoculars for whale watching. She had her mobile phone, camera and a curled up sun hat just like Ann's. The whales were frolicking in the sea too.
Ann was happy to see her bear. She said how much fun it is when you know its your turn for Birthday Bear and you are wondering how it will be dressed.
The birthday lunch was at the Gem Hotel at Jacob's Well. We all had a big roast lunch except Bill who had a delicious Barramundi grilled fish with lemon sauce.

On the way home we called into the Prawn Farm for some ultra fresh prawns.

They are grown nearby on the Logan River (This is a photo of a photo)

Birthday Bear checked out what was for sale in the little kiosk. Besides prawns there were..

..pumpkins and...

Kitch figurines made out of beer cans. The sales assistant asked us if we had a sense of humour and proceded to lift up the figurine's shirt to show us it was in fact a male (if you are easily offended please don't scroll any further and hopefully no children are looking over your shoulder.)

Birthday Bear! What are you looking at?

IT'S RAINING or is it?

I welcome the sight of rain clouds gathering overhead, hoping, hoping that they will drop plenty of well needed rain on our parched garden and brown grass. We have had a few showers over the last few days but not the amount needed to soak into the ground.

Hopefully this time it will last longer.

Yes! Here it is, I hope it stays and doesn't blow over.

The leaves and trees love it.

I love it!

My neighbour loves it!

Look! Real raindrops, as precious as diamonds.

Alas! I no sooner came inside and it stopped.

The clouds disappeared and back to our beautiful blue sky. (It is very unusual for us to see plane vapour trails in Brisbane as the air is usually too warm. Maybe because it had just rained is the reason this one occurred but if you look closely it has stopped and the plane is heading for the corner of the photo without its trail.)

The birds are all excited now that they can find water easily. They are singing and chirping like mad and in the case of the parrots, screeching noisily. It is great to hear they are all happy.

The Magpies are warbling and squawking for food.

The Butcher Bird is singing for his supper and

I am wishing for more rain.

MORE GOOD NEWS

In 2001 Carol-Ann and David decided to go to London to get more experience in their professions, so it was with sadness but goodwill we said our goodbyes.

Carol soon got a good job as an interior designer and was even given a car by the company. Things were going well for her. After a few years they came home for a while but soon London was calling again. David had won a job with the BBC as resident composer.

So in 2005 we said goodbye again.

They had fallen in love with London. The parks and ......

...fine dining.

They both worked hard and enjoyed hopping over to the continent now and then for holidays.

Paris

Italy and many other countries.

Carol was sent by the company to do jobs in Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Ireland, USA, and Dubai. They came home last Christmas for a holiday but it wasn't long before we were saying goodbye again.

David was composing music for TV productions and Carol was senior interior designer and an Associate Director of the company now, so we understood why they wanted to return to London.

They loved England and.....

....Switzerland and...

...Italy.

The Good News is that they are homesick and due to the recession, now depression, in the UK their jobs are not as exciting as they were so they have resigned and they have bought one way tickets home. (I hope they can find work here and stay for ever and ever)

GOOD NEWS

Our daughters, Sonya 35 (left) and Carol-Ann 37 (right). Sonya lives in Sydney and Carol-Ann lives in London.
A few years ago Sonya went to work at the Edinburgh Festival and the girls spent a few days together in Scotland. Another time Sonya went to work at the Brighton Festival and Carol visited her there.
Some time later Sonya returned to work in Edinburgh but this time her partner Bernie went also.
After their job was done they had a holiday in Wales with Carol and David.

They meet with Bernie for the first time.Then Sonya and Bernie returned to work in Sydney.
They visit us in Brisbane occasionally.

The Good News is that Sonya and Bernie are going to have a baby next May. Yeah! We are going to be grandparents.

Feral Tomatoes

For those who don't know, I like gardening but I am hopeless at growing vegetables. However with BB's help I persevered but with very little success. We bought soil from the nursery and planted beans, silver beet, tomatoes and lettuce. We picked a few meals of beans, silver beet and lettuce but then everything suddenly died. We planted again and nothing came up. We bought a ph test kit and the readings were not far off normal. Anyway we hit the soil with Ammonia Nitrate, blood and bone and compost from kitchen scraps. I noticed that not even weeds would grow in the patch but one little tomato plant appeared as a volunteer from the kitchen scraps. In the meantime I added fertiliser. Suddenly the tomato bush exploded! We kept putting a new stake in every few days until we ran out of stakes but it kept growing into a monster, feral, bush with heaps of flowers. (But nothing else grew??) The bush has been producing Cherry Tomatoes for the last few weeks, lots of them.

The bush crawled over the path.

Now the leaves are dying but the fruit is still ripening.

This is the other side of the bush where it grew over the wallaby proof fence.

Today's crop.

The day before yesterday's crop......every second day a bowl full.

I have filled many containers and given them to neighbours and friends (BB doesn't like them). Some I turn into chutney, which is a wonder since I can't cook for peanuts.

Cut a cross on the bottom.

Drop them into boiling water for a minute. Let them cool.

Chop up an apple.

Peel the slippery little devils.

Chop them if you can be bothered.

Chop two cloves of garlic, wash the smell off your hands.

Chop an onion, have tissues handy.

Fry onion and garlic in oil.

Add tomatoes and apple.

Add quarter cup of brown sugar, and malt vinegar, teaspoon of mustard powder and curry powder.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper and let simmer for an hour or until it is thick and slushy like chutney. Taste it and hope for the best.

Then bottle it and fill all the shelves in the fridge with Feral Tomato Relish.

Pretty Trees of Spring

In Brisbane we don't get the colourful trees in Autumn but in Spring the suburbs hide under an umbrella of purple Jacaranda trees and red Flame trees.

The Illawarra Flame Tree is a native of tropical Australia. It loses its leaves in the dry season and then the flowers bloom. After the flowers the leaves reappear in the wet season.

The Jacaranda Tree is a native of Central and South America but has adapted well in Australia.