3-10 May 2020 The Farm, Beaches, and Mother's Day

It all began with a text from my friend, Linda Carroll.  "Jill, did you hear?" We can now have two adults over to check on us! Can you come for dinner?"  So last week we were finally able to drive out to see Ian and Linda Carroll, friends and fellow missionaries from when we all served in Germany. 

Australia is starting to re-open by different phases.  Each state has their own timeline, but the Prime Minister has suggested four phases.  New South Wales began by allowing two adults (along with any children they may have) to visit other families ostensibly to check on their well-being.  Grandparents are shouting for joy to see their grandchildren after two and a half long months.  

But we, of course, were going to check on the Carrolls and they of course would check likewise on our mental health.  We arrived out at their farm after a lovely drive through the countryside in time for lunch.  It felt so good to be away from the urban areas where we spend every day.  As Don commented to Ian, "This is what I picture when I think of Australia-the land."  The Carrolls warmly welcomed us and we shared a wonderful afternoon and evening catching up on our shared German experiences, our families' histories, and our current adventures never running out of things to talk about.  Linda has been a long-time caterer and so our meals were absolutely delicious and plentiful.  We took a walk around the property and they also drove us to see some other nearby developments.  They have plans to sell the farm in the future, but for today, we enjoyed their wonderful hospitality and the beautiful scenery from up on the hill where their beautiful home is located.    

 These pictures are views looking toward two of the ponds on their land along with two smaller homes that they lease.  Below are sheep and cattle (in the distance).  The grey gum trees (eucalyptus) were in evidence.  I started watching where I was walking more carefully as Linda regaled us with tales of finding two eastern brown snakes on their property this year.  Then there was the time another species of poisonous snake slithered across the floor as they watched television. "Imagine that?" she said. "We haven't had any problems with snakes for the 21 years we've been here." My heart was pounding as I imagined stepping on one!  Her final bit of advice, "Be sure to run if you see a funnel-web spider especially when they rear back- that means they are getting their fangs ready to bite." I did a little research and found most funnel-web spiders are around Sydney due to the densely populated area.  Oh great, I will run if I see ANY spider.  Just the cricket in the house had me jumping around!

Yesterday, we decided we wanted to take the Barrenjoey Lighthouse Walk.  This is the northern most point of Sydney.  We knew tours to the lighthouse itself were unavailable but were looking forward to the hike up from Barrenjoey Beach.  The lighthouse sits on a peninsula.  The beach below and the kitesurfing were on one side of the peninsula call the Barrenjoey Beach located by the Governor Phillip Park. 

Yet as we were heading to the trailhead, a security guard informed us we were not allowed to hike the trail due to the virus shutdowns apparently.  So the only pictures we could get were down below and from the sand dunes.  The North Palm Beach is the other side of the narrow peninsula. We are planning to return when the trail is open again so we can get pictures showing both sides of the land form.

                                      Barrenjoey Lighthouse looking up from North Palm Beach.

Flora, sand dunes, and North Palm Beach

Swimmers and some surfers in late fall here in the southern hemisphere

North Palm Beach - we will return here

So we found this catch of fish on the ground as we headed back to the carpark.  I told Don that since he loves sardines perhaps this could be his lunch!

Next we headed toward another one of the northern beaches by the suburb of Collaroy.  This is know for its great swimming conditions and great for beginning surfers.

The sun had broken through the clouds when we arrived.  The long expanse of beach is stunning and not crowded on this day.  I can only imagine the crowds at the height of summer.

Our final stop was a return to Australia's famous Bondi Beach.  We are even more enthralled since watching the television program here nightly of Bondi Rescue which highlights the work of all the professional lifeguards.  The first time we visited was several years ago during the summer season when the beach was full of people.  Now, with the Covid19 directives in place, the beach is limited to just swimmers at the north end and surfers at the south end.  No lounging on the beach and lots of space in between.  Another place we look forward to visiting again.  We especially want to do the Bondi to Coogee Walk which is along the coast and takes in five beaches with all the scenery and amenities along the way.

Northern part of Bondi Beach looking toward Backpackers Express

Mother's Day - a day that for me brings a lot of emotions. Like many mothers I know, I make too many comparisons to things I wished I'd done better often forgetting what I did do well-seeing the cup half-empty instead of seeing it half-full.  I always know there is one child I will not be hearing from who came to us on May 14 three days after Mother's Day in 1976.  But we are so grateful for the life she led and for her sister and sisters-in-law. They are four of the greatest mothers I know.

Looking on the brighter side, I love the quote from Howard W. Hunter.  "Any parent who has loved a child was a successful parent."  So no wallowing - just lots of love and thankfulness on this Mother's Day for our three wonderful children: Erin, Alison, and Dylan; our in-law children: Boyd, Jeff, Krystal and Rebecca; our grandchildren, Sam, Jena, Alex, Jackson, Kennedy, Avery, Josh, Evan, Sophie, and Isaac; and the other wonderful grandparents and families: the Rolfsons, the Lathens, the Perrys, and the Bartons, with whom I share all of the above.  

                                               

Our Erin - Forever young and never forgotten 

26 April 2020 ANZAC Day and biscuits!

ANZAC Day (April 25) is a highly significant, and almost reverent occasion when both Australia and New Zealand honor their veterans and commemorate the 1915 battle of Gallipoli.  As we have learned this day even surpasses Remembrance Day (Armistice Day or our Veteran's Day) in importance here.  But this year for the first time, there was no sunrise gathering at the Memorial sites due to the Covid-19 restrictions. So individuals were encouraged to rise at 6:00 am and stand at the end of their driveways or outside their homes for moments of silence.  Then those that had trumpets would play "The Last Post" or as we call it "Taps."  With candles burning, many people throughout the country, let alone here in New South Wales, willingly arose to show the honor to the soldiers, both living and dead.  

Afterward, the tradition is to have ANZAC biscuits and go to the pub!  Well, the pubs are mostly closed anyway, so one entrepreneur decided to drive around with his employees handing out free beer to all the veterans he found.  The news reports showed how appreciative everyone was of his efforts!  We stuck to our ANZAC biscuits that one of our colleagues in our building brought us from his wife.  The story goes that these were somehow sent to the soldiers because none of the ingredients would spoil, but that's mostly a myth.  But we thought the biscuits (cookies) were delicious no matter their history.  

New Zealand and Australian Flags

I understand New Zealand had two referendums in 2015 and 2016 about changing their flag and several designs had been suggested over the years.  Some Kiwis believe theirs is too closely related to the Australian and they do not like it one bit because they claim to have used the design first!  However, the poll showed that the majority voted to retain the current flag.  The stars are a bit different from the Australian flag but they were the first country to indicate the Southern Cross in the sky. The Australian flag has the large star under the Union Jack which which represents the Commonwealth and they have 5 stars to represent the Southern Cross. 

The Rodd Family Memorial Site - once was the mausoleum for many of the members of a well-known and prestigious early Australian  family

 Our nightly exercise consists of finding new areas in our local area to walk too and we often end up doing laps around the small field by our house.  But on the weekends, we  try to find a new place to get some exercise.  This week we learned of the Bay Run at Iron Cove.  Since it is only about a 25 minute drive we thought we would join the other walkers, joggers, and cyclists in circumventing the cove.  Just like "running the bridges" at home, this was over a 7.2 km or about 4 mile loop around the cove.  The memorial park above was near our carpark and so we started there before joining everyone on the actual Bay Run.

It was a gorgeous day with temperatures near 80 degrees F. for a rather warm Fall day.  It wasn't a difficult walk and we saw interesting flora, fauna, and fowl all around.  Many people keeping their distance, but also enjoying the sunshine as the beaches have been closed again.  Not  enough social-distancing going on and too many groups of people together.

Apparently, some of the walk goes by a former psychiatric hospital and grounds.  It was all boarded up so we assumed it was in "former" use.  

 Some metal fish baskets that would be attached to metal "weirs"  now stand as public art in one of the parks we passed through.

Finally, our  closest view of Sydney yet.  We have been here nearly two months and have yet to get to the Central Business District and tourist sites there due to the request by government to avoid any non-essential travel.  We sometimes wonder if our little 20 minutes drives just to go somewhere are pushing the limits/  But we are grateful to be here and doing anything that we can to be of service.  

19 April 2020 Missionary Work in Lock Down

As the shelter-in-place orders continue here in New South Wales, Don and I are still grateful to be able continuing the work we came here to do.  It has taken several weeks to get the office computers working correctly but that was all solved this week.  So now he has everything working and is comfortable doing the same type of work he did when we were in Germany.  I am helping our Self-Reliance missionaries as we instruct and support our ESL missionaries.  Many have come from countries where English is not their first language.  We have some from China, Samoa, Tonga, Argentina, Peru, Myanmar, Kiribati, Mongolia, and more that have not returned home yet.  I did my first Zoom lesson this week which was a bit unusual but I'll gamely try it again this week.  Also, I am being trained to proctor some secondary English assessments as our service missionary will probably need to leave in a few days.  I also saw how the Oral Proficiency Interview is given and am secretly hoping I do not need to give any of these!  

One of my other assignments is reviewing Humanitarian projects to see if they meet Australia's strict benevolent charities guidelines.  I actually really enjoy checking the projects and seeing the vast needs that the church is helping to meet.  The projects are for countries all over the world and indicate our need to see that everyone has basic needs such as clean water, sanitation, food, and shelter   It is astounding to see how the needs continue to grow.  

This week all of our South Korean and Filipino missionaries were able to get back to their homes. The work the senior couples in the mission office and President and Sister Runia are doing to handle this upheaval is truly incredible.  Today, they were in the offices at 6:30 to facilitate the returns.

Additionally, one of our young elders also had an appendicitis emergency and was taken to the hospital.  He is recovering well now in spite of everything that is going on.    

Don and I opted for an extra long walk this weekend and decided to hike down the road to a Koala Park Reserve.  We knew it was closed but thought it was a good destination.  Nothing to see since it is closed right now but a good walk nevertheless.  The other picture above is the bush behind our home.  We can go through this gate to get to the main thoroughfare that we walked yesterday.  I probably won't use it much since I have no idea what is living in all that undergrowth and nor do I want to find out.  

We live close to Parramatta, which is the second oldest city in Australia having been established just ten months after Sydney was settled in 1788.  The city is about 15 miles from the central business district in Sydney. So we took a little drive to see some of Parramatta's historic sites.  It was here that early settlers established a successful farm since the land around Sydney seemed to poor to support the first British colonists. Also, the Government House is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the country and was used by ten governors until around 1844.  It was rebuilt and added onto many times during the years.  This area is now a Park and has several interesting monuments and sites that reveal early colonial times.  It was, of course, once aboriginal land and there is archaeological evidence of the earliest people living, hunting, and fishing here before the European arrival.  The name actually means "head of waters, "the place where the eels lie down, or "eel waters."

 The first monument we came to was part of the early observatory built by convict labor under the direction of Sir Thomas Brisbane an early governor.  He had great interest in mapping the southern skies.  However, it was only used for about twenty-six years and fell into disrepair.  Most of the instruments were taken to the Sydney Observatory and now just the transit piers remain under cover.  The obelisk was placed as a memorial in 1880.

The Bath House was also built for Governor Brisbane in 1822.  It too deteriorated over the years and was made into a band shell pavilion for public recreation.

 This is a monument honoring those Australians who served in the Boer War in South Africa.  This was the first overseas military engagement of fully organized Australian troops as opposed to being colonists of Britain.  Though there was a great deal of opposition to participating in the Boer War, the monument honors those who served.

This remembrance is for our good friend and our own "flying dentist" Erin Leavitt.  This must have been quite a unique experience since there are three plaques honoring the occasion of Australia's first flyer, Billy Hart and his landing in Parramatta Park.

 Views of the  Parramatta River as we walked around the park and bridge.

And the rules which are in place in the open spaces!

 The Government House as it looks today.

By the Government House is a listing of the convict sites where those sent from Great Britain arrived or were settled.  Those are some sites we hope to visit in the future also as we learn more about the early settlement of Australia and specifically New South Wales.  For some of the so-called convicts, their only crime was being poor and unable to pay their debts.  

 We stopped at  St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery on our way home from Parramatta Park.  This is the oldest Catholic cemetery in NSW and has the oldest Mortuary Chapel in Australia.   The oldest headstones are from 1824.  Several priests are buried under the chapel floor. The cemetery signage indicates the cemetery recognizes the early independence of the Catholic church in a Protestant, mostly Anglican, dominated colonial society. 

The King's School is a preparatory and boarding boys school located not far from us.  Established in 1831, it claims to be Australia's oldest independent school.  There are numerous school "houses" and a military-like uniform is still the required dress for all boys.  Not far, is a girls boarding school, also established by Anglicans. 

Our neighbors' house.  Since we live in the mother-in-law house, it's nice to see where the original homeowners had their residence.  There are some beautiful stained glass windows and they have been working on a great remodeling over the garage.  We hope to someday get a look inside!