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11 Sep 2024

Heron Island Day 1: The Swan has landed

Posted by Susie Swan. No Comments

 G’day! So after a long two days of traveling from Sydney, I FINALLY arrived on Heron Island!! It’s so beautiful here! And the water is super clear(: we saw two black tipped reef sharks and a few beautiful parrotfish just off the jetty as soon as we arrived. I’m SO excited to get in the water tomorrow(:
PicturePicturePicturePictureYesterday was pretty crazy trying to get here from Sydney… The plan was to fly from Sydney to Brisbane and then from Brisbane to Gladstone. But because of traffic in Sydney I missed my flights for the first time ever (and hopefully the only time ever lol)… Because when I missed my first flight it put me behind and made me miss my connecting flight to Gladstone. :/ So a couple hours and a few hundred dollars later, I finally was on my way to Brisbane to spend the night with a wonderful friend and then catch an early flight to Gladstone the next morning (today). Here’s a  photo of Sydney Harbour from the air.
PictureWhen I got to Brissy, I was already positively knackered.. but I still had to train to meet up with my friend. Which again took hours.. We finally pulled into the house around 9:30pm and after a bath and some supper I was sleeping like the dead. 🙂

This morning brought us all to the ferry dock in the Gladstone Marina. We caught the ferry and began the 2hr long journey to Heron Island. It was quite the trip! A couple of us got a nice boat nap in during the ride! It was a beautiful day and the waves just rocked us to sleep(: After orientation and a tour of the Research Station we were able to go to the beach and watch the sun set. It was SOOOOO beautiful! <3

PicturePictureAfter we had a great dinner with chocolate mousse for dessert and I can officially say we’ve had a damn good first day here at the Heron Island Research Station!

XXOO
Susie

4 May 2015

Spring 2015

Posted by Sam. No Comments

May 3, 2015

Dear friends,

Knowing I was going to write a “How We Be” note, I took a trip this weekend. I thought it might be like old times, having some personal observations to pass on. Preston was up for it; he loves to ride in the car, and is loath to let me out of his sight.

My plan was to go to Gun Barrel City, Texas. Certain it was an old town of 5,000, with plenty of history, I googled it and learned it was founded by a group of RVers called the “Dirty Dozen” in 1969. But, they had a great Saturday market, so Friday afternoon we took off. To make a long story short,Gun Barrel City was full, and we ended up in Ennis, Texas, home of the national Polka Festival, in a LaQuinta Inn, on the third floor with a dog who doesn’t trust elevators!  Ennis appears to be a nice place to live, and the diverse cultures are trying to get along, as witnessed by the sign in one cafe: “Hulda’s Chili Reyenos.”
We were home in less than 24 hours, but it’s a start.

Friends in Bend are organizing a celebration of Dave’s life on May 24th. We so hope you all can come. It is very informal, just a gathering of friends from 2 to 5PM. We plan to meet at Greg and Cathy Jenson’s place. If it is raining, we will meet at the Moose Hall in Bend. I’ll send addresses later. Bring a lawn chair and your beverage of choice. We will have finger foods and snacks.

Davey would love this. You know how he loved a party. Having you all together would be the ultimate celebration. Bring pictures and stories. Our kids are coming; everyone is looking forward it.

Love,

Sam

20 Oct 2014

Fall 2014

Posted by Sam. No Comments

October 16, 2014

Dear friends,

Summer was okay, the best of the year is here! We stay indoors in the summer just like most of the nation stays indoors in winter. Sporting events are held in the evening. Surprisingly, though, the grass stays green and we don’t use a lot of water.

We read the Fort Worth Star Telegram. A very healthy newspaper, full of ads for knee surgery and neuropathy (training hospitals here, I guess), and three crosswords, including the NY Times, PLUS two jumbles! The headlines are often really big. The Dallas Cowboys rate a much bigger headline than Ebola; when they beat Seattle it was the full front page above the fold. I couldn’t get dressed that day. On page 3 of the Sports section today was a news item that said one of their star players was arrested for lifting a package of underwear and a test bottle of Gucci’s “Guilty Black” fragrance … I’m not making this up. He said he just didn’t have time to pay. What do you want to bet he doesn’t get a suspension …..

Ebola in Texas is doubly tragic. A woman I worked with last week was afraid to go to the hospital to visit one of our students because she might get Ebola, “in the elevator, or something.” It wasn’t even the same hospital. It wasn’t even the same county! Hopefully she won’t be out anywhere she might be interviewed.

Fall means football, of course, and we’re in it for real. Xander’s team is actually learning how to play the game. They have come close to a touchdown and they get real sweaty. He got hurt early in the season and I asked him how his groin was feeling. “It’s not my groin, Gramma, I’ve got a torqued testicle.” Well! This 9-year-old has manned up!

In our area the high schools don’t have a Homecoming dance. They have a football game and they date up and make “corsages” for one another. These “corsages” are the traditional “Mums” which have morphed into Texas size statements of affection. They are sometimes so large they have to be held to the chest with strapping; LED lights help them stand out. The boys wear arm garters the girls have made. They all go to the game but hang out a lot, looking at one another, rather than watch the game. It is a sight, and the game has to be good to hold one’s attention. Becca and her date showed reasonably good taste:

B&D

 

 

 

 

 

 

while the couple shown full length are much admired for their tackiness and willingness to spent hundreds of bucks on each other. (Probably no more than a prom dress, I guess.)

Bib Mums

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of tackiness, I am the current hot chili champion of the church chili cookoff! I much prefer Queen over champion, but …. Last year I got second place, so I was really happy to come through this year. I use a 20 year old, 2-day Craig Clairborne recipe with two cans of Rotel. Serve with sour cream and a squeeze of lime. (You know how I love to accessorize!) My trophy is a little cooking pot over a fire; think cannibal pot. But it is nicely engraved:

Sam

 

 

 

 

 

 

The State Fair is in Dallas, and as you can imagine, it is huge. Dave and the kids went last week and checked out Big Tex. This symbol of everything  non-Texans hate about Texas burned up two years ago and was the source of much discussion until they got him rebuilt, up and shouting “Howdy!” His boots are size 32.:

Big Tex

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave is still riding his bike, and doing all my chores when I work. I have had to back off a little from one class. I no longer work when the teacher is out. She is the only one who can maintain control and when she’s gone, I don’t feel safe. She’s out now with a knee injury (a very deliberate aim by a stocky 10-year-old); last year it was a broken foot (same girl). I had to tell the school that a kick in the knee has put the teacher out for a week, but if I’m kicked in the knee it will change my life!  Still, I’m busy, working an average of three days a week. I still take a class at the LDS Institute in Arlington on Tuesdays; the class numbers about a dozen and I love these sisters. We have really bonded.

Son Kevin is flying us to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. We miss them and look forward to a few days of family, food and football. Jason and his family are trying to go to her folks in Utah for Christmas so will have to forego Phoenix. Susie is thriving at Utah State in Logan. I miss her a lot but feel so happy and proud when I think of her. Becca is into theatre, Katie is in Honors Choir (8th grade), and Xander is a 4th grader into building stuff. Jamie works full time at an elementary school and Jason is still with LINK. He was recently promoted to head of instructional design in a new commercial department of LINK. This new dept. is working with designing and building simulators for ambulances, fire trucks, 18-wheelers, etc. Jason kind of misses the association he had with the military, but is happy.

Well, that’s all the news from Lake Woebegone, where all the men are strong, the women good looking and all the children are above average. we send our love and warm wishes.
Sam and Dave

 

 

18 Jun 2014

Summer ’14

Posted by Sam. No Comments

June 18, 2014

Dear friends,

The monthly “How We Be” seems to have morphed into a quarterly “We’re still here.” We’re busy a lot of the time, but with stuff that belongs in Grandma’s Brag Book. For that, we count our blessings but spare our friends. Myself, I have developed a deep respect for the uneventful life.

We’re eating tomatoes, cukes and pan patty squash from the tiny garden I planted in the flowerbed. Makes me very happy to have finally gotten the hang of it: Harvest in June, NOT plant in June. Everything will be done, plant shops all but shut down come mid-July. Texans take a couple of months indoors every July and August, while most of you do the same in the winter.

Dave doesn’t mind the heat at all. I don’t mind it too much but find that the sun is not my friend anymore. Dave has ridden a few bike rides around north Texas. He and Jason are signed up for the Peach Pedal next month in Weatherford (NW of us). He rides with friends or the Rusty Chain Gang three days a week and pedals to the library, etc. G’Pa’s Taxi is taking Becca to play rehearsal every day and trying to talk her into riding a bike. So far, no go. He doesn’t mind taking her, but is just pro-bike!

I am okayed to substitute teach next year. My long term sub job this spring was very, very hard, but very rewarding. I had never heard of EBD (emotional behavior disorder) before I started subbing. Imagine a 10 year old who has tantrums like a 2 year old (only worse because he’s bigger) when he doesn’t get his way or is unable to do something, like win a computer game. Total meltdown. Screaming, hitting, self infliction of pain, throwing things, etc. These kids are non-compliant, disrespectful, very poor impulse control and strong and violent when forced to move out of the classroom.

Some of these kids are very bright, but they don’t want to do school work. They are verbal, physically fit, and appear normal until you ask them to do something. There are about 5 or 6 classes like this, for severe behavior problems, in the district. I just work with elementary, intermediate, or middle school kids. The high school kids are too strong for me.

Most days I came home and Dave would ask how can public schools be expected to deal with these kids? Texas law says every child is entitled to a free education. Most of these kids have been in a psychiatric setting for an 8 to 13 week in-patient session. Few of them live with their biological parents. Every one of them, each in his/her own way, is a mess. Our goal is to teach them to read and do simple arithmetic, to learn to be a good citizen, and to control their meltdowns. Nobody knows how they got the way they are; we just want to set them up for a chance at a successful life.

I witnessed a really rewarding change in one 4th grade boy this spring. He is a gifted child, born in the middle east and dealing with extreme culture conflict in addition to EBD. Last year he addressed his teacher, “Hey, Woman!” This year he has been unable to participate in any field trips because as the day approached, his behavior got worse and worse. He sabotaged himself! This spring, we worked hard to figure out what he was afraid of in the upcoming field trip to Hawaiian Falls. He really wanted to go.
Day after day we discussed things the way they would go on the trip, and finally realized he had a conflict with the modesty he is taught in his culture and getting into his swim suit. Voila! We gave him the answer and he showed up in long shorts over a long swim suit, and two T shirts. We hooked him up with a buddy whose Dad was on the trip, and they checked out the restrooms and changing rooms as soon as they got there. And this kid had a ball. He has never been to the places we take our kids to from an early age, so he couldn’t imagine how it was going to work. It was a proud day!

Some of the classes I work in are kids with birth trauma, or somewhere on the autism scale. A lot of kids with autism are mostly mainstreamed. Another class is a life skills class for kids with severe mental and physical disabilities; a class involving lots of lifting, diaper changing and feeding.  This school district has 53 schools and every one has some kind of special ed class. Kids are grouped by disability and bussed to the appropriate class. I could work every day if I wanted to; there are always openings for paraprofessionals, because there are so many paras in each class. I get paid $5 less than a certified teacher. I don’t really know why I like these classes — they’re so hard — but I do. I love the kids and seem to have a way with them.

We’ll keep you posted on the state of Texas politics. It really doesn’t look like Governor Good Hair is going to run, but Ted Cruz is already running hard. It could get scary.

Here in Arlington, the big issue is “Why can’t we take our guns into the city council meetings to discuss a vote on open-carry in bars?” What can you say to that …? The slogan of the open-carry group is “An armed society is a polite society.”

We’re looking forward to a low key, laid back summer. We think of you often, especially when we let the dog out back at 10 PM and bask in the 78 degrees with a breeze. Our low is quite often your high, temperaturely speaking.

Love,

Sam

P.S. Susie graduated with 465 other seniors at Mansfield High School. The ceremony was held at the largest Performing Arts Center the school district has – it holds over 5,000. Here’s a look at the parking lot after it was all over, taken by Jason.

grads copy

10 Apr 2014

april 10

Posted by Jamie. 1 Comment

I’d done pretty good the last couple of days…I’ve lost 8 pounds since Jason and I sorta started in Feb. Susie has lost 15 pounds since the first…WOW, way to go Susie…she looks great. Jason looks awesome too. So we should see how much we have all lost together in the past 10 days!
yesterday’s login: oatmeal, orange, salad w crab and italian dressing, apple, salad w chicken, Italian dressing, crutons. I did eat some granola I had made last night and I ate too much, felt sick after. Becca and I ran 1 1/2 miles.
Today so far: eggs, salad, chicken, crutons, Italian dressing, almonds orange.

7 Apr 2014

April 5 and 6 if I can remember…

Posted by Jamie. 1 Comment

Sat. Oatmeal, banana, trail mix, salad, shrimp, frozen yogurt with Katie, salad
Sun. Oatmeal, banana, 2 oranges, salad, shrimp chips on top of salad, chicken with sauted onions and peppers, green beans, small package choc filled cookie treat (can’t remember the name)

3 Apr 2014

April 4

Posted by Jamie. 3 Comments

1/4 cup grape nuts w honey and milk
Small Orange small apple
Salad chicken Italian dressing
Small amount of raisins and peanuts
Mango
Salad bla bla bla. Same stuff. It was yummy though!
Small portion of asparagus tiny mayo

2 Apr 2014

April 2

Posted by Jason. 2 Comments

So, bad day for me. Blew the diet with Becca’s left over chocolate cake and vanilla pudding. No exercise, either. Feel gross tonight!

tomorrow is a new day. Way to go mom!  3 pounds is great!

1 Apr 2014

Jason – April 1

Posted by Jason. 2 Comments

Today was much better for me. Started with one hour of physical therapy. Got a pretty decent low-intensity workout. I was sweating and it felt good. no pain. For lunch I had lettuce, two hard-boiled eggs, and an apple.  I drank a couple of liters of water at work, too. Oh, yeah… I caved in to the popcorn machine. But it was almost gone, so I only got about a cup or so. Whew!

For dinner we polished off the rest of the shish kabob meat and asparagus. Good stuff!

Oh, yeah… I walked for twenty minutes at 2 pm today to wake up and because my back was starting to ache a bit. So, all-in-all, a fair day, health-wise.

Post your daily log as comments to this post to help keep things organized.

31 Mar 2014

Posted by Jamie. No Comments

Food journal

3/31
B. Less than 1/2 cup granola w milk
S. Strawberries
L. Salad chicken peppers croutons Italian dressing.
S. Trail mix raisins and peanuts
Walk 1.5 miles.
D. Chicken pork asparagus. Tiny mayo.
Water. 70 oz.

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