Week 5

We are getting into a routine, kind-of.  We come to the archives Monday thru Friday, just as if we were employed here.  We are working 7-8 hours on most days. Our “P” day is Saturday and of course Sunday is Church and rest.  There were a few different happenings this past week.  On Monday, MJ Dowe (we can’t remember her given name, it’s a Maori name although she is not Maori) came to the archive and invited us to dinner and Family Home Evening.  We arrived at the family home and met an two of her brothers and a sister.  Their parents were working, so the youngest, a teenager, was making dinner.  She had also invited a young man, Sean, who had been baptized only 4 weeks ago.  We had dinner and then MJ gave a wonderful lesson on the Restoration.  I was so impressed by the knowledge and respect that the family had for one another and the lesson.  Sean gave the closing prayer, and, again, I was amazed at how sincere and personal he was saying the prayer.  We have been impressed by these Tasmanian people.  They are very knowledgeable and have such wonderful testimonies.

The mission had asked us to buy a clothes dryer, so Tuesday we purchased one and it was delivered to our flat on Wednesday morning.  There is no room in the laundry area for it, so it sits in our dining area. 

In Australia, the dryers do not have to be vented to the outside.  So, it blows moist hot air into your room.  But, then the windows fog up and mold grows.  So we bought a plastic venting pipe kit which allows us to run it to the sliding glass window and out the door.   It has been really nice to wear clothes dried in the dryer instead of stiff ones which were hung outside.

Thursday was Halloween, and true to our tradition, we stayed away from our home.  Next door to the Archives is “The Playhouse”, so we stayed in town, had dinner at the Fish Frenzy restaurant on the wharf, and attended the play, “The Hollow” an Agatha Christy murder mystery.  The Playhouse sat about 200 seats and it’s an old building.  The people attending were interesting to watch.  Most were in their senior years and seemed to know each other.  Before the play began and during the intermission, many bought wine, beer, and other drinks in stemmed glassware.  So there was lots of glass tinkling as they returned their glasses.

Saturday surprised us by being warm and sunny.  We went to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.  The spring flowers were beautiful.  We found a lovely spot to sit and rest (and nap) before the breeze got too cool.  On our way home, we stopped at a hardware store and bought a weed whacker, so we could cut our lawn in the backyard, two tomato plants, and weather stripping to go around the front and back doors. 

Australian Lawnmower

It’s amazing how poorly they build the homes.  As we have been in other homes, they are all cold.  Everyone wears sweaters and coats inside. 

I used to think Utah weather was changeable.  Here it is even more so.  The clouds are really low and the wind blows a lot.  So you can watch the clouds moving very quickly.  The winds are usually from the west which blows up and across from Antarctica, carrying rain often.  So, during a typical day, it can be sunny, then rain, then sunny, wind blowing, and rain again.  I don’t think we will have to water our lawn and tomato plants at all.

View from our Dining Room

 Word of the Week:  sachet=small packets of food (hot chocholate, instant oatmeal, etc.)