Friday, May 25, 2012

It's going to be a bumpy ride!

I was getting ready to fly out Friday to Samoa, when Bunny had an asthma attack Thursday morning, only the second in his life and the last one was three days after his op. 

I'm ashamed to say I asked him if he could stop his non-stop coughing, until finally I realised he wasn't going to stop coughing and took him to the doctor.

They took him immediately to the treatment room and put him on the Nebuliser, when his breathing improved he was sent for a chest x-ray to check he didn't have pneumonia!

Fortunately he didn't but we are grounded until this "super bug" is blasted from his body, once and for all!


He is determined to fight Acineobacter the "super bug" and today he took a short bike ride, only stopping to cough once, but it is so cold in Coolum today and as you can see we foolishly set out sans shoes. So we quickly bought some special stones and crystals from the 'Wishing Well' in the hope that they will boost the immune system and change life for us.  Is that too much to expect from stones and crystal chips?


Monday, May 21, 2012

Fit to Fly



As we wait for the "fit to fly", my research project burns a hole in my mind.    


                                                  


I intend to research the use of traditional and renewable art materials in Samoa.  Since February I have been volunteering in a Preschool and Preschool Teacher Training College.  I offered to share some art making with them and the principle of the college informed me that I would be instructing the student teachers on how to weave a fish out of coconut fronds!  I raced home and asked Lily who looks after our house and just happens to be a master weaver if she knew how?  She didn't!  So we googled it.


Lily already knew the first step and amazingly I worked out the last.   



The finished i'a (fish)



She is so good at weaving I took her with me and we instructed 60 student teachers on the technique of the woven fish.  None of them had ever made a fish, yet they mastered the form and created exceptional examples.





The "flamboyant one" assembled the fish into an exquisite headpiece and performed a short dance.





The next week we shared the fish with the Preschool children and I found myself singing "1,2,3,4,5, Once I Caught A Fish Alive" first in English and then in my very limited and to the laughter of the children, I attempted to sing it briefly in Samoan!


Aren't they beautiful, I miss them.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Yay for ears!

 Last Wednesday we found out at 7pm that we were to fly to Australia at 6am, for Bunny to see a specialist about his ears.  Seems his last remaining grommet had over stayed its welcome and was the cause of his nasty, smelly ear infections, the last being a rude little germ which is highly resistant to antibiotics and loves hot, moist environments (Samoa).

A visit to the ENT specialist resulted as usual in a "I'll operate tomorrow" diagnosis and so here we are in Caloundra Private Hospital playing with gas masks, eating jelly and ice-cream, watching tele and asking when can we go home to make the new lego!

He got a bravery award from the hospital and we are hoping this is the last time he will be wearing an outfit with a back split.