tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85772177228450630872024-02-18T23:10:29.700-08:00An Island AdventureA familys journey to the Island of Rotuma, living on the land, among the people and building a house.Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-82019689000177870432013-04-26T21:53:00.003-07:002013-04-26T21:53:19.032-07:00Farewelling Rotuma
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its been a VERY long time....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">WAY too long a disappearance<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>to qualify as a “Professional Blogger”, so apologies to my keen readers
for my absence...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess its partly because nothing SUPER exciting has been
happening (well, actually there is one thing...), or maybe I’ve become a bit of
a Rotuman hermit in my way of life- just living the days away, doing what needs
to be done, feeling a bit lazy to do beyond them, and perhaps I didn't want to
bore you with the mundane-ity of life here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But here I am, feeling the need to somehow summarize the
past 10 months as we are leaving in under a weeks and heading back to the land
of Oz. The kids and I will be leaving first, and Carl will follow 2 weeks
later, in the hope that he manages to finish the house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The house is looking amazing! Still quite a bit of work to
be done, and even if we do manage to finish the basics so it is liveable, it
will be years of ongoing work to finish and maintain it, landscape and beautify
it. Luckily we have a lifetime ahead of us, and the occasional desperate needs
to escape western civilization to an isolated island for some R&R...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the moment, it seems like the “Gods of house completion”
aren’t really on our side, as we have loads of hardware <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>coming on the next boat, which will only
arrive (hopefully) in the second week of May. Nobody knows for sure when it
will come. Very Rotuman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also
experiencing severe power cuts during the day due to lack of fuel for the
islands electricity generators, which doesn’t allow Carl and crew to use the
power tools they need for their work, and we don’t have any fuel left for our
small generator, so that slows things down a lot, but hey- nothing unusual...
the power cuts are only going to get worst in the next few days when they will
need to use the islands generators fuel to power the islands water pumps... I
guess having water is more important than having electricity...</span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids are super excited to go back home, as am I, mainly
to reconnect with family and friends, and to eat crispy fresh apples, broccoli
and divine cheeses (call me weird...).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids are mainly excited to see their uncle Terry (who
has been promising them weekend festivals of waffles and ice cream and lollies
and toys and everything their hearts desire- the poor deprived kids...), their
little cousins, their scooters and Pizza (with bacon, Prosciutto, olives- lots
of, to be precise)! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Noah is returning with his 2 front teeth missing (and yes-
the tooth fairy DOES fly all the way to Rotuma, in case you were wondering!),
and Saulei with a broken Collar bone from a fall(well, we’re assuming its
broken- the hospital was short on X-ray fluid so on the one they managed to
take we could JUST barely see a break in his little Clavicle) so he just has to
wear a sling for the next 4 weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our last couple of weeks here have been a challenge in terms
of food supplies, the shops are empty, we’re out of the basics (flour, sugar,
rice, oil, eggs etc) and the next boat is still 3 weeks away, so its all about
improvising on what I can feed my family for the next 2 weeks... Fish, wild
chickens, Cassava, Dalo, Bele (local spinach leaves),Pawpaws and coconuts. And
thats it! I'm sure this sounds exotic and healthy and wonderful from afar, but
with fussy eaters for kids, and a foodie snob like moi- I AM BLOODY WELL OVER
IT!!!!!!! My only consolation is that its only for 1 more week. And as soon as
I touch down in Oz I will have all my heart desires and craves and more!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its quite challenging for a Jewish mother like myself to
have to say no to my kids when they ask for something to eat, because that
something was designated for a meal tomorrow or next week and that’s all we
have... thankfully and gratefully I have never in my life been in a situation
where I have to hold back on eating or feeding my kids, because there just
isn’t anything to eat...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and its not
like there ISN’T anything to eat here, its just that eating dry boring cassava
when coming home from school all hungry tired and grumpy- isn’t the most
desirable thing for a kid. Or myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mind you, we still have loads of Chocolate, Nori paper for
sushi, condiments, herbs and spices and lots of stuff that we received from my
stunning family and friends or that we brought when we came over- but not much
to cook with it all. The irony...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But hey- I'm sure I will be looking back on this all and
laughing one day, especially when I see spoilt kids back home who complain they
don’t have this or that, when actually they have no idea what it feels like
“not to have”...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The past 10 months have been such a huge eye opener to me,
and with all the challenges and difficulties I've had to face, putting all my
winging and complaining aside, I feel extremely privileged to have experienced
it all, and it has made me a much stronger and improved person.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here is a list of the things I have learnt and feel
grateful for, in ore of, and enriched due to:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">THE BEAUTY OF PRAYER- I've
never been a religious person, never really connected with praying or a God of
any definition or name, but being here and seeing how these simple and content
people find so much joy and peace in their connection to the lord (although at
times, a lot of times, it is way over the top to me!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gesture of showing and feeling gratitude
for what we have, the things that I always took for granted and didn’t know to
appreciate so much until I've seen or experienced a lack of it, has been very
humbling for me. A simple pause before digging into a plate of food- to
acknowledge the fact that we actually HAVE a plate of food, to acknowledge the
forces of nature who helped supply the food, the hands that worked hard to
gather and prepare it. A simple pause and a little prayer in my heart or out
loud is one thing I will take home with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">THE GENEROSITY OF FAMILY-
Carls Uncle Varo and Aunt Aggie have accommodated us in their home for the
whole time we have been here. They have so peacefully accepted us into their
lives as their own family and helped us so much in making this project happen.
From months and months of Physically draining work Varo has done with Carl, to
months of living with my crazy feral children and my moods and fussiness on
Aggies behalf... I don’t know any other person or culture that is capable of
doing this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Us “westerners” are so precious about what
is “ours”- our time, our space, our things... we say we would like to live in
“community” but are we really capable? Are we really able to hold back on OUR
personal needs and opinions in order to keep the peace and harmony <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in our community? Think about it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be completely honest with myself, I
don’t think I would ever be able to do what Varo and Aggie have done for us,
and I feel so much gratitude to them for all that they are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">FRIENDS- Although I have
had moments here of such dark loneliness- being the social person I am who
thrives on my relationships with people, those moments have been lit up by a
few individuals who have been different to the rest- in that they aren’t afraid
of the “Henfisi” (white woman), and have been dear dear friends to me. Namely-
Fotfiri- the mother of Noah and Saulei’s little girlfriends, who is the most
beautiful, simple and humble woman, and has taught me so much about Rotuman culture
and life, who has taken me into the sea to gather “Lumi” (seaweeds) to eat, and
shown me many more treasures of the reefs, and who has just been there to hang
out, when I needed to have another woman around me in this very male dominated
environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And my wonderful friend Sineva, who came to
Rotuma with her family for a few months over Xmas time, and was the only woman
I have met here who actually “Got me”- who understood the feeling of
alienation- being Samoan and not Rotuman, who actually TALKS about feelings! Who
has been to and knows where I come from, who is the most amazing mother of 8
gorgeous and successful kids, who has taught me so much about serenity,
surrender and acceptance, and who will forever be in my heart!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>SURRENDER AND
ACCEPTANCE/LETTING GO AND FORGIVING-</b> I have learnt that when living on such
a small island, or in a small community, one really needs to know how to let go
of their ego in order to contribute to the peace of the collective. One needs
to surrender formal beliefs, desires and ways in order to “fit in”, to be a
part of, and to contribute to the community. Especially in a foreign culture-
where life is so different to what we are accustomed to, one needs to simply
accept their ways, and accept that one cant always challenge or change those
ways, even when ones intentions are pure and for the “betterment” of society, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as these attempts could be more frustrating
than fruitful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There will always be people who will do you
wrong, upset you, betray your trust and take advantage of you, but in a small
community- if you start “collecting” those people in your bad books and keep
them there, you might end up very lonely and isolated. Letting go and forgiving
is far better an option, as hard as it might be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PATIENCE- one of the
BIGGIES I've had to learn, after months and weeks of utter frustration,
aggravation and irritation... “Island Time” is REAL, it is a concept of time so
foreign to us in our busy, functional, efficient western society. What takes a
customer service person 5 minutes to change flight dates over the phone in Oz,
will take about an hour, over several conversations to do the same thing here.
When someone says they’ll come over at 3pm, the number usually indicates how
many hours late they will be, if they bother to turn up at all (obviously not
letting us know if they don’t!). If I'm told that something will be ready next
week- it usually means that next week they might let us know if they can do it
at all... and I can go on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These things happen so often, that at some
point I realized that instead of getting SO pissed off about these things,
getting worked up and angry at people, I’m better off preparing myself in
advanced that things wont go as planned, and to prepare a plan B, or C, D, E, F
and G!</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">LONELINESS AND ISOLATION-
without going into too much detail and dragging you into my internal turmoils,
being an island on an island is one of the hardest things I've had to confront
here. But within this experience, with no other choice- I've had to dig super
deep to find all the golden inner resources to help myself, in the absence of frequent
direct contact with my beloved family and friends from whom I have always
gained so much support. I am grateful and fortunate to have never had to feel
loneliness like this in the past, and I am grateful and fortunate to have had
the opportunity to learn and find my inner strength to help me become a solid,
(semi)sane island on an island...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">CARLS WILL DETERMINATION
AND ENDURANCE- I've been married to Carl for just over 10 years now, so I think
I kinda know him and get what he’s about. I've always known he is a very hard
worker, with an exceptionally strong work ethic and a very particular
perfectionist attitude in doing everything he does. But during this whole
project he has totally BLOWN ME AWAY and I doubt I could find words to describe
his will, internal and external stamina, and perseverance with the work he has
achieved here. I have never known or heard of another human being who has been
challenged so hard in so many ways, yet still taking it all is his stride and
finding a solution or a way to achieve his goal. The physical and mental
strength he has revealed to me and everyone around us is beyond human!!!! I
don’t think anyone, besides those who have been working with him, or those of
you who have been here during this process-could ever grasp the magnitude of
this project, the continuous challenges he has had to overcome, the
excruciating work conditions, the mind boggling mental work, and I can go on
and on... my admiration and respect for Carl has peaked, and I am so damn proud
of him!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">KIDS FREEDOM- a massive
treasure of their childhood which I doubt they would have experienced anywhere
else. The freedom at their ages (6 & 4) to run around outside all day and
play on their own, or to run up or down the road to their friends and disappear
for the whole day without me having to worry about them, as I know they will
always be looked after, fed and cared for by someone in the village. Of course
them being the only “Fafisi” (white) kids on the island makes it a bit of a
novelty for the locals, but it is very humbling to know my kids are gaining
their independence and trust for the world in such a relaxed and carefree
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am kinda dreading going
back to Sydney and having to watch them all the time- watch they stay off the
road, make sure they don’t “disturb anyone’s peace” with their boisterous
boyzie ways, keep them quiet so to not disturb the neighbours, etc etc...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">SIMPLICITY OF BEING- it has
taken a very long time for me to feel content with not “doing”. Even though
being an (un)glorified housewife is not my ideal life goal, being it here has
awarded me a very unique serenity, which again, I doubt I could have achieved
at home. With no where to go, no external stimulation, no transport to take me
around the island, nothing <i>interesting</i> happening anywhere... I've learnt
to appreciate just being. Being at home, getting my daily routines done,
resting when I need to and not pushing myself to achieve another task, playing
with the kids, s-i-m-p-l-i-c-i-t-y. You should try it sometime...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">SHARING SURPLUSES- In a
place where at times there is such abundance of foods, it is great to be able
to share and be shared with when possible, allowing everyone to enjoy the
treasures and treats of this place. Huge bunches of bananas that ripen all at
once, Soursops falling off the trees, so many Pawpaws ripening on the trees
that the birds get to eat more than us, too many fish hunted on a good day by
Carl, and so on- things are always shared around, given away, and what goes
around always comes around.... Baskets of pineapples and watermelons, boxes of
avocados, bags of oranges and limes... if we don’t grow something ourselves,
someone else does and will always bring some around for us. I LOVE that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">FRIENDS AND FAM SENDING
STUFF- how unlucky I am to be such a foodie- deprived of all things treat and
gourmet on a faraway island. But how totally LUCKY I am to have such amazing
family and friends who make the effort to send me amazing parcels of all things
divine to satisfy my craving belly!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE – and I am so
grateful for the little things that have made my stay here sweeter and have
brought me closer to home and to those who care so much. Thank you Thank you
Thank you!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">APPRECIATE WHAT I HAVE
LIVED AND HAD BEFORE HERE- many-a-conversations have been spoken about my life
before here, the privileges of growing up with a loving supportive family,
never lacking anything, being exposed to the world and all its wonders,
travelling all over the globe, given the opportunity of an education, freedom,
choices and so on. We so often take these things for granted when not having experienced
life in any other way. Being here has given me a deeper insight and
understanding of my fortune, when comparing it to those who have no idea of a
life beyond the shores of this island.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">APPRECIATE WHAT WE HAVE
HERE FROM NOW ON- in the rare moments when I manage to slap myself and get over
the challenges of here, I take a step back and look at what we have and what
our future holds for us: a beautiful handmade home, overlooking the grand
pacific ocean, on a tiny isolated island, with so much space, freedom, peace,
unlimited coconuts, growing or hunting for our own food, no stress, shall I go
on??? WHO WOULDNT WANT THAT???? Being able to one day share all this with our
family and friends, and giving this gift to our kids, their kids and grandkids-
is all worth the hard work and effort we have put into this project! YES!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GRATITUDE FOR THE
EXPERIENCE- it has been a tough, gruelling at times, physically, mentally and
emotionally challenging journey for us all and few know the details of it all,
but I must say that I feel so much gratitude (am I over-using that word???) for
this experience, as it has made me a stronger, better, human being, and has taught
me methods of coping better in this world by putting a different perspective on
all I have known and believed in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have graduated from being a “Jewish
Princess” to an “Island Queen” (as my dear mum has </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">said), and I feel PROUD!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so, if all goes to plan (which usually
never happens here...), we shall be returning to Sydney on May 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>,
with an extra member of our family growing rapidly in my womb (for those of you
who don’t know.... AAAAAAHHHH!!!!), to restart our lives back in civilization
enriched with all that we have experienced here, and with a home away from home
to escape to whenever we can or need to...</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And just a little funny story to add re
having a baby...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is a very common tradition in Rotuman
culture for babies to have a namesake. The namesake could be a close relative,
a friend or a distant acquaintance who asks to or offers to be the namesake. Personally
(call me weird...) I prefer to name my own kids. I agreed to Carls cousin giving
Noah a second name , and Saulei’s name was suggested by Carls other cousins which
I agreed to because I loved the name. But I wouldn’t give that privilege to
name my kid to anyone, unless I really liked the name.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being pregnant here, having the locals see
and comment on my belly growth, has sparked quite a few requests for being the baby’s
namesake. From close relatives, to friends to random people who have just come
up to me asking to name my kid.... I found it quite funny actually, and would
have to politely thank them and explain that it is not an acceptable practice
in my culture....</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So.....</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to civilization, to choices, to family
and friends, to yummy food, rich culture, horrific traffic, cost of living and
stress, running around like a headless chook (and now I REALLY know what that
looks like!!!), dealing with consumerism, fashion and trends, cool weather
(YES!!!) a soft comfy bed, SKYPEing my family, Sydney beaches, CAFE’S (or
DECAFE’S for me now...) new music, movies, theatre..... BRING IT
ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So thats it - this might be my last blog
novel (sorry if I bored you...), thanks for all the fantastic feedback I've
received over the years, I have loved writing this and discovered a hidden
talent that only through your feedback I've learnt to recognize. So THANK YOU!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those of you in Sydney- I cant wait to
SQUEEEEEEZ you really soon, and those of you further away- I hope I will
SQUEEEZ you really soon!!!</span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">PEACE, LOVE, and COCONUTS from the Isle of
Rotuma...</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">P.S<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
few pics to show you the progress of the house and more will follow in the next
few days xxx</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-7974725749799415962012-12-17T18:42:00.000-08:002012-12-17T18:42:30.638-08:00Happy season!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hi HO HO and Merry Xmas and (post) Chanuka to y’all!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Am writing from my very breezy room courtesy of Cyclone Evan
which is lashing about Fiji, and although Rotuma was issued a Cyclone warning,
we haven't had anything major happen here besides nice cool winds (the type
that blow through the window and make the ceiling fans move...)</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When they issued the warning I got all excited and started
thinking of how we can prepare for it... Carl did his thing by bracing our
house in a few places and nailing some boards up against the windows in the
house we’re currently in, and me??? I harvested Pineapples to make Jam (so that
the cyclonic winds wont blow the beautiful Pineapples away), harvested loads of
bananas and baked 3 banana breads (to freeze, you never know...) harvested a
lot of my basil (the only thing that has survived the harsh Rotuman heat in my
garden) and made a batch of Pesto, in case Evan might blow my precious Basil
plants away, and ended up making a delicious meal of Spaghetti with seared
fresh Tuna, Rocket, Chilli and Lime. YUM. How else does one prepare for a
Cyclone???</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NhjkG36Wh8fiDQIuebcP_lJ-myxxkRnnOLWZ6RW25HUAe-1u99t3Y5aji85eBRE_fO0xFiioiGck0woVKEY-s867g96JpXdSzjtpjh_JeOCHlHzUVmttqFJVnsKlA6WrLalBzkBoI5kz/s1600/bracing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NhjkG36Wh8fiDQIuebcP_lJ-myxxkRnnOLWZ6RW25HUAe-1u99t3Y5aji85eBRE_fO0xFiioiGck0woVKEY-s867g96JpXdSzjtpjh_JeOCHlHzUVmttqFJVnsKlA6WrLalBzkBoI5kz/s320/bracing.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Carl bracing for the cyclone (sorry you gotta twist your head!)</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids were getting really excited and kept asking if the
“Curricane” has arrived, but luckily, and to their disappointment, we have been
(to date) spared the worse. Apparently its hitting Fiji big time right now, but
I don’t really know what the effects are. Hopefully not too bad!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is the festive season here too, not nearly as
outrageously exhibited as back home, but still, on December 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> most
people here put away their cane knives and stop working for the whole month and
celebrate.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotuman celebrations include the annual farmer shows, in
which each village has their day of farmers boasting their MASSIVE pride....
Watermelons, pineapples, Taro, Bananas, Cassava, and there is a competition and
prizes and everyone is merry.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another traditional celebration is the “Farah”, where a
group of people, or a whole village get together, dress up in traditional gear
and go around the island, or from house to house in their village, park
themselves in front of some ones house and start singing and dancing
traditional Rotuman songs and dances. The “hosts” then have to come out with
bottles of perfume and Talcum powder and douse the entertainers, as well as
offer them treats (watermelon, lollies, whatever). This can happen at any time
of the day or night, and quite often people go around in the middle of the
night and could arrive at your home at 2am and you gotta get up and enjoy their
entertainment. The 2am-ers are usually the drunks, hopefully they will skip our
home when doing their rounds...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went on a couple “Farah’s” organized for the kids in our
village, the boys love getting dressed up in their “Bula shirts” and waiting in
anticipation for what kind of treats they will get. As for the dancing- Noah is
the one who is always up there shaking his stuff, making sure he gets to his
little girlf Briseis, to ask her to dance before any other kid does, and they
dance the night away.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for Saulei, he refuses to get up from my lap (until the
treats are brought out) and hardly even lifts his head from the ground (thinking
if he doesn’t see anybody- no one will see him) in fear of being asked to
dance. It appears though that the “Henfisi” (white girl) is quite popular among
the 6-10yr old boys of the village, and I always get asked to dance by some
blushing excited little boy....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhIyR32wpxGSdVEnj3lJg2dJjvdvVt4OczAPFl8WiH1mf1kh0yvABlEfyJceUsdLJa-vvXM126-eQx_krB6f3AMvyURN36JE6tY9M1f0Z9hkVTLdPGnnqga-5JDjk7yJ3Z2LyftUBiDmE/s1600/farah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhIyR32wpxGSdVEnj3lJg2dJjvdvVt4OczAPFl8WiH1mf1kh0yvABlEfyJceUsdLJa-vvXM126-eQx_krB6f3AMvyURN36JE6tY9M1f0Z9hkVTLdPGnnqga-5JDjk7yJ3Z2LyftUBiDmE/s320/farah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
"Farah"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We return home from these things looking like zombies and
smelling like brothels, but very happy...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carls dad returned to Oz last week after 7 weeks of hard
work here. He helped build the bathroom of our house and they worked really
hard on it. The laying of the bricks turned out to be much harder than
expected, but it is done. The brick laying and roof that is. It still needs to
be rendered, fitted, plumbed, tiled and everything else, but we have a shell.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuArfTeG3r5fnfgtljPhCqwj_U8Xmrfv7wBVDRxLjZ8iggx0h4sCikuENV9UBCED3lep3aRLbwxm6EpSR271RuoYYJ6xY2uGxtgylzdXZ22E62-eVCAcILxU_b4f46FZdD-KuP5dw_e0o/s1600/bathroom+foundations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuArfTeG3r5fnfgtljPhCqwj_U8Xmrfv7wBVDRxLjZ8iggx0h4sCikuENV9UBCED3lep3aRLbwxm6EpSR271RuoYYJ6xY2uGxtgylzdXZ22E62-eVCAcILxU_b4f46FZdD-KuP5dw_e0o/s320/bathroom+foundations.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eSYGEfMvjJbhG-CBJgWEV_196THgDM3uY-jtOv_o9s66S2kBkKoSwmI92Dlm_M6Xy4BqA_0b9yDTzmSmPZgVXfSgL62qxYR1I1es99zdD3xWIOTdpkEx22_-gGUUyMoNyATkeneEf73N/s1600/foundations+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eSYGEfMvjJbhG-CBJgWEV_196THgDM3uY-jtOv_o9s66S2kBkKoSwmI92Dlm_M6Xy4BqA_0b9yDTzmSmPZgVXfSgL62qxYR1I1es99zdD3xWIOTdpkEx22_-gGUUyMoNyATkeneEf73N/s320/foundations+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The process of building the bathroom... more process...</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2OkcuLWwn4BZ41oR5-91_OHoZg8ixT96-dqRuVD-y_yz_bjWe4qUBXH-jusTXM1m61U9zmjZEV3QJXtmSIZ5qpb0pmD-7lNqkJOuxlRiipgwEuBF3_QxK7qh5fCnO6_0sfYHG85gE3iY/s1600/cement+mixer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2OkcuLWwn4BZ41oR5-91_OHoZg8ixT96-dqRuVD-y_yz_bjWe4qUBXH-jusTXM1m61U9zmjZEV3QJXtmSIZ5qpb0pmD-7lNqkJOuxlRiipgwEuBF3_QxK7qh5fCnO6_0sfYHG85gE3iY/s320/cement+mixer.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The boys manualy turning the high-tec cement mixer</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFaFIHm-U-o6k5auWPFqZTRSPdT9UjWIRj1la599oL83k1sDUcXMuhmHm9sxXnxg4PSSKU8PXO-K01Wrp60b9O07T0fdGnRSl_HYX2b-6udogrQMwCu_o-nVJib619ZEQ9lZhWDrFC1Yo/s1600/bath+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFaFIHm-U-o6k5auWPFqZTRSPdT9UjWIRj1la599oL83k1sDUcXMuhmHm9sxXnxg4PSSKU8PXO-K01Wrp60b9O07T0fdGnRSl_HYX2b-6udogrQMwCu_o-nVJib619ZEQ9lZhWDrFC1Yo/s1600/bath+final.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Bathroom shell (it looks a bit more like a bar at the moment...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz15HUvGG7KBLffeMQ0A6A9bd0ZsctdM62nGvI924UYW8F4aROk2mkK8WRt7O6GvNRuO4emgO6bNlj2t0eJakrqMYUQKRpIFOiQFI10kcIlmheHIuHIroAUFl3j6wQu_7iRKQUVpNx2pgx/s1600/bye+pa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz15HUvGG7KBLffeMQ0A6A9bd0ZsctdM62nGvI924UYW8F4aROk2mkK8WRt7O6GvNRuO4emgO6bNlj2t0eJakrqMYUQKRpIFOiQFI10kcIlmheHIuHIroAUFl3j6wQu_7iRKQUVpNx2pgx/s320/bye+pa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Farewell Pa...</div>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carls uncle Varo, aunt Aggie and son Muero have gone to Fiji
for a few months leaving us alone in their house (well, almost alone, with his
old uncle Ringa). It was sad to see them go, especially Aggie, as she is my
main company here, but they are happily in Fiji with their kids and grandkids.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This means that we are, for the first time in –I don’t know
how long- just us four (well, almost), a family of US. This means so much more
freedom and less stress over bulk cooking and meal planning and cleaning and
bla <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bla bla. I can decide to wack up a
meal for 5 in 10 minutes and it is sooooo easy!!! Am loving it!!! I have more
time to play with the kids and do other stuff, and its a joy.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A wonderful thing that has happened- I have a new friend!!!!
She is the loveliest Samoan woman, mother of 8 (!!!) great kids, one of which
has become Carls surf BFF) and the wife of a Rotuman doctor. They all live in
Fiji but have a house here and come here for holidays. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cant emphasize enough how nice it is to have a friend here
who is a foreigner like me, who knows how it feels to be a foreigner in this
culture, who appreciates the things that I appreciate and who can really
understand where I come from and how I feel about life here. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Their whole family are very kind and generous, they invited
us over for dinner the other night and we had the nicest night I have had since
leaving Sydney 7 months ago! It was such a treat!!! There was a Xmas tree which
the kids couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw it and hung around it most
the night, We had bottle after bottle of lovely Spanish wine, we ate STEAK and
decent Sausages and HAM and salads- all the things we JUST DONT HAVE here and I
felt NORMAL!!! Great company, great food, hanging out with GIRLS- it was like
HONEY poured all over my soul...</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWUMNCipRVid9b5aJRRVIbKaT6IWGC8hCh1s8z_8vjxuDlACyKWbk3ot_q_hP_4r7lQge9O8rBavY-67FYfZXj5TOeogNL0z2dgAQxaGJA783oXSS4anIK34aWqhmrnF_3nk63K72Cmjy/s1600/xmas+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWUMNCipRVid9b5aJRRVIbKaT6IWGC8hCh1s8z_8vjxuDlACyKWbk3ot_q_hP_4r7lQge9O8rBavY-67FYfZXj5TOeogNL0z2dgAQxaGJA783oXSS4anIK34aWqhmrnF_3nk63K72Cmjy/s320/xmas+tree.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The thrill of a real Xmas tree!!! (excuse the head twisting again...)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And because we both know how we love the good things in life
we are constantly exchanging little treats with each other, I bring her soaps,
she sends me home with some yummy wholemeal nutty bread she brought from Suva,
I bring her books (THE trilogy!!!) she sends over a pound of butter, I give her
some home made pesto, she sends a basket full of vegies, I send her some home
made virgin coconut oil and some divine Red wine liqueur vinegar my in-laws
brought, and so on...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">AND, her son, Carls BFF, just returned from Suva and brought
us 6kg’s of BACON!!!!! Yes!!!!!!! Bacon Bacon Bacon! Bacon Bacon Bacon!!! Bacon
and egg rolls, bacon in fried rice, bacon pasta... YOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! I am one
happy Jewess!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every few days I jump on the bike and ride down to her
village, we go for a swim and bob up and down in the water for ages chatting
about meaningful things!!!! Such a treat!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The house is looking beautiful, nothing yet happening on the
inside, but the outside looks great! After Carls dad left, Carl had decided to
take a very well deserved break from the house and do other stuff like surfing,
fishing, gardening and a bit of nothing too!!! (very UN-Carl like...)</span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chanuka came and went, and being the only Jewess on the
island, and probably surrounding islands and maybe all the way to Australia or
New Zealand, I wanted to do what I could to preserve the spirit of Chanuka,
even here! So the kids and I collected scraps of wood and built a very wonky
Chanukiya, and I spent a whole day preparing 40 Dulce-de-Lette filled donuts.
They tasted great, disappeared within 10 minutes and made me feel sick for the
rest of the day. At least I tired...</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyR6MyHERZo7cuvTMKvAFeqk3R5kWPcy1OE23DQt0r3y_2x228xiEypZNOo6IPYEjKqPCHQU623S-rLNHCcdKRlw9oG7zQs6erkdabxzjJZ5Ba4wn2AVYcXSNBdv2Ac-DsLsEnI5c03aw/s1600/making+chanukiya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyR6MyHERZo7cuvTMKvAFeqk3R5kWPcy1OE23DQt0r3y_2x228xiEypZNOo6IPYEjKqPCHQU623S-rLNHCcdKRlw9oG7zQs6erkdabxzjJZ5Ba4wn2AVYcXSNBdv2Ac-DsLsEnI5c03aw/s320/making+chanukiya.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Building Chanukiya<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uJL4bEPW6sZY95qCmF6U5sLbfdVTtEIOcKlITyH8WuftO_KfBxfbVF_g9P4hv3MBoX2aU3ycw8cO0eT5qU72HGCdThF1blbJYMVESerzJCrqB0XFPlyaTKgakc352PLlRR38cu-4UnaQ/s1600/SUFGANIOT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uJL4bEPW6sZY95qCmF6U5sLbfdVTtEIOcKlITyH8WuftO_KfBxfbVF_g9P4hv3MBoX2aU3ycw8cO0eT5qU72HGCdThF1blbJYMVESerzJCrqB0XFPlyaTKgakc352PLlRR38cu-4UnaQ/s320/SUFGANIOT.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I made my very last attempt at hosting a little ladies night
on our new deck, made some beautiful sushi and sashimi, and finally made the
Pinacolada’s I’ve been dreaming of making here (freshly squeezed coconut cream,
freshly picked sweetest pineapples in the world and really bad quality Rum...),
hoping the girls will appreciate the fine delicacies I presented them with. But
Rotumans, bless them, they down their drinks as fast as a nomad travelling in
the Sahara desert without hydrating for a week, would down a glass of water... just
to get drunk as fast as possible, and no need to describe the rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So REALLY, I PROMISE!!! That was my LAST time
drinking with Rotumans. It just doesn’t work for me...</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">School holidays here, slightly different than back home,
very mellow and the kids just have to find ways to entertain themselves. Its
not like I can take them to Museums or playgrounds or the cinema or children’s
holiday activities... over here its all about climbing trees, shooting
eachother with stick guns (or their Nerf guns their uncle sent them), going to
play with kids up and down the road, or nagging me to death. I'm actually
enjoying it! Enjoying the time with the kids, who are speaking fluent Rotuman
now, they even talk to ME in Rotuman at times, and translate for me what other
kids are saying to me, which is quite amusing...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFaFIHm-U-o6k5auWPFqZTRSPdT9UjWIRj1la599oL83k1sDUcXMuhmHm9sxXnxg4PSSKU8PXO-K01Wrp60b9O07T0fdGnRSl_HYX2b-6udogrQMwCu_o-nVJib619ZEQ9lZhWDrFC1Yo/s1600/bath+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuArfTeG3r5fnfgtljPhCqwj_U8Xmrfv7wBVDRxLjZ8iggx0h4sCikuENV9UBCED3lep3aRLbwxm6EpSR271RuoYYJ6xY2uGxtgylzdXZ22E62-eVCAcILxU_b4f46FZdD-KuP5dw_e0o/s1600/bathroom+foundations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_7nwMuy2Mjc1jn0LpJh5057NPcUsVi8S8w7JcfDPQrbFGKouP6DVNSOkJC8u-RPBOzWNx-PWdtACgnFmniRYwnp93uQxF-9ucM6rGLosIreoNUcohggd9y125i8qv4CqNtIJ5YaQ4xW3/s1600/cubby+cinema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_7nwMuy2Mjc1jn0LpJh5057NPcUsVi8S8w7JcfDPQrbFGKouP6DVNSOkJC8u-RPBOzWNx-PWdtACgnFmniRYwnp93uQxF-9ucM6rGLosIreoNUcohggd9y125i8qv4CqNtIJ5YaQ4xW3/s320/cubby+cinema.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd916WSv3pohyphenhyphenMd5vbaCIds9B-rPNc7zLnJxsgHEoMhUD_E7mtg3Gfsx6hjCVH0iQbHWt5LlDCCNHO8AYIK0V_rqbUznD_DTyVeO5ZmdA7z_GnGSn5c-_ZpD4Q0RsQZYq5PUsDN1MaPC7/s1600/nerf+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd916WSv3pohyphenhyphenMd5vbaCIds9B-rPNc7zLnJxsgHEoMhUD_E7mtg3Gfsx6hjCVH0iQbHWt5LlDCCNHO8AYIK0V_rqbUznD_DTyVeO5ZmdA7z_GnGSn5c-_ZpD4Q0RsQZYq5PUsDN1MaPC7/s320/nerf+shot.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Some school holiday activities...<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So from a cyclone safe Rotuma, I shall sign off and wish you
all happy holidays and new year, and thanks for reading me, thanks for your
comments and lovely feedback, take care and spread the Love </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">xxx</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZVs2PdC5RSUEtsc-onIkCCSq_VNFuqh0bCHWPF7xqaSDx3CZ_0nqboszAVCp3MrOly9ySlULFUMMlx7B72btgUlPT6Qf0ZRu43C2Cw5rZUIvKOamHtaxvlf195lCDHLzFH3-ImjJSxKX/s1600/pawpaw+mobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZVs2PdC5RSUEtsc-onIkCCSq_VNFuqh0bCHWPF7xqaSDx3CZ_0nqboszAVCp3MrOly9ySlULFUMMlx7B72btgUlPT6Qf0ZRu43C2Cw5rZUIvKOamHtaxvlf195lCDHLzFH3-ImjJSxKX/s320/pawpaw+mobile.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotuman Pawpaw mobile</span></o:p><br />
<o:p></o:p> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MpDYQFl-x-6qVKKyo6gTDAu-UtELsFmbafpJLRYk8OJaQVE8oC26tl5R2vhSch3OZMV6nYZ4SKvrIHuYZf1crQ4vokk0kKDNmPYuOo8suWfcgZG_J_4fAVFBrDHrlucEbmhyXtNl6PYO/s1600/ROTUMAN+BATH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MpDYQFl-x-6qVKKyo6gTDAu-UtELsFmbafpJLRYk8OJaQVE8oC26tl5R2vhSch3OZMV6nYZ4SKvrIHuYZf1crQ4vokk0kKDNmPYuOo8suWfcgZG_J_4fAVFBrDHrlucEbmhyXtNl6PYO/s320/ROTUMAN+BATH.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Rotuman bath tub</span></o:p><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p>And just a few things I do to pass time... and treat my family!</o:p></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvaHkFN47wCptVViIssA6ax88tvJrowLO5H61onXp_lZQfgFHPyNwZaxyjbSupPXSn155YvA5Hsmy90oViOMjl0putdtkGm-VwXv58FVgpuW7lj_Avq84qlxbG2YptwzU2gCFOa-cOWCS/s1600/shablulim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvaHkFN47wCptVViIssA6ax88tvJrowLO5H61onXp_lZQfgFHPyNwZaxyjbSupPXSn155YvA5Hsmy90oViOMjl0putdtkGm-VwXv58FVgpuW7lj_Avq84qlxbG2YptwzU2gCFOa-cOWCS/s320/shablulim.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Cinnamon Scrolls<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKUEjO6AhlFYAOwHE8lli6V6wmXP0v8Zpj9kHUc8A_SbPJsFzIkmVpEw6XWcl4Q5h_V8hTshPiNDjQHMfvSfuKDt3obTHUCrkjK5dR4XQgDNmvZqmSn7qLJbjF_ohZulPev1feUe3Y-K7/s1600/usd+pineapple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKUEjO6AhlFYAOwHE8lli6V6wmXP0v8Zpj9kHUc8A_SbPJsFzIkmVpEw6XWcl4Q5h_V8hTshPiNDjQHMfvSfuKDt3obTHUCrkjK5dR4XQgDNmvZqmSn7qLJbjF_ohZulPev1feUe3Y-K7/s320/usd+pineapple.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Upside down Pineapple cake</span></o:p></div>
Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-74553849081504646222012-11-21T00:11:00.000-08:002012-11-21T00:11:11.602-08:00Dedicated to Peace<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I sit here today, with a very heavy heart, the heaviest
heart I have felt in a long long time.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I sit here on the other end of the planet to most of you,
thinking of my family and friends in Israel, thinking of the people of Israel
and the people of Gaza, and the distress, pain and fear they are experiencing,
and I feel angry!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Angry at the inequality of life.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was sitting in the water on the rocks down at the bottom
of our land, the most beautiful silver sunset, grey skies, silver glittering
water all around me and felt the most intense sense of Peace. Surrounded by
lush green vegetation behind me and the serene soothing water, thinking of the
life I am living and the love I feel for my family. I felt so fortunate and so
grateful for where I am and what I have, but felt a very strong PANG in my
heart, thinking how unfair it is that whilst I am living this peaceful serene
life here, there are people in Israel and Gaza who live in terror of the next
moment to come. While my children run around naked having rain showers screaming
with joy, splashing in the ocean, climbing coconut trees and live in such
abundance of the most tasty and beautiful things in life- there are children in
Israel and Gaza who are huddled up in bomb shelters (if they're lucky enough to
have one!) and witnessing their homes and families being destroyed in such an
awful terrifying way.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I felt that just as the distribution of wealth in this world
is so unjust, so is the distribution of Peace.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is not fair that we are here without a worry on our mind
(and of course this is all relative, dare I say that my concern for the lack of
butter in the shops here compares to anything that Israeli’s and Palestinians
may be feeling right now...), while my family, friends and fellow human kind
are suffering the immense atrocities happening in Israel and Gaza in exactly
this moment.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel so deeply sad by what’s happening there, and every
time I watch the news on TV here, my eyes fill with tears and I feel so
frustrated and helpless being here with nothing to do to help these people. I know
it is, always has been, and might always be a very tricky situation that is
happening there, but more so now than ever, living the life that I am, being
objective and not living in the eye of that storm, I can see that what the
Israeli government and the Hamas are doing will not lead to anything but
destruction of hearts, families, people.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know it is much easier for me to say this here, but a
little quote a friend posted on Facebook by the Dalai Lama really touched my
heart:</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When asked “why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?”
he answered-</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well war is obsolete, you know. Of course the mind can
rationalize fighting back... but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then
you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be
inside you.”</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I dedicate this post to my dearest, beloved family and
friends in Israel, and to all Israeli’s and Palestinians. With tears in my
eyes, and with all my heart- I wish I could share my peace with you, I wish
that someday you will be free of the pain and hatred you feel in your hearts,
and have the opportunity to experience true peace, inside and out. I wish for
the children to be free of the fear that is embedded in their little beings,
and for them never to have to see the things they do, ever again. And to the
mothers and fathers... my words escape me... I pray for you all morning and
night, and only hope that someone up there or down there can hear me and MAKE
THIS STOP!!!!!!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Know that I am thinking of you all allot, and although I don’t
write personal emails much, you are in my heart big time, you know who you are,
and I hope you’re feeling me!</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t feel very inspired to write much about life here
right now, so will just say in short that things are good! The house is coming
along well, slowly, and with almost all the external walls done- it is finally looking
like a house, a home.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My in-laws have been here, Carls mum left last Friday, and
his dad is staying for another3-4 weeks. Its been nice having some family here,
some familiarity and grandfolks for the kids, I really miss that!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The school year will be over in a couple of weeks, and thank
Goddess for that, as I could not stand another day of the ridiculousness of the
school and education system here.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not sure how much longer we will be here, might need to stay
longer than out original plan for a January return if the house isn’t complete
by then.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are all good, well, happy and loving life. I am attaching
some pics for you to see where we’re at with the house.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">PEACE, LOVE and coconuts to you all</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">XXX</span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczXPAGnrTXc_hbASeYajQduNtFyUBSQCSRYaEKKewWNHicFJO08GdWmRDN7pPWv8W6qSzo8W9EX0t3yK5qebxs8BKpgOlwMHkJmKXpVyVm8bGydESUFit-VnBq_-Qto1WYZGrqdYHGI-q/s1600/church+going+noah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczXPAGnrTXc_hbASeYajQduNtFyUBSQCSRYaEKKewWNHicFJO08GdWmRDN7pPWv8W6qSzo8W9EX0t3yK5qebxs8BKpgOlwMHkJmKXpVyVm8bGydESUFit-VnBq_-Qto1WYZGrqdYHGI-q/s1600/church+going+noah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczXPAGnrTXc_hbASeYajQduNtFyUBSQCSRYaEKKewWNHicFJO08GdWmRDN7pPWv8W6qSzo8W9EX0t3yK5qebxs8BKpgOlwMHkJmKXpVyVm8bGydESUFit-VnBq_-Qto1WYZGrqdYHGI-q/s320/church+going+noah.jpg" width="240" /><br />
Noah on his way to Church</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZht1AwnYCobGxrls1pYIwBHCOTUfYyhPulvxxVNrnV7ikfDkHvHTOnggINDOTzDFjsKWeV9m0aqkGReL6rkgbpF6n2SswdfZF4Tf4tR4_sNomqUyubrC3j-st5kc4WTIiBQ8ZwqIWpwy/s1600/love+of+my+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZht1AwnYCobGxrls1pYIwBHCOTUfYyhPulvxxVNrnV7ikfDkHvHTOnggINDOTzDFjsKWeV9m0aqkGReL6rkgbpF6n2SswdfZF4Tf4tR4_sNomqUyubrC3j-st5kc4WTIiBQ8ZwqIWpwy/s320/love+of+my+life.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Silly Saulei<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35M5IneWVRhnvNyiNjw82gCS0QrzQ5Kkq9cEODdDZSNVNTYwcOobnj5irD6LQdl1D9um3jUl_KY9gNDdxYNBPlQQMbVfWuLh5SbjjEifkUpDkE5v-E8oMym91cNZetWHtWaGsdSyfE-Oy/s1600/dog+tooth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35M5IneWVRhnvNyiNjw82gCS0QrzQ5Kkq9cEODdDZSNVNTYwcOobnj5irD6LQdl1D9um3jUl_KY9gNDdxYNBPlQQMbVfWuLh5SbjjEifkUpDkE5v-E8oMym91cNZetWHtWaGsdSyfE-Oy/s320/dog+tooth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Carl's first Dog Tooth Tuna!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1AVOxnsSh5i1McUIGsu7Z1EfMOLpnRJbVQhRe83lsSOLXZEGH5Mo0EF5_MeIRGvw0BJ9xPBm9BLmy8uw5D7YXr9K4iujoHl0LKpOrJzfqo-td4goz-pXqwr01UE4pEmmwg1tL4TCib3j/s1600/house+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1AVOxnsSh5i1McUIGsu7Z1EfMOLpnRJbVQhRe83lsSOLXZEGH5Mo0EF5_MeIRGvw0BJ9xPBm9BLmy8uw5D7YXr9K4iujoHl0LKpOrJzfqo-td4goz-pXqwr01UE4pEmmwg1tL4TCib3j/s320/house+front.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Front view of the house<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVn1ljI47MMme6m9xb5EOuiBACKOFgAo3qGJXV7NYtH8kNEpux6Z-XARwQVj88gZSxqAwaHyZJfYqR71oPhzseECwXJ75n1Yr6SFRwZ33qTJtLThVjjLfGUsOZJmVe3iYkB_OMJTLjmID/s1600/house+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVn1ljI47MMme6m9xb5EOuiBACKOFgAo3qGJXV7NYtH8kNEpux6Z-XARwQVj88gZSxqAwaHyZJfYqR71oPhzseECwXJ75n1Yr6SFRwZ33qTJtLThVjjLfGUsOZJmVe3iYkB_OMJTLjmID/s320/house+side.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Side view (Bed rooms)<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-nFLUkOM-aO87cShRhfDsDHI1CRmmUxzDZKBD3LCaTUjBWyUpRMLTL0DoXmmFUu-B1CDZNfcRyQZCcgd4N_KPZiiQCs7HylHvnuqnYljw4qE8TdeSM0qAhu2h5LXPIZXba7o-zUNon2j/s1600/other+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-nFLUkOM-aO87cShRhfDsDHI1CRmmUxzDZKBD3LCaTUjBWyUpRMLTL0DoXmmFUu-B1CDZNfcRyQZCcgd4N_KPZiiQCs7HylHvnuqnYljw4qE8TdeSM0qAhu2h5LXPIZXba7o-zUNon2j/s320/other+side.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Other side view (Kitchen)<br />
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</div>
Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-29070988205674960462012-10-17T20:23:00.000-07:002012-10-17T20:34:03.820-07:00PIGGED OUT!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Oh what a wonderful day for me today!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The kids are both at school AND the internet is working!!!!
Which means I have spent the entire day on my laptop, which is a complete
luxury and hasn’t happened since I arrived here and I am stoked!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Noah is finally wanting to go to school now, after having a
really hard time adjusting to the (non)system at the local school. Every time I
would go with Saulei to Preschool, which is on the primary school’s grounds, I
would see Noah wondering around the school grounds, hiding under trees, looking
for someone to talk to (unfortunately sometimes that someone would be the high
school principal, who wondered why he wasn’t in class with the rest of his
classmates...- getting in trouble already!!!?!?!?!). No one tells him what to
do or not to do, I think the teachers and principal are just fascinated with
him and his stories of faraway lands (Israel and Australia) and love hearing
about all his favourite foods and the different dishes I cook and how I make
them....</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">There is absolutely no discipline there, and they let him
get away with whatever he wants, therefore he feels a bit lost and like he
doesn’t belong. He wasn’t learning anything at school, so I decided to keep him
home one day and home school him, which I feel he is benefiting from a lot. And
like I said, he is now much happier to go to school and is almost as keen as he
was when he was going to school in Oz. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Saulei has taken even longer to get him keen, I think he
just didnt want to be away from me for such a long time- 7:30am till after 4pm
is a long time to be away for this particular 4yr old, and only when he
realised that when he goes to preschool without me, and is in the care of my
friend Fotfiri (who runs the preschool)- he gets given so many treats <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and lollies that he would never get at
home,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he’s decided<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that school is an essential part of his life,
and has been going <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to school every day
this week!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So this is what it has come to- if I want a bit of peace and
quiet and time to myself, I have to send my kids to a place where they get fed awful
fluoro coloured ice blocks, green bubblegum, COFFEE lollies and deep fried
donuts drizzled with chocolate sauce.... and they LOVE it!!!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Who said that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>parental decision making was easy????...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8SF-8S21xlbDamNfJHqdNEdBBxMiHnA5YafVpKP9h_k-kXg12HaDBpDjsyS8Zxd9UugS-bRbz_69UxhZvbbD9N2G3q459l3FQwrtxkqjfrLBbbF8mjCUA1mbWmgXrtCiWVqQ5sU9HZOi/s1600/bros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8SF-8S21xlbDamNfJHqdNEdBBxMiHnA5YafVpKP9h_k-kXg12HaDBpDjsyS8Zxd9UugS-bRbz_69UxhZvbbD9N2G3q459l3FQwrtxkqjfrLBbbF8mjCUA1mbWmgXrtCiWVqQ5sU9HZOi/s320/bros.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bro's..</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoVdQoCCVZOWUdb3XcUTMsPE9AEDs7ZUV5OxNVjMYGZJSlNQzhpL9Z0u0Mh6eDcSOhNgfrTKk5POey1ibtgwqb4DDknvzvR0wEdBc86msEOS9Oe9kzk-X4MjjbX3TqT2weLwcLFAh0ny2/s1600/small+sheik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoVdQoCCVZOWUdb3XcUTMsPE9AEDs7ZUV5OxNVjMYGZJSlNQzhpL9Z0u0Mh6eDcSOhNgfrTKk5POey1ibtgwqb4DDknvzvR0wEdBc86msEOS9Oe9kzk-X4MjjbX3TqT2weLwcLFAh0ny2/s320/small+sheik.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sheik Saulei</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">House is starting to look like its actually progressing,
Carl and his uncle Varo have been hammering away and getting some window frames
and walls up and its looking damn good! Carl has another week or so’s work in
the bush cutting timber, and then he will be down here working away on the
house from then on.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNt_VepNxu62t4v2_P09Yo2hMumnC6YhqPDzdwb1jpMrTachj8628P4B8T4P0JXsA-Kb59c8N_ZCCBbwsR6ce2BE2iYy6Lzsedv9rhWyheru4o_rWJm7seO956MoPWHb2dKwiUEOgWufux/s1600/house+now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNt_VepNxu62t4v2_P09Yo2hMumnC6YhqPDzdwb1jpMrTachj8628P4B8T4P0JXsA-Kb59c8N_ZCCBbwsR6ce2BE2iYy6Lzsedv9rhWyheru4o_rWJm7seO956MoPWHb2dKwiUEOgWufux/s320/house+now.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Where its at now</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpdGH_Rk3bu6dG5Dl7geQMCg50LjT0Mx-k4mUUUfd2oGC-8RbWS8EmE-CsqkVHWkk_mLkyRHsNKjHWsEmkxT2smAbT39acqOzoCOViHmBdzIGc7qxL1g8Yr_9DFMNm20ynuy_YCcKg07w/s1600/men+at+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpdGH_Rk3bu6dG5Dl7geQMCg50LjT0Mx-k4mUUUfd2oGC-8RbWS8EmE-CsqkVHWkk_mLkyRHsNKjHWsEmkxT2smAbT39acqOzoCOViHmBdzIGc7qxL1g8Yr_9DFMNm20ynuy_YCcKg07w/s320/men+at+work.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Men at work</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">My in-laws are coming over for a visit at the end of the
month which will be great! More company, grandparents for the kids and more
help for Carl!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">We had a big Piggy event happen a couple of weeks ago, we
decided to buy a pig and butcher it PROPERLY with the help of a Tasmanian guy,
Arnold, who was here for a couple of months. He is a butcher by trade and was
keen to teach us how to do it right, as opposed to just chopping the beast up
into whatever many pieces and chucking the thing into the Lovo (underground
oven).</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It took a while to find the right pig, we wanted one that
was big and fat, in order to gain a lot of Bacon, so when we eventually found
one and payed $300 for it, they brought it home with a bullet<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>between its eyes, and a freshly slit throat.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamyNk-YYb0AGgcQudX_X07VJtrbekzK9MjO0x3AbKzrheTTNNSi-H6PH46V2nMc4eyjp_mYkatpITSeIAg9r83KxjKgfQNalCdDuibsux6zTMhb85nv34q4BSISYOF4hvQArosJYfqVKt/s1600/the+pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamyNk-YYb0AGgcQudX_X07VJtrbekzK9MjO0x3AbKzrheTTNNSi-H6PH46V2nMc4eyjp_mYkatpITSeIAg9r83KxjKgfQNalCdDuibsux6zTMhb85nv34q4BSISYOF4hvQArosJYfqVKt/s320/the+pig.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pig! As usual the kids were very amused...</div>
</span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Oh whoops! <span style="line-height: 115%;">WARNING: THE FOLLOWING BIT MAY
CONTAIN OFFENSIVE DESCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES. IF YOU PREFER TO SEE YOUR MEAT FILLETED
AND BBQ’D AND ON YOUR PLATE- YOU MAY SCROLL DOWN AND SKIP THE NEXT BIT.</span>..)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So with the sun setting in the background, the men cut up
the beast into 4 pieces (head, front legs, torso and back legs) and chilled it
over night. The next morning our kitchen transformed into a makeshift butchery
and Arnold showed Carl and Varo how to butcher each leg, which cut to use for
bacon, how to slice out succulent massive Pork Chops, and cube about 8kgs of
meat for stewing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">They prepared a solution of salt, sugar, water and some
stuff Arnold had for curing meat which they injected into the legs and bacon
chunks and put it all in a big barrel full of the solution to cure for a few
days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">We were so excited about having loads of bacon (no one here
has ever made it, and its not like we can buy it here...) and legs of Ham...
All I could think of was how much easier school lunches are going to get with
such a huge amount of ham...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8SF-8S21xlbDamNfJHqdNEdBBxMiHnA5YafVpKP9h_k-kXg12HaDBpDjsyS8Zxd9UugS-bRbz_69UxhZvbbD9N2G3q459l3FQwrtxkqjfrLBbbF8mjCUA1mbWmgXrtCiWVqQ5sU9HZOi/s1600/bros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-GQx7nhYD2zL7dT7sWWdH-a1W9suC0kyLBHuSS22eILaYGPpFP-b-dW13c-HdQ-5S1o4KaLaenjTMALVGckzQcPUCtpSE5CNeWCMK9HBP8dCvXcxtrZcwgMF5XSbOHZejeBDJUZvj98Q/s1600/bum+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-GQx7nhYD2zL7dT7sWWdH-a1W9suC0kyLBHuSS22eILaYGPpFP-b-dW13c-HdQ-5S1o4KaLaenjTMALVGckzQcPUCtpSE5CNeWCMK9HBP8dCvXcxtrZcwgMF5XSbOHZejeBDJUZvj98Q/s320/bum+head.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bum Head!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaJwBfIf4AWTCR9lC7KwZgdHkcAmtU9ckWTBm5qa_A4wT28aUDEFcayX3-UaJAql3RMoJD8ivbSSgm2tJnCaMo26lr8MSj2vebYgbBJnoOOJdjBv0afhlnjIJ78KoY2LUIlw8pgdvMZOQ/s1600/the+guts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaJwBfIf4AWTCR9lC7KwZgdHkcAmtU9ckWTBm5qa_A4wT28aUDEFcayX3-UaJAql3RMoJD8ivbSSgm2tJnCaMo26lr8MSj2vebYgbBJnoOOJdjBv0afhlnjIJ78KoY2LUIlw8pgdvMZOQ/s320/the+guts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The GUTS!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzLNuCDP962E5Y9bi6v0Y7SQMO5Uwbip8o9Zya4HZIpW_w97FxnLJ8IPYr0UNgIR3XNYLEvgdvTfI0k2jFFfhTfsm7Lxbm41yQIzKz-aKCuUprW-sem2WMLlh_0Qpzuo9S3CwjFlho5fN/s1600/what+you+dont+see+at+the+butchers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzLNuCDP962E5Y9bi6v0Y7SQMO5Uwbip8o9Zya4HZIpW_w97FxnLJ8IPYr0UNgIR3XNYLEvgdvTfI0k2jFFfhTfsm7Lxbm41yQIzKz-aKCuUprW-sem2WMLlh_0Qpzuo9S3CwjFlho5fN/s320/what+you+dont+see+at+the+butchers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What you DONT see at your butchers!</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolnzXzRe8ZYH4L1PFdR563INH5yaw1yDlrDv9oow-sL3SO_zItF4bfGZxqArSkzLGHKXheuVadOSyeOpYWXhYbdY1Wil5IM9Fi97GYkQIXktI6_Co24yW3j7oHfqUVKUJKuXGXiJGKVQZ/s1600/pig+splits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolnzXzRe8ZYH4L1PFdR563INH5yaw1yDlrDv9oow-sL3SO_zItF4bfGZxqArSkzLGHKXheuVadOSyeOpYWXhYbdY1Wil5IM9Fi97GYkQIXktI6_Co24yW3j7oHfqUVKUJKuXGXiJGKVQZ/s320/pig+splits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nothing else to say about this pic, but laugh!!! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVOYnyNgzZ9DE_9Qh14yC7UbyArSAlpIG7btqY3ldpggSnX7nr-7-CjI_3zp_xJ265Kx2aWMwYCgXcthE5Y5VNOKAw_IxlxJz4W-aHFlQZBd8hfGAZOO9NBLdEYKQTTZ9jhs-PNpx91UK/s1600/legolamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVOYnyNgzZ9DE_9Qh14yC7UbyArSAlpIG7btqY3ldpggSnX7nr-7-CjI_3zp_xJ265Kx2aWMwYCgXcthE5Y5VNOKAw_IxlxJz4W-aHFlQZBd8hfGAZOO9NBLdEYKQTTZ9jhs-PNpx91UK/s320/legolamb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Legs'o'ham and a whole lotta Bacon!!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2R0NDMk-rRMgxfBF9kd4pH9GcJM565kbL9Bq8l4x2Hg8kyDnlbYEOjxktAS6xVIOIesFE4lDzJUlzz6Hv3ycRhqEAfytCaZNVL0O6WJkntPL2WUFRTHCEFkCyU2yPfG2fW8hMKDUVcVY/s1600/lamb+chops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2R0NDMk-rRMgxfBF9kd4pH9GcJM565kbL9Bq8l4x2Hg8kyDnlbYEOjxktAS6xVIOIesFE4lDzJUlzz6Hv3ycRhqEAfytCaZNVL0O6WJkntPL2WUFRTHCEFkCyU2yPfG2fW8hMKDUVcVY/s320/lamb+chops.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Chopping the chops!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil04ti7FREhacXK-XqbA2s6m1-DdIrjuk-HFpfQccQzECBMjcKL55YpqV3e3fKC-I_SMqZ2Nnv1eFz8C9wZjuEgQnnBgdSVr9G7TrvQ0Y9RloaqSEPF1iCJvXaLkSkyeyqiLkbk3CtlAlC/s1600/future+stew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil04ti7FREhacXK-XqbA2s6m1-DdIrjuk-HFpfQccQzECBMjcKL55YpqV3e3fKC-I_SMqZ2Nnv1eFz8C9wZjuEgQnnBgdSVr9G7TrvQ0Y9RloaqSEPF1iCJvXaLkSkyeyqiLkbk3CtlAlC/s320/future+stew.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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A lot of Future stew!!!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">We were all waiting patiently, each of us drooling over our
Bacon and ham fantasies, until about 3 days later we woke up to not a fishy
smell, but a ROTTING PIG smell!!!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I couldn’t deal with it and went to school with the kids,
and when I came home, I was told the devastating dream crashing news of THE
WHOLE LOT having to be chucked out coz it went bad...</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It turns out that they didnt consider the temperature here,
and thought that it wouldn’t affect the meat if it is drowned in the curing
solution. Unfortunately they were wrong....</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">BIG BUMMER it was, but like Carl, the eternal optimist said-
at least we learnt how to butcher a pig properly... and also managed to get a
bunch of chops, cubed meat and a whole lot-a -lard...</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Who woulda thunk that a Jewish Princess like me would be so
enthralled and occupied by the processing of swine???...</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, we have been getting almost daily deliveries of
giant watermelons from our friend Michael Jackson, and today we got given 5
enormous Pineapples so sweet that the juice that leaks out of it tastes like
syrup!!! Ahhhhhh.... life!!!</span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_LShIDomtqJYgDYnMyDHHsE8ji26Wnv1k60WDBxe14c4N1Cji5CvyCT46bn7PXiYhBHeUgpu4TnoU8Um1XRxOoUe-IIp3vIby1ZsoIczUvHC34i-m66wejY5TcpqG-3dpv4yAuy7GsZG/s1600/fine+pines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_LShIDomtqJYgDYnMyDHHsE8ji26Wnv1k60WDBxe14c4N1Cji5CvyCT46bn7PXiYhBHeUgpu4TnoU8Um1XRxOoUe-IIp3vIby1ZsoIczUvHC34i-m66wejY5TcpqG-3dpv4yAuy7GsZG/s320/fine+pines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">My VCO (Virgin Coconut Oil) and soap making is still going,
although after being busted by the immigration officer for selling soap at the
local shop, I’ve decided not to sell them and keep them for personal use and
gifts...</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Apparently on my current visa I am not allowed to “generate
income”, and some how, via the “Coconut Wireless network” and a few cases of
TPS (Tall Poppy Syndrome) the news spread that the Henfisi (white woman) was
selling soap at the shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when the
immigration officer went to check it out (and bought one of my soaps!), he told
me they could cancel my visa, but wont, as things are a bit more lenient here
in Rotuma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I really wanted to sell
them, we can get a permit on Carls name, but we’ve decided not to bother with
it, and just enjoy the soaps ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As I assume is happening in the rest of the western world,
here too people are getting excited about Xmas approaching, only here there is
no outrageous spending, annoying brightly lit shopping malls, and consumerism
slammed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in your head making one feel
inadequate if one doesn’t participate. No, over here, on the 1<sup>st</sup> of
December, all cane knives are put away, work seizes to be a part of daily
activity, and partying begins. People here work on their plantations for months
in advance to provide enough food <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for
Xmas time, many Rotumans living all over the world come here to celebrate Xmas,
and the islands population triples.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I remember the very first time I came here in 2005, pregnant
and in complete culture shock, I didnt quite know what to make of the whole
“Xmas period”. I wonder how now, 7 years on and with much more experience and
understanding of the culture, how my experience of it will be...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Till then (or before), happy days to you all and lots of
love from all of us xxxx</span></div>
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My Veggie garden finally starting to yield- mainly lettuces, rocket and Bok Choi<br />
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My homie girl SauleiNadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-67315632776917170342012-09-24T15:39:00.000-07:002012-09-24T15:39:07.621-07:00Im FOURTY!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Wednesday I turned FOURTY!!!</div>
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My original plan for my 40th celebrations was to spend it in Bali with all my favourite girlfriends in the world, and when I realized that was not gonna happen, I succumbed to accepting I will be celebrating somewhere else in the tropics with my favourite boys!!!!</div>
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So this is how I celebrated my day...</div>
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We had an awsome day at the most amazing paradise beach in the world, swam and snorkeled and finally got to see Carl spearfishing in action! Then we went to another spot with a fresh water pool, had a picnic lunch and headed home to a beautiful dinner and a pink birthday cake Aggy made for me... too sweet!</div>
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Thanks to all the lovely birthday wishes, I had an awsome day, made me feel very gratefull and appreciative of my life here and in general, only wish you were here to enjoy it with me!!!!</div>
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xxxx</div>
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Oinafa beach- my favoutrite beach in the world!</div>
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Pure Paradise! with mall my men!</div>
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That water is for REAL!!! no Photoshopping!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GLBNuNn-AnX6_jkhyphenhyphenxrDkGaaiLLhpNY83NVGDPCW_qlHT7fY8U5XsbkRDhLsNkP21od2AfMa9UEpMYu2v1FKz4Y0woqRQ2cLw6A-QydNF3q6wLUIImD2dZgEme8rOHs16osKNRMtdFp-/s1600/noah+in+the+blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GLBNuNn-AnX6_jkhyphenhyphenxrDkGaaiLLhpNY83NVGDPCW_qlHT7fY8U5XsbkRDhLsNkP21od2AfMa9UEpMYu2v1FKz4Y0woqRQ2cLw6A-QydNF3q6wLUIImD2dZgEme8rOHs16osKNRMtdFp-/s320/noah+in+the+blue.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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OUCH!</div>
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Staying Alive!!!</div>
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The LIFE!</div>
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Bushman Saulei</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2uwSivHTgYRQyoHy3HnqNnNpBg_TP3ty161qcw1a_AtuuOro_tRyRHmVFyaF_3hsk4kfVMe2u5lboywCVVJ_r5r2-K42MkI3Y9L-ijvd8X80IQegk18gMcq16WgVlbYZIW1pdN_v_KrV/s1600/family+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2uwSivHTgYRQyoHy3HnqNnNpBg_TP3ty161qcw1a_AtuuOro_tRyRHmVFyaF_3hsk4kfVMe2u5lboywCVVJ_r5r2-K42MkI3Y9L-ijvd8X80IQegk18gMcq16WgVlbYZIW1pdN_v_KrV/s320/family+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My Rotuma Family</div>
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And my all around family x</div>
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Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-45009400250597975742012-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:002012-09-16T16:48:42.493-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Howdie there from our little dot in the pacific, where it has been raining for days and our clothes on the lines are getting a super wash by mama nature, and our veggie garden is squeaking with glory and our TV is working overtime...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">BIG GOOD NEWS!!! The internet is working!!! ISH... I dunno if it has anything to do with the fact that I called the mobile network and complained a few times and threatened to report them to the Fiji Consumer Council, but its on, sometimes, VERY VERY slow and keeps dropping out, its better than nothing, and I am grateful for it! I can see photos on Facebook (no vids unfortunately) so keep posting them, that’s the only way I can see you!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve just completed my 3<sup>rd</sup> batch of Virgin Coconut oil soap, this time I made about 65 bars of Lime soap and Orange soap. I still haven't decided if I will sell them or keep them for personal use and as gifts, but I have already had some ladies asking me to buy some... </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am attaching some photos of the process of making the soap:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First I get a handsome husband to collect a wheelbarrow full of coconuts and husk them (about 60 nuts!). </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVP_IV8c_XEy3mGWc_lQQp3uawRL7GlAPQ0_vL5Hw5_h0gO7DNwVoYyfL708LHQ7QjDXb6wXq_8USXo6-3ijyk9EPy-0HFnv4Knrk3enmGhZMM5bs2xolKA82-_OZ4-YgNj5bc1T9c7EW/s1600/handsome+husker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVP_IV8c_XEy3mGWc_lQQp3uawRL7GlAPQ0_vL5Hw5_h0gO7DNwVoYyfL708LHQ7QjDXb6wXq_8USXo6-3ijyk9EPy-0HFnv4Knrk3enmGhZMM5bs2xolKA82-_OZ4-YgNj5bc1T9c7EW/s320/handsome+husker.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Handsom husking husband!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then that same handsome young man scrapes the coconut flesh out, which is mixed with warm water and hand squeezed (by his cuzin) to extract the cream (sorry no pics!). </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDEyjpEBDq_kNQDjx6fAJH5qxETqtKyxPwK6ShEw35se6dbOZF_jFuQrv7sN7UlzJgkJYxU9J_eyqnWDXv1MPyqW8h6k42tUurPC95wr6SAZ4LhKxfaxuGdKPEweyzH0lLpd-0MTAMpjN/s1600/scraping+nuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDEyjpEBDq_kNQDjx6fAJH5qxETqtKyxPwK6ShEw35se6dbOZF_jFuQrv7sN7UlzJgkJYxU9J_eyqnWDXv1MPyqW8h6k42tUurPC95wr6SAZ4LhKxfaxuGdKPEweyzH0lLpd-0MTAMpjN/s320/scraping+nuts.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Scraping the coconuts</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The oil/water mix is then poured into buckets, wrapped in towels and let sit for a couple of days until the mixture separates – a curd on the top, the pure Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) beneath it, another kind of curd under that and the rest is water. I then need to scoop the curd out (and then sun that to produce “second grade” VCO- which I use for my hair, body and massage), then scoop out the VCO, strain it twice and then sun it for a couple of days to remove the odours. And there you go- BEAUTIFUL PURE ORGANIC HOME MADE VIRGIN COCONUT OIL!!!! So cool!!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdca1Ohw2bY8fEUhdlSONggFgiqA0FpLBuKfvU7etT96gXWbW3OpMKRJvxBSSEvB-9zncE83G659iCt5oYmGx_F7TZh_HAy-r9FaH0ZmX427J5QPOQBf0L5mGjW1ERNiJGGMXQ9Az6i5x/s1600/pure+VCO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdca1Ohw2bY8fEUhdlSONggFgiqA0FpLBuKfvU7etT96gXWbW3OpMKRJvxBSSEvB-9zncE83G659iCt5oYmGx_F7TZh_HAy-r9FaH0ZmX427J5QPOQBf0L5mGjW1ERNiJGGMXQ9Az6i5x/s320/pure+VCO.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Pure VCO</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The process of soap making is something I briefly taught myself before we came here, knowing I will need something to keep me busy and stimulated for the long months we will be here, so I brought all the gear with me, including some beautiful Essential Oils and the result is here: </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnvxK9WDKGPJ05Pf0lV4hKMHAbb3MuvXDq0mOrolxC9lobB7l7OrisMawZarPTYGE0OJ3ohyzFFPdb3NcEQmgWklYjhibp9et84Ky_c-0bGXiDM_fMiN_67iYmrKh2VQbAZJg2gIXlLSK/s1600/soap+paranoia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnvxK9WDKGPJ05Pf0lV4hKMHAbb3MuvXDq0mOrolxC9lobB7l7OrisMawZarPTYGE0OJ3ohyzFFPdb3NcEQmgWklYjhibp9et84Ky_c-0bGXiDM_fMiN_67iYmrKh2VQbAZJg2gIXlLSK/s320/soap+paranoia.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me dressed in my protective gear preparing the soap</span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFlyh-zLvvUWVYOgrU6dcg1fms7dVOXKmuz1NsFnY2rDZ5yx2SRtOxwiuZ7m5kbLZFHPSMIRTROqDEsLUHHUEQSx7Bwms3An_NIhmMfhHMRCXxxpiDTLEueRnExTH73SpOeAOG512-tFH/s1600/Soap+batch+%233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFlyh-zLvvUWVYOgrU6dcg1fms7dVOXKmuz1NsFnY2rDZ5yx2SRtOxwiuZ7m5kbLZFHPSMIRTROqDEsLUHHUEQSx7Bwms3An_NIhmMfhHMRCXxxpiDTLEueRnExTH73SpOeAOG512-tFH/s320/Soap+batch+%233.jpg" width="320" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p>65 bars of soap! yum!!!!</o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">VCO soap is the softest most beautiful soap to use, and I am very proud of my soap!!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">School holidays are over and its back to waking before the sun to prepare school lunches and breakfasts, Noah is feeling a little better about going to school, but I have decided to keep him home one day a week and home school him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think he would learn more in one day at home than in a week at the school here...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life goes on here, the house building is crawling along, Island pace, they have started laying the foundation for the bathroom, and also started on the frame of one of the walls. Carl is still busy cutting up some Mahogany trees in the bush, which will hopefully be finished in about a week, and that will be all the wood he will need for the house DONE! The work has been slowed down a bit due to quite a bit of rain and an infected big toe (Carls), but hopefully next week it will pick up again.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You know the amazing Canoe Carl and Co built a couple of months ago when our friends from Oz were here? Well, we tied it to a tree in front of our neighbours house, as they have a beach and we have rocks in front of ours and cant park it there. One morning Fotfiri our neighbour woke us up early saying the Canoe was gone! it was either stolen (highly unlikely- as everyone knows its ours) or washed away to sea overnight... Carl borrowed the neighbours canoe to go and see if it was washed off onto one of the beaches in the bay, but came back with a sad looking face... After all that hard work!!! And we hardly even got to use it!!! We were really bummed, and Carl-as he does, just got over it and let it go... </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few hours later, our friend Michael Jackson came over to tell us that he went searching for it and thought that if there is any chance of finding it before it got taken by the sea, was at this beach where he knew how the current came in before going out into the open sea, and sure enough- there it was- washed up onto the rocks, slightly damaged but in one piece!!! Needless to say we were super stoked, and as soon as they fix it, it will be sailed back to our village, and tied down with an anchor as well as a rope to the tree...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mango season has started, and huge mango trees all over the island are bursting with fruit!! UNFORTUNATELY, we don’t have a mature mango tree, and every time I walk past one of these, I drool, and have to flutter my eyelashes at the tree owners complementing their massive fruit, in the hope that they will give me some! Another way of obtaining mangoes, or any desirable fruit here, is waking up before the chickens and going to the trees to pick the fruit that has fallen to the ground over night before the chickens do. Unfortunately for me, chickens are awake by 4:30am, and I’m not <b>4:30am</b> desperate for mangoes...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we just keep on eating Pawpaws , which are falling off the trees and we cant eat them fast enough, Banana bunches bursting off the trees, the pineapples are starting to grow into their massive Rotuman dimensions, Soursop juice, Soupsop Jam, Mandarins, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our veggie garden is starting to produce our much anticipated greens, loads of very spicy Rocket, Chinese greens, string beans, basil, Okra, and the rest is still to come. It is SO nice to finally have salads to eat, it makes the hot humid days somewhat pleasurable...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Our scarecrow Zoe</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPna8zZvOkIrDDKLYSegFBnbWrrbI_rmADWOYf00Y3U9MK08bZEZv8U2fjIY9PVmvcGgbKL1zEMB1uKhUXGE43PShLhbLRJBdDfzs0Ku7wn2C0muGN8IwzZqrK0TEZkCZDLONn__jeZdMB/s1600/Zoe+in+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPna8zZvOkIrDDKLYSegFBnbWrrbI_rmADWOYf00Y3U9MK08bZEZv8U2fjIY9PVmvcGgbKL1zEMB1uKhUXGE43PShLhbLRJBdDfzs0Ku7wn2C0muGN8IwzZqrK0TEZkCZDLONn__jeZdMB/s320/Zoe+in+garden.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Zoe in the garden</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thats all<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for now, hopefully now that I have a bit of connectivity to the outside world, I will write more...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">IF you wanna see a little movie that our friend David made of their trip to Rotuma, type in Youtube “Rotuman Adventure July 2012, <span class="long-title">Davey, Lizzy and Delphi meet Carl's family.” and you can get a great insight into what its like here. I haven’t actually seen it yet, as the internet is too slow to download it, but you can.Also, there’s a documentary called “Passage to Rotuma”, made by a part Rotuman woman who came to Rotuma for the first time, and it stars a few of Carl’s relatives and takes place mainly in Itumuta- the village we didn’t end up building in. Its a great portrayal of the experience I had the first time I came, I cried and laughed when I saw it, and would love you to see it too. I think you can watch it in 3 parts on Youtube.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="long-title"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shana Tova to all of you who celebrate the new year, and please keep in touch- via email- I can read them now!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="long-title"><span lang="EN-AU">Love from us all xxxx</span></span><span lang="EN-AU"> </span></span></div>
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Noah and his grilfriends in a canoe (not ours)<br />
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The completed front Deck<br />
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Saulei reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (I found him like this- its not a staged photo!)<br />
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A Worrier always sleeps with his sword!<br />
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Sushi lunch for the kids<br />
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Wild Children<br />
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Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-57567457797893360132012-08-19T15:35:00.004-07:002012-08-19T15:35:52.805-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NDj5E3LN2fz_qQjCYWwoU13Q_H039K4KbTTppO4gdR3QrkYjSJ3r53oynL59epo9206fxXg8YFIsTy9nSNM8KxbNKHlUpjiUuobmLoBCqzXp_rIOYXV35WtuMkcmRx6A5nSydxMFiUeX/s1600/farewell+d+l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NDj5E3LN2fz_qQjCYWwoU13Q_H039K4KbTTppO4gdR3QrkYjSJ3r53oynL59epo9206fxXg8YFIsTy9nSNM8KxbNKHlUpjiUuobmLoBCqzXp_rIOYXV35WtuMkcmRx6A5nSydxMFiUeX/s320/farewell+d+l.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
On our way to drop off Lizzy, Davie and Delphi at airstrip...<br />
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Howdie there from the cool airconditioned room of the Communications dude who sneakily allows me into his office to use his internet...<br />
Have been kind of getting used to not having internet in my life, and altho I wish I had more of it, so I can feel more connected to my family and friends and the outer world, I am starting to appreciate that it keeps me in present time, makes me appreciate what there is here, gives me more time to play with my kids, read books, and not escape.... HOWEVER, if I had the choice, I would want to be able to connect from my laptop in my bedroom and not have to go up to the government station in the hope that the dude might be in his office...<br />
Not much has been going on here really, besides a few weeks of water and power cuts due to lack of fuel on the island and the government failing to send boats over here with fuel and supplies for the island. there were even a few days that there was no transport for the kids to school, so most kids had to walk to school, sometimes more than 6kms each way. Lucky for Noah, Carl took him on the bike...<br />
We had days of showering with a bucket and hand washing clothes which reminded me of my dark days in Itumuta, and days where we had to cook and eat everything we had frozen in the freezer, as the power was going on and off too frequently and we couldnt risk food going off, but then finally the boat arrived last week, and brought fuel, and supplies to the shops, so we are back to life in luxury...<br />
The boat also brought Aggie back home, which is great to have another woman in the house, not only for the company but also for the help of running the house and feeding the working men, which makes my life alot easier and gives me a bit more spare time and space. YAY!!!!<br />
Other than that, Carl is still cutting and milling Mahogany trees, they finished laying the floor of the front deck of the house and it is absolutely STUNNING! the timber is like a dream, and we can finally sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful view, as well as get a feel of what it would look like when its all done. There is still plenty work to be done, no where near completion, so we just gotta be patient, and enjoy the time we have here.<br />
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We celebrated Saulei's 4 birthday on the 2nd, with a treasure hunt and an Incredible Hulk birthday cake, which I stayed up late the night before decorating with a head torch shining my light on it, as the power was out. Not one of my best B-day cakes, but he was happy...<br />
The kids have school holidays for 2 weeks at the moment, which is nice not to have to get up before the sun to prepare school lunches and breakfasts, and to have a bit of fun with the boys...<br />
Carl is, as usual, working hard, loosing weight, and very focused on his mission.<br />
So this is just a little sign of life, not much of an exciting blog today, but better than nothing.<br />
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Just wanted to say thanks to all you who have been commenting on my blog or via email, sorry I cant write to you all personbally, but I really appreciate and love your responses! keep them coming!!!!<br />
Love to you all from all of us xxxxxx<br />
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Birthday cake with Ali and Briseis<br />
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The treasures found in the hunt<br />
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Cutting the hulk<br />
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A couple of eggs we found from the chickens in the bush<br />
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Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-20780385124474381422012-07-29T15:39:00.000-07:002012-07-29T15:39:07.776-07:00<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A giant Pandanas fruit, when ripe you can eat the nuts inside!</div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'm writing this in the slight chance that I might actually be able to publish it, as there is no internet on the island at the moment... my only connection to the outside world, my information source for recipes, skin conditions and soap making, my contact with family and friends... all unavailable... and it really takes life back a few decades more than what it already is like here...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am still living in some kind of hope that a miracle will happen and it will reconnect, but it seems like Rotuma wont pay for an internet satellite because the running of it is too expensive, and clearly besides yours truly, there aren’t that many more keen surfers here. Fair enough I guess.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So after a little chat with the guy who manages the satellite and communications in Rotuma, I think he felt a bit sorry for me once he realized my desperation, and offered that I come use his office internet every now and then. So here I am, writing at home, hoping his internet is fast enough for me to upload this, so you, my dear reader, can be down with what we’re doing here.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The boys and I arrived in Rotuma a week after Carl did on the dodgy boat, and we’ve been here for 3 weeks now. It was really lovely coming back, and in a strange kinda way it felt like coming home... who woulda thunk I would feel this way one day???</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We spent about a week unpacking and organizing our massive amount of stuff, Noah started school the first week we arrived, and that has been quite a challenge, for both of us...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKKQL50q8MDvQPl9CmjJhbbm0du1htANeaO0_p54F44wZbb78xNZ9Qmv8HX4rrj-wMXQPo0F35sexwv5WDlU7ymqhnMsTrhDT52aex1AEvktXGeIlvLrKZQS-qea91h4nna_utkz2Oa5x/s1600/noah+first+day+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKKQL50q8MDvQPl9CmjJhbbm0du1htANeaO0_p54F44wZbb78xNZ9Qmv8HX4rrj-wMXQPo0F35sexwv5WDlU7ymqhnMsTrhDT52aex1AEvktXGeIlvLrKZQS-qea91h4nna_utkz2Oa5x/s320/noah+first+day+school.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotuman uniform. Barefoot.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After coming from the school system in Australia, where everything is very organized, you know exactly what’s going on, what the kids are doing, communication is very clear with both kids and parents, and Noah absolutely LOVING going to school, then coming here- in the middle of the term, the classroom is absolutely chaotic, with a composite class of year 1 and 2 (when Noah was only in Kindy back in Sydney) and a teacher who comes to school with a neck full of hickies and says she would rather be home sleeping. Her voice isn’t loud enough to override the noise of the kids running around the classroom<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ignoring her make, she piled up a heap of workbooks I have to go through with Noah to catch up on first and second term, and poor Noah has no idea what the heck is going on! (and neither do I...)For the first time he has been waking up in the morning and the first thing he says is that he doesn’t want to go to school, and he wants me to come with, and if I do go with (to take Saulei to preschool) then he stays with me at the preschool most of the time and doesn’t want to go to class. The teacher does nothing to try get him back in class, it’s all very relaxed and informal, which takes time to get used to.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess its a huge adjustment for him, and for us all, and we have to be patient and supportive. Not easy, but we will get through it.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saulei isn’t too keen on going to preschool, and if he does go- it’s only if I come with him. I don’t mind going a couple of days a week, but it’s a very long day to be sitting around doing nothing. The transport to school (a VERY dodgy truck that wouldn’t be driven even in the middle of the bush in central Australia) leaves at 7:45 and returns at 4pm. Preschool goes till 12pm, so unless we walk home in the scorching heat, we have to wait 4 hours for transport.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was great to see that the preschool is still running, for over a year now, still very unorganized and a bit more like a babysitting service than anything else, but the kids are getting a bit of stimulation and are learning their ABC and numbers. I managed to collect 2 boxes of toys and crafts from Saulei’s preschool in Sydney to bring to help the preschool here, which is desperately needed as they have zero resources for the kids education.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The main reason I don’t spend every day at preschool is because I have to cook for all the working men, and being the only woman in the house at the moment, (as Aggy, Carls Aunt who was here last year), is back in Nadi with her daughter and new baby. She will be coming over in the next couple of months hopefully, but until then, all the house running is on me... yay!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best thing that has happened since we’re here is that my dearest friend Lizzy and her man David and daughter Delphi came and spent 2 weeks with us here.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-TCJh1CINFXBtT65uf7MdTGRcEqWuDY1vNCy3t6DJtye4QZkML4m7Juglk5irCUU_yyGjakJUqTXC-dAnjF6x98t7MqK7wYqhkKn_upRLaT_uWLHjBH58INIKfT22DTSI8mAc26kd1Vb/s1600/chicken+wrapping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-TCJh1CINFXBtT65uf7MdTGRcEqWuDY1vNCy3t6DJtye4QZkML4m7Juglk5irCUU_yyGjakJUqTXC-dAnjF6x98t7MqK7wYqhkKn_upRLaT_uWLHjBH58INIKfT22DTSI8mAc26kd1Vb/s320/chicken+wrapping.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With the beautiful Fotfiri- wrapping Chickens in Banana and coconut leaves to put in the Lovo</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTWcz3MrAaifRyoj1gDPgR3-ZOtGp_osjdTD1nj5DxYNL71BpWrZRgdmQI0CjVrPUUPaAt3h7rT-i2ftYBosc-yTpeYa9FzxkBMxhxynh-Wt8rw2ljNX0mB0msZzKJOFkNNv_UgBCQD0-/s1600/lovo+prep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTWcz3MrAaifRyoj1gDPgR3-ZOtGp_osjdTD1nj5DxYNL71BpWrZRgdmQI0CjVrPUUPaAt3h7rT-i2ftYBosc-yTpeYa9FzxkBMxhxynh-Wt8rw2ljNX0mB0msZzKJOFkNNv_UgBCQD0-/s320/lovo+prep.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lovo being lit, and the poor little piggy about to be cooked!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Davie, Lizzy and Delphi's Mamasa (Welcoming ceremony)</span></div>
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Davie and Delphi enjoying a Soursop Ice block</div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> It was such a blessing and we had an amazing time together. I always feel so humbled when our friends make the journey over here to be with us and experience our life here, and I think it was a huge eye opener for them too. David and Carl went spear fishing and surfing together, and Lizzy and I just did loads of what we do best- had our girly time, long talks, kids, food, bike rides, swims... she absolutely loved the whole island life, the culture, the weaving women and old people, the kids, the slow pace, and they got a real good taste of what life is about here.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Abq2s_sUqp97NlrmNVAdoHiR_aZ0_2OGuWIVDDYrW_M2iRSk1tPLAPHLQVS5ut11vSQW9pjzHItxD_bd_4SYJj9a1t41TSWPFS5K90j_OhiGnq3Y-6DX-3qGRlOHImSeNRjKQOY_f1e3/s1600/davie+fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Abq2s_sUqp97NlrmNVAdoHiR_aZ0_2OGuWIVDDYrW_M2iRSk1tPLAPHLQVS5ut11vSQW9pjzHItxD_bd_4SYJj9a1t41TSWPFS5K90j_OhiGnq3Y-6DX-3qGRlOHImSeNRjKQOY_f1e3/s320/davie+fish.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Davie feeling proud of his catch!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxk_pZhpTzmwTkPkIf2jA6A1nMwI4TSP2X34uoT7rT4b5NY2FeIh0YLLq3Q5224ydTxzAmsX2Ug_ElmFygMSRP3ac0Gw63uDmA8T78LqPs7uzSsWlmpE4wQnp1IQm0MdW-iK3LBZf6QL2/s1600/carl+shark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxk_pZhpTzmwTkPkIf2jA6A1nMwI4TSP2X34uoT7rT4b5NY2FeIh0YLLq3Q5224ydTxzAmsX2Ug_ElmFygMSRP3ac0Gw63uDmA8T78LqPs7uzSsWlmpE4wQnp1IQm0MdW-iK3LBZf6QL2/s320/carl+shark.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was Carls life or the Shark's, who kept chasing him for the fish he had already caught. It made a few good curries!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carl, together with David and the other merry men, carved a traditional outrigger canoe out of a Ylang-ylang tree, and within a week and a half it was in the water- ready to go (when usually it would take about 3 months to do here, but Carl had the privilege of power tools, which made it easier and quicker.) it looks amazing, I have yet to go for a ride, but Carl took the boys out on it this afternoon and it was really cute watching them paddle away from the houses back deck. I’ve attached a few photos of the process of making it up until the launch... </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjo-BYGaiK3wdJqg9mULrITI7neLlAorFumDcTYfgvWFUyyjS0SHTD3a9R1CTyKFNky0dIOnufXVUQbplhLeKpVhaXGZsVuJvluN8C_bdWhH8O0_D5DX1owtvjVtkxUzNAL4Y1QlQap78/s1600/fallen+ylangylang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjo-BYGaiK3wdJqg9mULrITI7neLlAorFumDcTYfgvWFUyyjS0SHTD3a9R1CTyKFNky0dIOnufXVUQbplhLeKpVhaXGZsVuJvluN8C_bdWhH8O0_D5DX1owtvjVtkxUzNAL4Y1QlQap78/s320/fallen+ylangylang.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Ylang-Ylang tree Carl cut down for the Canoe</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqyaUNWTFPGGxOL-EC8kc0p5aIolDutZ60ub6eaSPfofqQkMKbyKz5Pezy6dzfvywduvj7Xp8ogZpupoGACTqpk5EmnerWvkS4Lo5Nk7y7wo9D5IVTPW1QGuJFLaWQD7g7Oqezn-V3Gmr/s1600/first+canoe+cut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqyaUNWTFPGGxOL-EC8kc0p5aIolDutZ60ub6eaSPfofqQkMKbyKz5Pezy6dzfvywduvj7Xp8ogZpupoGACTqpk5EmnerWvkS4Lo5Nk7y7wo9D5IVTPW1QGuJFLaWQD7g7Oqezn-V3Gmr/s320/first+canoe+cut.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first cut to shape the Canoe</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnxFyfb2NYld8LLMIJ0Gc0POKlExUvFT9rssyKnXj5Nx_Y_Q0cnBCt4j4_3j3Y6s0JE6F4ZUpLLuZvAFdRo0A6aqCmROSZqj61bjhxhX8ijlqoJU50_W6XaFoDc6G6duiZkX17VamHxIU/s1600/chopping+canoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnxFyfb2NYld8LLMIJ0Gc0POKlExUvFT9rssyKnXj5Nx_Y_Q0cnBCt4j4_3j3Y6s0JE6F4ZUpLLuZvAFdRo0A6aqCmROSZqj61bjhxhX8ijlqoJU50_W6XaFoDc6G6duiZkX17VamHxIU/s320/chopping+canoe.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chopping out the insides with his special axe</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-tH7Hb7SsEBPVzWzR5Ij2oOBhz0DE4xZ8aD0gJRYFUwjm7QelnnaJy9WBmA_uXqy-5oB32pKaKfpQniZFlxpo4AkozjjZDsdGlQ82i592vJpe4wjsnHYW9DqMI_p35T746uwkIh88JSx/s1600/canoe+shaping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-tH7Hb7SsEBPVzWzR5Ij2oOBhz0DE4xZ8aD0gJRYFUwjm7QelnnaJy9WBmA_uXqy-5oB32pKaKfpQniZFlxpo4AkozjjZDsdGlQ82i592vJpe4wjsnHYW9DqMI_p35T746uwkIh88JSx/s320/canoe+shaping.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All carved out</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZSRof23oXRnQWeM3sf9O18Rfaahmtd304plepbUG01I6Ahn_VZeyQueVG7v6gh5S9QD5cw0L4NP4kbQNH5VrTk4K8vjTduhfbQ4-lMkNJQx7ggke1EE1cjYucciqtzEo1X0VFDGfPGor/s1600/paddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZSRof23oXRnQWeM3sf9O18Rfaahmtd304plepbUG01I6Ahn_VZeyQueVG7v6gh5S9QD5cw0L4NP4kbQNH5VrTk4K8vjTduhfbQ4-lMkNJQx7ggke1EE1cjYucciqtzEo1X0VFDGfPGor/s320/paddle.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Paddle carved from Dilo tree wood</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJHPpvHxWKMW2l3ygTFuxvVkcBc7a0K-Zl9D7GIZSTf1dI_SqcBI3su_1IMame1z1mSzqCF-CXxLptSTd1NvXuZOmZAqppiFOcYzv-GNTcUTYESxdomQ1gpIkb6_hB3WX-UurcXHSr7Z8/s1600/canoe+b&w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJHPpvHxWKMW2l3ygTFuxvVkcBc7a0K-Zl9D7GIZSTf1dI_SqcBI3su_1IMame1z1mSzqCF-CXxLptSTd1NvXuZOmZAqppiFOcYzv-GNTcUTYESxdomQ1gpIkb6_hB3WX-UurcXHSr7Z8/s320/canoe+b&w.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carl and Michael Jackson discussing Taro psychology</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve_BaVQX8NAn99pL2oHybBEOYgatDqJlgb-my-bYacMcn-_5Rv7FYXSryjVQf1MkKl7B7TtQ4-AY7i6exbKROyaeZD9Qg-eeruin9DVTePIix-lJDH1cJ0Ye_WDoBP-YMboNhEv_aALHL/s1600/canoe+going+in.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve_BaVQX8NAn99pL2oHybBEOYgatDqJlgb-my-bYacMcn-_5Rv7FYXSryjVQf1MkKl7B7TtQ4-AY7i6exbKROyaeZD9Qg-eeruin9DVTePIix-lJDH1cJ0Ye_WDoBP-YMboNhEv_aALHL/s320/canoe+going+in.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Launching the Canoe. We had to Carry it about 100m down a rocky hill to get it in the water! I helped carry! really! I did!!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23uhJADG5Pq-w5yG1WWb7T7INqRrN83U2H2IMff2O5wZuO-2u0hw89taVriLn_0sCtJRHg22rcILxhOII0DWlMzdbVBgXuo4rBrHXLnw4w4mZrzHfU3fkZ46D85AuTNH-FOvNbBmCm19L/s1600/carl+canoe+bucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23uhJADG5Pq-w5yG1WWb7T7INqRrN83U2H2IMff2O5wZuO-2u0hw89taVriLn_0sCtJRHg22rcILxhOII0DWlMzdbVBgXuo4rBrHXLnw4w4mZrzHfU3fkZ46D85AuTNH-FOvNbBmCm19L/s320/carl+canoe+bucket.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gorgeous ha??? I meant the Canoe...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrjGp5Jw9XC99xxjB_JKS4u_b3xNm9wJ7l495MyGdkHAewDeVoi8-Ti3-E4MUh_98YWh6DdYifSID90wISO9w-OOYXSglu-o16qyzKCX_UkQHjWR6b7suz2Nw2yoP5J_3wtwKZGVpIZkz/s1600/carl+and+saulei+canoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrjGp5Jw9XC99xxjB_JKS4u_b3xNm9wJ7l495MyGdkHAewDeVoi8-Ti3-E4MUh_98YWh6DdYifSID90wISO9w-OOYXSglu-o16qyzKCX_UkQHjWR6b7suz2Nw2yoP5J_3wtwKZGVpIZkz/s320/carl+and+saulei+canoe.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Father and son... A bit of a dream come true for Carl...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I located, with the help of the local ladies, an old lady who makes and sells Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), and went over to her house to learn her wisdom. With my Iphone notes App, I wrote the process word by word as she told me how to prepare it with the “tools” and “appliances” she has available here – a bucket, old Coca-Cola bottles, tissues for straining, water and the sun. A process that takes a couple of days, but produces the most amazing Virgin coconut oil I have ever tried. In return I massaged her stiff neck, and when she realized that I was the Jew from Israel, she was so excited to have my holy hands to heal her...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wanted to learn how to make VCO for my new Soap making career I have embarked on, and have already made my first batch out of her VCO, and am looking forward to making lots more!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for our house, the work hasn’t yet started on that. Been busy doing other stuff, preparations, building and planting veggie gardens, building a chicken coup so we can finally collect the eggs of the 15 or so hens pecking around here, and having fun with our guests. Work on the house will begin this coming week.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On one of my bike rides with Lizzy, we came across a lady from Itumuta (the village we DIDNT build our house in) who grows and sells veggies, and I have struck a deal with her where she comes and delivers veggies to our house every Friday! You can imagine how excited I am about that, as the limited veg and variety is always a big challenge for me and the kids. Home delivery! How lucky am I???</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we’re back to loads of Pawpaws and bananas (green and ripe), loads of fish cooked in every possible way (ideas and recipes please!!!!!!!!), Taro, Cassava, Taro, Cassava, the odd tasteless Yam, and rice... Oranges, Soursop, Vee fruit Jam, Fresh Tamarind Chutney, Taro leaves, and coconuts, coconuts and more coconuts... Luckily I brought a big stock of things to make life a bit more interesting – loads of Nori for sushi, and other seaweeds, Tahini, Tomato paste, commercial quantities of herbs and spices, Olive oil (!!!),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and a 2.5kg bucket of Vegiemite!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess having years of practice now makes it easier in that I know what to expect and can come well prepared, but still- I dream of the Last Supper we had at Cafe Roma, an amazing Italian joint in Kings Cross, with all of my favourite things in the world in one big feast, and I just wanna cry...</span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snap out! Wake up! And count my blessings!!! I am living an amazing life in an amazing place and doing what most people I know could only dream of...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So on that note, hope you’re all well and happy, sending loads of love from our end, with the hope that I will be able to somehow connect with the outside world a bit more...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">xxxx</span></span></div>
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Afternoon chilling</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMNZYkTTyFDc6DONvkJFSO0kL40CWFea84iaZst7P2RNOLLKBLLBfBw7LBnPEiUNpcJwkcCChFzOSBz9lI31yIKxs1RqtFw6mj97YTDXOG8kQnZREKOgf_sGcit9o8gM81GzNYHuGOLzi/s1600/delph+saulei+shower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMNZYkTTyFDc6DONvkJFSO0kL40CWFea84iaZst7P2RNOLLKBLLBfBw7LBnPEiUNpcJwkcCChFzOSBz9lI31yIKxs1RqtFw6mj97YTDXOG8kQnZREKOgf_sGcit9o8gM81GzNYHuGOLzi/s320/delph+saulei+shower.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci7lXG8P9A9X7JqXDgwNkjC6HI09_7X7xOi1rsd6a7CikKbPfLmAXZGsgbu1ZwxUmPMSOkhk_Nq_PgOC9jxEsYWeypjlyoaiU30o7HLAIVM9F4xVzRRPnkofoR-wXBDPF6gmFTfShFTpG/s1600/liz+me+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci7lXG8P9A9X7JqXDgwNkjC6HI09_7X7xOi1rsd6a7CikKbPfLmAXZGsgbu1ZwxUmPMSOkhk_Nq_PgOC9jxEsYWeypjlyoaiU30o7HLAIVM9F4xVzRRPnkofoR-wXBDPF6gmFTfShFTpG/s320/liz+me+beach.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Saulei and Delphi's outdoor shower Blissing with Lizzy<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZRjH7ZZ_Qg4xsnUgN2OaInyVI-qMtBWazxHghwoEPRM2Kl0NekrPEukpqG4-W6fykjEdwl5ik6d1Dm0Y2BYYTlUh4XN9e98-2WzqCfi7XESWxaBaIkDiyGmTuOhhN3uyA7IzAMTQOAL4/s1600/liz+me+underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZRjH7ZZ_Qg4xsnUgN2OaInyVI-qMtBWazxHghwoEPRM2Kl0NekrPEukpqG4-W6fykjEdwl5ik6d1Dm0Y2BYYTlUh4XN9e98-2WzqCfi7XESWxaBaIkDiyGmTuOhhN3uyA7IzAMTQOAL4/s320/liz+me+underwater.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Underwater Bliss<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3UHQmcsy9ChhY2amATiYakgMdGLyWFbds0wW6S7G5A2XdLiwrmv4og06sNLkmJbMtedNmFJ15Esx7EfK_alXilENHa2FVGl0hli5hZrSQ0ZTqZLlLwGE0aXwkXqPG64vPzOZwGi-eJ_6/s1600/liz+me+water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3UHQmcsy9ChhY2amATiYakgMdGLyWFbds0wW6S7G5A2XdLiwrmv4og06sNLkmJbMtedNmFJ15Esx7EfK_alXilENHa2FVGl0hli5hZrSQ0ZTqZLlLwGE0aXwkXqPG64vPzOZwGi-eJ_6/s320/liz+me+water.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Noah's First tooth he pulled out! (it is actually his second coz he had one of his top front teeth pulled out by the dentist the day before we left OZ.) I think he is in Love with his Tooth Fairy... x</div>
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Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-55999745550292868092012-07-04T19:59:00.001-07:002012-07-04T19:59:17.521-07:00<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today
is our last day in civilization.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
sipping on my last decent coffee at a local cafe, I walked through Nadi town
looking in all the shops for all the last minute “things” I can buy before
leaving for Rotuma tomorrow. All the “things” I know I can do without, but
wanted anyway, just because I can right now, and wont be able to get from
tomorrow and for the next 8 months or so.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAdcwd_qvhfe0VVmk0LFLanuzS3a3OSYl9OTz15dAiobRwcy7Qfqsl8n0kLrtq_ULiatBpya6w7-P3NKgH5Qgpz0xnB0cqiL0ZR8SHgFcyzN3tfo8av1ZIyctWcoluBF87IHBu1OSVqpY/s1600/sandy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAdcwd_qvhfe0VVmk0LFLanuzS3a3OSYl9OTz15dAiobRwcy7Qfqsl8n0kLrtq_ULiatBpya6w7-P3NKgH5Qgpz0xnB0cqiL0ZR8SHgFcyzN3tfo8av1ZIyctWcoluBF87IHBu1OSVqpY/s320/sandy3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The "Lady Sandy" boat that took Carl to Rotuma</div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
Carl sailed away on the floating vessel last Friday, my prayers worked and he
arrived in Rotuma on Sunday morning.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jk_otjl_BzhNRKv8Uj3xCcyYm9Y-WUO5BVhU8e6iqsbL6ijTvXHs-6iLtXN0V9QG7njXLgVa3oyrO0RZ41kBD7aNXQRRR4tGPd9VfJBxibFdOPhh2UPgnt8hj85XrBO964bE8OuqRJg_/s1600/sandy+dungeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jk_otjl_BzhNRKv8Uj3xCcyYm9Y-WUO5BVhU8e6iqsbL6ijTvXHs-6iLtXN0V9QG7njXLgVa3oyrO0RZ41kBD7aNXQRRR4tGPd9VfJBxibFdOPhh2UPgnt8hj85XrBO964bE8OuqRJg_/s320/sandy+dungeon.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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We got to go inside the boat to check out the luxury bunks dungeon where he would be sleeping...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg32qoBX5hBRrgXEz0yQ0kEZfV5USrumCHbtYK002rmSWyacsHcMgLvhJUv1_bsIOgYteiDfYDxIHhD2dA569172kTfzYPj_UFdZZG98YS0bmu-exXF4HTR2FLTrTlapBrpRe_YrwR_74M/s1600/sandy+leaving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg32qoBX5hBRrgXEz0yQ0kEZfV5USrumCHbtYK002rmSWyacsHcMgLvhJUv1_bsIOgYteiDfYDxIHhD2dA569172kTfzYPj_UFdZZG98YS0bmu-exXF4HTR2FLTrTlapBrpRe_YrwR_74M/s320/sandy+leaving.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And thats my husband there, sailing away...</div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The kids and I stayed in Suva, and a day
after Carl left I decided to get the hell out of there, or I was going to risk
loosing my noodles. Almost a whole month of doing nothing but shopping and
sitting around at home. SO BORING!!!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BSx1J3aWrHJLf347DgUPzqBmhOBDezZVEZFWHofqLhUdmfmOpxjCHeN3gdwobVkJ4gWxYwOXME_H4r2eKlSbCs-4OHeKN0fUwfs7ijYUYbQJ2PgxDrlet3VW96VvgVQ0rHxpR5UdFzSb/s1600/sea+frolicking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BSx1J3aWrHJLf347DgUPzqBmhOBDezZVEZFWHofqLhUdmfmOpxjCHeN3gdwobVkJ4gWxYwOXME_H4r2eKlSbCs-4OHeKN0fUwfs7ijYUYbQJ2PgxDrlet3VW96VvgVQ0rHxpR5UdFzSb/s320/sea+frolicking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
I decided to pack our bags and boys, and head down to the Coral coast for a bit
of real Fiji living, and we went to stay at a little resort style backpackers
type thing. It was the best decision I made all month! A little bur’e all to ourselves
(as opposed to sharing a house with 13 other people) no TV, a lovely outdoor
on-suite bathroom, beautiful beach, poolside, and having my boys to myself....
we had a great time, I really missed being with them on my own...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimI_mbvwlFZcIprF_jKLdAyHrSHZj9070dR8cdgLj4wwJZYlUQVIAgKPotXptAgloeW-ZwK4BWRwd2iQj0hC8zvSO9-_maqp7DtFK_NJsoaYb7JxaIPadaLrwl4GweAqT90h611qowfo6T/s1600/swinging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimI_mbvwlFZcIprF_jKLdAyHrSHZj9070dR8cdgLj4wwJZYlUQVIAgKPotXptAgloeW-ZwK4BWRwd2iQj0hC8zvSO9-_maqp7DtFK_NJsoaYb7JxaIPadaLrwl4GweAqT90h611qowfo6T/s320/swinging.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
a few days of lazing around, I realized how different the whole
backpacker/travel experience thing is to how it was back in the 90’s when I was
backpacking around the world. Back then, people would hang out together, sit
around, make conversation, communicate with eachother. These days, there is Wifi
at these places, and everyone hangs out with their laptops, communicating with
cyberspace and going everywhere else on their laptops rather than BEING right
where they are... weird. Then again, it was the first time in a whole month that
I had wireless and was able to skype my family, so I guess I was one of those
people too...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
went on a big jungle walk through slippery muddy bush to a beautiful waterfall
(totally not for kids Noah and Saulei’s age, so Saulei rode on the shoulders of
the guide for the entire 4 hour hike, and Noah was a trooper!!).</span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHhVanH70TNLWlKJ6N5BXpszo7Kf86_xgYaLVMOePS6czZguWoppp1TCm7ZEd_oFCVXQ-OwNnE1Na5q0WIIB9on0uml0XePty2SiCB7FZ4Ttr_G7ICZKFtAl7s5UTN8NchNg_ui78AcTe/s1600/waterfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHhVanH70TNLWlKJ6N5BXpszo7Kf86_xgYaLVMOePS6czZguWoppp1TCm7ZEd_oFCVXQ-OwNnE1Na5q0WIIB9on0uml0XePty2SiCB7FZ4Ttr_G7ICZKFtAl7s5UTN8NchNg_ui78AcTe/s320/waterfall.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
also splashed out and got a “Fijian traditional massage”, which was more like
being unwantedly present in a mundane conversation of the 2 massage ladies,
when occasionally they would bother to rub my back, or both massage me at the
same time, which felt a bit like going through a car wash machine, than
anything else. Within the conversation, I understood them talking about 3.5 kgs
of flour and sugar, chatting about the fact that I was going to live in Rotuma
(what is a good white girl going to do in Rotuma? I wish I had the answer, by
the way...), and from their tone of voice there was allot of gossip involved...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is FIJI...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
headed back to Nadi last night, and we are leaving early tomorrow morning,
stocked with lots of butter and eggs, Carl is looking forward to our arrival
(or is it really them looking forward to my cooking?!?!?!...)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
far as I know, the internet isn’t working on the island, so this might very
well be may last post for a while or ever!!!!! So please pray for the Gods of
internet to resurface in Rotuma (or at least the local telecommunication
technicians to arrive there to fix it). Am hoping I can get internet on my
iphone, but if not- my phone is the only way to reach me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wish
me luck, look after yourself, and we’ll see you on the other side... wherever
that is!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
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<br />Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-24764405156605104362012-06-27T17:34:00.000-07:002012-06-27T17:35:42.187-07:00Guns and spots and more Suva<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After months and months of drooling (to put it nicely) over this gun, Carl finally recieved his dream timber spear gun in suva, needless to say I was kicked out of bed and ignored ever since...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBrbrxPJEUehqY1GwFu0In-tYtUFNZoRxjrtpfM5IiWs1OwSC1zwwN4hbNbDCgs8G35Tui0RP48xuHFAJxhOeQ7WRahkReWRokx2d1BDGIOtkDEp6O0obZAf0BVRV96A1xKmBYA-B44GQ/s1600/carlxgun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBrbrxPJEUehqY1GwFu0In-tYtUFNZoRxjrtpfM5IiWs1OwSC1zwwN4hbNbDCgs8G35Tui0RP48xuHFAJxhOeQ7WRahkReWRokx2d1BDGIOtkDEp6O0obZAf0BVRV96A1xKmBYA-B44GQ/s320/carlxgun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfwuD80twgdh5-SUdV7kgODVbii7iSAvMj8kYaLZBJ6dYv7461UKqF4_B1vaxdnylyn30G7zWv_wSuwp6taVWQUQtctmWJ-Vnk5F6HHfJxnjch3vDOBCXsSCapqkANfhxB2KWXPlcJhJF/s1600/missed+staek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Happy 37<sup>th</sup>
birthday to my dear husband! As usual in Fiji, it aint gonna be a particularly eventful birthday,
today is the day that all our cargo will be loaded onto the boat, which
hopefully will be leaving on Friday morning. (I say hopefully for obvious
reasons, as the only time we know the boat is actually leaving is when we see
it leave the wharf...)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So we have
finished all the shopping we have needed to do to send over, and we are ready
with a few months supply of basic foods, toiletries, loads of seeds to plant a veggie
garden, all the man-stuff Carl needs for house building, and with Carl’s
phenomenal organizational skills, everything is packed, labelled, numbered and
ready to be shipped off on the bomb, I mean Boat, for the 3-4 day journey to
Rotuma. Hopefully the seas will be nice and smooth and calm, so Carl and his uncle
Ringa will have an easy journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile,
the kids and I were supposed to head over to Nadi today and fly over to Rotuma
on Friday, however, I had to postpone our flights because they both have Chicken
pox! (AKA Chicken Pops!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZZYurnnC1EJp1wY-GdhP7kZsUlzgkCLnMw7O56SDFvfNBmKf5q8a6OIOT7JyrjueehENU5CCi69Ui6YpBeoB2Ce2EoWbcd_z4v7WKlXgpIeVmLtWLEPlZPHaOmYN8cUEYkuDIQgJOlTb/s1600/spotties.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZZYurnnC1EJp1wY-GdhP7kZsUlzgkCLnMw7O56SDFvfNBmKf5q8a6OIOT7JyrjueehENU5CCi69Ui6YpBeoB2Ce2EoWbcd_z4v7WKlXgpIeVmLtWLEPlZPHaOmYN8cUEYkuDIQgJOlTb/s320/spotties.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Spotty boys</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When we
arrived in Suva at our relo’s house, one of the kids here had just had it, and
then their teenage daughter got it, and I knew it was inevitable that Noah and
Saulei will get it. No way of avoiding it, so I kind of prepared myself. And
sure enough, almost 2 weeks to the day, both kids on the same day got fevers
and spots...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They have it
all over them, and besides the discomfort and itch mainly at night, as well as looking like aliens, they're totally fine;
their crazy hilarious naughty selves, just very frustrated by not being able to leave the
house for so long. Oh well, lots more TV for them is a great alternative.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In Rotuman
culture, they believe that you have to keep them indoors and dry, out of the
sun and not shower or bath them, so that’s what I’ve been doing, as well as
wiping them down with oat water. A bath would be nice, but I wont even be SEEING one of them in the next 8-9 months. Oh well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I didn’t
want to take them to Rotuma when they're still infectious, for obvious reasons,
but equally as important, I didn’t want to take them there with sores and
scabs, as I know too well how infected sores get there and how monstrous they
become. Kids with oozing tropical sores all over them is not my idea of fun. So
there you go- hopefully all the sores and scabs will clear by next Friday and
we will be off. By then Carl would have arrived, and settled a bit, and fluffed
up the house for my arrival (Not.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And then a
week later, Lizzy, Davey and Delphi arrive for 2 weeks, and I CANT WAIT!!!! We
feel so blessed and humbled by the fact that our dear friends are coming all
the way to Rotuma to experience our life and what we are doing there. How lucky
are we??????!?!?!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So till
then, another week and a bit of doing nothing, going down to town for coffees
and hanging with the fam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">All good
here, hope you are too, love from all of us xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Saulei rolling the Roti's... (couldnt figure out how to flip the picture the right way, so just flip you head the right way...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDuEWa_eoE4rEb6wl5tUKu1_Yh4AZC2kMTO9EgODedaJCGShJ_J-ppp-SGxFQDEKiGiRT2rgyF-z03n7RSSq03Tkbe7PYAT-3LwBK3VIXr-b_CRa-wNWxaDC2KEEQB21PvOqSa2IgZ-uV/s1600/roti+rolling.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDuEWa_eoE4rEb6wl5tUKu1_Yh4AZC2kMTO9EgODedaJCGShJ_J-ppp-SGxFQDEKiGiRT2rgyF-z03n7RSSq03Tkbe7PYAT-3LwBK3VIXr-b_CRa-wNWxaDC2KEEQB21PvOqSa2IgZ-uV/s320/roti+rolling.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Thought this was a funny sign on the front of a Nadi Butchery </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfwuD80twgdh5-SUdV7kgODVbii7iSAvMj8kYaLZBJ6dYv7461UKqF4_B1vaxdnylyn30G7zWv_wSuwp6taVWQUQtctmWJ-Vnk5F6HHfJxnjch3vDOBCXsSCapqkANfhxB2KWXPlcJhJF/s1600/missed+staek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfwuD80twgdh5-SUdV7kgODVbii7iSAvMj8kYaLZBJ6dYv7461UKqF4_B1vaxdnylyn30G7zWv_wSuwp6taVWQUQtctmWJ-Vnk5F6HHfJxnjch3vDOBCXsSCapqkANfhxB2KWXPlcJhJF/s320/missed+staek.jpg" width="320" /></div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-75107910878579077492012-06-16T22:40:00.000-07:002012-06-16T22:40:17.372-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bula
Bula from Suva Fiji again!!!! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After
almost a year away, here we are back again on our way to voyage across the
south pacific seas (well for me and the kids its more like a quick flight over
the seas, whereas for Carl it will be more like a 4 day voyage across the vast
and choppy ocean... vomit!)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since
we left Rotuma last year, for those of you who don’t know, we spent 5.5 amazing
months in Israel with my family, I was present to welcome my divine little
nephew Leo into the world, celebrated my dads 70<sup>th</sup> birthday and
spend some magical quality time with my family and friends there. The boys both
attended local preschools and made new friends and loved their time with their
grandparents aunts and cousins.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
then came back to Sydney and spent the past 5 months staying with Carls parents
in Cronulla, Carl working on the Anzac Bridge, Noah started school and Saulei
preschool. I did the same as I do everywhere. Mum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Throughout
all this time we have been living off lists of things to do, get, prepare, pack
and design, all of which culminated in about 300kg of stuff we schlepped and
shipped to Fiji, and here we are, awaiting the way too familiar wait for the
boat to sail over to Rotuma.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And
on this very day, 16<sup>th</sup> of June, Carl and I are celebrating a DECADE
together... who woulda thunk????? What a journey!!! I remember on our first
date, Carl was telling me about this Island he is from, talking about his
family there, the culture, teaching me words in Rotuman and it all sounded so
enchanting... little did I know that 10 years later I will be returning to that
enchanted island with this man and our 2 kids, for the umpteenth time to build
our home...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So
we waved bye bye to our beloved family in Sydney and flew to Nadi, were
welcomed with a feast of the usual Rotuman Cuisine (Chicken Curry, rice, eko –
Taro leaves cooked in coconut cream, lamb stew gravy and Taro). This is what we
will be eating for the next 8 months, I know it!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lovely
to see Aggie (with whom we lived in Rotuma) and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>her daughter who just had a baby, and to catch up with their family. We
stayed in Nadi for a couple of nights and headed to Suva to buy all the local
stuff we need to take with. Little did we know that the boat wouldn’t leave
when planned (WHY didn’t we know that???? DA!!!!!) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and that as usual we would be waiting way more
than planned for the boat, wasting time and money. (Carl will be going on the
boat with all our stuff, and the kids and I will follow him by plane. Am very
proud of myself for sticking to my oath of never repeating the boat experience,
so help me God.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So
we have been stuck here in rainy Suva for more than a week, the kids have been
watching more TV than ever, the other kids in this house come home from school
in the afternoon and they all go nuts together, rolling in the mud and playing
squashed sardines (we are living in the house of Carls uncle Ringa’s family,
the 73 yr old work horse who was with us previously in Rotuma and will be
coming back with us. There are 8 adults and 5 kids all living in a 3 bedroom
house, and it works!)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDx7Z4CrdyAZZqd2enrNaXH_ScpBBPld9O9qbNhVWBBKWlVaQ76PFMcbhYCb8zQYCP8GA0V1l_rI34j97_Kn8izNhyTDc3Td3gORPJdBwYY2uKqjOsNUfzx2iWEnes4HZ5xgvoWmMd-nr/s1600/mud+saulei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDx7Z4CrdyAZZqd2enrNaXH_ScpBBPld9O9qbNhVWBBKWlVaQ76PFMcbhYCb8zQYCP8GA0V1l_rI34j97_Kn8izNhyTDc3Td3gORPJdBwYY2uKqjOsNUfzx2iWEnes4HZ5xgvoWmMd-nr/s320/mud+saulei.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Mud Model<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
have been spending our days shopping for stuff for the house, arranging
whatever needs done, the kids and I are applying for Fijian residency (Hilarious!!!)
through Carls citizenship, which at the moment is free, whereas last year
costed about $1500 each...????!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It
is finally my turn to have some input into the house, and the interior design
is all up to me, so I’ve been picking paint colours for the walls, we went to
choose tiles for the bathroom, kitchen and bathroom sinks, a toilet... what a
bizarre experience! (How weird is it choosing a toilet! I think I really
embarrassed Carl when I had to check out the comfortability of the seats... how
else do you know what’s right for you and your family’s derrières???)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I
must say that I am quite glad the variety and options are very limited, as it
makes it easier for an OCI (Obsessive Compulsive Indecisive) like myself to
choose what I want. That didn’t change the fact that I regretted my choice as
soon as we stepped out of the shop...<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’ve
been hanging out with Filo, a Fijian lady who’s husbands home is just down the
road from ours in Rotuma. She happens to be in Fiji for a few months, playing
the lady of leisure Fiji style, and has been taking us around Suva, showing us
the sights and we’ve been seeing more of Suva than we have ever before. We
usually come here, stay in the same place with the same relatives, and all we
know of Suva is the taxi ride from their house to town and around the shops, So
it’s great to get a bit of an insider’s view of it all. She took us to a show
last night, it was a production of the University of the South Pacific Arts and
Culture department, about how the people of the different South Pacific Islands
came together to build this amazing Canoe called “Drua” and sailed the seas
until the white settlers invaded... Carl and I were cringing at some of the
cheesy corny love story factors, but the costumes were AMAZING, the dances
beautiful and very powerful and the singing very heartfelt. It was the first
time we ever did anything cultural here, a great change. This morning we went
down to the waterfront to see 7 of these “Drua” take off on a voyage to Vanuatu
and then the Solomon Islands. Beautiful vessels with great traditional carvings
all over, (as well as beautifully carved traditional brown sailors, for those
of you lady friends of mine who could appreciate, T...) very impressive, but
not enough for me to spend more than 10 minutes on.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw-WoksNH8K4hgE5xyBHYpk3Dq0FkvHMmrK48c99QNAV8PW6xE-2CVOurt8Sys-seauaW5hwewqS6QQckTUh8ioiFkrfTTWK3Hqat9E1xi7qMnt5Yq6cu-O50CMBh65sEBZEiM5OLclpn/s1600/drua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw-WoksNH8K4hgE5xyBHYpk3Dq0FkvHMmrK48c99QNAV8PW6xE-2CVOurt8Sys-seauaW5hwewqS6QQckTUh8ioiFkrfTTWK3Hqat9E1xi7qMnt5Yq6cu-O50CMBh65sEBZEiM5OLclpn/s320/drua.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Not the best photo, I couldn't really capture the whole "Drua" boat but here's a little glimpse.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCXcfn1tX4YXahtxqGvzTyqa2TaflqmL_wWktHfvU1NuxS07V3OwJy7tNYxAhPMwyuPGlJSLG68xAtDM-g639DNdpn0wFTVCEkehWmnj1SiIg9jN-0xcekHEfqRYJ1yRJq2b0UofEGrFp/s1600/fijian+on+stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCXcfn1tX4YXahtxqGvzTyqa2TaflqmL_wWktHfvU1NuxS07V3OwJy7tNYxAhPMwyuPGlJSLG68xAtDM-g639DNdpn0wFTVCEkehWmnj1SiIg9jN-0xcekHEfqRYJ1yRJq2b0UofEGrFp/s320/fijian+on+stick.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Fijian on a stick???<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What
else?<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
celebrated toothless Noah’s SIXTH birthday last week!!! SIX!!!!! Where the heck
did that go????? There wasn’t much to do with him besides presents, an Ice
cream in town and a Vampire cake... a bit different from the birthday
productions we go to in Sydney...</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_kpFREf6oZhqLzeAxSUxMmeN3xkyigCX_KwogCjo1yxNRWYEnVt-BeSHcerXqYriGHwrhCD14ct30TIsTTlCBQkMh_yr4Z89vTgmcdZoSiknJojT2ROPjTiqIlOby5BBqpFfHRR38tBa/s1600/Noah+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_kpFREf6oZhqLzeAxSUxMmeN3xkyigCX_KwogCjo1yxNRWYEnVt-BeSHcerXqYriGHwrhCD14ct30TIsTTlCBQkMh_yr4Z89vTgmcdZoSiknJojT2ROPjTiqIlOby5BBqpFfHRR38tBa/s320/Noah+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> Dont you reckon he looks like the vampire on the cake???</o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
internet situation in Rotuma is sounding very unpromising, which freaks me out
a bit, so please gather all your Gods and Goddesses and ask them to make the
connections in Rotuma work.... PLEASE!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">OH!
And one more thing! A VERY VERY exciting thing! Our very very dear friends
Lizzy, Davey and their bub Delphi are coming to visit us in July!!!! Its so
cool to have our close friends make the journey over there to get a taste of
what we have been living there, and although its only for a week, and only a
couple of weeks after we arrive there, its still super exciting, and hopefully
they will be the first of many to come and experience our different way of
life... How lucky are we?!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So,
till next time, be happy, slow down and feel our love floating over to you from
somewhere out there... x<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<br /></div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-36153041271929468302011-07-24T15:37:00.000-07:002011-07-24T16:49:45.182-07:00Carl's building update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrIkVu-L3oRcC-M7IhDmkaIyhyphenhyphenCvkH6geew6iUC8UG2PMT1x0NscUkxBzB5lEWcUnRwljUKfk1bDJo78OyIQG7m-T8Ec9Japt3TUHepFYIoyq03WLLld3e_01u91b2VBCNmTYcKUzZGcL/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h5PVGZbcWyUkL8XfS4CkcwOk06yMUTN77RMfK74Kve_9CcSy8c8WYWGn9g1uzAWytRU8FskQygjC87BKON4w-904_neUkw3nNoItAm3xTKBY2rfhhWwcX0-0OzjAzUbXT2jcLH_-CCAH/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXajGojwUmz_rInUCUTd2ocKddez_NFlGEFODy6UosauvVGSYcewfauR3WDDQ9i65u9oSpidrKgwJjEY7c9tet55ZwhW0VABcqI_oR2waO1sbygI27HYTe9y0hjEcpBQJID5eUXy3164c/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_C8WQR1h5ltBTpSiNkqhpHW4Ix1vOLRV-gbcTTN5_pD4Q29UXRndLvNPkeHTEToxQ3GRA7dOd_p5W8IF92n2pXS8qyKLIUBWPgTzFaXTbWxG5uuEmDr5ZHq9uacNJlMYQeiYrq82E4MN/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUd-6qKA_HOAzIQIhlYCTbR8MPs2TDObaWLODHq1J18vz8PH02yXNH9KvovW1hZ81zkbHV2i_weT1VnM85sU6p_rFxoAhH7o3qz02HySWCVLbJT27QdBqmHy_LSLyDFQlIx_svjYLNQAa/s1600/6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3uXe1MfQ-NfVLpwV7XTkS2vp3bH9efTn-FmJbm_VZlKbnbnhQIGKXKrAAPGHr3yezYxbFQwXmP5au6Ty7LN3rqqCtTcjWVLyRTtOv_zSFZd6Y3FfkBZnScGMp1RyA0_3-iOp3GPbOz1R/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTNcuzhAz3bIdmQ2ovgq175I6fnkw1OnAXyqX0ltVan1uMeMQL5LisrXWgA67c1vE3fWxI5s0lPK-00nFKvT0ZYHW65mjqM3tzjU0qN6y-nzchzhOj0tS_28Xy1Vl1Ih-vzxyJ3I6bmZC/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IuNuccETSu1tfbWPYjkDvGA28LtGoztbo7B-EwDrO684WNBwwk5Tes33bSjKN59xySMFUjNQ-fp_KUqmO3-K7LaC97EsaXNs8tolYvHYb3n_6j-iCA_uG4n-g0C5Gfy1lCBPhhkQ95QT/s1600/9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZLHPpSNWOMiJy1inGhjfZKLg19dJMqQYETYmb_jsRmWlSsD-vXCJ62WGNcT1KJ29kZchyphenhyphenQuyadI-ELYSOEl94Lx05Xx59xw-YLI5sTEPG4NN2ZhN-A4E7Ok5x8953wQE3bHtYWCeDNFD/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6l6agGVvWyJtKAbX3LcTi_366qJ_DvmFsmiZKv85Mno8vbkYsRbBu6ifIDAgdaeohdL-eGY1QEbedu5qtux_D_H3P5CtktGulESj-NAz0a_lfK4LOv4xZScOTmBweqs-ccoDHOYqUdGC/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgj4XH2tR29Uc2Xh6zpU-09hLB-KoGGb6kRlH15YnCMl2AjLQpc1RuJLA7oU_RJgdLAamnTs6CU5jxlj-hUr-JH3Z00m_K1j9HEPLcqIDr4-BgY33jXSrrFMrM9PGHgx_q2d0dPLOrlsI9/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecAFnjxY5Td9jOXdehM2XNm3rx66eaAiD90TfhHV06_jqd2RHYvp7XkI4rYaHtiK18xtcoatBExPPOmMCd0J1TaMv2hLjQkqqvtvw-c0BheyOGpgM4hLMywK6mVsWVe6Gjhyy1iC-OWSO/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4v8d254IWM4LVNvc_8iINnyJYWCWayROsi0emHs5EYMCVgjs4yZemQzH0NIrIIBtC95plfJ8PiaMq-gNNd-KbLpXV8SEFp6hwlbzjsw4eL8Vk242dZR_1LwvimtejsA_G7H8eHLjvVYA7/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYolsqwOTyQ8MJ2DRNGhl31bEu2ozztTwmS1TeXKObYpTld7Pu-6n93e1R2zjfv5-DdzWNJPo_zw7Dmp0uZ-s9xtxXZtBYzbRSSD1LM10iHU7GL72tVFAM7Okl6PafogGeNhAsCNa52a-/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>Hey everybody! Well the Blogs are coming thick and fast now. The next 2 posts will give you an up -date as to what we have done, and where we are at now. Similar to the previous post, they will mainly be pictorial.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Photo1- This is the house site.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDEtgXFwBKC1_MEr-xzSTmIdTwD7KbQO0vK0EQpffh5g3fD7DsVOpjneGndlIdn25ETwK-cbAl7W6OkU1c655rKXQqPScRCSdRLV6NfGqE9I14DLUqr5RxdBSjwrD_VMMZIe6clpVtHh-/s1600/1a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDEtgXFwBKC1_MEr-xzSTmIdTwD7KbQO0vK0EQpffh5g3fD7DsVOpjneGndlIdn25ETwK-cbAl7W6OkU1c655rKXQqPScRCSdRLV6NfGqE9I14DLUqr5RxdBSjwrD_VMMZIe6clpVtHh-/s320/1a.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_SApIqz5iW-2ekbXeR2tm9x3CyiVV-PjhLPIyGC_hfqyYk4sTiuBL10hp-vXtYWLX-6_P-CDC5RVO0NZ0HAfTnbICbuVR2iNfa_9Cl6gXp3lSxSq8Ut9xYI6Tv9zydh8ihq83yi73aqy/s1600/1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Photo2,3,4-Clearing the site. Luckily Uncle Varomue had cleared the site previously when he built his house. So it was mainly weeding , burning down stumps, clearing rocks etc. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrIkVu-L3oRcC-M7IhDmkaIyhyphenhyphenCvkH6geew6iUC8UG2PMT1x0NscUkxBzB5lEWcUnRwljUKfk1bDJo78OyIQG7m-T8Ec9Japt3TUHepFYIoyq03WLLld3e_01u91b2VBCNmTYcKUzZGcL/s1600/2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ee4ZkxjbMZA-aqmU66UaVe-kOPmetb8O2OtzW61G6NYKoN2LGqbmW1keE5mA_FifxPL01foweg21XzgZryVwNOhxS_IYNfwqBkQlnZT-hFXZ7MJhlorZwqYP4tIn0gifAezbCfiL5Gi8/s1600/2a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ee4ZkxjbMZA-aqmU66UaVe-kOPmetb8O2OtzW61G6NYKoN2LGqbmW1keE5mA_FifxPL01foweg21XzgZryVwNOhxS_IYNfwqBkQlnZT-hFXZ7MJhlorZwqYP4tIn0gifAezbCfiL5Gi8/s320/2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXajGojwUmz_rInUCUTd2ocKddez_NFlGEFODy6UosauvVGSYcewfauR3WDDQ9i65u9oSpidrKgwJjEY7c9tet55ZwhW0VABcqI_oR2waO1sbygI27HYTe9y0hjEcpBQJID5eUXy3164c/s1600/4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUJovWIa8uunCzr08Sulj9UIb4wO0POwE6JGyZ7o2M5z8mrTZ4mtDB7DjRFuxWvwqA-BJ0BauIQxzr9gch0RreZP3P5yIDwJHv5r2YgE1KEcU5svFHJziJ4T65SypODB27VTpEaU66jFQ/s1600/3a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUJovWIa8uunCzr08Sulj9UIb4wO0POwE6JGyZ7o2M5z8mrTZ4mtDB7DjRFuxWvwqA-BJ0BauIQxzr9gch0RreZP3P5yIDwJHv5r2YgE1KEcU5svFHJziJ4T65SypODB27VTpEaU66jFQ/s320/3a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRRd5U5HLh4kP670CIXAnlr2d_xXhN64jecJdtu-gQdsVu5t9nh7bljQbq6_CSzdJ5nIQ2721xWdu7kvACG7njuYxxqkbR4WGN9Cs6b9y3rQEhG1iwdhM1sNYE3OFzjxtS_gBrCMkn9rm/s1600/4a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRRd5U5HLh4kP670CIXAnlr2d_xXhN64jecJdtu-gQdsVu5t9nh7bljQbq6_CSzdJ5nIQ2721xWdu7kvACG7njuYxxqkbR4WGN9Cs6b9y3rQEhG1iwdhM1sNYE3OFzjxtS_gBrCMkn9rm/s320/4a.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
Photos5,6,7,8- Collecting the rocks and sand which will be used as aggregate for our concrete mix for the foundations. That’s Dad and Uncle Riga proudly sitting upon our heap of aggregate. It took days for us to get that pile.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAr7OmCB6awzB11320Qwtw5OXxQo4amdATwDG-BZEsLnhA9ryev0jEzJeOSn1_BLtBPgVxbhmGaJuF91ihCan3L90y23CHdS9M8cpK-MNWn9l4r6Vce73SWTkRSCkqcyE43EmL0g1-7vY/s1600/5a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAr7OmCB6awzB11320Qwtw5OXxQo4amdATwDG-BZEsLnhA9ryev0jEzJeOSn1_BLtBPgVxbhmGaJuF91ihCan3L90y23CHdS9M8cpK-MNWn9l4r6Vce73SWTkRSCkqcyE43EmL0g1-7vY/s320/5a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUd-6qKA_HOAzIQIhlYCTbR8MPs2TDObaWLODHq1J18vz8PH02yXNH9KvovW1hZ81zkbHV2i_weT1VnM85sU6p_rFxoAhH7o3qz02HySWCVLbJT27QdBqmHy_LSLyDFQlIx_svjYLNQAa/s1600/6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HRAgAwL5AORZK6mvCcTcxlVQUq4vZYSrsHAAl8jd-vwZkH9VBgTrcYdiq7uwr2QY-cmcclPAeXHs6LpA6rAY5m9oTc4u8EmNnSwR7qKhPqZskOl8EJ-oyKFBNL2GGNyrmhMQ1o7oQ0zY/s1600/6a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HRAgAwL5AORZK6mvCcTcxlVQUq4vZYSrsHAAl8jd-vwZkH9VBgTrcYdiq7uwr2QY-cmcclPAeXHs6LpA6rAY5m9oTc4u8EmNnSwR7qKhPqZskOl8EJ-oyKFBNL2GGNyrmhMQ1o7oQ0zY/s320/6a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTNcuzhAz3bIdmQ2ovgq175I6fnkw1OnAXyqX0ltVan1uMeMQL5LisrXWgA67c1vE3fWxI5s0lPK-00nFKvT0ZYHW65mjqM3tzjU0qN6y-nzchzhOj0tS_28Xy1Vl1Ih-vzxyJ3I6bmZC/s1600/8.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHJ728IJplpaaX1nTiZ6EhmcfJPXrhtSbWkvSt4_Mgl18097-Ixc8jOZoD1WqSu6yJ5WQzYR_zBrB1bY0nwLm-57S6enIHRz07Uakhh9vtgmhBnljm2L8qEMrmhEIt6njbwSFN9mpWGn0/s1600/7a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHJ728IJplpaaX1nTiZ6EhmcfJPXrhtSbWkvSt4_Mgl18097-Ixc8jOZoD1WqSu6yJ5WQzYR_zBrB1bY0nwLm-57S6enIHRz07Uakhh9vtgmhBnljm2L8qEMrmhEIt6njbwSFN9mpWGn0/s320/7a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l4Hv0l_QWixzDD1CMeTNOvf2CsmAEGJb6vCZUF-XCmAf9g9nL4qjEsQbYOYiNfb3MJZEA1oqDmo3Y6aEdUMyq6qeImPe7D66rpiD7NldaevoJlsOWl5zBCFebBCrsvJ2PHrsw3jVKMlX/s1600/8a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l4Hv0l_QWixzDD1CMeTNOvf2CsmAEGJb6vCZUF-XCmAf9g9nL4qjEsQbYOYiNfb3MJZEA1oqDmo3Y6aEdUMyq6qeImPe7D66rpiD7NldaevoJlsOWl5zBCFebBCrsvJ2PHrsw3jVKMlX/s320/8a.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
Photos9,10,11- Shane, Dad and myself building the workshop.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZkwDhOE-kRB9bT0jJyBtmpLxjXUaW4v32LphopQmDTTRb6dwQrc3Pvkir6GyX4DSbI3yGQk3IV5COnXriFNwCBv0xSNaU8aEkiglwU_gEcbgHFzWfAeyeQFb1XvFjNiPzswZlznIaqrl/s1600/9a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZkwDhOE-kRB9bT0jJyBtmpLxjXUaW4v32LphopQmDTTRb6dwQrc3Pvkir6GyX4DSbI3yGQk3IV5COnXriFNwCBv0xSNaU8aEkiglwU_gEcbgHFzWfAeyeQFb1XvFjNiPzswZlznIaqrl/s320/9a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfhWdVdBT7F-5gXRbUm_qcF58D-1pyVjF_nFpTBCXhN5X9r_AYjOFANaOjL5aWnkYcCH8uj5XHPyEdjKjO6-mYTl_-i5vXFzeYaVEuA5BvuiThgzhfLoNrIMdUIq4sNBGXQ_KUcm08zsy/s1600/10a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfhWdVdBT7F-5gXRbUm_qcF58D-1pyVjF_nFpTBCXhN5X9r_AYjOFANaOjL5aWnkYcCH8uj5XHPyEdjKjO6-mYTl_-i5vXFzeYaVEuA5BvuiThgzhfLoNrIMdUIq4sNBGXQ_KUcm08zsy/s320/10a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VBgpP7vA6_MnMH5xm3AJ6A76x0uhrusE49VHwzkR259MwRdzPlbKfpO1jm3K8OPZkB_c4YACvwiU7MXZ-r6Ch-v__vih5aHjsRI0RaDyzsdRJEPG5yG6KsEqq-xpajzj62aQ8ZH4VOJh/s1600/11a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VBgpP7vA6_MnMH5xm3AJ6A76x0uhrusE49VHwzkR259MwRdzPlbKfpO1jm3K8OPZkB_c4YACvwiU7MXZ-r6Ch-v__vih5aHjsRI0RaDyzsdRJEPG5yG6KsEqq-xpajzj62aQ8ZH4VOJh/s320/11a.jpg" width="320" /></a>Photo12- The first hole dug and waiting for concrete.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb1XVmB5yNeWZMErr6a2H9mdABN3aIIetOHwoRau3nR8wlPmE4sDaqMgKptpBGElDRDsVQExc3FWupykz8GIT6PpeImPvrvpqkrXBNu1L97BeN0S2fkoVc-iRjRIIB1wTp_ue1IqvIg_r/s1600/12a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb1XVmB5yNeWZMErr6a2H9mdABN3aIIetOHwoRau3nR8wlPmE4sDaqMgKptpBGElDRDsVQExc3FWupykz8GIT6PpeImPvrvpqkrXBNu1L97BeN0S2fkoVc-iRjRIIB1wTp_ue1IqvIg_r/s320/12a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Photos13,14,15- Concrete mixing ,placing of the steel post holders and setting the foundations. Thank God Dad was there to help. He did all the surveying for the foundations and then also worked out all the levels for the posts, exactly where we were going to notch the posts to house the bearers, joists and top plates. Later when we started to bolt the house together, everything went together perfectly, the house is perfectly level, square and plumb. Once the top plates were installed we checked the square of the house by measuring the diagonals. The house was out of square by a matter of millimetres. This is quite amazing considering that all the major members of the house are hand cut with a chainsaw and therefore are far from being straight.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfAi0j493eXBchc4WNN4Ql8TPAnc8MbpjjN_6K9-_DeJLBHCD7Airv5ARuU5TO0iWtH9Kuk6hz0_FG0RcK5fJwXCkhKyQN5TY8RbS-Ztb77nFQdGQteqW_ikDtc34bxdQTvTbWTnCaKsm/s1600/13a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfAi0j493eXBchc4WNN4Ql8TPAnc8MbpjjN_6K9-_DeJLBHCD7Airv5ARuU5TO0iWtH9Kuk6hz0_FG0RcK5fJwXCkhKyQN5TY8RbS-Ztb77nFQdGQteqW_ikDtc34bxdQTvTbWTnCaKsm/s320/13a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVrX0OE3ZOEWSea3JAgWDP8wSDsqvQG3ksia_QZqahoMIkWHL5tmqb_mxcv7ZxbOakg5B-gL13y1CtPz8UHRc81s6ZtNG2L212yIGU7mfTys96w6KP-j3q4EKmwqZD5mECg17zmno__Uc/s1600/14a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVrX0OE3ZOEWSea3JAgWDP8wSDsqvQG3ksia_QZqahoMIkWHL5tmqb_mxcv7ZxbOakg5B-gL13y1CtPz8UHRc81s6ZtNG2L212yIGU7mfTys96w6KP-j3q4EKmwqZD5mECg17zmno__Uc/s320/14a.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-tR30oBqemsMO-TjP1lRaptYD8hRPRjeTmJ2Neckt62EixMbVagW1MzD1Gn3nsfFL3lr5xNxNFPTRXLUlBoe3bjAU2doeMikELi6HJl-Z1Ule-RS-IYWImp1xVAN9dj4OwsNTVM28eF_/s1600/15a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-tR30oBqemsMO-TjP1lRaptYD8hRPRjeTmJ2Neckt62EixMbVagW1MzD1Gn3nsfFL3lr5xNxNFPTRXLUlBoe3bjAU2doeMikELi6HJl-Z1Ule-RS-IYWImp1xVAN9dj4OwsNTVM28eF_/s320/15a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo16- Foundations are in and awaiting the posts.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecAFnjxY5Td9jOXdehM2XNm3rx66eaAiD90TfhHV06_jqd2RHYvp7XkI4rYaHtiK18xtcoatBExPPOmMCd0J1TaMv2hLjQkqqvtvw-c0BheyOGpgM4hLMywK6mVsWVe6Gjhyy1iC-OWSO/s1600/13.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8_6wyE3VQK4E8f_eG8Ll8NsSB9ktNuPaAlGgiWyn6E5exGrq89nCXl5MOvBqEdyMzOLtJeguZ_RkLx7XrnaiZfy8QbK71ZtjhavO1JHhup88WZUx3PEWPiTO-ENaid5N7OUyPDhDhyhR/s1600/16a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8_6wyE3VQK4E8f_eG8Ll8NsSB9ktNuPaAlGgiWyn6E5exGrq89nCXl5MOvBqEdyMzOLtJeguZ_RkLx7XrnaiZfy8QbK71ZtjhavO1JHhup88WZUx3PEWPiTO-ENaid5N7OUyPDhDhyhR/s320/16a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Photos17,18,19,20- Preparing and installing the posts. By the way these posts were forkin heavy. The tree we used for the posts is specifically used for posts here as they last a long time in the ground. Of all the wood we cut the posts were the hardest and heaviest wood to work with. At times it felt like cutting through concrete and I would have to sharpen the chainsaw 3 times as often, compared to other trees. You can also see us cutting the notches in the posts, which will later house the bearers, joists and top plates.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dHACdt1qKQf1T_0npsToxiIwMpP6OveVdsnAnaDp3Py5Kqe7lYXyQKnXb9zG62lOI6imYiqXdmY-oEe7PWm2vH75m2Sp3eDqwBugCvkQcxXHnKE9qOE3vspsZibR0wUySFudQHPzzww5/s1600/17a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dHACdt1qKQf1T_0npsToxiIwMpP6OveVdsnAnaDp3Py5Kqe7lYXyQKnXb9zG62lOI6imYiqXdmY-oEe7PWm2vH75m2Sp3eDqwBugCvkQcxXHnKE9qOE3vspsZibR0wUySFudQHPzzww5/s320/17a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp_hGebinTud_HWXFF4p5kHoqadOcTsTTBtVdrLenAKJzufa2iygYmTk-YhvtYM9V0EA9i5rNH9KAtjUfO9GBPnZzjc3vTL9fPJUKdw95hXdptTgn4E_cNR3IQtU8uSaIL8vcChK7ysw6/s1600/18a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp_hGebinTud_HWXFF4p5kHoqadOcTsTTBtVdrLenAKJzufa2iygYmTk-YhvtYM9V0EA9i5rNH9KAtjUfO9GBPnZzjc3vTL9fPJUKdw95hXdptTgn4E_cNR3IQtU8uSaIL8vcChK7ysw6/s320/18a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81i7OIMKb6hJmmh-qGZMNa5iOIRu5qQRGvUwuAejaApUZQ8Adg93-4gqKHaDYoJnL9gxG864c8b8eNPHbT7ufVHa324EomXuvbSvcmb8fyukYhPFz-9e_kAu33e33QIKquKt1SqCtdlDw/s1600/19a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81i7OIMKb6hJmmh-qGZMNa5iOIRu5qQRGvUwuAejaApUZQ8Adg93-4gqKHaDYoJnL9gxG864c8b8eNPHbT7ufVHa324EomXuvbSvcmb8fyukYhPFz-9e_kAu33e33QIKquKt1SqCtdlDw/s320/19a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOl8JUik77QPCFN7BAPbYlr7zVj6JQIM5DWJgNtn9_xmsLbR6E3FNbq0Uhf0HgYAkPsw_1PNViUMJ_0OCfl53rIz91XX6uV2Y9HUQ3D4LLmH61RVOL9gfkc9WT-bDTU_8WQb49uoX5Hn2/s1600/20a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOl8JUik77QPCFN7BAPbYlr7zVj6JQIM5DWJgNtn9_xmsLbR6E3FNbq0Uhf0HgYAkPsw_1PNViUMJ_0OCfl53rIz91XX6uV2Y9HUQ3D4LLmH61RVOL9gfkc9WT-bDTU_8WQb49uoX5Hn2/s320/20a.jpg" width="240" /></a>Photos21-25- Installing the first bearer. Photo 24, Post has been notched and painted with creosote. As you can see with all those notches in the posts, if our levels were out and the major beams that were to be housed in the notches didn’t fit in perfectly, we would have to throw the post out, and go cut another tree down. Which is something I really did not want to do. Photo 25 is the bearer housed and bolted into the post. The bolts at the bottom are for the post holder to attach the post.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueKTB9GUSy3Uvq6qjRBqJixWPlZTQil1VPFWQbUbb3b9b-oXpGp11gxGCk2-bJgUNw9OSAQCmqrN8nN5KFlM7oT7F06Ju56s46PUzc8-UCXBOfl-_xIsCkE0UoVxP_t3wbnzJhZpLBZhE/s1600/21a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueKTB9GUSy3Uvq6qjRBqJixWPlZTQil1VPFWQbUbb3b9b-oXpGp11gxGCk2-bJgUNw9OSAQCmqrN8nN5KFlM7oT7F06Ju56s46PUzc8-UCXBOfl-_xIsCkE0UoVxP_t3wbnzJhZpLBZhE/s320/21a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPy9XyeTVndoMcj3vyMIThH2P8rESCBeucy0C9rjni7sn3VCQWm5u42fB29e6wH4dlWJZWFbVWCVDSU-qzWbBo0MoWlMErJhKFsO5l93mRP7SFdjBmdGjZABhtvhs-2kmII8ralo1UEVS/s1600/24a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPy9XyeTVndoMcj3vyMIThH2P8rESCBeucy0C9rjni7sn3VCQWm5u42fB29e6wH4dlWJZWFbVWCVDSU-qzWbBo0MoWlMErJhKFsO5l93mRP7SFdjBmdGjZABhtvhs-2kmII8ralo1UEVS/s320/24a.jpg" width="240" /></a> <br />
Photo 26- All the posts are up. It took 3 days to install the posts. I was nervous as all hell for those 3 days as the only way we could lift the posts up to the vertical was manually. I was so scared that the posts would tip over and land on somebody, which if happened would injure them permanently due to the sheer weight of the things. We managed to install all the posts without a single nail chipped only my nerves a little frayed, thank God!!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0aiXJOzcqzArDKFdGimdkpcYIMLJui-ZeI528vwnFVK46Y8r03uaQj9v1dygQB_BDpdXdyVWDLbgWbLFev4CLo_NguyIKGX-7eo52y0_JtdWYcKtC8ugezaV7Y2xm7SYgrHGZiSkHGgP/s1600/26a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0aiXJOzcqzArDKFdGimdkpcYIMLJui-ZeI528vwnFVK46Y8r03uaQj9v1dygQB_BDpdXdyVWDLbgWbLFev4CLo_NguyIKGX-7eo52y0_JtdWYcKtC8ugezaV7Y2xm7SYgrHGZiSkHGgP/s320/26a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Well thats the house to the post stage. Dad and Shanes presence made a huge difference for me as I felt for once I could just ask them to do something and not have to worry about it being done properly or something going wrong or breaking. I felt like I was on holidays for once, which was very nice. I must say I was surprised by dads stamina and strength. All the work we did was hard and heavy labour. This in itself is difficult but when you add in the climate- the humidity and the sheer strength of the sun, it makes work during the middle of the day almost impossible. For example none of the local men work during the middle of the day, due to the strength of the sun. We, on the other hand, worked all day long and only had a break for lunch. I didn’t think Dad would be able to do it, but as it turned out he was always the first one out after lunch, keen as mustard. At times I felt like knocking him out just so we could have a longer break. I took him spear-fishing thinking this will bugger him. We first walked from our village to Itumuta which is about 5km, jumped in the water and spear-fished all the way back to our village, which is about 3km.By the way your not just lazily swimming along, its hard work spear-fishing. He looked pretty buggered when we got back, but he had a nap and was ready to go again that afternoon. With any luck when I get to dads age I will have the same strength and stamina that he has.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Until the next exciting instalment, Au revoir.. Carl..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Am adding Carls next blog here so you can see the whole process up to date, sorry it is so long, have a nap if you need to.. X Nadine<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Hey, Here we go again. Well this post will bring you up to date to where we are at right now in regards to the house. The work has slowed down a bit in the last week as we are all a little burnt out. Also Nadine and the kids are leaving soon so there have been a few going away parties to attend, which means the ensuing day is a right off. Once again another pictorial post.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo27-30 are installing the joists through to them being painted with the creosote solution. The joists took us quite awhile to do as we had never laid joists before and they all had to be exactly level, so that when the floorboards go on they don’t undulate or step up or down in level.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Photo31-32 are the first and the last top plates being installed. Effectively they form a ring beam around the house, on which the rafters will be notched into and also the walls.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Photo33-35 Here we are building the platform for us to stand on for when we install the ridge beam. Of all the parts of the house the roof was the part that concerned me the most. I had no idea how we were going to build it, and I had been stressing about it since the idea to build a house came into my head. Luckily Uncle Varomue had previously built his house and had been paying attention when he and the carpenter installed the roof. I must say that if it wasn’t for Varomue I don’t think I would of been able to do the roof. In the end it was no where near as difficult as I imagined. I found it strange that of all the things that we have tackled in this house, the roof was of most concern to me. You can also see us building what look like goal posts. The ridge beam will sit on the goal posts and be held in position for us to nail the rafters onto it. The last photo is the goal posts finished and the ridge beam centred awaiting the rafters.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Photos36-38 Installing the rafters. The first set of rafters through to completion of the rafters. Something that amazed me about the rafters is that once we cut the birdsmouth joint at the bottom, which is where the rafter sits on the top plate, the rafter practically held itself in place, despite the notch in the rafter only being tiny. I admit the last sentence was probably as fascinating as bat shit, unless you are budding diy builder, which somewhat narrows the audience down to 2. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzSfJ0wiGecl4jRLsxWf8uQzMjm0MDbQi0STsKCYHHlBLVe8zTd3epUCRs0KzqqWad7_DIDTyycE9PR-LIIZH59BoDCb9sZE2aQvUrx0Nrihmq32iwOODGTXcz8FwgAiCYGOxhqeqa0lh/s1600/38a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzSfJ0wiGecl4jRLsxWf8uQzMjm0MDbQi0STsKCYHHlBLVe8zTd3epUCRs0KzqqWad7_DIDTyycE9PR-LIIZH59BoDCb9sZE2aQvUrx0Nrihmq32iwOODGTXcz8FwgAiCYGOxhqeqa0lh/s320/38a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Photos 39-42 are of the purlins [don’t think this is the correct name], being installed, the verandah roof being built and the rafters being straightened so as to look neat. Oh yeah also the brace for the roof, which is that V shape you can see in all that tangle of wood. I was very proud of the brace which we did, which was notched into the rafters before we put the purlins in place. However we may have made a mistake as apparently it goes on the underside of the rafters not the top of the rafters. Hopefully this makes no difference structurally. It doesn’t seem to as the roof became solid as a rock once it was braced.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photos 43-48 is the roofing iron going on. The last few photos are of where we are at right now with the building. The roof has got another 2 days work and then we will have completed everything on the roof, fascia boards, side flashing, battens, the lot, which will be nice. In the photo of us all sitting on the side of the roof, you can see one person sitting on the ridge of the roof. This is Uncle Riga, who is 73yrs old. At this age he is still able to climb through rafters and swing himself up onto the ridge of the roof, which is something that I struggled to do at less than half his age. He then pulls the roofing iron up and holds it in place by himself whilst the rest of us screw the roofing iron down. Last post was me showing my amazement at Dads stamina and strength. Even by Dads reckoning Uncle Riga is a freak!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTy8qeFh368zSKbaByuwmHfBqblsb81MKYH17iIcNhsRoDphh9r4tL7JEKnGRA75Z6bPpfp-20jjLtt0Bmyk7qutGCEDFq39vj4NBO-dUxw9UpOaDBZq6OfqcjxMGceEOhbT-IKpDxyI7K/s1600/44a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTy8qeFh368zSKbaByuwmHfBqblsb81MKYH17iIcNhsRoDphh9r4tL7JEKnGRA75Z6bPpfp-20jjLtt0Bmyk7qutGCEDFq39vj4NBO-dUxw9UpOaDBZq6OfqcjxMGceEOhbT-IKpDxyI7K/s320/44a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg145jpJMAO-wVRs5DyIYvyfBw-vg4EaJ5t0bYvKiaYMzm_lGZahJCe_E2YvZl9QO-bm0TOuNDgb6JLlVLQWB2LguBS4h5IAj5CVOZ8Q2hZKn9SCBsGvQ-3bhyHtyzTQVrk692AzbEk9Qog/s1600/47a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg145jpJMAO-wVRs5DyIYvyfBw-vg4EaJ5t0bYvKiaYMzm_lGZahJCe_E2YvZl9QO-bm0TOuNDgb6JLlVLQWB2LguBS4h5IAj5CVOZ8Q2hZKn9SCBsGvQ-3bhyHtyzTQVrk692AzbEk9Qog/s320/47a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZOhRWx6XbF_jlVaG6DOl5l4F1bfyPsEJgp11TcCTQEgg6ocMwPjAJ0UVHq20pFeJJjbXVSiOHpk4XUBfXyMtUajAIC1DL7Ds3Su0niyAkcSleygkMjIada3FHbY3LsXME3BTSfsCMtlH/s1600/48a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZOhRWx6XbF_jlVaG6DOl5l4F1bfyPsEJgp11TcCTQEgg6ocMwPjAJ0UVHq20pFeJJjbXVSiOHpk4XUBfXyMtUajAIC1DL7Ds3Su0niyAkcSleygkMjIada3FHbY3LsXME3BTSfsCMtlH/s320/48a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Once the roof is done we will start building the framing for the walls, windows and doors. I have no idea how long this will take but I have 5 weeks before I leave. If history is anything to go by the walls will not be finished before I leave, which means the walls and the floor will have to wait till we come back before being installed. As it always seems to go with building projects, they run over time and over budget, and this one is no exception. The main thing however is that the roof is on and the wood is somewhat protected from the elements. It would be great to be able enclose it completely, but we will see how we go. In some ways it works out good that we are going away for a period of time and that we will come back again to finish the house. We have been working from sunrise to sunset 6 days a week and as I said before we are all burning out a little and now that we are coming to the finishing touches on the house it would be a pity to not do a good job, just because we are tired of the work. Even spearfishing has become a little boring for different reasons, and I have only managed to go once a week for the last month.</div><div class="MsoNormal">This will probably be the last post from me for awhile, as Nadine is going and she looks after the blog. When I get to Israel I will update the photos and post another exciting instalment in the longest running house construction in the Southern hemisphere.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bye and take it easy peeps.. Carlos </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-81531319626660324352011-07-19T01:32:00.000-07:002011-07-19T01:32:38.836-07:00Parties and progress<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In less than 2 weeks from now I will be back in Civilization. I am super excited, but I must admit that it is mixed with a bit of sadness, as I have been feeling the build up of tension around “the goodbyes” for a couple of weeks here. We have become very much a part of peoples life here, as well as a part of the landscape in and around our village, and everyone keeps telling me how much they will miss us.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Last friday night the Preschool held a “send off” party for me, and I felt truly blessed and honoured. The teachers and mums decorated one of the classrooms with the school kids coconut leaf crafts, woven mats and balloons, They had speeches of gratitude, speeches of prayer, Primary school head teacher and high school principal spoke, the preschool teachers and mums all got up and sang “I see the moon”,( a song in English and Hebrew that I had taught the kids) in perfect harmony, they garlanded Carl and I in beautiful fragrant handmade flower lays, they garlanded themselves in flower lays and leafy hip belts and danced a few traditional Rotuman numbers (and dragged me up to join in with them in one of the dances, to their traditional rolling laughter...), They prepared a delicious dinner (including a “Lovo”- underground oven cooked pig...), they sang me a beautiful farewell song they made up, and drank Kava, Beer and Whiskey under the beautiful full moon light. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The evening ended with me dragging a very drunk friend along the moonlit road home, about an hours journey, allowing me to savour my last full moon in Rotuma, which if I haven't already mentioned, is one of the most beautiful things about here. The moon is so bright, the sky illuminated almost like daylight, the moon has a rainbow-like halo around it, a sight I have never seen anywhere else in the world...</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was such a lovely evening, I felt so honoured and humbled by their efforts and kindness, and felt really happy to have left my mark in their school and their hearts.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I really hope that all the mums volunteering to work this project will be strong enough to keep going with it , at least until next year, when apparently the Fijian ministry of education will be sending a qualified teacher to work there.</div><div class="MsoNormal">And in my final weeks here on the island, I am at last learning how to weave the traditional mats made from dried Pandanas leaves. Maggie, one of the preschool teachers has been coming over on Saturdays to teach me the art, and I am really enjoying it.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The house is looking great! The roof is almost done, and it is really looking and feeling like a house. Carl has started sorting photos to post, so the next instalment will be his.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Just cooked two big octopuses (octopi???) in coconut cream for lunch, so gotta go rest my belly and soul...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hope all is well on your side of the world, will see (most) of you soon!!!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Xxx N</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMilgllb2XqMpvR4FE8c9Ou5bUIylpym5TsD2HRWjvgweTU0zLbzps-8pVBQISkHKETuWDhuLBiReo9PjqCQrbrcx4dHee2exrSUiZP01cJeQWoqdK8dOgh7gyZSvH98jwq57NEFQdE5C-/s1600/party+night.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMilgllb2XqMpvR4FE8c9Ou5bUIylpym5TsD2HRWjvgweTU0zLbzps-8pVBQISkHKETuWDhuLBiReo9PjqCQrbrcx4dHee2exrSUiZP01cJeQWoqdK8dOgh7gyZSvH98jwq57NEFQdE5C-/s320/party+night.jpg" width="320" /> </a><br />
All dressed up and ready to go to party! (with uncle Varomue and Aggie who we're living with)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ivr9wC7erAC0H3KEAe1Lwd-XYzS0k2YRR7i_KBTpUjCQkK34Cs-0SNqBB5eA5kNqWlqv8p8o4ZGjdgwPihmO5243ruz5HhM2oW02M2hY3FSHhUjNpv9a5g4CzvJtqLc1uI97xm5N0aX_/s1600/decorations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ivr9wC7erAC0H3KEAe1Lwd-XYzS0k2YRR7i_KBTpUjCQkK34Cs-0SNqBB5eA5kNqWlqv8p8o4ZGjdgwPihmO5243ruz5HhM2oW02M2hY3FSHhUjNpv9a5g4CzvJtqLc1uI97xm5N0aX_/s320/decorations.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maggi, one of the preschool teachers in the decorated classroom (note the hebrew on the black board!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjibp2gtrLVbEoA7-stjb4wV1YLH_rErh8oo9vux0vFRBYkyoC8BxiGiOtOolU-W4sW9vJX963IgZ1pO81r9fGgJ7e4jN1hJjmOGrNAQcIO-uqpgZmKGIq1wQQrlBxPf3kZR8tteeWl_-V/s1600/ladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjibp2gtrLVbEoA7-stjb4wV1YLH_rErh8oo9vux0vFRBYkyoC8BxiGiOtOolU-W4sW9vJX963IgZ1pO81r9fGgJ7e4jN1hJjmOGrNAQcIO-uqpgZmKGIq1wQQrlBxPf3kZR8tteeWl_-V/s320/ladies.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All the preschool teachers and gang!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMilgllb2XqMpvR4FE8c9Ou5bUIylpym5TsD2HRWjvgweTU0zLbzps-8pVBQISkHKETuWDhuLBiReo9PjqCQrbrcx4dHee2exrSUiZP01cJeQWoqdK8dOgh7gyZSvH98jwq57NEFQdE5C-/s1600/party+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-89786207328694910052011-07-10T00:13:00.000-07:002011-07-10T00:13:02.691-07:00The final countdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>HE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">So- here we are, less than 3 weeks to go before the kids and I depart the Island and head back to civilization.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately Carl wont be coming home with us, as the house wont be finished in 3 weeks, or at least wont be done perfectly, as only he knows how, and we’ve decided that it would be a waste of years of planning and bloody hard work, to get to the point of the actual building and finishes on the house, and not to make them perfect. So having lost a few weeks work to sicknesses, rainy days and the constant random things that come up and hold back the building, as well as this being a first for us all and not really having any idea how long it should take, the end is delayed, and Carl will be staying on another 4 weeks to perfect his creation.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, the kids and I will head back to Sydney for 2 weeks, and then hop on 3 flights across the universe, to where the Cardamon flavoured Coffee I'm sipping on right now comes from, the land of milk and honey and sizzling hot summer with the luxury of air-con (oh how I’ve wished for a breeze of that here some days...), but mainly- to where my sista Pam will be bursting at her seams, ready to birth me a nephew! Needless to say I am ecstatically excited about that, and about spending some quality with MY peeps, MY family, MY roots...</div><div class="MsoNormal">So besides our house actually LOOKING like a house, and I’ll leave the building side of things for Carl to update, life is pretty simple still, and the only think I have to think about is what to make for the next meal...</div><div class="MsoNormal">There were a few weeks here, when all supplies on the island ran dry, the shops were empty and there was no boat on the horizon heading for Rotuma. Some locals say that at times like that, all the fun begins, coz people have to get very creative with the local foods. I am lucky to have the best fisherman in the village sleeping beside me every night, so for us it was a very fishy few weeks, and Tapioca (AKA Cassava) was the other ingredient we used allot of. Boiled Cassava, fried Cassava, Cassava and coconut cream porridge, grated Cassava and coconut (and lots of sugar) baked in the oven, grated Cassava, chilli and onion deep fried patties, Cassava, Cassava, Cassava. Breakfast lunch and dinner. <span> </span>Now and again there were the odd beans I managed to pick from my crippled dwarf bean plants, and one Bindi a day which I picked to make a curry with at the end of a week’s collection. You can imagine how pleased we were when the boat finally arrived and brought- along with our building materials, supplies of flour, rice, eggs, sugar, noodles <span> </span>etc. So loads of deep fried donuts and Roti’s and loaves of bread and muffins and cakes later, we’re happier and satisfied.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Vegies are still a bit of a treat when they come around, and we are lucky to have a relative who lives in Itumuta (the village we left) who has a massive plantation of vegies- Asian greens, cabbages, eggplants, beans, tomatoes, and Capsicum, and every now and then he comes by with a big basket full of vegies for us, sort of like home delivery of Organic produce, only an 1/8<sup>th</sup> of the price and much fresher than we would get back home....</div><div class="MsoNormal">The preschool is still running, with difficulty tho. The main problem is that we don’t have any qualified teachers, so the volunteering mums pretty much just make it up day by day, without really having any guidance, structure or program. I must say, I have the highest respect for preschool teachers now, it is such a hard job!!!!!! I don’t know if its just kids here or all over the world, but gosh- trying to control 18-25 kids for 4 hours is hard core!!!!!!!! It is constant screaming, trying to install the minimum amount of discipline in them is an almost impossible task, and for me, not (really) speaking the language is a major disadvantage when trying to get the kids to do/not do something. When it was my teaching week, I would come home at the end of the day absolutely<span> </span>F****ED and crash for a few hours to recover, and by the end of the week, I was sick. Literally.</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is sad, because most of the women involved in the teaching are getting burnt out very quickly, and I wont be surprised if the whole thing crumbles in a few months, unless they get more support from the parents, the community and the government. A few people who have promised to be involved have pulled out, leaving more of a load on those who are struggling to stay in, including me.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have suggested some practical changes many times, ways in which we can get the families more involved, fund raising, and ideas for support, but people here are very stuck in their ways and are afraid to make changes, as they’re concerned of what others would say about them. There is a bit of a “Tall Poppy Syndrome” thing happening here, in that they don’t like seeing other people succeed, and if those who are actually doing something great need help in doing it, rather than helping- they put down those who are trying in saying “I told you<span> </span>you couldn’t do it” kind of thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Very frustrating for me to see, especially when I really want this preschool to continue and last after we leave. I told the women involved that they have to be brave and make big changes in the way things work here, otherwise the whole project will die. I really hope they manage to gather the guts to make those changes, otherwise I fear the preschool would be yet another unfinished project here in Rotuma.</div><div class="MsoNormal">But other than that, my kids are still loving going, and we have been preparing for a concert on the 22<sup>nd</sup> of this month, a collaboration with the primary school to raise funds for the preschool. We printed and are selling $2 tickets for the night, the kids will be singing songs and rhymes in English, Rotuman, Fijian and Hebrew, they will be dancing the traditional Rotuman dance to the words of Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill, and my boys have a duo of singing a Hebrew song too. There is talk of all the teachers doing an item too (yes- that’s me dressed in the traditional Rotuman gear doing the Hula!), we’ll be selling Roti’s and coconuts, and we’re hoping to make FJ$1000!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also- next Friday they are having a farewell party for me- all the preschool and primary school teachers, which is really sweet. I am a bit concerned about it tho, coz I know they are planning on drinking, and as we already know, when Rotumans drink- they don’t stop, sometimes for days, and yours truly can handle only a very few before I get tired or bored or drunk, especially if it is the local home brew (made of fermented fruit or, you guessed, Cassava).<span> </span>I told Aggy (who we live with, who loves her Friday night drinking and is a true Rotuman in the amounts she can intake) that I am bringing Carl with me to the party so that when I am tired and wanna go home, he can walk home with me (about a 30 minute walk home). Her response to that was “This party is for YOU- you will STAY, you will DRINK, you will LAUGH and you will DANCE!!!!”... Am a bit nervous now...</div><div class="MsoNormal">So the count down is on, 19 more sleeps until we touch down in Sydney. It’s been 4 months since we arrived, and this year’s experience is so different to last years. I now appreciate this place so much more, I see the beauty, I cherish the simplicity, I realize how lucky I am, <i>we are</i>, to have this place, and soon a house of our own which we can come to anytime, share with friends and family, and call it a home. Our kids are so lucky to have this cultural diversity as such an integral part of their lives, and for us a place we can escape to when life in a world of consumerism, stress and hectic lifestyle gets the better of us.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So to all my Australian peeps, book me into your busy schedules between 1<sup>st</sup> and 13<sup>th</sup> of August, and my Israel peeps- you’ll have us for much longer than that!</div><div class="MsoNormal">And to all my peeps scattered around this crazy globe, hope you’re all well, happy and finding time to cherish what you have and spend more time with your kids...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Xxx N</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh Abundance....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUF9h2cwrL58Ys5C4O72p2nEi4PGVqmKfhfeT5S_dLeA58wfX5qA23HoN6h9YLCcqfzQp0pVfwX0xOETIBPj68_k2M8jresRsT4q7ijYlfAgw_I-0hV0l6v81IY3CDOvyg_zzt5hXYvD8/s1600/abundance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1708pGFOgIMRLQq7R-06EbC5MgXEdFhYeMEUdntLs9asSIMq_EouCC71awvqkppIqtDIJIs9r4uRo48ZISTrnRrklO2Nrl4oUzrRHjpvD9SwTTh31MsTG6Z2K5lRnUb43pyEMifKKbr9m/s1600/abundance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1708pGFOgIMRLQq7R-06EbC5MgXEdFhYeMEUdntLs9asSIMq_EouCC71awvqkppIqtDIJIs9r4uRo48ZISTrnRrklO2Nrl4oUzrRHjpvD9SwTTh31MsTG6Z2K5lRnUb43pyEMifKKbr9m/s320/abundance.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUF9h2cwrL58Ys5C4O72p2nEi4PGVqmKfhfeT5S_dLeA58wfX5qA23HoN6h9YLCcqfzQp0pVfwX0xOETIBPj68_k2M8jresRsT4q7ijYlfAgw_I-0hV0l6v81IY3CDOvyg_zzt5hXYvD8/s1600/abundance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE2CRGbEtWKECDKPrR_wvVWVaijeRFBLn8YTDSelF_cNl9D40l17ExaSSRusQP0NUcMiF4ENTaZpwzGMRZgHpl1R_mVUxl3e_DNuO7FrHHWmig6zVhzlDVJn0FZdexNgo1KYo1bNAe5wP/s1600/noah+cake+decorating.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE2CRGbEtWKECDKPrR_wvVWVaijeRFBLn8YTDSelF_cNl9D40l17ExaSSRusQP0NUcMiF4ENTaZpwzGMRZgHpl1R_mVUxl3e_DNuO7FrHHWmig6zVhzlDVJn0FZdexNgo1KYo1bNAe5wP/s320/noah+cake+decorating.jpg" width="320" /> </a><br />
Noah's debut attempt at cake decoration for Carl birthday<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_8cbM1XrEJOjg5omCfIiP257CIONoQXCS0ssnmNGPbiv788nvhiooGbFbrqetfkmWyFpzje4PC4cg17qdWDNTG5TMNQ6X8WXutg_62mpi08vpOam9Tq54LrQoYMYVf4pvSgcMP6mMQVV/s1600/carl+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_8cbM1XrEJOjg5omCfIiP257CIONoQXCS0ssnmNGPbiv788nvhiooGbFbrqetfkmWyFpzje4PC4cg17qdWDNTG5TMNQ6X8WXutg_62mpi08vpOam9Tq54LrQoYMYVf4pvSgcMP6mMQVV/s320/carl+36.jpg" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy birthday Carl</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6_PIhfhtsx_lnHUlDq0T6LNg4QERn_AZycREPAMcT3NULdNs9xjIiDxMnFgmLBztbKAJwlSH6YvHm2bka-LpN2trGWoMY3dQutxYRL5tFf4np4aJ9sebeDBKgiBMW-oGZRVau8OM0gSI/s1600/tube+biy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6_PIhfhtsx_lnHUlDq0T6LNg4QERn_AZycREPAMcT3NULdNs9xjIiDxMnFgmLBztbKAJwlSH6YvHm2bka-LpN2trGWoMY3dQutxYRL5tFf4np4aJ9sebeDBKgiBMW-oGZRVau8OM0gSI/s320/tube+biy.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Saulei at preschool picnic</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-26763172334253367202011-06-26T17:11:00.000-07:002011-06-26T17:11:56.800-07:00From Trees to floorboards<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>HE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Hey, rather than waste time with excuses as to why I haven't contributed a blog. Here is a pictorial Blog about how we got floorboards from trees.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first step is obviously selecting the trees. Photo 1 is the tree we used for all of our 4x2 timber. We selected this type of tree specifically because I had heard of people using this in building huts and as long as they didn’t leak, the timber remained in perfect condition for up to 30 years. Mind you this was small saplings that they used not properly matured trees, so I assumed that the benefits would be amplified with the age of the tree. This particular tree would be somewhere between 50-80 yrs old. No one really knows as it is in the middle of the bush, but they apparently grow slow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRd-yz9LaLliReX4W57ZUm40i4Y8dJrfCpb8A8pvzqlDZe4X1aC1X0Nr62YZt5-eQKkYXMb1U4H5rzzRsMtdXu4ffV1KkdQ6WziMfwN907ncye5bbLl5HjlYgKNL9gv0fziIeQQDbsu-5f/s1600/1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRd-yz9LaLliReX4W57ZUm40i4Y8dJrfCpb8A8pvzqlDZe4X1aC1X0Nr62YZt5-eQKkYXMb1U4H5rzzRsMtdXu4ffV1KkdQ6WziMfwN907ncye5bbLl5HjlYgKNL9gv0fziIeQQDbsu-5f/s320/1a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09jN0k6YksvHiSDxE1h1pNaI1r8FNuCbJrugGdSp4KAR43eSWtzReX3VUsXj8DNlF09q-9fTFC-4Kz0u5MD7yMKem7_3OR2rRmTCX8GFOGUfCHrjtXWexdnyFFUcO4AnuoWvpdXm5JVKh/s1600/3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 2 is one of the 3 Mahogany trees that we cut down. They were all about this same size which for me when I was felling it seemed pretty forkin big! They certainly make a mess of the surrounding bush when they come down. This particular one snapped 2 coconut trees clean in half on its way down.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCv11mw3sEjpTR_oJO2nydbB9xQOI5LtGJ4k6btP-jVHmIbrdv3tQ7vN9q7dWiHaKcQXf4GtLprjjE3qgTORcHGq77aZvKCDte6KXcJ1G65P_o-v4yllhQma0we8Q9OPYVX2rNFSgLmGa/s1600/2a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCv11mw3sEjpTR_oJO2nydbB9xQOI5LtGJ4k6btP-jVHmIbrdv3tQ7vN9q7dWiHaKcQXf4GtLprjjE3qgTORcHGq77aZvKCDte6KXcJ1G65P_o-v4yllhQma0we8Q9OPYVX2rNFSgLmGa/s320/2a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 3-5 is of the same tree after it has been felled, cleaned up, rolled onto logs and ready for the first cut with the chainsaw mill. We also have to cut paths into the bush to get to the tree, and also to be able to carry the slabs out, and also clear all the surrounding bush so that we have space to work and stack the slabs. This usually takes<span> </span>about 2 days to get to the point of pulling out the chainsaw and mill.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09jN0k6YksvHiSDxE1h1pNaI1r8FNuCbJrugGdSp4KAR43eSWtzReX3VUsXj8DNlF09q-9fTFC-4Kz0u5MD7yMKem7_3OR2rRmTCX8GFOGUfCHrjtXWexdnyFFUcO4AnuoWvpdXm5JVKh/s1600/3a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09jN0k6YksvHiSDxE1h1pNaI1r8FNuCbJrugGdSp4KAR43eSWtzReX3VUsXj8DNlF09q-9fTFC-4Kz0u5MD7yMKem7_3OR2rRmTCX8GFOGUfCHrjtXWexdnyFFUcO4AnuoWvpdXm5JVKh/s320/3a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkoQNq30O8GwZb4qmYwPxI40GJIfExW29GguO-TNujCf3O3Rmv_CA98BvfziMubjGT03zntaTRhkbVdI2Vkt61FV7aDKUakdQLd-eK4llGwr_Fq0QOPJOFHguUm5gc4Mv2o1V_CUaphIA/s1600/4a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkoQNq30O8GwZb4qmYwPxI40GJIfExW29GguO-TNujCf3O3Rmv_CA98BvfziMubjGT03zntaTRhkbVdI2Vkt61FV7aDKUakdQLd-eK4llGwr_Fq0QOPJOFHguUm5gc4Mv2o1V_CUaphIA/s320/4a.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIMwNizTG9Nz72h8uzIiaAxjWjAuB0QXOe1TRsaNOrvBHIm8td_wAY_L6Zt8Gc1nAeKvvunys4m3i0CmFntyQHEBiutoDPBPLPD3jQaAXt67ccZiPwLUNl2TqwZhuR8lu-_eCnHjJdYHj/s1600/5a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIMwNizTG9Nz72h8uzIiaAxjWjAuB0QXOe1TRsaNOrvBHIm8td_wAY_L6Zt8Gc1nAeKvvunys4m3i0CmFntyQHEBiutoDPBPLPD3jQaAXt67ccZiPwLUNl2TqwZhuR8lu-_eCnHjJdYHj/s320/5a.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 6 are the rails set up on the log to take the mill for the first cut. We need the rails so that we can get a perfectly flat surface. Once this has been achieved, we can remove the rails and the mill can slide along the top of new cut. Dad designed the rails which have worked perfect every time. You can imagine the difficulty in trying to get a perfect flat surface on a log that is round. There cannot be any movement in the rails, which isn’t easy with a chainsaw on top of them cutting a slab and vibrating madly! <span> </span><span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAq6fo6lCou1vjfti3Bc8UW9JgdxtVlbav9MQ8BoCSEcR2SkK3Qvw6nQj76PVCXQ9IvffLRqBkGJshjIAwsyoJuDsn2_KMV7d4U2MZyLcxjrPpFIrLhkKSy_Lb5smG_ho0YwFGFf1SQYMg/s1600/6a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAq6fo6lCou1vjfti3Bc8UW9JgdxtVlbav9MQ8BoCSEcR2SkK3Qvw6nQj76PVCXQ9IvffLRqBkGJshjIAwsyoJuDsn2_KMV7d4U2MZyLcxjrPpFIrLhkKSy_Lb5smG_ho0YwFGFf1SQYMg/s320/6a.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 7 is the chainsaw mill about to perform its first cut.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAb6RU2i37hKvrJQLELhtpQfbkI8LPD88EJ85w8je9VvMdwI9WEa9IHPt-Tyd1TZXNjDJnjcNFLLcqn-PtZbWeMN69Kaf-DfvTAbPuSpSd3HCxDFQtYhlPxN8Yoy7cSNEdn-8a0Vcbv0h/s1600/7a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAb6RU2i37hKvrJQLELhtpQfbkI8LPD88EJ85w8je9VvMdwI9WEa9IHPt-Tyd1TZXNjDJnjcNFLLcqn-PtZbWeMN69Kaf-DfvTAbPuSpSd3HCxDFQtYhlPxN8Yoy7cSNEdn-8a0Vcbv0h/s320/7a.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 8 is mid cut. Compared to hand milling with the chainsaw, the mill is very slow. However its only advantage is that it is very accurate with wide, thin slabs.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXfwRt0_xxdgrFhh789PnaUC27F8cFoVTn0Gdd92Uxv9FUopvjt09Kwe6GLMtGu-3hnhMZ_p1XkQyPvfmBpWlGYtiU-MgKhEg-CQyHpFubI7U-J4FRpMbf7byodl6iKmnvbRMVkJK3zZa/s1600/8a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXfwRt0_xxdgrFhh789PnaUC27F8cFoVTn0Gdd92Uxv9FUopvjt09Kwe6GLMtGu-3hnhMZ_p1XkQyPvfmBpWlGYtiU-MgKhEg-CQyHpFubI7U-J4FRpMbf7byodl6iKmnvbRMVkJK3zZa/s320/8a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 9 is our first cut finished. The rails can now be dismantled and the chainsaw mill will now run along the top of the flat surface, producing slabs of timber. From felling to stacked slabs takes about 6 days for the large mahogany trees. If everything goes well, that is the mill or the chainsaw doesn’t play up, the slabbing goes quite quickly now.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbhhen3bjcUoh7A5isMsLzQRe9E3rKagjjj90EFJaCk57BH44r2x6mUUU8i2BqW1VeJN232tSQd4607R8zpTr6Yv6RPshMcX6R8asBouXMzQGFuwvcS2fyZZF7AtWj483uBYyBEF6Go78/s1600/9a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbhhen3bjcUoh7A5isMsLzQRe9E3rKagjjj90EFJaCk57BH44r2x6mUUU8i2BqW1VeJN232tSQd4607R8zpTr6Yv6RPshMcX6R8asBouXMzQGFuwvcS2fyZZF7AtWj483uBYyBEF6Go78/s320/9a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photos 10-12 Show stacks of freshly cut slabs. These slabs now have to be carried out of the bush, stacked onto the back of the truck, transported back to the house, offloaded and stacked with thin strips of wood between each individual slab so as to allow air to circulate evenly through the stack and to dry quicker. Each individual stack has to be covered in tarps or plastic sheets so as to not allow any direct sunlight as this will warp the wood. The slabs were left to dry for about 8 months.It only takes 10 weeks for slabs this size to dry to the point of being able to used for floorboards.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoFDEcmmsrNID28SrRUNzcNyhKodcN69KtCkWVEt5B8uhNqxNpUEXedX2lN5qhy5ks6OcUSkl-xJrFu9nehxMONBIFBb2RvK4JJybKXw5USeKc0btYfu7eD3kQThAgvr2zlmEMueYB8tl/s1600/10a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoFDEcmmsrNID28SrRUNzcNyhKodcN69KtCkWVEt5B8uhNqxNpUEXedX2lN5qhy5ks6OcUSkl-xJrFu9nehxMONBIFBb2RvK4JJybKXw5USeKc0btYfu7eD3kQThAgvr2zlmEMueYB8tl/s320/10a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsjehYhhxAibLlVcGPQ9PkcVymP7yMQD22d6QhZBkLgoKo5EMfvn4tM7c04aFftHPqxKAlT1sSds6g5JuTKAwI1qrB6KvlyiPn5HYfST4-K_e11vjTNVs6voYl4SNUchbT7C2oQkHe07C/s1600/11a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsjehYhhxAibLlVcGPQ9PkcVymP7yMQD22d6QhZBkLgoKo5EMfvn4tM7c04aFftHPqxKAlT1sSds6g5JuTKAwI1qrB6KvlyiPn5HYfST4-K_e11vjTNVs6voYl4SNUchbT7C2oQkHe07C/s320/11a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByHCFk-ALQgTlOGSBcB-ZJhKw99nIayKmyy2ExTLW0vLvTgNXteGp0bYbez57-23EYgAilEkku-dgr_s-J0IF8lP_-zEsa-dp1sAwqhARB4fFKjZQgmlR-GFaP4YC4fz-k3wIr0aYAmDV/s1600/12a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByHCFk-ALQgTlOGSBcB-ZJhKw99nIayKmyy2ExTLW0vLvTgNXteGp0bYbez57-23EYgAilEkku-dgr_s-J0IF8lP_-zEsa-dp1sAwqhARB4fFKjZQgmlR-GFaP4YC4fz-k3wIr0aYAmDV/s320/12a.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNPEU-WsWrCs2tYCQgf8xrdJZLD7fg4sockKqqZVUhgHHcvbz_7S9cu0K3GzCG51jj2HAI-rKD3GezIUxDCeeGg0HtyCI0HXUmT9BD-thrwMuGDBXTuY61WUxik9oMtkfIAkZu0vXlnvd/s1600/13a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 13. Here are some air dried slabs that are now about to be cut with the circular saw. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNPEU-WsWrCs2tYCQgf8xrdJZLD7fg4sockKqqZVUhgHHcvbz_7S9cu0K3GzCG51jj2HAI-rKD3GezIUxDCeeGg0HtyCI0HXUmT9BD-thrwMuGDBXTuY61WUxik9oMtkfIAkZu0vXlnvd/s1600/13a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNPEU-WsWrCs2tYCQgf8xrdJZLD7fg4sockKqqZVUhgHHcvbz_7S9cu0K3GzCG51jj2HAI-rKD3GezIUxDCeeGg0HtyCI0HXUmT9BD-thrwMuGDBXTuY61WUxik9oMtkfIAkZu0vXlnvd/s320/13a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 14. Back in the workshop, the slabs are now placed on wooden horses and one of the rails is now used as a straight edge as a guide for the circular saw. This is a little time consuming but it gives us a perfectly straight cut which is important when we join the floorboards up so that there are no gaps.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_glI3iouPSCBV720ZkbDwLaSqmoz-_RXTDGMlfSFEkI7F89RSwsThFoaIbrxGqQa-tCW831QolKIhCDQeieCsq4fXAe7mvguJlaH3DiEJjIBKY0O9uLxqPVmWU5V2zEV8p-ixxCJSRYW/s1600/15a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_glI3iouPSCBV720ZkbDwLaSqmoz-_RXTDGMlfSFEkI7F89RSwsThFoaIbrxGqQa-tCW831QolKIhCDQeieCsq4fXAe7mvguJlaH3DiEJjIBKY0O9uLxqPVmWU5V2zEV8p-ixxCJSRYW/s320/15a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photos 15-17 show us removing the sides of the slab, so that we now only have the heartwood left and 2 perfect straight edges. The edges are then used as firewood to burn down the remaining tree stumps surrounding the house. It seems a pity to burn mahogany, but aside from using it as material to build scaffolding, we don’t have any other use for it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IVj03mf45VBngUkIU_v8nlXwQa4OxwFAyWHjRFiT7sIJSjdzCfM0UOC8Cu_FLwPuKbn7iJp_ikAs84HUgBzqVEz93FOKthTl22yp-yoxzqwX0Q5MkY4BrwpdpydzKvQ1GNIsrUqC2Y47/s1600/15a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IVj03mf45VBngUkIU_v8nlXwQa4OxwFAyWHjRFiT7sIJSjdzCfM0UOC8Cu_FLwPuKbn7iJp_ikAs84HUgBzqVEz93FOKthTl22yp-yoxzqwX0Q5MkY4BrwpdpydzKvQ1GNIsrUqC2Y47/s320/15a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 18 is now cutting up the remaining slab into 2oo mm wide floorboards.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLYkO4qpBxwJTwaz1yXcbbg4EBcLpA2Qf15nbWp8Bud0f65xfU4u38RRxDCXJytxWID3g06bFbatL7HxLmeJmWZdr_1CB6Q1_vzSR1aXnkUwIlMs1L9fQIDRLLfopWgn-JL6eKH4XyWEJ/s1600/18a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLYkO4qpBxwJTwaz1yXcbbg4EBcLpA2Qf15nbWp8Bud0f65xfU4u38RRxDCXJytxWID3g06bFbatL7HxLmeJmWZdr_1CB6Q1_vzSR1aXnkUwIlMs1L9fQIDRLLfopWgn-JL6eKH4XyWEJ/s320/18a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 19 Here are the floorboards. Now they just need to have the ends cut off with the dropsaw and put through the thicknesser.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNTi6RKYjkC_E0-NtO-kSWhnmpvlMOt100QcVSuvUmWl4h7pPikhtIsXcDNHClCMka4rAPB5sdkSIJklId61ax9FlRiMEqG4lyxQV4_0-HJashrfmLHjP5uGqAoocTS4clvactPXeM3dg/s1600/19a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNTi6RKYjkC_E0-NtO-kSWhnmpvlMOt100QcVSuvUmWl4h7pPikhtIsXcDNHClCMka4rAPB5sdkSIJklId61ax9FlRiMEqG4lyxQV4_0-HJashrfmLHjP5uGqAoocTS4clvactPXeM3dg/s320/19a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 20 Is a floor board that has had its ends cut off square and is about to put through the thicknesser.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYiFGkD4OE3DZ_6jFhiMUYTFaOeq67lbiv3oDcaKoMnhj-hvCrZ4oLmWJnY0BuEhtGJe1Z2BvEooU2Hz_4Be02-95nRzdNk6Nh8nlySMvqPBGBpSyguALNDXDQwgCmFa5rPbhKbvrk25M/s1600/20a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYiFGkD4OE3DZ_6jFhiMUYTFaOeq67lbiv3oDcaKoMnhj-hvCrZ4oLmWJnY0BuEhtGJe1Z2BvEooU2Hz_4Be02-95nRzdNk6Nh8nlySMvqPBGBpSyguALNDXDQwgCmFa5rPbhKbvrk25M/s320/20a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">Photo 21 The board is now being put through the thicknesser. The boards are on average around 27mm thick. Cutting up the boards was a little time consuming, but the thicknesser was painfully slow, as each board would go through about 4-6 times. What I thought would only take us a week has taken 2 weeks and we are about 80% through. We were well and truely sick and tired of doing this part of the work by the end of the second week.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNi8yJOjk1Y6U5RfmlNzzPGSzjtu0y-IMmEwQZKeXLcEUY5jVzR8Sl12kXLiiIzm9bcm5_uUlYZyfmKjCFJ7mQx6DOy32eytVzOtf5WaqiOqNJFEjvNJ9TAlQ0dt32mZ7aI3XIl4vAFW23/s1600/21a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNi8yJOjk1Y6U5RfmlNzzPGSzjtu0y-IMmEwQZKeXLcEUY5jVzR8Sl12kXLiiIzm9bcm5_uUlYZyfmKjCFJ7mQx6DOy32eytVzOtf5WaqiOqNJFEjvNJ9TAlQ0dt32mZ7aI3XIl4vAFW23/s320/21a.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">Photo22 is finished product. All thats left is to lay them, sand them and give them 3 coats of polyurethane.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBteNhzd3fxdUA2kF8s6eQ7LSYeIj8ydcoJ8NT9bPFD669xxRaR6fa_oodTaQMCwcb_ypAQ9aCQ4y4-RbcXhvux_PK4CuebXaUZ8EFLLFsnyOVHROol8_yCa_JjT3xrTThrjLY21cBAz2/s1600/22a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBteNhzd3fxdUA2kF8s6eQ7LSYeIj8ydcoJ8NT9bPFD669xxRaR6fa_oodTaQMCwcb_ypAQ9aCQ4y4-RbcXhvux_PK4CuebXaUZ8EFLLFsnyOVHROol8_yCa_JjT3xrTThrjLY21cBAz2/s320/22a.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">A bloody laborious exercise, but well worth the effort once we saw the finished product. I am hoping that they will look even better when they are layed. I guess the other good thing about it is, that not many people have 200mm wide and 27mm thick mahogany floorboards available to them to make a floor with. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Well this blog is a little dry and boring, especially if you are not into wood or the production of floor boards. However hopefully it has given you an idea of what we have been up to work wise for the past while. If you are thinking of doing this at home, think long and hard as the old maxim, “hard work never killed anyone”, is maybe not completely true in this case. Alright maybe a little melodramatic, but there were certainly some days where I felt like the saying was a lie. Until the next post take it easy!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Carl..</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-1859174266145850322011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:002011-06-12T20:14:49.352-07:00Celebrations and surprises!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUaZGQzzbGbejvzChO1X0vzTqfk0w0RxrawV7V_S-WPUxDx6fUtESEUP0lDN4kAzYx_scxe-nFJOpYX_lsmm_kq_OQml8SCo4vMzeHXNWtPDuPSu5GCiaU_j_m8PLVg14DugsXD3mCp2w/s1600/postss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><!--[if !mso]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Hi again from tropical life, where our days are merry and productive and our nights are starry with beautiful moons rising and dolphins splashing, and unicorns prancing...not!</div><div class="MsoNormal">This week we celebrated Noah’s 5<sup>th</sup> birthday!!!!! FIVE!!!!!!!! I didn’t know if I should cry for the days of him being my gorgeous little baby, which are long gone, or be merry for him growing into such a stunning little character, such a BOY!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our celebrations consisted of us counting sleeps until the big day for about 2 weeks, then me staying up late the night before to make his birthday cake, using improvised techniques of zip-lock bags as my icing equipment, and some bits and pieces I brought when we came and saved for the special day. I must say I am very proud of the result, and look forward to working on another birthday cake- Saulei’s, the day after we return to Sydney. Poor Carl will be missing out on cake this year, as we have no more flour, or eggs, or sugar, and neither do any of the shops on the island...</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKp0eY2xWCv9McJz_rhBpZM99q3ixW_wOvWsmBI9K2_WHFvX-b_lK6jFsnKKRlaa1VgYJJVFINvFPeSUEd55UgnqmjBBX2GZrqjhRMN4RlJF6wgrxQddDKJO7T70IpGbqIRIR2FdyC22vs/s1600/Noah+5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKp0eY2xWCv9McJz_rhBpZM99q3ixW_wOvWsmBI9K2_WHFvX-b_lK6jFsnKKRlaa1VgYJJVFINvFPeSUEd55UgnqmjBBX2GZrqjhRMN4RlJF6wgrxQddDKJO7T70IpGbqIRIR2FdyC22vs/s320/Noah+5.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Cool hey?</div><div class="MsoNormal">And on the morning of his birthday we woke him with a song, and a little crown with a big 5 on it, and some chocolates and balloons which I had saved for 3 months, coz I knew there wont be much else I’ll be able to give him here. And at preschool they got him to stand up in front of the class and the kids all sang him Happy birthday in broken English, and he got given this awesome hand crafted wooden boat by one of the preschool teachers (who bribed her son with $10 for him to give it to her so she could give it to Noah...)and we came home and went for a little swim to float the boat and he LOVED it, and we had a little party for him in the afternoon with his little girlfriends Ali and Briseis and the family, and we all guzzled birthday cake, popcorn and deep fried donuts Aggy made, and he and we were all very happy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxUu_3CcqrCb2MHatJcq1Qzskwg-h9CWyX3-_dx3mHxrwPFkh-5woCI2rlTyOy5HXa1Rqe3DkOSimAhbhZmgifmlqlCdyf6gaUDRgalrVKhN7nRsm1vm7G4Gylk3tlnYzhYPSihqA3zbJ/s1600/Bindis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXP2_8n-FFLRJpw4iczJXIjx3jzX-ywIa7j1FBjcmI1X1yaIFlGI4cX-zJMDPEghyphenhyphen0mjZ8cjjh9cVwut4KsKqjQbjGC2K4mjKGrwjD5RfAD_jHr_ZS0YY6p2pqyOmKgmpvwOSabK9ioqz/s1600/bday+boy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXP2_8n-FFLRJpw4iczJXIjx3jzX-ywIa7j1FBjcmI1X1yaIFlGI4cX-zJMDPEghyphenhyphen0mjZ8cjjh9cVwut4KsKqjQbjGC2K4mjKGrwjD5RfAD_jHr_ZS0YY6p2pqyOmKgmpvwOSabK9ioqz/s320/bday+boy.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSr88k0Ko4vYjFG1FHFY8v-Tk1FkeoMgC7-5JOEjFLby0ySaGkVCOWGZ5EN3R9LaUQWCDlR1golTxHdqdNKTiOn3vKiC8frDNweCTnyQ71aCDaRsAqsRSZ-_MelORNYp7Z4PcVTjKoAZg0/s1600/birthday+boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div> Birthday boy and beautiful girlfriends<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDyckQJ0pVeKzjD_fb-RSEQ4s8Bm7hSShCnxM9RZDjIwTEkKd74Xmw_aGgplAnPowAyr2LHRnr0EAcTmlvgkeM3QcIKTBY5z1duXnDQ0IGQRkBgvgdIpu2J0sM3hXxVcnEdHHH0z5_5lv3/s1600/chop+boards+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdW1Cs464ti9YHWjLBMbTgf7v92ko91k9JYUaPxO0u3HWVcgDgsOMZZWKPUX_7m1AJ5Q0BeheLro6ujcwExMJW-cWkEHf5lOe9eqHWLysnqNhKGaSB4rmno3uIU0u96Z_iNmvijLTyGS26/s1600/guzzling+birthday+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdW1Cs464ti9YHWjLBMbTgf7v92ko91k9JYUaPxO0u3HWVcgDgsOMZZWKPUX_7m1AJ5Q0BeheLro6ujcwExMJW-cWkEHf5lOe9eqHWLysnqNhKGaSB4rmno3uIU0u96Z_iNmvijLTyGS26/s320/guzzling+birthday+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Guzzling birthday cake and donuts or “as Saulei calls them “Gonuts”</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUaZGQzzbGbejvzChO1X0vzTqfk0w0RxrawV7V_S-WPUxDx6fUtESEUP0lDN4kAzYx_scxe-nFJOpYX_lsmm_kq_OQml8SCo4vMzeHXNWtPDuPSu5GCiaU_j_m8PLVg14DugsXD3mCp2w/s1600/postss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6rM4m22UesgRYcnIdutrvmd-7CWJuaiDkz965r2DcFiZOsFiZ5dWFDhclYvtvBiDRygMTvG4TnQ5jhIdVdWK_VBHYRrHNSEdRHMyyyEmQO1nYz_mRvjtmAWsGGvF6NzZMGYP_sGPcnIu/s320/noah+and+boat.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6rM4m22UesgRYcnIdutrvmd-7CWJuaiDkz965r2DcFiZOsFiZ5dWFDhclYvtvBiDRygMTvG4TnQ5jhIdVdWK_VBHYRrHNSEdRHMyyyEmQO1nYz_mRvjtmAWsGGvF6NzZMGYP_sGPcnIu/s1600/noah+and+boat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Noah and his handcrafted wooden Outrigger Canoe </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></div>Since my last entry, just as the building of the house was about to commence, Carl developed a massive volcanic boil/sore/monster on his leg, which put him down for over a week. He couldn’t walk and was in alot of pain and ended up going to the hospital and got given some antibiotics (which they hand out like free lollies for any and every ailment). He was in bed the whole time and lost over a week in building time, but once he finally got better, they started the work with gusto,<span> </span>and within a couple of days got the bearers and joists set up, so we have a floor!!!!!! FINALLY- A FLOOR!!! After years of planning, and over a year of being here and back, preparations, trials and errors, WE HAVE A FLOOR!!! Carl is seeming very confident with what he is doing, and with the help of his uncle Varo and some random helping hands that pop in at different times of the day they are doing a perfect job, with the beautiful strong timber he has cut and collected, and it is finally starting to be a reality! WE’RE GONNA HAVE A HOUSE!!!<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>The progress of the house, in order</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUaZGQzzbGbejvzChO1X0vzTqfk0w0RxrawV7V_S-WPUxDx6fUtESEUP0lDN4kAzYx_scxe-nFJOpYX_lsmm_kq_OQml8SCo4vMzeHXNWtPDuPSu5GCiaU_j_m8PLVg14DugsXD3mCp2w/s1600/postss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUaZGQzzbGbejvzChO1X0vzTqfk0w0RxrawV7V_S-WPUxDx6fUtESEUP0lDN4kAzYx_scxe-nFJOpYX_lsmm_kq_OQml8SCo4vMzeHXNWtPDuPSu5GCiaU_j_m8PLVg14DugsXD3mCp2w/s320/postss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> The posts-up! (craned in by human power, about 4-6 of them!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9T3we3BmQu2cMX3oWM_WG6FVttUjvBm_OsRiiqMj6XAQa6ocgZPliuXaqVdXM3Z-3qRNiyPUf-aFrlDv_1QpulDd2mvo9m0s2PHQCiLjodSlAz7lw_UNrdGcsnWz95qur0z4nkgY7NZN/s320/joists+and+bearers.jpg" width="320" /> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> The floor down- Joists and Bearers (am just showing off my new building vocab...)</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9T3we3BmQu2cMX3oWM_WG6FVttUjvBm_OsRiiqMj6XAQa6ocgZPliuXaqVdXM3Z-3qRNiyPUf-aFrlDv_1QpulDd2mvo9m0s2PHQCiLjodSlAz7lw_UNrdGcsnWz95qur0z4nkgY7NZN/s1600/joists+and+bearers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><br />
</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJcrzgWEwU0RV7RvSnBbz6PHhT3HGIoyGsTVjaEpdLt829Yiff8F_P7RrRYsh-kOiLCp_MKpG0YO2W0ovpCqJcx9t7tX7u_kyKjlbuwJgsEht-S83ugy-d3eLtM01sMzZi_HuBGlZCIRJ/s1600/joists+and+bearers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><div class="MsoNormal">Next week they’re gonna start cutting the Mahogany slabs into floor boards, to prepare them for being laid at the end. Carl has written a week by week plan of what to do until we leave in 7 weeks! So with any luck, and hopefully no fuck-ups, all will go well and the main part of the house will be done. We’re waiting for the next boat to come to Rotuma which will hopefully bring the rest of the building materials we need , Roofing iron being one of them. Unfortunately we cant go ahead with the original plan of thatching the roof, as apparently the type of palm leaves used for thatching here is very scarce at the moment and hard to get. It also requires allot of maintenance, which for us, not living here full time, would be a problem. So like anything in life, we’ve just got to flow with what we have, knowing that everything will be perfect at the end.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We finally received the 2 big boxes sent to us from Noah’s preschool in Bondi, which we had been waiting for for weeks. I had approached the parents at his preschool and asked them to gather all their old toys and art and craft stuff, books, dress ups and anything they don’t use anymore and send it over here as a donation to our preschool. The response was fantastic, the manager of the preschool as well as some parents even donated some money to pay for the freight over, and we received 2 boxes full of awesome goodies that the kids here will absolutely LOVE.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I feel so touched and grateful for the effort everyone made to help this happen, and the preschool teachers were all delighted!!!! One parent even donated an old Laptop, which everyone is super excited about!!! So thanks so much to Ocean Street Preschool staff and parents, as well as Em and Selina who helped get it over here!! I cant wait to see all the gorgeous little brown kids dressed up as fairies and lady-bugs, pirates and police men... we’re planning a fund raising concert for the end of July, and will incorporate the dress-ups into the concert, as well as all the songs and rhymes (English, Rotuman, Fijian and even Hebrew...).</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO9npVpJfsduU-HsZWONQsz5ntpRnDFFPf5KVJFPgYD0PbhyCxLNQ0PetQC3n6q5ZDeohPoz9M_4_39I_LiO7VRDm0wPygWQNcGtuDbX7FiItz8kqeit6MdjU37LjEt7hdLtqYNwkCAqe/s1600/shloffing+chef.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO9npVpJfsduU-HsZWONQsz5ntpRnDFFPf5KVJFPgYD0PbhyCxLNQ0PetQC3n6q5ZDeohPoz9M_4_39I_LiO7VRDm0wPygWQNcGtuDbX7FiItz8kqeit6MdjU37LjEt7hdLtqYNwkCAqe/s320/shloffing+chef.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>The Shloffing Chef, Saulei dressed up in one of the items sent for preschool</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxUu_3CcqrCb2MHatJcq1Qzskwg-h9CWyX3-_dx3mHxrwPFkh-5woCI2rlTyOy5HXa1Rqe3DkOSimAhbhZmgifmlqlCdyf6gaUDRgalrVKhN7nRsm1vm7G4Gylk3tlnYzhYPSihqA3zbJ/s1600/Bindis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxUu_3CcqrCb2MHatJcq1Qzskwg-h9CWyX3-_dx3mHxrwPFkh-5woCI2rlTyOy5HXa1Rqe3DkOSimAhbhZmgifmlqlCdyf6gaUDRgalrVKhN7nRsm1vm7G4Gylk3tlnYzhYPSihqA3zbJ/s320/Bindis.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>My first Bindi (Okra) crop...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span></span> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDyckQJ0pVeKzjD_fb-RSEQ4s8Bm7hSShCnxM9RZDjIwTEkKd74Xmw_aGgplAnPowAyr2LHRnr0EAcTmlvgkeM3QcIKTBY5z1duXnDQ0IGQRkBgvgdIpu2J0sM3hXxVcnEdHHH0z5_5lv3/s1600/chop+boards+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDyckQJ0pVeKzjD_fb-RSEQ4s8Bm7hSShCnxM9RZDjIwTEkKd74Xmw_aGgplAnPowAyr2LHRnr0EAcTmlvgkeM3QcIKTBY5z1duXnDQ0IGQRkBgvgdIpu2J0sM3hXxVcnEdHHH0z5_5lv3/s320/chop+boards+2.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">The advantages of being married to a newly born lumberjack! Beautiful chopping boards! (The one in the front is Mahogany...)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So that’s it for now, it feels like we are starting a bit of a countdown until we leave on July 29<sup>th</sup>. We get back to Sydney on July 30<sup>th</sup>, I will be there until mid August and am then heading to Israel to be with my dearest sister Pam as she births her first child. Carl and the boys will be joining us later in September, and we will all stay in Israel until then end of January 2012 when we will be celebrating my dads 70<sup>th</sup>!!! I am really excited and looking forward to spending a nice chunk of time with my family in Israel, its been way too long!!!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">So with butterflies in my heart and a very hot sun shining thru my bedroom window with a nice monkey’s wedding showering my vegie garden, I shall sign out, and write again soon xxx</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">P.S thanks for your comments, which I really look forward to, always!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9T3we3BmQu2cMX3oWM_WG6FVttUjvBm_OsRiiqMj6XAQa6ocgZPliuXaqVdXM3Z-3qRNiyPUf-aFrlDv_1QpulDd2mvo9m0s2PHQCiLjodSlAz7lw_UNrdGcsnWz95qur0z4nkgY7NZN/s1600/joists+and+bearers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-51609665061509092372011-05-28T23:47:00.000-07:002011-05-30T20:48:25.233-07:00Back to school! ish.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>HE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKi-NWx3bl0dlvWr5WYnk69OPrJnGqZcQt_f4bzBehlLBCqhufS5RrVxAAogkgzBqQ36d4Xr7ayHrNAAaKGDcIodbBcr4XMJCrkjx9lLHNn-36zEC6vWi2F_-HPr1DlRJ420pBNiXKujCL/s1600/moonlit+dawn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> Moonlit dawn </a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKi-NWx3bl0dlvWr5WYnk69OPrJnGqZcQt_f4bzBehlLBCqhufS5RrVxAAogkgzBqQ36d4Xr7ayHrNAAaKGDcIodbBcr4XMJCrkjx9lLHNn-36zEC6vWi2F_-HPr1DlRJ420pBNiXKujCL/s320/moonlit+dawn.jpg" width="320" /> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wowzies! I Haven't written for a while, clearly I'm not a very committed blogger, or maybe those who blog every day have too much time on their hands and not enough sunshine on their faces, moonlight on their skins, and sweaty dirty kids hanging off them all the time...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lots happening since last time I wrote, ups and downs... we all got hit by a bad fish poisoning, Carl caught a whole lot of fish one day and there was one fish he didn’t really know and wasn’t sure if it was ok to eat or not. There have been stories here of people eating poison fish and dying within a couple of hours, but Carls uncle reckoned this one was ok... so him and Carl tried some of it first, thinking that if they don’t feel sick within an hour then it should be ok, which they didn’t, so we all dug in, and it was a damn delish fish, if I might say so myself, beautiful soft oily flesh, one of the tastiest ones I’ve had here, but the little bugger tricked us, and we all ended up horizontal for over a week, no vomiting and runs, but just an awful lethargy, body aches and an inability to MOVE!!! The kids weren’t too bad, it was mainly me, Carl and his Uncle, and they STILL haven't fully recovered and are still very wary of eating fish. So that put us all out for a couple of weeks, any work on the house was stalled and I was dragging myself along every day trying to keep the kids and myself sane.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then there were the big Rotuma day celebrations on May 13<sup>th</sup>, this is probably the biggest celebration on the island, and well prepared for, weeks in advanced. A boat arrived from Fiji carrying the Fijian President and a few ministers and government officials, and there were numerous celebrations and “do’s” around the island for the long weekend they were here.</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of them was a day of singing and dancing island style, with all the beautiful young and old women coming up dressed in their exquisite fresh flowered fashion of leaf skirts and flower lays, to dance and swing their hips for the President and co, basket weaving competitions (which reminded me of the Joint rolling competitions they have at the Nimbin Mardi Grass in northern NSW). Each district/village exhibited their goods in big stalls, including every variety of fruit and veg they grew, arts and crafts, fresh made virgin coconut oils, it was really beautiful. They constructed trees by standing a banana tree and hanging coconuts off it, sour sop fruits, and other branches from different trees- looking really good. They decorated posts with beautiful flowers and fruit, ate lots of food, and all in all was really lovely to see how the whole island comes together in celebration, everyone making their best efforts to serve the best of the best to the government officials. Because there is no accommodation on the island other than people’s homes, Mr. President and his crew had to sleep on the (not at all posh) boat they came on, saying they didn’t want to impose on the locals and their families by staying in their houses. No presidential suites, no motorcades of security personal, no hovering helicopters. Just another guy coming over for a weekend of song and dance. And apparently old mate was dancing away with all the ladies all night long!!!!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pyUgWYe6nNj0HO7offSRBMH-uU0kr8vTwj2mgzUEgfXHCMJZ6CtG5EIeZ4KIEGJh6R1aPbt6bnhtGAgTKIeX-8rOBqcZflg9gUM7TMIJkunWOTvts-J1But2hsSpSl3rOh70Rtd9ZrWi/s1600/baskets.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pyUgWYe6nNj0HO7offSRBMH-uU0kr8vTwj2mgzUEgfXHCMJZ6CtG5EIeZ4KIEGJh6R1aPbt6bnhtGAgTKIeX-8rOBqcZflg9gUM7TMIJkunWOTvts-J1But2hsSpSl3rOh70Rtd9ZrWi/s320/baskets.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Local display of arts and crafts- i LOVE these baskets!!!<br />
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Decoration of post!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn3eZSeYdfvyYn5f3TJ4mAfWlHp9BECiHYyTeZ433L6aeKEQ01x8-REy4uM3_zW7h7j_LNZnFKOBjS-hQcFAnuzcZFSljpnbs3TM7fNHz-L7Qk1FycJBhC2Mqke1tGEfUyDl676YqklZ1/s1600/produce+display.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn3eZSeYdfvyYn5f3TJ4mAfWlHp9BECiHYyTeZ433L6aeKEQ01x8-REy4uM3_zW7h7j_LNZnFKOBjS-hQcFAnuzcZFSljpnbs3TM7fNHz-L7Qk1FycJBhC2Mqke1tGEfUyDl676YqklZ1/s320/produce+display.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Display of one of the districts produce<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AkgA-26VuHKsfoIG5ESCzfAyjhGrY2AV6hkcu9ejft47ZGqFua_dh_p9eJU-8dwIEMaqtTpoZeWb1rvhmbGRjmw8Ub4gzTSfaDVZ-128gp2NNXFyEkWBo-5K7naBbf90OStUZJKgXG2W/s1600/radish+harvest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AkgA-26VuHKsfoIG5ESCzfAyjhGrY2AV6hkcu9ejft47ZGqFua_dh_p9eJU-8dwIEMaqtTpoZeWb1rvhmbGRjmw8Ub4gzTSfaDVZ-128gp2NNXFyEkWBo-5K7naBbf90OStUZJKgXG2W/s320/radish+harvest.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Display of my very first crop- white radishes!(which i pickled...)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgGunOodQo8u1IYMnouAqyjLBWBLOvnE-RqgYTNrS09I6Jfo0YDYaRzpWXLVROZMac_pKde3wNdSXxA-QNHGiqkvJTf3xYf8O5AjOFHKt1Ysp3Jyt1yL7DclZ9YFbc7vEgyHJoSXEt5yK/s1600/dressed+up+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgGunOodQo8u1IYMnouAqyjLBWBLOvnE-RqgYTNrS09I6Jfo0YDYaRzpWXLVROZMac_pKde3wNdSXxA-QNHGiqkvJTf3xYf8O5AjOFHKt1Ysp3Jyt1yL7DclZ9YFbc7vEgyHJoSXEt5yK/s320/dressed+up+tree.jpg" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Taro root/banana tree/coconut tree</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PxSERJtKofODK03Kv4FtmW997nXxN4DBDqZs5o31FC40rJhZRnbDb_m3ZAF-GZFwVwRAGYCr0nRwYMk8X1zvUfOn_KZb6SmQyUsuX7Tmp0rTNooJ5VK7ukmcnuf8TIMbgNEaaWDti0-B/s1600/local+crafts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PxSERJtKofODK03Kv4FtmW997nXxN4DBDqZs5o31FC40rJhZRnbDb_m3ZAF-GZFwVwRAGYCr0nRwYMk8X1zvUfOn_KZb6SmQyUsuX7Tmp0rTNooJ5VK7ukmcnuf8TIMbgNEaaWDti0-B/s320/local+crafts.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Arts and crafts display</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Carl’s uncle Varo, who’s house we’re living in, arrived on the government boat from Fiji, smuggled by one of his mates who was the engineer on the boat (apparently no civilians were allowed on the boat, but Varo was locked in his mate’s room for the first day of travel, only to be allowed out when in the middle of the ocean and acted as part of the crew...). With him arrived lots of stock- all the basics- sugar, flour, eggs, butter, lamb chops, frozen chickens, soaps, detergents etc; and also the connection to sky TV satellite, which has turned this house into a place of blaring loud TV noise, and very loud blokey rugby watching epicentre every night...not great for my idyllic desert island scene, but oh well...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What has kept me busy the most, is our new Preschool, which opened a couple of weeks ago, after working together with a few keen mums and women that wanted to get it going, and we’re now up and running. Ish.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We had a “Launch” on the first day of the school term- they had invited some “Honorary guests” (which to my understanding were a few of the more wealthy people in the district, in the hope of them donating some $$$ which they did!!!), they had a reverend to come and bless the place and the children, they had the high-school band come to play music and all the kids and guests were dancing around, we all brought a pot of food and we served a yummy lunch to all the guests and ourselves. They loaded all the kids (and me)in a ute and took them for a ride around the school grounds (the preschool Bur’e is attached to the primary and highschool grounds) while waving and screaming at all the school kids, who stared at them with not much interest. I must say tho, that my kids were the only ones yelling out “HI!!!” and waving the royal wave to all the passers by, while the other Rotuman kids just sat there, probably not quite understanding what they were supposed to be doing...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway- the launch was good, they put lots of effort into it, but it seemed like they didn’t really think much of what needs to be done beyond the launch, like preparing a daily program to teach the kids, for example...</div><div class="MsoNormal">The preschool is basically run by mums, none of whom have ever had any early childhood teaching experience, (one woman used to be a primary teacher) so its pretty much making it up day by day. There are 2-3 very enthusiastic women who really want it to work and are working hard for it, but the rest of the mums that have been on the “committee” aren’t really committed and just come and go as they please, conveniently leaving their kids at the school to be looked after, without contributing much for its function. I find that very frustrating, as we are all volunteering to do this work, no one is getting payed for anything, and whatever we have has been donated by others, or raised at different fund raising occasions. ( We had a fundraiser one day and managed to raise $165! Which to them was alot- all from selling 20-50 cent muffins, sugar cane, cakes, second hand clothes, face painting etc. We also make and sell iceblocks to sell to the primary school kids- mixing red cordial with milk powder (yuck!), pouring into plastic cups with re-used iceblock sticks and freezing them-en mass!. The kids LOVE it!!!)</div><div class="MsoNormal">Some of the money raised goes towards the teachers transport, there is a big problem with transport on the island, we catch the school kids truck every morning, and need to find a ride home at the end of the day (12.30pm, as the school trucks only come at 3-3.30). Tricky sometimes, but we’ve been managing.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I emailed Noah’s preschool in Bondi to ask if they would like to help with collecting stuff from the parents to send over for the Preschool here, and had a great response! They all brought over stuff and even donated some money to pay for the freight. It was so nice to see how people come together for a cause and were so generous with their help. I haven't yet received the boxes unfortunately, as the flight that came to Rotuma yesterday was too full and they couldn’t take any extra cargo, so we’re hoping it will arrive on next week’s flight. Thank you so much to all of you who were involved in getting that together (Selina, Em, and O.S.L.D.P.S staff and parents).</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first couple of weeks of preschool has been a bit of a shambles, very unorganized and uncoordinated, but I guess it’s to be expected. We have so little resources, basically all we have is a Bur’e, we have to use the primary school toilets (which rarely flush), we have some play dough which I made and brought in, a few bits of Lego, some off cuts of timber cut into blocks, a bit of crayons, markers and pencils, and that’s pretty much it... we have to make do with what nature provides, and improvise with recycled rubbish. We take the kids down to the water front to collect stones and seed pods, and pick leaves and flowers when learning about the different colours. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Rotumans are very much into singing, especially devotional songs, so my boys are now learning and bringing home all these “thank you Jesus” and “praise the lord” songs, which is quite funny actually. I’ve had to teach a few songs which I had to pull out of my childhood sleaves, and found myself reciting songs like (and this is a song that only my generation in Israel MIGHT remember) “sing a song” by Susie surprise, and the Hokey pokey, and gosh- who knows what else will pop out from my memory box, but it’s been fun!</div><div class="MsoNormal">And speaking of devotional songs, I might have mentioned this in the past, but Rotumans LOVE praying to the lord Jesus at any given occasion... so they thank the lord at the beginning of the day, they thank the lord before morning tea, and then again at lunch, and then again at the end of the day (might I mention that all of this is within the 3.5 hours that we are there...)So now my kids are saying prayers before meals, which is kinda cute, as long as they don’t mention any PARTICULAR God!<span> </span>Their prayers usually go ”... mumble mumble mumble... AMEN!!!!” or my favourite “Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the things we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you lord for everything”. (I'm happy with that one- it incorporates gratitude and acknowledgement to the universe, mother earth, natures beings and everything!).</div><div class="MsoNormal">We do alot of dancing! Rotumans LOVE their dancing, and it is too cute seeing how the little girls shake their hips and the boys shake their knees- a-la Rotuman style. Even cuter is to see my boys trying to do the Rotuman knee shake dance... HILARIOUS!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">So we’re plodding along with the preschool, we’ll see how well it goes, hopefully they will manage to keep it going, get more support and get it registered and sponsored by the government.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hegraHzVcBtryEtPT65LUZbDTciDQcLbXbRA1_bTvLiWzwEWHGR6Zsr-LZecCWVc_Iwhfv395lvRbDwwM8cdF6Dfkve40CvU1XuKy41MRhCjh-dYMG8MyAt-bGutzWsNtWGiZmg7r2d8/s1600/opening+preschool.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hegraHzVcBtryEtPT65LUZbDTciDQcLbXbRA1_bTvLiWzwEWHGR6Zsr-LZecCWVc_Iwhfv395lvRbDwwM8cdF6Dfkve40CvU1XuKy41MRhCjh-dYMG8MyAt-bGutzWsNtWGiZmg7r2d8/s320/opening+preschool.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Noah was the little kid who gave the decorated scissors to the guy to cut the flower lay to"open" the preschool<br />
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Inside the preschool Bur'e<br />
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Me and the kids going on a joy ride around the school grounds...<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Other than that- life goes on, I was thinking that my blogging this time must be far less interesting than it was last year when we were living in Itumuta and I was having such a hard time of it. There is so much less to write about this time, coz life is pretty good, and simple, and I’m really enjoying the family time we have here. Nothing major happens (besides the odd fish poisoning, boils and occasional sickness) everyone we’re living with are very lovely, considerate and easy, the kids are happy, Carl, as usual is working hard. The house building is on again after a long few weeks of stalling because Carl needed to cut more trees down and mill the timber (another MASSIVE Mahogany tree for the floorboards), and being sick, and the usual glitches of lack of fuel on the island etc... but its now all on- they’ve got all (but two of )the posts in the ground and will be starting to bolt the bearers and joists in next week. They’ve cleared all the land of weeds and old trees and the view is looking more beautiful than before.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-nOAGtk41Y8wYb-f0vYWSRJnmiQeEzv2xlUIhyZqIbjRaRSdu0qawcgp9iE1ihdfdB4r5YD2mE60CHPQ3m87fA9ux7pNswMkEUk3wdg7YnAEzYsX44n_GLo0kD8UHyWcFAQZ9vMgBsQe/s1600/mahogany+log+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Massive Mahogany tree, this is one of 2 logs Carl used to cut for our floorboards...<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-nOAGtk41Y8wYb-f0vYWSRJnmiQeEzv2xlUIhyZqIbjRaRSdu0qawcgp9iE1ihdfdB4r5YD2mE60CHPQ3m87fA9ux7pNswMkEUk3wdg7YnAEzYsX44n_GLo0kD8UHyWcFAQZ9vMgBsQe/s320/mahogany+log+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="MsoNormal">I often stop and think of how impossible this project has seemed, how much we’ve been thru and how slooooooooow its been, but when I look ahead into the not too distant future and think of what an amazing house we will have here, that WE built , from scratch, and We’ll be able to come here and hang out whenever we want, even when we’re 80 yrs old, and our kids can come here with their mates one day, and our mates can come here with us one day...and it makes me feel excited! But mostly I feel very very proud, of myself too, but mainly of Carl. He has worked so damn hard on this, from designing the house to planning and calculating the number and size of every piece of timber that needed to be cut, to cutting down massive trees, to milling them into perfect size without ever having touched a chain saw in his life, to the very very hard physical work that I cant <span> </span>believe he has endured. And that’s not to mention all the organizing of everything being shipped from Australia to Fiji and then on the almost impossible route to Rotuma. I can go on and on, but I might sound like I’m bragging, which I don’t mind at all because he deserves it, but Carl would hate that, so I’ll stop.</div><div class="MsoNormal">All I can say is- good on us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gGDiwRT_fWMjCv1bsC7PNh88luvlqFJcHj0uwZSTr96ovWt505BOuUXALyra1brNLs50EkWGHCbCmgl9chZMP0LipYQOLhPEBD9Rd46e_mTRi0CpLBDZCvB20tpgtzJ1SYvVRx29d9Y-/s1600/decorated+pole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> Oh and also- that we shaved the boys hair off!!!! OMG- I cried to see their beautiful curls fall to the ground, and my angelic looking boys turn into blokey looking kids... their soft curls being replaced by prickly heads... they look so different, its like I need to get to know them again, and its weird. It had to be done, their hair started looking like mops, so a healthy cut will bring healthy growth of new beautiful soft curls... quickly, I hope!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisk_F3JDjr8oazUAzFGh01pouyogmqMh522exEGT_DAClmFaHM9Wo3q9i2N3CeqMorY_03nSu3_a9OIdDQ9Unayh_bZ73EA0N8oh9-pmfHFiN5SVsQ8PmjG8jAGSelPsXZY4GvYvIP1s3v/s1600/con+brothers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisk_F3JDjr8oazUAzFGh01pouyogmqMh522exEGT_DAClmFaHM9Wo3q9i2N3CeqMorY_03nSu3_a9OIdDQ9Unayh_bZ73EA0N8oh9-pmfHFiN5SVsQ8PmjG8jAGSelPsXZY4GvYvIP1s3v/s320/con+brothers.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
My 2 shaved heads!!!!<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Until then, blessings upon you, and I am going to eat some donuts that Aggy has made. Yum.</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-6485710430318906942011-04-21T04:11:00.000-07:002011-04-21T04:14:57.070-07:00And after you read that last post, here are a few pics x<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ua1G0cTQoswSEE_oHbOVGc0CtQVnJHTHUfau72bpaWxwoD_vMXymUoGmx-nDRWIu5MrQfwubiJRgkBb_MEkpOBsx_5W2P6DQ2rjc7m7DABPaspo59JG0wkqCqMl5oGFevCgZSpe72eTg/s1600/funny+wear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ua1G0cTQoswSEE_oHbOVGc0CtQVnJHTHUfau72bpaWxwoD_vMXymUoGmx-nDRWIu5MrQfwubiJRgkBb_MEkpOBsx_5W2P6DQ2rjc7m7DABPaspo59JG0wkqCqMl5oGFevCgZSpe72eTg/s320/funny+wear.jpg" width="240" /><br />
The two clowns</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZDGuVPeSSzUzAu9w4xyhCBG00NEAebKFX_5IHsXKjnTittxrU94_YETcWfN3CSpTIQ6MkhtfwKnsR3KOGlNuswY1Fw2bvcwePFW4HHj_5M7Dn5su-rqNKIqEZ7QPKHPcuOl1jb9U8P8s/s1600/yellow+fin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZDGuVPeSSzUzAu9w4xyhCBG00NEAebKFX_5IHsXKjnTittxrU94_YETcWfN3CSpTIQ6MkhtfwKnsR3KOGlNuswY1Fw2bvcwePFW4HHj_5M7Dn5su-rqNKIqEZ7QPKHPcuOl1jb9U8P8s/s320/yellow+fin.jpg" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My boys and the big Yellow fin</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNhNIPm3RRFO4KQbI1H3Nv4V8SLK-lWFGXqy-lVnC_hfaX0oda3NH8_B-5umNgJCTZWQiwHemJ50L96LoIBte8HEryfZpQuDn32NyYNL7vCGCu6E3w4f4-LOvEXMJ-QhYPUHZCXCwfzPU/s1600/screwing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNhNIPm3RRFO4KQbI1H3Nv4V8SLK-lWFGXqy-lVnC_hfaX0oda3NH8_B-5umNgJCTZWQiwHemJ50L96LoIBte8HEryfZpQuDn32NyYNL7vCGCu6E3w4f4-LOvEXMJ-QhYPUHZCXCwfzPU/s320/screwing.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Does it look like I'm building a house???</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1pI0eG_KiwRx5Bomc51RLfEloniOS5CxrKsykAl-HPfOSUr5ipj9lISOKKNvPAqY0obl__R-wGTecwLelPiAN-LjzbTsjXyKfH8QcnkOxHZ9kl0DXsohWuPnaI60rka78ASz1H7p1LBs/s1600/first+one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1pI0eG_KiwRx5Bomc51RLfEloniOS5CxrKsykAl-HPfOSUr5ipj9lISOKKNvPAqY0obl__R-wGTecwLelPiAN-LjzbTsjXyKfH8QcnkOxHZ9kl0DXsohWuPnaI60rka78ASz1H7p1LBs/s320/first+one.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The crew</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-60699568926915444292011-04-21T02:50:00.000-07:002011-04-21T02:50:46.480-07:00Fisharama...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>HE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">So here I am, in the depths of the coconut jungle, feeling the most relaxed and peaceful I have for a very long time! Its been 5 weeks since we left Oz, it feels like much longer and I feel like I have smoothly settled into what my idea of living on a tropical island should be like.</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the first time in about 5 years (since Noah was born) I am doing a whole lot of absolutely NOTHING! Besides the daily routine of cooking and house keeping, I am not doing much else and am absolutely LOVING IT!!!!! </div><div class="MsoNormal">In the few weeks Before I left Sydney I was running around like a chook with its head cut off (which being here I’ve seen a few of – Noah particularly loves that stage of dinner preparation- after he traps the chooks in the cage, someone will come and chop their heads off and he loves watching the headless things run around flapping to death...)- organizing, preparing, schlepping back and forth from Cronulla to Bondi, shopping, lists, packing, more lists bla bla bla... I cant stress how nice it is to have all that behind me, and how grateful I feel to be living such a peaceful stress free life here.</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the first few days or couple of weeks here I was freaking out, feeling bored and at a loss of what the heck I'm gonna do here for all this time. I felt similar feelings to how I did before I left last time, and pushed my head into overdrive trying to think of things I can do here to stimulate me, mentally mainly. At some stage I just decided – to hell with that! I'm gonna just do NOTHING!!!! How about that??? How DARE I? How can one do NOTHING in this world??? Surely there are things TO BE DONE!!!!!!?!?!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">But no! I decided to dedicate this time here to spend real quality time with my kids, to wake up every morning and get out of the way the routine duties (breakfast, washing, cleaning, cooking) and spend the rest of the day having fun with my kids!!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">What parents out there can say that they have spent a whole day just playing with their kids? (not to mention weeks and months of it???) Thinking only of what game or activity or fun they can do next???</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well I am LOVING it! I am so grateful for this time, coz I doubt I could be doing this anywhere else. I’d always be too busy, too distracted, too frustrated. But here, we’ve been making and playing with play dough, we’ve been painting, and face painting, and building dens, and playing music, singing and dancing, baking cookies and muffins, screeching tickling sessions, climbing trees to pick fruit, watching movies in the day time with massive bowls of popcorn, watching the moon and the stars at night lying in our mozzie dome on the grass, going for swims at sunset, watching the “seals” (eels in Noah lingo) eat the fishes “greedy guts” (guts) when Carl cleans the fish he has speared, planting seeds and growing the vegie patch, telling stories, going for walks and counting “Shungululu’s” (centipedes) on the road, playing “I spy with my little eye”, reading loads of books, doing lots of schooling for Noah (with Saulei drawing or playing paper aeroplanes or hanging off my neck). The kids are so happy, and I am so happy. This time is making me appreciate them so much more, and adore them to my absolute core. I get blown away everyday by their cuteness and divinity, and just cant get enough of cuddling and squeezing them to death! At times I feel sad that I have missed out on so much of this because I’m always too busy cleaning or cooking or doing this or that.</div><div class="MsoNormal">PLEASE!!!! All you parents out there- make the effort of at least one day a week, or even a couple of hours a day- <span> </span>to drop everything and be an “Island parent” like me... you dunno what you’re missing out on. It will make you so happy, and make your kids even happier...</div><div class="MsoNormal">The boys have befriended the 2 little girls who live down the road, they’re similar ages, and have just started to warm to each other, which is great! Its taken a while, but they're now playing together at some point of every day, and loving it!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Carl has been fishing loads (he’s actually just gone out now, 8:45pm to catch me some Lobsters. Its the 3<sup>rd</sup> night after the full moon that, apparently, is the best time to go Lobstering. Yum breakfast tomorrow morning for me...</div><div class="MsoNormal">He has become quite the spear fishing pro, my husband. Every time he goes out, he comes back with enough fish to feed us all (plus some to freeze) and at least 2 other families in the village, which everyone is very grateful for. Did I mention the Yellow fin Tuna he came back with one day- it was the size of Saulei!!!!! (he didn’t actually spear that one, but it was so cool, and sooo yum!!!). </div><div class="MsoNormal">I cant go on without saying that yesterday, I finally scaled and gutted some fish!!! I was always so grossed out by that part of the process- scales flying up in the air and into my hair, digging my hands deep into the fishes guts pulling out all the insides covered in fish poo... yuk!!! But I decided it is time to graduate from Jewish Princess to Island Queen- and I did it!!!! (With the help of Futfiri- the gorgeous mum of the 2 little girls, who came running over when she saw Carl brought home fish, as she LOVES eating the RAW fish guts!!!! (dunno if I will be doing that one...)</div><div class="MsoNormal">So fish has been our staple food lately- fish cooked in coconut cream, fish baked in banana leaves, fried fish, Tom Yum fish soup, Massaman fish curry, steamed spicy fish. Fish fish fish. (and Taro, Cassava, Taro Cassava, rice.) oh, and still loads of Avocado’s (GuyGross - thinking of you each bite...), Pawpaw’s on tap (we are surrounded by pawpaw trees, and whatever we cant eat- the chooks get. And then we eat them, so its more pawpaw in a roundabout kinda way...)</div><div class="MsoNormal">What else? – a “night out” on the piss with Aggy (who’s house we’re in) and her mates, which started off hilarious, drinking Vodka and lemon juice, badly mixed with homebrew made of fermented Cassava water... I knew very well how bad that mix is so only had a couple, but these Rotumans, I tell you, THEY CAN DRINK!!!!!! Jug after jug after jug- ridiculous amounts, which at first was amusing, but it got to a point where I remembered why I don’t like drinking with Rotumans, or drinking much at all, and I was falling asleep on the floor and ended up being walked home at 1am (about 20 minute walk) by Charlie and Lilly, who felt really bad for me, and worried that Carl would be waiting up for me worrying about what I was doing... (NOT! Clearly Carl was fast asleep and didn’t even stir when I climbed into bed...). The rest of them were drinking till they passed out, and only came home in the morning...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another little event, in a place where not much happens, was a 1<sup>st</sup> birthday party we went to down the road, which wasn’t much different to any other “DO” here, but what is worth mentioning was the birthday cake, flown in from Suva, a massive pink thing, about 4 times the size of my laptop, with a not- Barbi doll coming out of it, pink gown and all, royal icing, marzipan roses- the works!!! (tasted shit). I stood there fanning the thing for ages, until it was time to eat it (before dinner, not after), so got a good look at the details. I think all the old ladies sitting around felt sorry for the “Hen Fissi” (white woman) having to stand there and fan... (Clearly a heavenly feast for thousands of flies...)</div><div class="MsoNormal">So Passover has passed, without me even thinking of Matza balls, and Easter is this weekend, and all I can think of is Chocolate, which I wont be eating, and the days flow by, the full moon was incredible, shone like daylight in the middle of the night, the tides come in and out, and the waves crash so loud that sometimes I wake up at night thinking that an electric appliance is on...</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Saturday I am going with the ladies to the local school to help weave the roof for a Bure (traditional hut) they’re building as a first time ever “pre school” on the island. The head teacher there heard I was here and wanted to send Noah there, and asked if I will come and teach there once a week. Not sure what exactly, but I'm sure it will be fun. And great for Noah to have more interaction with kids and learn some Rotuman stuff (like how to make a ball out of coconut leaves...or something...)</div><div class="MsoNormal">As for the progress of the house, Carl has been quite the Logger the past couple of weeks, and has been in the bush preparing more timber for the house, so not much building. The lack of fuel on the island has slightly held him back, but he is stoked with all the wood he has slabbed and prepared.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I still haven't managed to nail him down to write, maybe over this long weekend.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So signing off to go look out the window to see Carl’s flashing torch out in the deep dark sea...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Happy holidays- whatever it is you celebrate!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Coconut cheers, and love from us all</div><div class="MsoNormal">x</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-19296621923424161512011-04-12T03:57:00.000-07:002011-04-12T03:57:14.701-07:00pics!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1eA4a1HIPWXay4zPnSNp6-dUbl3Nh2tHx1p55Qgq8DgKd6ydl_6aqJRVIrV2NOpYr-FDPchMzpAg8IDmr4QhItlWveT5Kt-FNppqNV8YkYPGolrVZI3jaY8EWY0Mw-MLYLSMwMyJUts5/s1600/foundations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Hey! just quickly, while the slow internet is miraculously allowing me, am attaching some pics. hope you're feeling green!...</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Will Post more in the next few days!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x N</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1eA4a1HIPWXay4zPnSNp6-dUbl3Nh2tHx1p55Qgq8DgKd6ydl_6aqJRVIrV2NOpYr-FDPchMzpAg8IDmr4QhItlWveT5Kt-FNppqNV8YkYPGolrVZI3jaY8EWY0Mw-MLYLSMwMyJUts5/s320/foundations.jpg" width="320" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the foundations of the house and a peep into the views which will be clearer when the bush is cleared one day...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGunYpByKZvQFbETGtmW5I5oAylvc_lqe8-19D4BySbiHgf-ChHtmzzW1ZstkfUyLLbTlZAcDIl433vyemfmbdYzLjKen9Lcl2xZOMkSXZngwhGO-EKk4LrEnFxmns-xsiYIM4k_cPPpuQ/s1600/views.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGunYpByKZvQFbETGtmW5I5oAylvc_lqe8-19D4BySbiHgf-ChHtmzzW1ZstkfUyLLbTlZAcDIl433vyemfmbdYzLjKen9Lcl2xZOMkSXZngwhGO-EKk4LrEnFxmns-xsiYIM4k_cPPpuQ/s320/views.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from the back deck of the house we are currently living in.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6r9401KO1QXv5qnd5O5lRLGqEz-xkYTqUAkw3kPrcqxQW2zP7upTyQCtvB9ziUGPsJqwJSX42FSNmTtFm-l9lIHVZEB2-qV9Z0VAcHT0h6TtXTKAAOzi018mx75QnazUPJQ0sTovlvE8/s1600/fabulous+four2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6r9401KO1QXv5qnd5O5lRLGqEz-xkYTqUAkw3kPrcqxQW2zP7upTyQCtvB9ziUGPsJqwJSX42FSNmTtFm-l9lIHVZEB2-qV9Z0VAcHT0h6TtXTKAAOzi018mx75QnazUPJQ0sTovlvE8/s320/fabulous+four2.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fabulous four affloat</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW-7VEhYwSqiQ_Ddax4En-1ip3cooC5WldBn1_SLM3zVHfPO88OLMdTFOnHZLMD0dxdmxTq6dlzS5JFT9uFiLAhXd_XqNgeLmymRGpOqFnjD8yAQhqr3XiUPb-ULjL8HKCzTC3KwnHDQp/s1600/sunset+beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW-7VEhYwSqiQ_Ddax4En-1ip3cooC5WldBn1_SLM3zVHfPO88OLMdTFOnHZLMD0dxdmxTq6dlzS5JFT9uFiLAhXd_XqNgeLmymRGpOqFnjD8yAQhqr3XiUPb-ULjL8HKCzTC3KwnHDQp/s320/sunset+beauty.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">OUCH!!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE0HZfbuBMskSxbBgktZ6ab_J0NBMwZqnrAU_EMbwLGjdaGEwjb1f2NP2Iqlca9vf_ybN-b7AIHtBLcz9ujNhBmU99S8T_NiEDuhPOiApAXMLy4NJY9TUJSS3jRUOPvwWJUv5WluebWBQ/s1600/P3260485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE0HZfbuBMskSxbBgktZ6ab_J0NBMwZqnrAU_EMbwLGjdaGEwjb1f2NP2Iqlca9vf_ybN-b7AIHtBLcz9ujNhBmU99S8T_NiEDuhPOiApAXMLy4NJY9TUJSS3jRUOPvwWJUv5WluebWBQ/s1600/P3260485.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Clear clear water...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARxkct9ECqBUItoBcFTjydB3AidqAfjVFP-_k8dhXuUH1vewAJS3hRmdrAD3DmTO5AnjONl1Hx9SC8FOTpNPyGg4zTAzHTu8uf7rBpEao2we8XaZa9Hq5sWm7t-AEouDFOb0Dmsp7vF26/s1600/box+of+avo%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARxkct9ECqBUItoBcFTjydB3AidqAfjVFP-_k8dhXuUH1vewAJS3hRmdrAD3DmTO5AnjONl1Hx9SC8FOTpNPyGg4zTAzHTu8uf7rBpEao2we8XaZa9Hq5sWm7t-AEouDFOb0Dmsp7vF26/s320/box+of+avo%2527s.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What to do with a box full of Avocado's????</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlkdeXkEuTa_qaVFk9CAdf9bAB3STy4jJ1hqkjG8y3-PEsW_BthxYH9IJSqCc6u4x_nQsp2daYM94ehrSf_HUsem5F-0tfg3qUez9y9cRGqp0mHNKL0DFgeOxgXrW2nqE97hUS9K0xH8D/s1600/first+reef+surf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlkdeXkEuTa_qaVFk9CAdf9bAB3STy4jJ1hqkjG8y3-PEsW_BthxYH9IJSqCc6u4x_nQsp2daYM94ehrSf_HUsem5F-0tfg3qUez9y9cRGqp0mHNKL0DFgeOxgXrW2nqE97hUS9K0xH8D/s320/first+reef+surf.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Noah's first reef surf</div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-63254702923128589652011-03-31T19:13:00.000-07:002011-03-31T19:13:06.988-07:00An apology...Hi all,<br />
This post is an apology to Carl and his family.<br />
When I wrote my last entry I was expressing alot about how I personally felt about what has happened here in rotuma, without thinking that what I wrote might offend anyone. I tend to get carried away when expressing my feeling and thoughts, and should have been conscious that some things aren't apropriate to publish on the internet for anyone to read.<br />
I also failed to aknowledge that altho what Carl's couzins did was really bad, they did do alot of good too, and they too sacrificed alot of their time and energy in helping Carl persue his dream. They're not all bad, and I do know that... what I wrote came from a place of anger, and I should have kept it to myself.<br />
So mainly to Carl and his mum, I am truely sorry, and have learnt a good lesson from this...<br />
X NNadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-29815453321030603682011-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:002011-03-31T19:00:40.043-07:00We are back!!!<div class="MsoNormal">We are back!!!!!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">A very long time has passed since I last blogged, and many many waters have flowed thru many rivers, I'm sure.</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was August last year when I managed to get that miracle flight out of Rotuma and returned to Sydney, thinking I will stay a few weeks and go back, but the kids and I ended up staying in Sydney for 7 months, doing our thang, doing the ups and downs of life, and coming out stronger than ever.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Carl returned to Sydney in October to come save US and see us, and returned to Rotuma at the beginning of Feb.</div><div class="MsoNormal">When he left here last year, he made sure he packed up all his gear and specifically told his relatives here not to touch or use or lend or borrow any of his gear, and left them with instructions of what work needed to be done while he was away.</div><div class="MsoNormal">After staying in Fiji for a couple of weeks, having a little surf holiday on the coral coast, he took the dreadful 4 day boat trip over to Rotuma, the poor thing said it was the worst boat ride he has ever been on. I didn’t even want to know too much about it, as just the thought of it triggers my PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from our boat trip over here just under a year ago, so I just felt sorry for him, and left it at that...</div><div class="MsoNormal">When he arrived back to Itumuta, his village, eager to get back into the work and get the house built, he discovered that his cousins had messed up big time!!! Everything he had told them NOT to do, they pretty much disrespected, and did it all: They used his Chain saw (and lent it to random people) and broke it, they used his other power tools and lent them to others, they used our push bikes and messed up the gears on one of them, they used or sold half a barrel of fuel and most of the pre-mix fuel we had left , they had spent money Carl had left for them to pay someone for work he was supposed to do, and the saddest part was they went and sold 2 massive slabs of the beautiful Mahogany timber Carl had cut for $250, (and obviously spent the money) after Carl had very specifically said not to sell or touch any of the timber...</div><div class="MsoNormal">When Carl heard all about it, from several relatives and people around the island, he was absolutely devastated!!!! For 6 months he had worked so hard on this project, slaved his soul, sacrificed so much, invested so much energy, time and money in this project, which was his life dream, but eventually it is his family here who would have benefited from living in probably the nicest house on the island, and they pretty much just stabbed him in the chest 59 times in return. It was 2 of his closest cousins that did it all, and he was really hurt. The one cousin is in Fiji, and we havent heard a word from him, and the other one , is here. Carl confronted him about it all, and asked him to tell him nothing but the truth about what he had done, which he did. It turns out that all he wanted was a bit of money to be able to drink and party over the Xmas period... He apparently showed a lot of remorse about it all, but this whole thing prompted a lot of family upheaval and anger.<br />
Carl had to really have a think about what he wants to do. He felt so disappointed and betrayed by these relatives, and eventually made the decision not to build the house on that land, and rather build it on another piece of family land in another village called Hapmak.<br />
They all begged him not to leave, but Carl had already made up his mind.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was still in Australia when this all had happened, and when I heard about it, I too was ready to go slit some necks and punch some faces... I COULD NOT believe that these people can do something like this, and was really upset for Carl, and angry as hell!!! I too sacrificed allot for these people, much more than they could possibly understand, and I felt really gutted about it all. Clearly I was TOTALLY supportive of Carl to get out of that place and move to Hapmak, and was really glad he made that decision.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So within a few days, Carl moved EVERYTHING out of that house, from power tools and timber, to condiments and toothpaste that we had brought there, and took everything over to Hapmak.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I dunno if you remember me writing about this, but if you go back to my blog on 1<sup>st</sup> of August 2010, I had written about staying at uncle Varo’s house, which was a great house and felt like being on holiday.... well- this is where we are now! A lovely spacious bright and airy house, with electricity from 5am till 11pm, a fridge, ceiling fans, a washing machine that actually cleans the clothes, fly screens on every door and window, a decent bathroom, a great kitchen! And a room to ourselves with a door on it!</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are living with Aggy, Uncle Varo’s wife, who is a funny character and is always trying to talk me into drinking with her and getting drunk, but she is sweet, and although she talks a hellova lot, she needs and takes her own space and gives me mine too. She is happy to have kids around and another woman in the house. Her 16 yr old son Muero is here too, he goes to high school and plays with the kids when he gets home. Uncle Varo is in Nadi (Fiji) at the moment, and will be back probably in April or May.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Needless to say how much happier I am here, and the spot we are building on is amazing. It is higher up on a bit of a hill, so it feels more spacious and breezy, it has million dollar views, surrounded by coconut, pawpaw and banana trees, the ocean is about 50 meters down the hill, there isn’t a beach here, it’s all rocks and reef, which is a bit of a bummer, but, hey, I go to sleep and wake up to the sound of the waves, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, Carl goes out surfing and spear fishing from the bottom of the hill, and the kids have loads of space to run around here.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I went back to Itumuta yesterday to say hi to the lovely old ladies I love and left there, and saw the house we left and felt SO happy we weren’t there anymore. So many bad feelings about that place, the energy there felt so stale and dead, I felt so much joy not being there anymore....</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luckily Carl hadn’t actually started building there yet, they had only built the retaining wall and filled the land with loads of sand to extend the property into the water (did I mention how good it is to be higher up rather than right on the water after the last devastation of earth quake and Tsunami in Japan? The night of that tragedy, they had Tsunami alerts here too and I was really worried about Carl here. They ended up having to go sleep at some relative’s house on higher grounds for the night, and came back home after they were cleared of Tsunami warnings). So what is left for them in Itumuta is a beautiful extension to their land.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I always had the feeling that if we were to build the house there, it would not be looked after as soon as we left, and I had almost come to terms with the fact that this whole project, this whole journey is to support Carl in his dream of building a house in his village where his heart is, and knew that I can’t get attached to the result- the house, So it would be like building a house of cards, and then just blowing it down, just like that... the law of detachment...</div><div class="MsoNormal">So after arriving in Fiji last Thursday and staying in a hotel for 3 nights because our flight, which was supposed to be the following morning was cancelled, (of course- nothing goes as planned in Fiji, but it ended up being good, nice to stay in a hotel, kids had a ball in the pool, spent lots of time with some relatives in Nadi), we boarded the miniature aircraft that flew us over the ocean and Fiji islands back to Rotuma...</div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm not in anyway a religious person, but whenever I go on one of these flights I feel I need to pray for the protection Goddesses to look after us, especially sitting in the front row of the 12 seater watching the pilots both have to use their full force to move the leavers which make the plane ascend, the buttons and dials looking rusty, freezing all the way because of the cracks around the windows allowing the cold air at 10,000 feet to enter the aircraft, and us needing to scream in each other’s ears in order to communicate coz the engines are so close and noisy...</div><div class="MsoNormal">We made it, and the kids ran off the plane into their daddy’s arms, who they missed allot. Carls dad, Chris, is here too, he arrived 2 weeks before us to help with the first stages of building, and so was Shane, Carl’s best mate from Sydney, who had been here with us 3.5 years ago for Noah’s 1<sup>st</sup> birthday party, but he took off back home on the plane we arrived on.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was going to attempt to write about the work on the house that Carl and his mighty men have done up till now, but I think it is too technical and I don’t understand enough of it yet to be able to write about all the boysie stuff, so I will let Carl write all about that side of things when I manage to nail him down to the computer...</div><div class="MsoNormal">So its back to loads of coconuts, gazillions of Pawpaws, taro and Cassava, beautiful fresh fish that Carl spears, he had allot of practice while we weren’t here, and has got very good at it!!! (Cas and Ben- you’d be green!!!), SourSop, Vee, beautiful buttery Avocados, and this time- COLD water to drink, Ice blocks for the kids, a blender for cocktails, a toaster, and an electric kettle to boil water in 2 minutes as opposed to half an hour on the stinky kerosene cooker... the little things in life...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A few months ago I was reading a random blog of a guy who was cruising thru the pacific and stopped over in Rotuma, but I clearly remembered one thing that he wrote about the journey, the rough seas and all the hurdles on his way, he said that the difference between and adventure and a disaster- is your ATITUDE! </div><div class="MsoNormal">Clearly this time round in Rotuma is going to be much more comfortable, and I am determined to make it an adventure for us all, rather than it turn into a disaster like last time...</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wish me luck!!!!!! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">P.S The internet connection seems slower than it was the last time i was here, progress, it seems, doesnt exist here </div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-39445977197086377302010-09-15T06:04:00.001-07:002010-09-15T06:04:48.300-07:00Carl's update<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know, I know! Its probably been about 2 solid months since anyone has heard boo from me, but I cant get my head around writing on the computer. Its partly the fact that at the end of each day I am exhausted and busy with the kids, but I think mostly its I don’t like to use technology whilst I am here. I really like the idea that we are so cut off here, from all the modern convenience of our life in Oz and I like also like to keep things really simple here. I love the fact that my days and weeks are governed by the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sun and the cycles of the moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Enough of the pathetic excuses for being slack. Where are we up to in the building? Well if you look at the property there is no visible change as we have been waiting for the tip truck to be finished its repairs, which finally happened last week. This means that yesterday we were able to bring the last loads of rocks from the piggery, and hopefully finally finish the retaining wall. The sand which will be backfilled into the new area, has also been delayed for the last 6 weeks as the government truck thats meant to bring it has been to busy. This is an island in the Pacific, nothing happens quickly and no one dies of stress related heart disease. Although I often think it would be nice to see a little bit of stress or worry over something. Despite the delays we have been busier than ever with cutting up the 40 plus trees we knocked over in the past 2 months. We have cut up the bulk of the trees with just the mahogany and the hefau tree remaining, which also happened to be the 2 biggest trees that we cut down. The hefau tree was massive, it would require 3-4 of us to join arms to go around its circumference. It smashed everything in its path when It came down. By the way standing right next to the trunk when it came down, chainsaw in hand, caused a little tightening in the back passage. I must say that with about 60+ trees under my belt now, I feel quite confident when it comes to felling most trees. Where I think it will land is pretty much well where it ends up, which is gratifying to see. We have been using 2 methods<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to cut the trees up into slabs. The main method has been manually sawing the tree into slabs with the chainsaw and the other method is the original idea with the chainsaw mill. The mill is very slow and takes a little while to set up for the first cut, as we have to use a set of rails so that the mill and saw have something to run across. Once the first cut is achieved, the rails are removed and the mill and saw run on the smooth surface of the first cut. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The advantage to the mill is that it is very accurate. So with that in mind I have decided to use the mill only for the floorboards and the walls of the house. These will be only 25mm thick which is difficult to get an accurate cut if done manually. The manual method requires us to do a first cut perpendicular to the ground, then we roll the log over so that the first cut is on top and parallel to the ground, and then with our chalk line we mark out the size of the slabs we are to cut and start sawing. Not quite as easy as it sounds as the saw weighs a tonne and has to be kept perfectly in line with the mark on the wood. I must say we have become surprisingly accurate with our cuts. In the front yard of the house we now have a shite load of 25,50 and 80mm slabs of beautiful tropical hardwood timber, waiting to be cut up into dimensioned lumber on the tablesaw. When the camera arrives on the next boat I will start taking photos of everything I have described.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you probably already know, Nadine and the kids have gone back to Oz for a break, not for the kids sake, but Nadines. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it at the beginning{ major understatement}, but it has actually worked out really well. I now no longer have the stress of having to worry about how Nadine is coping with the day and also am actually getting a full nights rest, as I no longer have Saulei<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>needing to be nursed in the middle of the night. It was tough going there for awhile when I was working very hard physically and then getting up several times a night to see to Saulei. The other major advantage has been I get to go to the sea at will. This meant last week I went fishing 6 times, on Saturday I went twice. The disadvantage is that I miss the them all a lot. The house seems empty without the kids running amok and making noise. Every one here really misses the kids, and cant wait for them all to get back.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for the fishing. As I have been staying at my uncles place in hapmak, another village, and his house is on the oceanfront not the bay, like our place. So the routine has been work until about 3pm, down tools and clean the chainsaw, and then get changed into fishing outfit and head out for a couple of hours of spearfishing out the front of his place. We have met with success every time we have gone out and have managed to eat fish for dinner every night. One of the afternoons I saw a massive fish that I was little scared to spear as it was so big, also I didn’t know whether it was edible or not and don’t like to kill things unless we plan on eating it. This thing was like a small car. I screamed for my uncle and cousin to come over and identify it for me, they also happened to be towing the rope with the buoy on the end of it, handy if you come across a big fish as you clip the rope to the gun and hang onto the buoy after you shoot the fish. They looked at the fish and were a little taken aback by the size of it, but both said shoot it. I clipped the rope to my gun and dived down. By this stage the fish had decided to slowly make its way to underneath a large coral outcrop. I could see its tail and its mouth but couldn’t get a good shot at its head, which is vital with a fish this big, to try to kill it with one shot. I dived down 3 more times and decided to leave it be as I would almost certainly have trouble extracting the thing from under the rock, even if I was lucky enough to kill it with one shot and not just piss it off. Now every time we go fishing there I go back to the same spot to check if it has returned, no luck so far. The other bit of sea life that we have encountered quite a bit has been 2 large manta rays, that are very curious. They usually come within a couple of meters and spend quite a bit of time just hanging out, following us around. It was a little disconcerting at first as they are forkin huge, 2-3 metres across. But as I have got used to them they have become beautiful accompaniments to the afternoon expeditions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My cousin Jione and I will be going back to hapmak for the next 2 weeks as the slabbing of the mahogany is taking a little longer than expected. The timber even in its rough form is starting to look beautiful. Amazingly it starts out white and then as it seasons it changes to a deep red. We have probably got about 6-7 more trees to cut down and then we will have all the timber we need for the house. When slabbed manually we can have a tree down, limbed and slabbed in about 3-4 days, which is pretty good going as none of us previous to starting had ever touched a chainsaw or slabbed a tree before.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I sometimes look around and take a mental note of what we are doing and still am amazed that its all happening. This was just an idea in my head[ not a very good one originally] 4 years ago. Most people that I mentioned it to thought it was a crazy idea especially considering you can get very good timber in Fiji and have it shipped over to Rotuma. Also the fact that I had never used a chainsaw before and also have never built a thing in my life, made the idea not just crazy but a little on the stupid side. We are nowhere near finished yet but looking at what we have achieved so far, makes me believe what my parents told me and my siblings when we were young. Put your mind to anything and you will achieve whatever<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you want, or something to that effect. All these years I thought that they were pissing in my pocket, but in fact they were right. As I mentioned this maybe a little premature as all we have is a pile of hardwood slabs and nothing quite resembling a house yet, but we have made it this far...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On a bit of a crap note Ben a mate who is in Fiji awaiting a boat to here, cant wait any longer and has to go back to Oz. The shipping company oversold tickets to the tune of about 150. The boat left on time, and amazingly arrived on time but no Ben. As my Pa used to say, “you wouldn’t feed these people”. They sold Ben a ticket so he organised all his flights around the itinerary of the ship, but at the wharf on the day of departure they said they couldn’t take him and 149 other pre-paid passengers. Useless bastards!! Welcome to the 3<sup>rd</sup> world. Its ironic really, as it has taken Ben3 weeks to unsuccessfully make it to Rotuma, yet Nadine and the kids were able to book a flight one<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>day before leaving and arrive in Australia on the same day they left Rotuma, which Is unheard of. You would be lucky to arrive in Fiji on the same day you left Rotuma, let alone Oz.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thats enough from me. If history is anything to go by you probably wont here from me again until about xmas , hopefully this year. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take it easy and much lOve..</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carlos..</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">p.s. We have started planeing and sanding the mahogany slabs. All the hard work of felling the trees and cutting them up into slabs, now seems all worthwhile. The timber is absolutely beautiful! I cant wait to walk on these floors. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Nadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-27788348313379370912010-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:002010-08-25T21:41:39.578-07:00Latte's, lush bed and loving friends and fam!Ok dear faithfull readers, this might come as a great surprise, and I still cant believe it myself, but here I am, in Sydney, sipping on Latte's, sleeping in a lush comfy bumfy bed with my 2 boys, hanging with my dear friends and family and LOVING it!<br />
A miracle occured and we managed to hop onto a return chartered flight that came to Rotuma last Saturday to bring a body over to be burried, Carl's Cousin Mangel asked the family if there are any seats available on the return flight, and there were! So there we were waiting on the landing strip, not knowing until the last minute if we were definitely on the flight, the next minute we're riding this noisy 18 seater plane back to Fiji. It was supposed to fly to Suva, but for some reason it landed in Nadi, and when we got off, i went to the counter to find out if by chance there were any available seats on the next flight to Sydney, and magically- 2 hours later we were on a flight back to Sydney!!! I think we broke a world record- Rotuma in the morning and Sydney at night!!!!! Thats unheard of!<br />
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I desperately needed a break, and Im glad i took it, we will be returning to Rotuma on the October boat, hopefully accompanied by some family, but untill then, Carl will be the blog writer, if he has time to write in his busy island life. We have another friend braving it coming over to Rotuma, if he manages to get there, as the boat he was supposed to go on last Monday, decided to reduce the capacity of passengers to half, thats after his ticket was bought, and he wasnt allowed on the boat, so we're hoping he will manage to get on the next boat in September. Good luck Ben!!!<br />
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If you're in Sydney and wanna catch up- call me on my Australian number.<br />
Otherwise, you can find me cafe hopping on an extreme Caffeine buzz tagged by 2 babyccino mustache faced kids...<br />
xxxNadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577217722845063087.post-2575544202365270692010-07-31T23:54:00.000-07:002010-07-31T23:54:57.834-07:00Tropical tales...Another Sunday arvo, but this one is slightly different, as we are spending the weekend at our “holiday house” in another village... I’d like to think of it as our house, but really, its Carls uncles place in the village of Hapmak, about 3km away from where we are at in Itumuta. Varomue lives here with his youngest son, in a house he built about 4 years ago, and to me it feels like luxury... Its up on a hill with cracker views of the bay and the other small surrounding islands, it is big and spacious with intact screens’ on all the doors and windows, therefore no pests penetrating the house and my blood, there is electricity power 18 hours a day, which means ceiling fans, an electric kettle to boil water for tea in 2.5 minutes rather than waiting about 30 minutes for a huge kettle of water to boil for one cuppa, there’s breeze from every direction, a great open plan kitchen, a real and clean bathroom with the best showerhead, Cable TV (Cartoon network for kids), rooms with doors that actually close, and a decent washing machine... It all feels a bit familiar, as if I have lived a life like this somewhere in my past...<br />
There is an abundance of pawpaw trees surrounding the house, pineapples growing down the hill, a Soursap tree – has anyone ever tasted those things? OMG!!!! SO delicious! I think its part of the custard apple family, as they look similar and taste similar, (I tried to google it, but the internet is so slow that I couldn’t bother waiting for Wikipedia...)and yesterdays dinner was the most “instant” one we have had yet... One minute we were sitting on the veranda spying on a bunch of wild chooks walking into a trap to munch on coconut husks, then next thing the trap was shut, uncle Varomue was inside pulling out 4 chooks, next he chopped their heads off, next him and Rob went down to the water to pluck them and chop them up, and next thing I knew I had a bucketful of chook to make a chicken curry. So fresh, so yum!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJy3W6gXWiRcRQCOEIY-Vc4Mkhyo3c1NAjCYZyJGAodAi2JflRhFiOhB3JGEHiAKdfVFuFDB94Mtjq-rUfKjfYxfV_0kmJiVDHeGwJUs4zE7xIfmFiREn1hIfbDLqty47COl8E1iidZmLK/s1600/relaxation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJy3W6gXWiRcRQCOEIY-Vc4Mkhyo3c1NAjCYZyJGAodAi2JflRhFiOhB3JGEHiAKdfVFuFDB94Mtjq-rUfKjfYxfV_0kmJiVDHeGwJUs4zE7xIfmFiREn1hIfbDLqty47COl8E1iidZmLK/s320/relaxation.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One rare moment of relaxation</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkmVIaCqwK4M-RvsBoTD9tvAmZ960oFP3UQAJ2jNbw9392QPyb01n2_jSis-ZcJ3vo6wp2mQ6pg8JA96dFyKGfyJwImz45_DjqX5CSaNkT-x8ch51Fb9lc2iSqtTe8D5G_4E7zopZ5kCR/s1600/holiday+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkmVIaCqwK4M-RvsBoTD9tvAmZ960oFP3UQAJ2jNbw9392QPyb01n2_jSis-ZcJ3vo6wp2mQ6pg8JA96dFyKGfyJwImz45_DjqX5CSaNkT-x8ch51Fb9lc2iSqtTe8D5G_4E7zopZ5kCR/s320/holiday+house.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "Holiday house" snack with uncle Varomue</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5f5Zw3y4VWMfd78IDUhuXWRk5_t7f-rJCbz21p47gRm8dZpl1xVwWqz0RxOdJe2sSPqJygvLMCvnkaJrZDMffP0P7ZLYwf72iQIFRjt7_h1Rynzj_gWvC-QvRA4EGCHBndoRRA5i3cDV/s1600/dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5f5Zw3y4VWMfd78IDUhuXWRk5_t7f-rJCbz21p47gRm8dZpl1xVwWqz0RxOdJe2sSPqJygvLMCvnkaJrZDMffP0P7ZLYwf72iQIFRjt7_h1Rynzj_gWvC-QvRA4EGCHBndoRRA5i3cDV/s320/dinner.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dinner, just before they were beheaded</div><br />
Its nice to have a bit of space from the rest of the household in Itumuta, am thinking of coming here every weekend... Varomue would be delighted, as his wife is in Fiji and he needs the company and a bit of woman in the house...<br />
So a few stories to tell since my last post, first being a “Grog party” we were invited to by our friend Fay... he called early Friday evening and invited Rob to come and I just dragged along, partly to just get out of the house for a night, partly to look after Robby, and partly out of curiosity. People here love their “grog parties”, a bit like how we love our nights out back home... only these are so much more boring...<br />
So Fay came by to pick us up wearing red tracky pants, a red over the shoulder T-shirt and sparkly earings, and took us to what used to be the old Catholic Church’s Nuns convent, now just someone’s home, and he explained that this is where he has a Grog party every Friday night. He said that he is always the only one that gets dressed up, and I thought his Little red riding hood outfit was good enough, but as soon as we got there and sat in a circle with a bunch of strangers, he disappeared, only to emerge wearing the skimpiest shortest open back glitzy turquoise mini dress, dressed with pearls and makeup, and gave us the full drag spin-around. Robby and I couldn’t believe our eyes... it was so surreal. The Nun’s convent, the silent strangers, and then Fay looking like a Rotuman Kylie Minogue... and we hadn’t even started drinking...<br />
The Grog drinking, refers to Cava, the local root they harvest and dry, grind it into a fine powder with a man-size metal mortal and pestle, then mix with water in a wooden bowl, scoop out a cupful and pass it around in a circle. Every time you receive a cup, you clap 3 times and down it. It tastes very bitter, and all we felt was a mild numbness in our mouth, but when one drinks allot of it over hours of sitting in a circle, it has a muscle relaxant effect, so you’d feel like a big blob of jellyfish or something. And would be quite as interesting a conversation as a big blob of Jellyfish.<br />
Being in a roomful of Rotumans is the most boring thing for me, (and for Robby too- as he soon discovered...), as they speak only Rotuman, don’t bother involving you in a conversation, never ask you anything about your life and where you come from, and if you ask them a question, if you even get an answer at all, it is usually a grunt or the traditional lifting of one eyebrow... which to this day I still haven’t figured out what it means (Yes? NO? I don’t know? Oh wow that is so interesting and how did it make you feel???). So at this Grog party, there were a few silent Rotumans, but also a few Fijian nurses, who didn’t speak Rotuman, so luckily alot of the little conversation there was, was in English. Rob and I just sat together and giggled and took the piss out of the situation, laughing at Fay’s stories of his massive thighs and faraway lovers... <br />
At some stage, the “Hot stuff” came out, which was a big bucket of iced instant coffee with a couple of bottles of Rum poured in. I might just mention that most the people in the circle were about half our age, and Rob and I really started feeling it... we had a couple of sips of their “Cocktail”, and when everyone else just started to get a little too excited, we thought its a good time to leave, and strolled home in the full moon light, giggling our heads off...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUyC_J-ouoCaF4wWnDoSFQOknj9eBIewSMrxD_cBweALqJ0Avy1JofWqJGq3zmtzs8pSAgidKksMzAFoAJwx1DKnF3HkSWA5TMW6aTc8VqTuonVQURZO36uBel5uG6jY_PxeXLtVmJovV/s1600/fay+minogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUyC_J-ouoCaF4wWnDoSFQOknj9eBIewSMrxD_cBweALqJ0Avy1JofWqJGq3zmtzs8pSAgidKksMzAFoAJwx1DKnF3HkSWA5TMW6aTc8VqTuonVQURZO36uBel5uG6jY_PxeXLtVmJovV/s320/fay+minogue.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fay Minogue, robby and moi at Grog party</div><br />
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Another little story, one late afternoon, everyone was hanging out on the veranda, playing chess, lying down, when suddenly Litisia, an auntie who lives 2 houses away came running to me with a blank look on a very pale face, holding onto her wrist asking if I can help her. I looked at her wrist and it was pouring out blood like a fountain, I took one look at the cut and saw her veins and tendons and freaked out. She had accidently cut it on a piece of glass that broke off from one of the louvers in her bedroom, she came running to me, as I have become the village bandage lady, and I took one look at it and saw it definitely needed to be stitched up. We grabbed some tea towels to tie it up, and I grabbed my phone to call the hospital to send the Ambulance, but no one knew the number for the hospital!!!!!! What tha??? Whoever was sitting around on the veranda, just sat there and continued doing their thing, men playing chess, kids playing ball, Litisia sitting there bleeding away and only Rob and I were running around trying to figure out what to do while Carl was holding the tea-towel tightly on her wrist. The only one who freaked out besides me was Saulei, who probably sensed my distress and stood on the side crying... we sent one of the kids down the road to call Uncle Alexiyu who has a car to come take her to the hospital, luckily he was there, as the hospital is about a 30 minute walk away. They took her to the hospital and she managed to ask us to clean the mess in her house, as she was expecting some people to come stay that night, and she lives with her husband who is recovering from a stroke and cant walk properly, and her little grand-daughter Shannon- Noah’s best mate here. The poor girl saw it all, and was hardly fazed. Rob and I went back to the house and cleaned the drops of blood from around everywhere, changed the bloody bedding and removed the broken glass.<br />
We brought her family some dinner, and a couple of hours later she came back from the hospital with her wrist bandaged up. She said they put a few stitches in and wanted her to stay overnight, but she didn’t want to as she was worried about these people coming to stay the night without her being there... so I got her settled back at home and punched my phone number on speed dial in her phone and showed her how to use it (she only knows how to answer the phone, nothing else...) and told her to call me if she needs anything during the night. Luckily I did that, because at around midnight I was woken by a phone call from her telling me she has been bleeding all night and her bed is covered in blood, I told her Carl and I will be there right away. In my half sleep I grabbed my first aid gear thinking I can help, but when we got there and saw she was covered in blood, Carl ran over to wake Alexiyu to come take her to the hospital. This time I went with her, driving in a very dodgy ute in pouring rain on really bad roads, which in itself freaked me out. As I do, I started imagining these terrible things that can happen, half asleep. Not good. <br />
We got to the hospital, it was very dark, and a sleepy nurse came out to see who it was that’s disturbing her sleep. We took Litisia inside, at this time she was feeling weak and dizzy, and the nurse very slowly, very sleepishly removed her bandage. I took one look at what was underneath and had to sit down and resume the Brace position, otherwise I would’ve probably passed out myself. Her cut was like a gaping L-shaped slit in her wrist, with about 3 stitches barely holding it closed, her veins and tendons still exposed...<br />
The nurse called the doctor, who came over looking just as pissed off by being woken, took one tiny look at her through his sleepy eyes and mumbled “observation” before he marched off back to bed. I guess “observation” meant “keep her here and watch her through the night”. So the nurse bandaged her up again, gave her some pain relief, and I went back home with Alexiyu who was waiting outside.<br />
When I got back home around 1am, I couldn’t fall asleep. I was having the worst thoughts go through my mind, all the “what if” thoughts I fear about being here, and try to push out of my mind. I had to do a bit of breathing exercises to calm me down and put me to sleep...<br />
The next morning Rob and I rode up to the hospital to take her some fresh clothes, but she was ready to come home and was driven home in the ambulance. Since then she has been recovering, the poor thing is hating not being able to do anything, as she is the kind of person who values herself by the work she does. Luckily, the people who came to stay at her house ended up being a blessing, as they are doing all the work for her. Feeding the pigs, working in the plantation, bringing the food, fishing, cooking and cleaning. It turns out that she probably should have had surgery done on her wrist, as she cant move her fingers and they are really swollen and sore. Maybe some nerve damage, I don’t know, but over here nothing is descriptive. If someone has terminal cancer, they just say he is “sick”, if someone has been vomiting, they are the same “sick” as terminal cancer or heart disease. Its very basic.<br />
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And what else has been going on? We went on a big walk up to the top of a mountain to check out the views of the island from above. With kids on shoulders (not mine of course – Carl, Robby and cousin Johnny took turns) climbing up steep slippery mud and rocks, swinging off vines, with me having my usual fear of heights panic attack refusing to go any further, tears in my eyes and shaking, the kids just charging along with no fear what so ever. Needless to say I didn’t enjoy it, not one little bit, even when we reached the top and sat on this massive rock hanging over a big drop into the ocean with views all the way to the tip of the island, I just wanted to be back on the ground, on the beach, drinking coconuts. Which is what we did next. <br />
What else? Lots of baking and cooking with Robby, who is equally into food as I am. Lots of Green Pawpaw Chutney, Cumquat and Ginger Jam, Banana and Cumquat Jam, Gnocchi made from Tapioca, Gnocchi made from Pumpkin. Its good to have Robby’s enthusiasm to inspire me to cook a bit more interesting. Not that it has any value tor anyone else besides me and him...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWctpiVqNRhysJ4a-HDSnf_JA7HLO1iL1KKsSn6aZ27LIwnMI4PJpyEAYtUeJcqmGOOX-rug4x-vNNDD5jIqEedr2hW3wCS4K73iQS94yfrXYolo8cPryra1RWWrbwEDq8l3t6_2fhPex/s1600/top+of+the+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWctpiVqNRhysJ4a-HDSnf_JA7HLO1iL1KKsSn6aZ27LIwnMI4PJpyEAYtUeJcqmGOOX-rug4x-vNNDD5jIqEedr2hW3wCS4K73iQS94yfrXYolo8cPryra1RWWrbwEDq8l3t6_2fhPex/s320/top+of+the+world.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from the top of the rock</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9zLCKcW5Fu9GcswD_AqBsHjKYWMXAvCK4NmnIfaZcdqCrlhrPqyWLGnA_Jo7uY8BUreCstVIB_5LZ6ynw4-i99DSbqU1zwLRwpmIuV0zU5JX4D4ht85JA6yjVxvhcnTZThg2w_ybp_Ry/s1600/tree+monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9zLCKcW5Fu9GcswD_AqBsHjKYWMXAvCK4NmnIfaZcdqCrlhrPqyWLGnA_Jo7uY8BUreCstVIB_5LZ6ynw4-i99DSbqU1zwLRwpmIuV0zU5JX4D4ht85JA6yjVxvhcnTZThg2w_ybp_Ry/s320/tree+monkey.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tree monkey fetching coconuts</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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The other night Carl and his cousins went out to sea to get Lobsters, they came back with a sack full of about 8 lobsters and a couple of Balmain bug type thing. The kids were still awake and were screaming with fear when they saw the things, who were still alive when brought home. I had to sooth them to sleep, then proceed to the kitchen to share the freshest Lobster tails one can eat with Robby. He ate about 4 of them, feeling very guilty, not realising that they were caught especially for him. What a treat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKKLyJP6CHUBFHgs3wGNV5Ee98X9hVpLQTtNOv10aOUJDF3arbPzCdbwDz5HLg2N50ZuLgsGLn4SnQ7OHQg_123lj3ClQ2ZTSuL5QQSCe9JPtIY3vss-GeQWZq63KFjy0tJENaSwfaPMj/s1600/night+catch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKKLyJP6CHUBFHgs3wGNV5Ee98X9hVpLQTtNOv10aOUJDF3arbPzCdbwDz5HLg2N50ZuLgsGLn4SnQ7OHQg_123lj3ClQ2ZTSuL5QQSCe9JPtIY3vss-GeQWZq63KFjy0tJENaSwfaPMj/s320/night+catch.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Robby with pre cooked dinner</div><br />
Next week is the Doom day, Robby will be leaving to go back to his life in Bondi. Same life I had there. I am quite jealous. I hate the thought of him sipping on a quality latte, eating beautiful fresh bread, cheeses and the variety of fruit and veg I cant get here, which I miss so much. But most of all I hate the thought of missing his company, his humour, his cynicism, swims with him and the kids, endless chats over cups of tea and sneaky biscuits. Back to being the only white person around for miles. The only one who sort of understands my head. Till our next guest Lauren comes here in October hopefully.<br />
Loads of Love to all of you out there!!!!!!! xxxxxxNadine and Carl, Noah and Sauleihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153956629750437992noreply@blogger.com2