It's a Brand New Year!

This blog has been severely neglected. It started out as an experiment, but now (almost two years after my last post) maybe I'm ready to start posting again.

The last two years have been eventful...it would be a real challenge for my memory to outline everything that has happened since early 2008, but there have been some life-changing happenings and natural developments which might go well in this new post.

2008 was my second year as Director of Music in a K-12 private Christian school. A new Music office and some new ensemble rooms at the school brightened the year, along with the addition of a new Middle School Music teacher to help with the teaching load. The year started out rather brightly with a good number of students in each Music class, and some new ideas for a Primary Band beginning to bubble up.

2008 was also Youngest Son's last year of High School. He needed to take an overload in order to graduate, and most of the overload consisted of Music courses. He began (and completed) a Certificate III in Music that year, and also an endorsed Music program which gave him credit for all his Band work, rehearsals and practical activities such as performances and preparations for them. It was an uphill battle for him, but well worth the effort because he was able to graduate in December 2008.

For me, 2008 was full of ups and downs (mostly ups!) with the birth of two new grandchildren, planning and saving for a trip to the US to visit our two moms, hubby's family and our oldest daughter and family, and to meet our new granddaughter for the first time. The trip was a good catch-up time with extended family members (particularly some cousins of hubby's) in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, and some sightseeing in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin during the snowy season.

If you have never moved between a Southern continent summer to a Northern continent winter, you have never lived. There is no way to describe how the physical body, acclimatised to temperatures ranging from 80 to 100F degrees "plus" feels when hopping off an airplane to a freezing, snowy Indiana winter! The return trip is also a shocker, as you are feeling fairly accustomed to the wintertime temps and must quickly re-adjust to those hot temps again. We survived, and enjoyed it! One of the funniest but surprisingly enjoyable moments was the sensation of slipping, falling backwards onto a thick layer of freshly fallen snow, and feeling as if I had fallen onto a soft mattress--what else to do but create a snow angel? Youngest Son, meanwhile, was laughing his head off (of course). It would have made a great photo moment, but I feel blessed that YS didn't think of that!

2009 was a year of mixed blessings. The ideas for a Primary Band came to fruition as a new Band Scholarship program was begun partway through the year. We invited a specific number of students from Year 5 to join the Band program: five each on flute, clarinet, saxophone and trumpet, 3 on trombones and one on euphonium. The students were given free lessons and band rehearsals. Later in the year we added on another flute and saxophone, and dropped the euphonium--so we had a Primary Band of 25 players by the end of the year. One of the brightest points about teaching and directing the Music program for the year was seeing and hearing those 25 children playing two lively pieces of music very well at the Primary graduation. The program will continue in 2010 with a new batch of Year 5 students beginning free lessons and Year 6 students continuing in Primary band rehearsals.

Rather early in the year (March-April), we were "victims" of two accidents. First, I was walking along a paved area in front of the Music office at school, and tripped over something small (most likely a fruit pit). This area is a favorite of students for eating their lunches and socializing during recess. I fell full-length and banged my right forehead/brow area on the concrete. Classes were in session so not many students knew about the accident--but it resulted in a trip to the hospital in an ambulance, one week off school while the humungous black eye/forehead/cheekbone faded a bit, and a few more weeks of recovery! The worst of that experience was definitely the discoloration, but I had a headache off and on for weeks.

Just as I was beginning to feel (and look) better, hubby had an accident. He had been out on a motorbike ride and had come into contact with a big kangaroo, head-on, in the bush. This is a constant danger when driving around dusk and early evening in bushy areas. He had flown right over the handlebars and landed in an awkward position. The first I knew of it was when I answered the phone and heard his calm but slightly shaky voice telling me about the accident. He sounded so "good" over the phone that I wasn't too worried. He said to wait until he called again because he would be taken to the hospital via ambulance.

By the time I visited (the next day), I was immediately sorry I hadn't driven to the hospital right after the accident. His injuries were more severe than he had known at the time, and over the course of the next 9-10 months, he had operations to repair the injuries and spent a lot of time recuperating. We were blessed by God in that there were no head injuries or internal injuries, although one shoulder and an ankle were very badly injured and there were lots of abrasions and extensive bruising.

The last few months hubby has kept himself pleasantly occupied by ordering and replacing parts which were destroyed or badly damaged on the motorbike, and he has recently begun riding again for short periods of time. Now he is only riding in the daytime in those areas, so the chances of meeting up with another 'roo are very slight.

Also in 2009, Youngest Son spent some time at university working on a uni-prep course, then decided he would apply to study at a school of audio engineering, and found two part-time jobs. For us as parents, this was a difficult year because we have officially become "empty-nesters". Because our location is a 45-60 minute drive from places YS needs to be on a daily basis, he has been staying with Youngest Daughter and her family most weekdays. On the upside, we now have two fairly unused rooms, one which is outfitted as a guest room and the other, which would make an ideal study/work space and extra guest room for when family or friends visit.

Our latest venture has been the establishment of "Pot Gardens"...or "Tub Gardens" which is probably a less controversial way of saying it. Because we have 5 sloping acres of clayish soil and a need to conserve water, we decided not to try to plant lots of vegies and flowers into the ground to see the water leach away. Our huge water tank has proven to keep us in rainwater through our long, dry summers, but we would never have had enough from that alone to water an extensive in-ground garden.

We have started with 10 large tubs and have planted them with salad vegies, greens, peppers of various varieties, strawberries, herbs and some flowering shrubs in smaller pots. Hubby has cleverly designed and built a watering system which waters each pot individually via a tiny fountain in the middle of each tub. These are connected and set with a timer to water them for 4 minutes every 6 hours on dry, hot days. They will be set for 2 minutes on cooler, moister days. We have planted zucchini, watermelon and may try some sprouted sweet potatoes straight in the ground nearby; and we have a mini lemon tree in an extra-large tub. Plans for the next month or two include adding a Pink Lady apple mini tree and other fruit and nut trees; possibly some snap peas and green beans on some latticework or fencing so they can climb. I hope to be able to put some photos on the blog very soon!

We will also soon be gathering eggs! Hubby built a chicken coop which is now awaiting the arrival of its occupants...

2009 also brought with it the birth of another grandson, and two expectant daughters who are due early in 2010 with granddaughters. God has so richly blessed us with wonderful children and now grandchildren! He has brought us through the last two years with their highs and lows, and we praise Him for His amazing grace.