Fox and Child

When we're in Brisbane, Laetitia and I like to find movies that we can't see back home. There are only two cinema complexes in Mackay, and they're both BCC. If the film ain't mainstream and popular, it likely ain't comin' to Mackay!

So the day after the wedding, we went to the Palace Centro to see The Fox and the Child, a beautiful movie about a young French girl and her fascination with a wild fox near her family's rural home.

The photography in the movie is wonderful. I'm glad I wasn't the cameraman, with some tricky and cold-looking sequences chasing wildlife through snow-laden forest. I was also impressed with the honest approach taken; this is no idealised fairy tale. It's quite realistic in presentation, apart perhaps from one incident (but I won't discuss that here as it would be a bit of a spoiler).

Recommendation: If you're a photographer or videographer, you'll love it. If you like wildlife, go for it. Your children will certainly enjoy it. Otherwise, take it or leave it; the plot isn't really that exciting.

My wife has a dodgy heart valve

This week we have been in Brisbane for some medical tests. It turns out that Laetitia has a dodgy heart: mitral valve prolapse with regurgitation. Her cardiologist has suggested that the severity of her situation is on the severe side of moderate, and that he “would be surprised” if she didn't need surgery sooner rather than later (in 5 years rather than 20). For the moment she will need annual checkups to keep track of her condition.

If I knew what to write next, I would write it. If I understood how I felt about it, I'd write about that. But I don't. Watch, wait and see, I guess. And trust God to provide what we need.

He has certainly provided well for us so far. Not only do we have access to a great cardiologist (he was Laetitia's father's cardio too, for the same condition), we also know three people who have recently (i.e. in the last two years) had open heart surgery, two of them for mitral valve issues. So we have some idea now of what to expect.

Other things I did in Brisbane

• Took some photos of the Gateway Bridge duplication works.
  
  
• Went for a walk in Daisy Hill State Forest.
  
  
• Saw some old friends, most of whom were either pregnant or had just given birth.
  
• Went to the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens to take some photos.
  
  
• Went to Mt Tamborine with my sister Ruth, who was also in Brisbane.
  
  
• Visited my friends Toby and Anna at Simply for Strings, and took some photos of the beautiful instruments in their new shop.
  
  

The long drive home, and a surprise at the end of the journey

Back home in Mackay.

In order to bring our old couch to Mackay, we had arranged to collect a brand new trailer from a factory in Brisbane and deliver it to Mackay Trailers, run by a friend of ours here in Mackay. So on Thursday we went over to Brendale to pick up the trailer, then spent the rest of the afternoon finding things to put in it: our couch (which we'd lent to our previous church, Fairfield Christian Family), our push-mower (which we'd left with our friend Audrey since we house-sat for her in mid-2004), and a few other bits and pieces. My father and I put quite some effort into wrapping the couch matress thoroughly in in builder's plastic to keep the rain out—which was reasonably successful, but not perfect, as we discovered when we finally unwrapped it again this evening.

On Friday morning we took everything out to the car and packed it from floor to roof. With the back seats folded down, our Corolla has a large and almost rectangular cargo bay with no lip at the back, which was most convenient for loading in the cupboard inserts (which we'd hoped to be able to bring back with us, since my poor mother has been putting up with them lying sideways on the floor of my old bedroom in Browns Plains since early 2003).

Finally we left. It rained or drizzled almost the whole way, finally stopping around Miriamvale. We made it to Rockhampton around 7:15pm before stopping for the night. Hotels are not cheap in Rocky! (We paid $95 for the night, which included breakfast.) We considered ordering pizza for dinner, but changed our minds when we found out it would take an hour and a half to arrive! So we asked our hosts, who suggested a short drive to a nearby pub. But near the pub we found an Indian restaurant called Sitara, from which we got delicious (and quite spicy!) take-away food which we took back to eat in our room.

On Saturday after breakfast and filling up the fuel tank (isn't petrol getting expensive!) we drove on to Mackay, arriving around 1:30pm… to discover that our dodgy circuit breaker had flipped off while we were away, turning what little food we had left in the fridge and freezer into stinking mould! *Sigh* Laetitia gallantly cleaned the fridge out while I went off to buy groceries for restocking.

Catching up with friends

We drove back to Brisbane on Boxing Day, after a relaxing Christmas in Valla Beach with Nadine and Dennis and their family.

The drive back took us seven hours again, by almost the same route. We just took it easy, not wanting to get involved in any shenanigans or excitement—unlike (apparently) some of the other drivers on the roads that day.

The following few days have been filled with friends and laughter. It’s been really good to catch up with some old friends (Facebook just isn’t the same). We even saw Stuart last night, who’s been living in Kalgoorlie!

More family and friends in the coming week, then we go up to CMS Summer School on Mt Tamborine on Friday. We’re planning to be “in for visitors” on Thursday 3rd. Come visit us if you’re free, at Ian’s parents’ place: 54 Highcrest Dr (corner with Ranchwood Ave), Browns Plains.

Zafron

We went out for dinner tonight, with our parents, to “Zafron”, a Persian/Mediterranean restaurant on Brunswick St in the Valley. Let's just say they don't cater to vegans. Only one dish on the menu seems to be okay… but no such luck. All the rice is prepared with butter; no, they can't do up any more. The lavash bread is pre-stuffed with cheese and who knows what else. The chef came out to chat, but she wasn't very helpful. In the end she offered to mix and match a couple of items from the menu, including a few dips with some Turkish bread.

Our meals were served on very large plates, of a most interesting variety of shapes. But the servings themselves were not especially large. Laetitia and I basically shared a few slices of Turkish bread and dips, and a small helping of char-grilled vegetables. Laetitia's mum was disappointed that her “Lamb Shanks” turned out to be “Lamb Shank” (no plural). The flavours were certainly delicious, and the texture and preparation excellent… just there wasn't enough of it to satisfy. (And they charged Laetitia and me $15 each for the privelege. Our parents' meals were quite a bit more—the meal total for six adults was $120.)

Recommendation: Don't, unless you're a rich meat-eater.

Our weekend in Brisbane

While the photos are being downloaded, backed up, imported, etc, I figure I may as well tell you a little about our weekend in Bris Vegas.

Got there at 11am on Friday, took far too long to travel about 15km to the restaurant where we met our parents for lunch. Spent the afternoon shopping for a few things we needed, and showing our car to a potential buyer. Had dinner at my parents' place, went to bed early—I was pretty tired!

Saturday was the wedding day. This was actually a “Wedding Party” to celebrate their marriage with friends and renew their vows; the original wedding was in a hospital chapel with the serious threat of imminent death for the groom (here's more info for those who don't know the story). It was a great time of celebration. But since we were the official photographers, we didn't get time to eat lunch or anything much else, except a few bits of fruit grabbed from the nibblies available.

It was held at Palma Rosa: the service outside behind and below the house, the food-eating inside afterwards, and much chatting and mingling on the wide verandahs. Laetitia did a great job of rounding people up for the many family and group photos. By the end of the afternoon the bride and groom were quite worn out, so the plan to go into town for more photos was cancelled, and we went straight to the Pancake Manor for dinner… Uh oh, Laetitia and I can't eat there either! So we grabbed some fast food on the way.

On Sunday we dropped in on the bride and groom to deliver photo proofs and films, and then went to a birthday party of another friend. In the evening we flew home to Mackay.

This is the first wedding I've shot with a digital camera, and I'm very happy with it. I don't have to worry about how much film I'm using up! Yeah baby!

Senior Grad

What a wonderful evening!

It was held in the function room at the local bowls club. It had been decorated nicely, and there was plenty of room (or so I thought). When we first arrived Laetitia thought we might have been overdressed because we saw a few people walking in who were dressed quite casually, but they must have been locals just going to the club. In fact Laetitia turned out to be dressed very appropriately. She looked gorgeous in her Sex Kitten outfit.

First there was an informal meet-and-greet session as people arrived and mingled, followed by a large group photo. Then guests without tickets had to leave, and the rest of us took our seats for the introductions, after which came the meal and formal speeches and presentations.

The speeches were lovely: not too long, very meaningful. Even Laetitia commented on the wisdom of the principal's encouraging message about keeping your eyes on the goal and letting God watch your steps.

Finally the cake was cut, and the graduates got up and danced. They have been practicing for months, and it showed. They looked fantastic! They began with a waltz, then a cha-cha. The third dance was rock-and-roll, after which they invited other guests to join them.

Which brings me to what I think was the greatest thing about the night: The parents were a major part of the evening's celebrations. Every student's parents were there, and some brothers, sisters and grandparents too. It was a lovely evening in which the parents and families really got to celebrate together. The parents were invited to stand behind their children and bless them, and the students presented flowers to their parents as a token of thanks.

And now I'd better go because I have a plane to catch. We're going to Brisbane this morning, for Esther and Andy's wedding party tomorrow afternoon.

Part of the family

Laetitia keeps reminding me that I haven't posted to my blog for a while, so here goes..

This afternoon she told me something very touching. Her mum has offered us their piano (I have no idea how we could possibly get it up here to Mackay!) because I'm “the only person in the family who (still) plays piano”. Why do I find that touching? It shows that she considers me part of her family.

Meanwhile, we've just been offered a 13-month extension to our lease here (until early January 2009), which means we don't have to worry about finding somewhere to live for next year. For those who don't know, we currently live directly over the fence from the school where I work—I can even connect to the school's wireless network from our dining room table, on a good day. This is very convenient, as it saves us from needing two cars (or alternatively from organising a complicated schedule that would get us both to work on time). But it can be almost too convenient: it can sometimes be hard for me to leave my work behind when I come home, and it's almost too easy for me to go in to the staffroom on a weekend.

Speaking of two cars, we're still trying to sell our Volvo 440. Know anyone who wants one?

Bill Bailey out of hospital after 5½ weeks!

Laetitia writes:

Dad is out of hospital (got out Mon 15 Oct). He and Mum have been staying with Mum's mum for the last week or so because her bathroom was remodelled last year so there's no lip to the shower.

He has to go up to the hospital for things like rehab, chest x-ray… Some things can be done by a visiting nurse—he had his throat dressing (from the tracheostomy) changed on Monday and it is healing well—that may be the last dressing change. He had a blood test on Tuesday but they didn't have those results when I talked to Mum about him yesterday.

The lower part of his lung (left?) is still collapsed so he has to do some deep breathing exercises. He's on about 4 different drugs including Warfarin and fluid reduction tablets. His fluid reduction tablet morning dose was increased to two (from one) because his feet are swollen in the morning. I suspect this is to do with both legs having been opened to get a suitable vein for the bypass.

On the whole he is on the mend and reasonably cheery—who wouldn't be at simply being out of hospital after 5.5 weeks! :-)

[Note from Ian: For those who don't know, Laetitia's dad went into hospital on 5 September for a heart valve replacement.]