Of Ships and Shoes....

Annie finally asleep.
 She is the one on the left...

At the moment, I am sitting next to Annie's cot, where she has finally dropped off to sleep.  She has been in bed for probably close to two hours, but only now have the 'shores of sleep' arrived.  So now I can type in peace... :P

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I have been on a Swahili learning spree the past few days.  I have been trying to learn the language for quite some years now, and have recently been using the Before You Know It program, known, creatively, as Byki.  Byki has a large number of languages, and two programs: express and deluxe.  Express is free and contains quite a few word lists while the Deluxe version costs about $60 or so, and contains hundreds of lists, activites, test etc.  Although I have been doing a list every now and again, I have been really hitting it hard the past few days, hoping to surge ahead with it.  I now know over 160 words and phases in Swahili, ranging from '-a rangi ya urujuani' (purple) to 'Nimetuma maagizo ya kushika chumba' (I have a room reserved.)  The best part of the deluxe version is an activity where you can record yourself saying the word, and they will rate it from beginner to advanced.  I try to aim for halfway there.  Some words, such as 'Kwa heri' (goodbye) and 'Jina langu ni...' (my name is...) I can do quite well, almost advanced, but others such as 'restorenti' (restaurant) and 'Kuro' (deer) I am no where even close.  I cannot roll my 'r's, nor make a really hard 'k' sound.  The other one I have trouble with is 'Unasema Kiingereza' which is a worry, because that means 'Do you speak English?'

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This Sunday is our Mission Sunday, and the missionaries we support are coming to speak.  They are only in Australia every two years, so it is a special service when they come and talk.  The GenKids (the kid's church for primary ages) are baking biscuits, cupcakes and slice to sell afterwards to raise money for the missionaries work.  Lately, James (10) has recently discovered that cooking is fun, and makes Anzac biscuits nearly every Tuesday afternoon, while some of us are at violin lessons.  Now he gets to put his skills to good use, as we will bring in a batch or two of Anzacs to sell.  We are also going to make some raisin slice, which is one of our Church's favourites.  Apparently, a lot of other people are bringing in chocolate based goods, so we tried to think up something different to do to create a variety.  It is surprising how hard it is to choose a recipe for slice or biscuits without chocolate!  

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Dad and I went for a drive on the long weekend Monday, to the little town of Wollombi.  Wollombi is a historical town, and although people live there, is mainly a tourist attraction.  The main street, which comprises most of the town, is lined with small wooden shops, from little cafes to the 'general store' to restaurants and the museum on the corner.  The road from Wollombi to Sydney was built by the convicts and so much of the town's history stems from them.  Parts of the road which was built are still in use today.  On the Monday of every long weekend, Wollombi hosts a country fair.  However, by the time Dad and I got there, everyone was packing up, and so there wasn't much to see at all.  We went there to get some driving hours up.  It took an hour to get there, and a hour and a half to get home because we went a different way. 

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This is a crankshaft pulley for those who
don't know and aren't interested

We have a car! Our Transit (which has 12 seats) has been broken down for the past week, and we have been restricted to the Corolla, (a measly five seater).  We have been having trouble getting the Transit to start for some while now, but the past few times it had been near impossible.  We had to roll start it down the hill of our driveway.  Anyway, last week when Mum went to start it, it wouldn't for ages.  And then finally it started up, but made a clunking noise.  Then the steering and the brakes seized up and then, horror of horrors, a piece from the engine just dropped out onto the ground!  Well, we weren't going anywhere until Dad got home from work with the little car.  Dad said that the piece which fell out was the crankshaft pulley (for those who are interested or who know what it is).  Being unable to buy the correct part in town, he bought the piece on Ebay and we had to wait for it to show up.  Thankfully, Dad was able to car pool with some work buddies all week, so we at least at a car which half of us could go somewhere in.  The part showed up yesterday, and Dad spent the evening on his back under the car fixing and replacing it.  So now we have a functioning car again!  

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That has been some our week, and it is hard to believe that it is Ijumaa (Friday) again already!  I don't know where the week has gone.  It reminds me of the passage out of the Grandma's Attic books where Mabel asks her mother how to make time go more quickly.  Her mother replies, "Plan to do more things than what you have time for.  I know, I have been doing it for years."  It is true though, for the more you try and fit into your day, the quicker the time goes, and sometimes, the less you get done.  Are the days really meant to go that quickly, I wonder?  Something to think about anyway... 

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By the way, if you are wondering where the title of the post comes from...it comes from the 'Walrus and the Carpenter' by Lewis Caroll, part of which is:

Ships and shoes and sealing wax.

Cabbages and Kings

There is a lot more to it than that, but that is the part I know.  Basically, it means this post is about anything and everything that I could think of, and there is no real rhyme or reason to it at all.  :)

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.  :)