Calvin had to work on New Years day so Vern and I took him down to work at the video shop in North Fitzroy then parked the car by the Merri Creek in Clifton Hill and walked up beside the creek to the new bridge by St Georges road then made our way back to the car through the back streets. I was taking pictures of birds and Vern was humouring me. We did take one wrong turn and had to climb a fence by the Rushall train station, Vern managed to rip her shorts on the way over and wasn’t too happy about walking through the streets with her undies showing.
The first Sunday on the year Vern, Calvin and I attended Caulfield Ward since their entire Bishopric where away. Bro Kellar conducted and did a good job. Calvin wasn’t keen to stay the whole three hours but Caulfield is a very welcoming ward and the youth Sunday School teacher Sister Smith grabbed him and took him to class and he was fine after that.
It was interesting just having Calvin home for the first week of the month while Marion was at the Convention in Sydney and the others in Canberra. It was very quite at home and there was a temptation to get take aways each night since there was only the three of us. We did have Glen, Caroline and Nicola O’Grady over for dinner on the fifth and Vern made a very nice meal. They live in Singapore and have been for fifteen years. We know Caroline from school and Glen was in my Mission. We had a nice visit; even Calvin enjoyed himself since Nicola was his age and very attractive. Calvin can be very smooth when he wants to be.
The next day Marion brought the other children drove home. It was good to have them back. They had a great time with their cousins up in Canberra and Ma
rion enjoyed the convention. They also brought Deshon and Mahli back and dropped them off in Craigieburn.Especially for youth (EFY) was run for our region at the Latrobe University campus from Monday the tenth to Saturday the fifteenth. Marion was asked at the last minute to help out as the YSA councillor with one of the special needs young woman from our ward. All credit to her she said yes and helped out for the week. So we were back to a one child family again for a week this time with Austin. And what a strange week it was, it was extremely humid, rained every day and was hot and sticky each night. Queensland had its worst floods in history and Australia’s most expensive natural disaster. At one point they said that one quarter of the state was under water and Queensland is a big state. Twenty two people lost their lives and they are talking of a special tax to pay for the rebuilding.
We picked Calvin and Carmen up early Saturday morning of the fifteenth and they told us they had a great time. They said the classes were the best, which was good to hear. Living with other members gave Calvin an insight into how many aren’t really committed to the church. He was amazed that most didn’t listen to a word that was being said in the classes. Each time he would make a comment or joke about what was being taught the people next to him would just say “what, sorry I wasn’t listening”.
It was a lovely sunny day for a change so that afternoon so Vern, Carmen, Austin and I went down to visit Mark and Blair in Frankston. From their place we walked down to the foreshore to check out the Frankston Show. Vern’s auntie was there so the children got free rides. The local Maoris headed up by Vern’s great Uncle, brought along a replica war canoe and had it in the river. You could pay and they would let you go for a paddle in it.
On the Sunday on the way to church I noticed that the battery light stayed on in the Honda. It got us to church and back but the battery was a bit flat. The next day we booked it in to get looked at later in the week. Vern’s friend Joanne was down from Queensland and she went and picked her up in the other car from her relatives in Werribee to stay with us for the night. While she was away Marion took the Honda to pick up Calvin and it died coming up Sydney Road. It is a very busy road and they were stopped in a clearway so were getting some abuse. One of the shop owners gave them a jump start so they were able to get the car into a local cat park before it died again. When Vern came with Joanne and they got it part way home and then it would go on further. A man stopped to help them push it into a side street (on the
y only disabled car park for miles). I had a meeting that night so afterwards I swapped the batteries over from the two cars and got it home. I charged the battery up that night and they got it to the mechanic the next day. They rang Vern during later that day staying they couldn’t find anything wrong so Vern and Joanne picked it up and it died again on the way home. They managed to swing into a side street and the Honda people picked it up from there, and they found something wrong this time. Joanne had a nice visit with us pushing cars and waiting in cars, just like the olds days with the Kombi.A couple of months ago in keeping with my new bird watching hobby I built a bird box and fixed in it one of the trees in the back yard. I have been waiting for some birds to take up residence. Sure enough it is now occupied, unfortunately not by birds but a swarm of bees. My fault I guess I should have put a sign up.
Since the rock concert called the “Big Day Out’ was on Sunday here in Melbourne. Marion and Calvin travelled to Sydney to catch it there on the twenty sixtieth which was Australia day. They went with a friend and stayed with another friend that used to live in Melbourne. They had a great time at the concert and finding their way around on the trains. Our Australia day was a little more subdued with a Stake picnic in the Yarra Bend Park. It was cool and overcast but we had a good turnout and played cricket and volleyball on the very unseasonable long green grass. I spent the afternoon building another bird box.
Marion wanted to have a party at our house for her nineteenth birthday on the Friday night before her birthday. She didn’t want the very young and the very old hanging about so Vern, Carmen, Austin and I went down to Torquay and stayed the night at Janet’s place. She has all nice new furniture in there now and it looks really nice, we didn’t get there until pretty late. The next day we headed out to the beach where we met Jacob Stuart and his family, the Judds and the Nicholls also ca
me. Had a bit of surf and a snooze. Pictures;
1. Vern with torn pants in Clifton Hill
2. Carmen
3. Austin and Carmen on one of the rides at the Frankston Show
4. Walking around Edwards Lake for Family Home evening
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