On the 1st of November we submitted the binary code for our next app – AtMyPace: Statistics. It brings together videos I have made with William over the years, and some learning activities. You can see a little video about it here. So far there have been about 800 downloads of the free version, and about 30 of the paid one. I have plans on how to get it noticed some more. At present it is only available for the iPad, but Shane is making it “universal” which means it can go on the iPhone or iPod touch as well. That will increase our potential market.
Much of my time over the month has been spent making videos for the course and for the app. It is pretty fun really, and my editing skills are increasing. Let’s hope they do the trick.
Visit to show
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| A new lamb's first steps |
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| Fresh lambs enjoying the sun. |
Jonathan
Jonathan was asked to play for Stake Conference, and then it was changed to the meeting for the Youth at stake Conference, so he needed to change what he played. He was a little resistant at first, but I got him to commit to giving it a go. He sat at the piano and I sat and listened and was moved. Jonathan played a sequence of about seven primary songs, with modulation and blends in between and embellishments throughout. It seemed miraculous to me, even though I know what Jonathan can do. It was a wonderful combination of predictable and surprising, with sparks of humour and brilliance. I felt blessed to be there. When Jonathan plays, I feel God’s pleasure. I feel God is pleased with all our efforts and that Mark and I and William have helped to create something truly wondrous in Jonathan. The youth, and leaders and the visiting General Authority all loved his performance.
Now we are quite keen for Jonathan to record a CD, and maybe even sell some pieces on iTunes. I have planted the idea with Jonathan, and will wait for it to gain a bit of strength before I examine it again.
As I noted last month, Jonathan didn’t get into Jazz School at CPIT after all. Though this is a bit disappointing in the short term, I believe it will be better in the long term. We are working on his going to CPIT to do preparation courses, so that he can be better prepared when he does get into Jazz School for 2013.
One evening Jonathan and I were doing the dishes and I was asking him about experiences in his life. One I remember vividly was when he hit a girl at school with his cane and refused to apologise and we sat on the sofa together and wept. I talked about it and he remembered, and I asked him when it was – just meaning the year really. He told me the date. I got out my journal from that year and checked and he was right. Then he told me what we did the following day. Then I gave him dates or events for the rest of that year and he told me what happened or the date. It’s amazing. He was pretty pleased at our amazed reaction. I don’t think he realised that other people can’t do that. I’m hoping to go back through my journals and see how far back he can go. This incident was in 2004.
Jessica and William
Jessica and William now have a permanentish home, about 3km from our place. They have it for a good rent, from a professional landlady. It is one of three flats made out of a single old bungalow. Their unit had been empty since February when the chimney fell into the living-room, as has been common in our shaky city. It is one-bedroom, but the bedroom and living room are big, even if the bathroom and kitchen/laundry are not. Mark helped them move in, and Jessica managed to get some cheap appliances on TradeMe. They are very happy to be a bit more settled.
William has had about a month at his course in Digital Film and animation, and seems happy in it. It is interesting but also challenging.
Thanksgiving
We had Thanksgiving at our place and I cooked a turkey and invited Jessica and William and my mother. Jessica made “candied yams” using kumara, and jello. It all went very well. I found the turkey a little salty, as it was “tender-basted” which means injected with saline. The others liked it though and said it was nice and moist. We all have a great deal to be thankful for. The next Monday Jonathan did a lesson on Thanksgiving for Family Home Evening. I love it when he does the lesson.
Time Out for Women
We got to watch several hours of video from Time Out for Women, sponsored by Deseret Book. The venue was freezing cold for the first two hours, but we thawed out after lunch when they worked out how to turn the heating from summer to winter setting! The talks were just great. I found the music a bit soppy, except for Hilary Weeks. I don’t think videos of music quite get what it is like being there. Laurel Christensen was particularly entertaining. Wendy Ulrich gave good acvice on how to be happy. And I always like to hear Virginnia Pearce, and Sheri Dew.
Redundancy
My offer to be made redundant has been accepted and I will leave at the end of the first semester next year. I get 44 weeks’ pay when I go, so I will actually cost the university more than if I stayed for that year. We are hoping that will give us enough time and capital to get the business going. It is pretty exciting really. Not many people have such a wonderful opportunity to change what they do.
Garden
The garden is doing well and the lemon tree is totally thriving. We are on water restrictions as the supply is still fragile after the quakes. There is enough water, but the pipes probably wouldn’t stand the extra load. Consequently we are only allowed to water on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and only with handheld hoses. I have spent a few morning hours watering and weeding at the same time, and the garden is benefitting. So far we have eaten some snow peas, radishes, lettuces, silverbeet, courgettes and lots of herbs. I’ve discovered Vietnamese mint has a very nice flavour for all sorts of cooking and salads.
Visit to Wellington
Mark had a training meeting in Wellington for Stake Clerks, so I went too and we had a nice few days away. We stayed at Greta Point, which is a lovely location with great views. I’m guessing most of Wellington does have great views. We had some nice walks along the waterfront, and met up with my old classmate, Craig. We went to church at Totara Park ward, where Mark had really enjoyed being over 25 years ago.
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| It is amazing what a statue can include! |
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| Outside the Weta Workshop complex |
Mark had a really busy week at work with a couple of jobs. He is supposedly working 2 days a week, but he ended up doing about 43 hours that week. So he took the next week off.
When a City Falls
I went with Ruth Grey to see the movie “When a City Falls” about the Christchurch earthquakes. It was rather sad at the start when they showed old footage of the city pre-quakes, and the stuff shot on 22 Feb was pretty awful. But other than that, it was a good way of putting it all into a neat story. If you have the chance to see it, I think it would be a good thing to do, so you understand what is going on here.
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| A live 'My Little Pony' at the Show |
Ending bit
So really it has been quite an exciting November for us. I think all of Christchurch is counting down to the end of 2011 so we can put it behind us and hope for a less traumatic year for 2012.
Happy Christmas to you all
Nicola, Mark, Jonathan (and Jessica and William as I guess they are not going to do their own contribution just yet.)
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