Some things we've been eating lately...I caught the fish. No, they're not sword fish! But they are relatives of the 'Marlin' family, which is a huge fish. But these are called 'gardie'. Nice white meat, sweat and soft. My favorite way is to batter with flour and French Onion Soup mix, then lightly pan fry it with some Virgin Olive Oil. It's done when it is a nice light brown...I ate these so can't show you the yummy product...

1st week back in Perth!

It's been 7 days since I've been back in Perth and so far I have been down with a chesty cough, running nose, survived a very wonderful and enjoyable family retreat and also a whack on my face. Let's talk about the family retreat first. There was 23 of us in all, ranging from 74 to 6 mths old. The kids far outnumbered the adults. There was lots of food, fun and more fun with swimming, beach, bowling, playground, bbq, video games, etc. All the adults are completely exhausted now and the kids are so wind up that it will most probably take another 3 days for them to settle down to a normal routine again.

Now how did I get that whack in the face?? Very interesting! Ian and I were playing with the kids at the playground. We were having a race to see who could complete the obstacle course first, which included swinging on the flying fox, climbing up the steps and sliding down. this was where moi had a miscalculation. There was this pole across the slide for the kids to hang on to before they slide down. Well, I saw it, grabbed it and in my hurry to slide down, forgot to lower my head. So with full force I swung both arms to push myself down the slide and instead of a smooth ride down, my face went smacked into the pole. My glasses smacked onto my nose. I did not know what hit me but did finish my race though. It was only about 10 minutes later that I realised the damage done. I had a huge bump on my nose and boy did it hurt. Well, it did not look as bad as it felt. I said to Ian that at least I did not have to go for plastic surgery to get a nose ridge now. The bump made my nose looked higher than it normally is. Hee! Must always look at the funny side of things.

Got to go now. Kids just come home from fishing trip with Ian. Will put some photos next blog.

Kensingtom Primary School

and it says 'around the world'...wow! I felt God affirming Kensi kids 'go around the world'!!

A day in the life of our school FETE Oct 06

My sis Pauline with her son Riley outside Mr Mar's room

the motto is 'play the game'. Very aussie...not like 'the best is yet to be'...oops, you just play the game.

kensington school in 1926...only a school, no houses to be seen!!!

the aussie sausage lightly bbq with medium done onions topped with tomato sauce on a long bun...eat from end to end.

the bundles of people and the big slide...all fitting in nicely

there i am! And there is millan...the guy who punched me in the guts that 'one fine day'.

my younger sis Pauline with her daughter Ashley (12yrs). On the other side of Pauli is her best buddy Lisa and her daughter Kimberly. My sis was married at 19 and Lisa was married at 17. Don't they all look just like models!!!

a packet of twistees if you can pickout my sister...email me

the lunch time shed....we'd have 20mins to gobble down the sardine sandwiches before we hit the monkey bars for 4o!

A day at My Primary School FETE

Outside Mrs Delica's classroom with my sister Pauline and her son Riley.

A day at My Primary School FETE

I was one of the first wandering around at my primary school (Kensington Primary) grounds on its 80th year Bday bash! Good ‘kiasuism’ I'd say…They called it a ‘Birthday FETE’.

Fête is a French word meaning festival or holiday, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events. It is widely used in England in the context of "a village fête". Fêtes are usually outdoor shows with a variety of activities, and are organised by an ad-hoc committee of volunteers. There weren’t too many adhoc volunteers on this FETE.

It seemed as though my entire school was occupied by something to eat, do or see! The grounds and atmosphere were a cross between a carnival, a National DAy Parade and a puasa-mulum
(? How to spell)

The pickles and the jams were in abundance and nicely tucked under one roof; the fairy floss was spinning over time; the ice-cream tap was hot…there were medics walking around slopping on sunscreen on the fairer complexion people. Hotdogs with onions was the lunch of the day.

The sport ovals were full of fun. There was a space simulator, a bouncy castle and a HUGE SLIDE>>>>that would have made Tom Cruse think the aliens have slid down to earth. To my surprise, Sarah enjoyed the junior Ferris wheel the most.

There were spunky dance performances happening in the amphitheatre for the young and koppi C with real Aussie carrot cake for those on the quality side of 40. I heard that the committee for this fete had been working on this project for the entire year. It had the ogranisation and precision that would make Singapore’s NDP committee proud! <BR>

While this was all good stuff, my favorite space was the picture room. The class room was decked out with pictures of students dating back to 1926! For anyone not in the know, my year was 1970-76. (You know, there was saturday's dose of Molly Meldrum on Count Down and bands like, 'Duran Duran', 'Bay City Rollers' {they had awesome socks} KIZZ and MeatLoaf '. They were all hard at it. Sting was leading the Police andI never did find out who "Roxanne" was ?). Anyway, what matters is that I found all the Dierden family in various poses and my classmates. My eyes also ran over the guys I had biffs with and there was a quick glance over some old heart throbs- shucks.

I was hovering around this room for ages. I was hoping I'd see familiar faces. But then I realised that I probably didn’t look the same as I did in 70 and neither did they- sigh. So I started to do some mental ‘make overs’. I ignored the big bellies and double chins. Then I’d ignored the balding, the hair colour and the kids. I found that the nose and the eyes were most helpful to identify people. But as the nose is the only part of your body which keeps growing all your life, I just honed in on the eyes.

I did manage to spot a few more friends by doing my mental make over. But sadly, I didn’t meet anybody from my class! My hope was to meet at least one. Unless my new technique was failing me badly, I suppose I’m the only nostalgic one still living around Kensington.

By 4pm the sun was sinking and I could feel the sting of sunburn coming out on my arms. Sarah was also tired. She told me its ok, she just needed more sugar. We decided to call it a day and walk home. I promised her we’d go home and play marbles like I did in the old days. I walked my ‘usual’ route. It was a thrill to walk hand in hand with Sarah and laugh about what I did and didn’t do. We passed Rod Walker’s home and the Dickerson brother’s place.

I remembered the spot where I had my first fight with Milan. His younger brother Nick threw a stone at my younger brother Wayne. The pride kicked in and we put down our bags and put up our doogs.

We threw wild punches from a distance so we’d look tough but wouldn't hurt each other. It was like a good Honkie movie. But then Milan let one fly into my guts and the abs folded (My six pack developed much later). I dropped to my knees and he jumped with joy at the thought of the victory. It was the talk of my class the next day…sigh. I told the story to Sarah. She told me off for fighting!

All in all Father and daughter had a super day. Sarah was particularly happy with her new teddy bear (Caroline) that she had brought for 50c at the fete. Although I didn’t see any of my class mates, I still had a blast from the past.

I consoled myself that I still have some time to track down one or two buddies before I leave Oz again. I think I’ll start with ‘GG’ (Greg Galvin) and then see if I can find ‘Drum’ (Ian Drummond-Hay)

Thank-you Lord for friends, past, present and future…

Why GOD Gave Us FriendsGOD knew that everyone needsCompanionship and cheer,He knew that people need someoneWhose thoughts are always near.He knew they need someone kindTo lend a helping hand.Someone to gladly take the timeTo care and understand.GOD knew that we all need someoneTo share each happy day,To be a source of courageWhen troubles come our way.Someone to be true to us,&nbsp; Whether near or far apart.Someone whose love we'll alwaysHold and treasure in our hearts.That's Why GOD Gave Us Friends! (Anon)


Ian

Procrastination!!

Feeling a little sad today. I have learnt a very important lesson on not listening to the the spirit's promtping and giving in to procrastination.

I have or rather had a elderly man who lives with his family about 2 apartment from us. We have known him for 5 years now. Very kind and friendly man. He and his family are very easy to get along with. Well, about Jan this year I started to notice that he was losing alot of weight, very fast. He was in and out of the hospital for quite a while but the doctors could not find out what was the problem. So he was discharged and went back to work. All seemed well for a while. But just a month ago, his wife told me that he has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and is going through chemo. In my heart, I told myself that I have to go visit him soon. And I even told Ian to go visit him before he left for Perth. That did not work out as things just got too hectic in the end. So after Ian left, I was determined to visit him before I left for Perth. I sensed that he might not make it till we return.

The last 3 days I had been having this strong sense that I need to go see him soon. But as I have been so busy with other things, I just kept pushing it back hoping to catch him maybe the day before I leave. Well, when the kids and I returned from the office yesterday afternoon. I met him at the lift lobby. The sad thing is that he was already dead. My only consolation is that I will meet him again one day. And this was only a decision he had made just 3 days ago.

I think this is a lesson I will never forget. And like Seth always says to me, "Put first thing first". I must learn not to be so task oriented and be more willing to let life's little interruption be a natural course of my life. Sigh! A big price to pay for this lesson.

Singapore blogger here!

Life is definitely not slowing down for us Dierdens in Singapore. Have not stopped for the last week and a half. Both Seth and Belle has kissed their beds goodbye. Been piging out on take aways. Nothing left in the fridge or cupboard to cook. Not that I am complaining of cos. Hee!

Belle was down with a strange virus the last week which left her precious little body covered with some horrible looking rashes. It got so bad on Sunday that I got on the phone to recruit prayer warriors. And praise God it cleared the very next day. So thanks to all you warriors out there.

My calendar is already full to the brim and we are still receiving invites to meet. Enjoying the time with people , but finding it quite tiring. Been hooked on to sudoku lately. need something to take my mind off all the packing and shifting. Got to go now. Kids are missing in the church office at the moment. Hee!

G’day friends!

You can take the Aussie out of Singapore, but you can take the friendships out of the Aussie. The only thing to do is to invite you all to my place for coffee and ANZAC cookies. So consider yourself invited.

The ten most enjoyable things I’ve been doing (they are not in rank of priority):

Breathing ‘haze’ free air all day
Walking in familiar parks close to my family home
Cuddles from my mum, sisters and brother
Eating Sausage rolls, pies and vanilla slices
Listening to the various sounds of familiar birds early in the morning
- kookaburra;
- magpie;
- dove; crow
- and various cockatoos
Long chats with Sarah and time to help her with P4 maths
Long devotions in the morning
Driving on quiet roads
living on the ground floor with a back yard
visiting the homes of my siblings & drinking coffee

Five things I haven’t enjoyed:
1. The ‘slow’ service at Perth airport
2. ‘Chili-less’ food
3. Watching TV with course language & lots of sexual scenes
4. Listening to an ‘old Aussie’ man talk about his ‘farm girl’ wife
in Thailand Nursing a ‘slip disc’ in my back after I shifted too many big boxes in Singapore

Four things I hope to do soon:

1. Go fishing and eat the catch
2. Go surfing and catch a wave
3. Eat Chicken Treat
4. See my family and ‘some’ friends from Singapore


80th Anniversary of my Primary School

This Saturday promises to be a blast from the past!! It just so happens that my primary school is having their 80th anniversary. So cool!!! I’ll get to see all those beautiful and ‘not so beautiful’ teachers- at least the ones that haven’t kicked the bucket.

There was Mr Baynes!! He trusted me with leading the cricket team the morning his wife gave birth….and then there was Mr Mar, he was my English teacher. I don’t blame him for my bad spelling. He had a piano in the class room and would begin to play it when we’re climbing up the walls. He was rather ‘early in the ‘music therapy’ scene. Strange, but he’d relax with two or three cigs at the back of the class room. He’d send the class prefect out to buy his smokes too!!!

Then there was Miss Delica my grade 1 teacher. She destroyed any ‘interest’ I my had for maths. I never any ‘natural talent’ and she let me know with screams and humiliation techniques. She told me I was ‘useless’ and poked me on the head with her chalk. I often thought of sticking the chalk up her rather large nostrils. Unfortunately, that goal turned into just more ‘daydreaming’ and my grades slide further south.

This Saturday I may get to see my first five best friends!!!

Ian Drummond-Hay- (India) who taught me how to eat mangoes, chili and ‘appreciate’ Deep Purple in my teen years
Marie Fijac-(Mauritian) she taught me how to eat curry and speak some ‘Creole’ (Mauritius is off the coast of Africa and they speak a form of French)
Toi (Japanese) she was just the sweetest and prettiest girl in class

Chang Hing Wing (Malaysian Chinese) He taught me how to each ‘chicken wings’ and we played ‘Combat’ around his home. His mum was a potter…I can still remember the very different sights, sounds and smells I encountered as I played in his home.
Greg Galvin (Aussie). Greg was my fishing ‘Kaki’. We loved to eat vanilla slices and pies. He was 6 foot by the time we hit secondary school. He’d always win the high jump. I’d always come second.

So I’m quite excited…I’ll be going with Sarah and my bro and sisters and all their kids. Pray that Mrs Delica is there so I can get rid of all that ‘zidanity’ in me. If not I think I’ll just have to pray and trust that when I see her ‘in heaven’ I’ll give her a big hug and not a big head butt!

With love from Ian and Sarah ‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I will have a delightful inheritance’. Ps.16:6

more colours from Perth...plenty of walks in the parks