Magnets, Pirates, and Heavy Keyboards

The magnets in the molds

A few weeks ago, Rosie turned five.  One of the presents she received was a make your own fridge magnet set, and I was nominated the plaster of Paris overseer.  So we sat down on the kitchen floor, mixed up the plaster, spread it into the molds, placed the magnets into the back of them, and left them to dry for at least twenty-four hours.  We got back to finishing them the other day - taking the molds off and painting them.  They worked out quite well, despite the fact that some of the bigger figures are too heavy for the magnets and have trouble staying on the fridge, and that the head of the horse has broken off now and has found its final resting place.....don't tell her though, we managed to dispose of it before she realized.  :)

Out of the molds...

The finished product - Rosie painted these ones...

I painted the ones on the left, and Elise did the
ones of the right (including the unfortunate
horse.)

Dad and I drove to Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon, to keep my four week check up appointment after having had my tonsils out.  Everything is going well and healing nicely, which is good.  I drove some of the way there and back, clocking up another 1 hour and 45 minutes to my driving tally.  Because the appointment was late afternoon, by the time we got out on the freeway and swapped drivers (I was NOT going to drive in peak hour Newcastle) it was getting dark enough to put the headlights on, and count the hour I did on the way home as night driving.  By the time we actually got home, it was pitch black.  It is really hard to drive in the dark!  I found it difficult to see where the road was curving, especially when cars were overtaking me and shining their headlights into my side mirror.  It was most annoying to be momentarily blinded by the reflection.

Yesterday, we went to the nursing home with the rest of the outreach group, and put on a concert for the residents there, for Australia's biggest morning tea event, raising money for cancer research.  We sang songs all together, such as How Great Thou Art, the Millennium Prayer and I will Follow Him, from Sister Act.  That is such a fun song!  Then Emily, Joy, Elise and I did Broken Vessels, and It is Well.  We borrowed the Church keyboard again and boy, is it heavy!  I am very stiff and sore today from carting that keyboard from the car, to the auditorium, back out, and into the car again.  But the actual concert went well, and I think we all want to come back and do it again one day.

On Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, Mum and Dad go to Pirates of Penzance practice.  SATS (the Theatrical Society in our town) puts on a musical every year, and this year, they are doing Pirates.  Mum and Dad are both in the band, and having been putting in long rehearsal hours.  On Thursday nights they practice for three hours, and on Sunday, eight hours, although the band members don't have to be there the whole time (only for six hours.)  The musical is coming together, and they had their first dress rehearsal the other night.  Dad said the costumes and the set looked really, really good.  We are all looking forward to going and watching the show.  

Today Dad and James are heading off to a Father and Son's Camp, at a Christian camp site called Tahlee.  The men from our Church are going down to help clean up the campsite after the massive storm which swept through the whole region about 5 weeks ago.  They are going some time after Dad gets home from work, and will be back tomorrow night.  We girls are looking forward to watching some girly movies over the weekend, I even went out and bought some more popcorn, just to be well stocked. :)  I think the first movie on the list is 'Ever After', starring Drew Barrymore, be

Part of the Tahlee Campsite

cause Elise hasn't seen it yet, and Joy only half of it.  I'm not sure what else is on our list, but that is a good start anyways.  It is quite cool here, and raining, so a movie weekend is sounds like the best plan to me.  :)