Well it has been 2 weeks since the last post. I wonder if I can remember anything, as I am not sure what I did this morning.
Mon, 18 Sep - called Toyota and scheduled the car for maintenance on 25 Sep. Margaret went over to one of the sisters for her weekly "declutter" activity - helping clean out & organise her house. I worked on the lawnmower and ordered a new throttle cable for it. Then we collected the Elders at 4 pm and drove out to the Jones' for dinner. The Jones live on Flaggy Creek Rd which is more like a sand/gravel path (see picture below). We did have a good time and it is interesting to see how some of the Aussies live out in the middle of the woods.
Tues, 19 Sep - Went to the hardware store to get some items to fix the coffee table that was falling apart in the living room. Still things to fix in the house. Margaret took one of the sisters to the dentist and then we picked up some pants from one of the members so Margaret could mend them. Then off to the Primary activity. After the activity we stopped by the hospital to visit a friend of the Church who was in for repiratory issues.
Wed, 20 Sep - Talked with my mother this morning - she still has a house guest (Pauline) for a few more weeks. Elder Haley was to help with a move, but the people moving were sick so it was postponed for a few days. The wife cancelled the move and then the husband called a bit later and was asking why we had not shown up yet - typical wife/husband communications - glad to see that I am not the only one. In the afternoon we read the Book of Mormon with the YM who live a few blocks from the Branch meetinghouse. The Elders came over in the evening for dinner and then District Training Meeting (DTM).
Thurs, 21 Sep - final fixing of the coffee table - I hope. Margaret picked up one of the sisters and took her to a doctor's appointment. We then worked on cutting out and sewing some shorts for the Christmas shoe box charity project. Margaret fixed some meals for one of the sisters that is a bit crook (sick). We met with the YM/YW for their weekly activity. Both YM & YW are now meeting o the same day. They did their final preparations for the TREK - handcart adventure.
Friday, 22 Sep - Met one of the families at the meetinghouse so they could vacuum the upstairs. Mike did the ground floor. Margaret took one of the sisters to the supermarket so she could do some food shopping. The Flu bug bit into mike today, so he was not doing so well later in the day.
Sat, 23 Sep - Mike is fighting the flu bug and it is still up in the air as to who will win. Margaret helped one of the sisters run some errands. We have a few (not many) sisters that do not have a car and need help getting around town. Thankfully everything in Grafton is only 10 minutes away.
Sun, 24 Sep - Mike is losing the battle with the flu bug, so he did not go to Church meetings today. But the good news is that he is only feeling poorly and does not have any energy. Hang in there Elder Haley. One of the counselors in the Mission Presidency spoke in Sacrament meeting today, but Elder Haley missed out. Sister Haley said that all the talks were good today.
Mon, 25 Sep - The flu bug is losing the battle, but not giving up. We took the car into Toyota this morning and then walked (15-20 minutes) over to downtown South Grafton. We went to one of the fabric stores and Margaret bought a number of Aboriginal prints that she did not have in her collection. Mike just paid the bill. Sister Haley then helped one of the sisters with going to the supermarket to buy groceries. Later in the day, she met with the RS president and they went over the Visiting Teaching (VT) roster and activity.
Tuesday, 26 Sep - Mike is still fighting the flu bug, but is winning the fight. BUT the bug is not giving up easily. Margaret provided taxi services to two different sister during the day so they could make it to doctor appointments or to get some groceries. We held the primary activity at the meetinghouse even though it was school holiday, but we will not have the activity next week. Mike met with President Norman to discuss some branch business. Mike took the sewing machine apart so he could remove some broken pieces. We went to Sals Sewing in South Grafton to see if they had the parts - they did not. But they work with a man who may have the parts. Mike called and he did and would bring them to Sals Sewing in the following morning. Mike went to the meetinghouse in the evening to have an emergency meeting with President Norman.
Wed, 27 Sep - Talked with Mike's mum and then headed to Sals Sewing. We found the sewing machine repair man in the back and picked up the parts. While in South Grafton we visited some of the members there and found out where some of the family had moved to. Mike then went back to the house and put the sewing machine back together.
Thurs, 28 Sep - Margaret provided a ride to one of the sisters who needed to go someplace. Mike fueled up the car with petrol, so we had a full tank for when our YSA visitors (the "kids") arrive later today. The YSA (Ka Yi, Luigi, Shawn) arrived about 430pm from Brisbane. We had an early dinner so Mike could go to the meeting house for a branch presidency meeting. The kids had helped Margaret clean up the dishes by the time Mike got back.
Friday, 29 Sep - We took the YSA to Brooms Head in the afternoon, after just "goofing off" in the morning. We did meet with the Elders and had lunch with them before heading to Brooms Head. High Tide had come in by the time we got there so we did not get to walk on the beach that we had planned to walk on. We did get to the red cliff lookout area and were able to see a number of kangaroos - up close. Then on to the end of the Brooms Head road where we were able to see the rocks, surf and some beach (in the far distance). Next time we will come earlier and see about walking over to the nice, long beach. Then off to home and homemade pizza. We did use the Lawrence/Maclean ferry going and coming. It is nice to have the ferries to use in crossing the Clarence River - it saves driving south for 10 km and then driving back.
Sat, 30 Sep - We headed for Washpool National Park in the morning. Before leaving we said a prayer asking for safe travels and a safe/enjoyable venture. Washpool has the Coombadjha creek running through it and some cascades/waterfalls. Plus it is the home of subtropical rain forest, but we haven't had much rain for a long time. On the way, we noticed that the car was leaning a bit on the back left side and it was not because Luigi was on that side. We stopped and found the tyre was losing air - slowly, but losing it. We checked the boot (trunk for you Yanks) and found that we had a full size spare tire and that it was full of air - nothing like prayers being answered. We changed the tyre and then continued our trip. Once we got to the park we ate lunch and then looked for the hiking trail. The hike was 8.5 km to and back from the falls. The trail was easy in some parts and not quite so easy in others. We did not see another human on the trail the entire time we were hiking; although there were several people at the campgrounds at the beginning of the hike. It was good to get out of the city & house and do some hiking with the YSA. The trail and forest was really enjoyable and we have a very nice time. The only draw back was that Mike found 2 ticks on himself when we got home. We removed them and put alcohol & anti-bacterial ointment on the bite spots. No one else had any ticks. I guess Mike is just "sweet meat" and will have to lay off of the ice cream. We had BBQ sausages for dinner. Mike is beginning (not there yet) to get a handle on bbq sausage on the barbie. We celebrated Shaw Long's birthday tonight even though it is really tomorrow.
Sun, 1 Oct - Oh my September is gone. Today was Shawn Long's birthday. We did attend our Church meetings. Today was Fast & Testimony Sunday in Australia even though it was General Conference in the USA. It was a good testimony meeting today and the testimonies were uplifting. We will watch the General Conference sessions next weekend. We had dinner at the house with the YSA and the Elders and then sent the YSA off in their car so they could catch the bus back to Sydney. Now it is time to collapse. It was a good visit and we look forward t more of the same in the future.
Flaggy Creek driveway to the Jones
Jones water tank
How you get electricity in the bush
Flaggy Creek drive in the dark
Cricket on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Primary Activity
Cricket at its best
Sun rise near Clarence River
Coffee table in the process of being fixed. the top was not attached to the legs
Bundaberg sodas. Family owned and really good tasting. Sarsaparilla, Cream soda, Ginger beer & Blood Orange
Rainbow Lorikeet on the bottle brush tree outside the computer room window
Typical Grafton house on raised brick supports
South Grafton hotel.
Another hotel. love the iron work
A home in South Grafton. love the iron work
Papaya growing in the front yard of a home in South Grafton
This house is RAISED really high. No flood will get to them
story behind one of the Aboriginal fabrics
Story behind another aboriginal fabric
Roos in the grassy area next to a park a few blocks from the house
Brother PS55 sewing machine in a torn down state, waiting to get new parts.
Missionary hanging out his laundry to dry
Dodge ball at the primary activity
Got him !!!!!
A mob of Roos near home
Sunset
By golly, he did get it back together and it works.
Brooms Head - Shawn, Luigi, Ka Yi, Sister Haley
The beach from Red lookout towards Brooms Head
Ka Yi & Shawn - Brooms Head look out
Roo & Joey, Brooms Head Look out
Luigi taking a photo of a Roo
Trying to touch the Roo, but no success
Sister Haley at Brooms Head look out
The beach to the south of Brooms Head at the end of the road
Guess where?
Sign to "Short's" Road. Mike's mum's nick name is Short
The setting sun (rays) coming through the clouds.
the kitchen crew working on dinner
Home made pizza - before
Home Made pizza - AFTER
Ant hill on the way to Washpool National Park
Working on changing the flat tyre. Thankfully the spare was inflated properly an a full size spare
Cattle on the hill
Washpool National Park entrance
Ka Yi at the beginning of the hike
Washpool walk
Part of the washpool trail
Washpool trail map
Something was of interest at this point of the hike
On the trail
A different part of the trail
Another ant hill on the trail
Coombadjha creek water fall/cascade area
looking down creek
The intrepid Three some
looking back up the creek
With not much water, the falls are not doing too well.
Elder Haley taking a rest at the falls
On the trail back to the car park
Coombadjha creek
Coombadjha creek looking the other way from a bridge across the creek
Well do we go left or right????
Shawn being appreciative of his birthday cakeS
Yep, more than 1 cake as we were not sure which one we wanted to get for Shawn
Ka Yi, Luigi & Shawn with birthday cake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAWN.
Shawn, Elder & Sister Haley, and birthday cakes
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