Not another trip!

But yes gentle reader, we are USA bound. to the states as we say in Canada, america as we say in Australia. to Palm Springs. 

And we deserved it. I decorated the room and Joyce organized a major fundraiser for her new centre last night! I spent any spare time this week making lighting instruments and prepping. Last Saturday we had my shave event. the day before Joyce had her campaign launch business drinks event. Two weeks before that  I  completed 2 weeks of production week for the community musical. We are exhausted!!!

We look forward to Palm springs sun and heat in the day and cool at night. we look forward to long talks with Lynn, Peg, Brenda, Dave. Drinks and food by the pool. and lots of fun and relaxation.

more later

Chris

Cyclone hamish

Wow a day or so ago we were looking down the barrel of a category 4 Cyclone but it has veered off easterly for now. You can go to this site  to have a look at the threat map.

Our Internet has been off for two days and that's not part of the cyclone. We have just started having a bit of rain with the big dump expected tomorrow and if it does just hang around out in the sea like the map suggests then i think we will have days of rain.  

Even it the centre does not come to land we will still have very very high tides and flooding in low lying areas. Joyce and I and Jo and Gene will be fine as we are on the hill. But there are some folks that are in for it i think. its a waiting game now as it might decide to turn farther inland again but all is good so far. 

The Shave event is this Saturday and I'm trying very hard to get things done for it but it will be tight. My funding is way down but the event looks like it will go well. Tamika, my co coordinator is doing really well with her collecting, so the team will go okay. 

Posted from Joyce's work where I'm borrowing  internet time. more later

Chris

Busier than a one armed paperhanger

Wow I was worried about my sanity and body holding up but apparently I'm made of stern stuff.  Actually I KNEW I was going to get through but a certain height challenged cute bomb was a bit worried (as is her right) that I had "bitten......chew".

I'm on the home stretch of my busy two months with the Lighting Design for almost done as the Wizard of Oz is in Production and doing the second tech run Tomorrow Saturday. I will turn it over to the Stage Manager and Board Op tomorrow and then see it opening night. 

The shave is not coming so good....I have a ton of organizing to do for the event part and I have not had time to make any inroads in to my own direct appeals. The great news is that my High School has come on board big time. One of the most dedicated teachers has agreed to shave and she will bring in a bucket I think. there are other teachers shaving if their form classes come up with the cash and we should even get Shevo's leg's waxed this year. 

The Dance group from last year is trying to get an event up at a different venue in Maryborough ! The cast and crew from the Wizard of Oz are doing a shave at their cast party. Tamika my co-coordinator is also doing some work at her school  so that's another 4 spawned events so I'm pretty happy with that but its taking time from my personal campaign but its all good.

Maccas has a new free WiFi hot spot which they haven't really advertised so I'm the only one here on a long lunch getting caught up.

I'm meeting this weekend to see the Director of Hamlet at Z-Pac Theatre, a local amateur company. I put my had up not realizing that its in May and I had always wanted to work with them and get a idea up and running. They are big time interested and have given me the green light. I'm like many people I have great ideas but need the helpers to make them happen and I was worried about z-pac having a big crew so I have pitched.....

"Bay Crews"

They are funding four workshops on Saturdays (?) two before Hamlet that will allow me to recruit and train crew for the show and then i hope to keep the crew together throughout the year offering them to any community org that needs lighting and later general theatre help. There are a lot of young folk in the Fraser Coast area that are keen to pick up skills.  Z-pac is paying me a stipend to do it to cover some of my time and materials. 

More later

Chris

a new movie

Just a little number I shot the other day on our early morning walk, with a cutaway from last time Chilli visited the Mabardi's.

Watch for the Chilli sequel ...out on video  soon!

Christmas results

this pretty much speaks for its self. lets see about adding video shall we?

Christmas is coming!

Well I know, you know its coming but ....its coming!  the Marbardis are coming up to play with us and we might have a house full here as a central place to host folk but we are still working out the arrangements. 

Bluey  is going to work right up to Christmas Eve but I'm off now until late in January!  I've started doing things for the holidays like I've finished my christmas baking..... that's going to the stores buying stuff and putting them into  tupper ware in nice groupings and dropping them in the frezzer only to be discovered in March of next year. Oh I do a Christmas cake... Step One: take the local fundraising cake, this years its the Lions cake, soak a cloth in rum and wrap it up in the cloth and then plastic wrap. Step two: open it up every few days, add more rum and mavel at what genius you are, rewrap. Then when the season is upon us serve up delicious cake that no one around here likes but I find totally delish! And I get lots of it.  What is it about Christmas cake that people really love it or really hate it?

Did I tell you I played Santa at the Neighborhood Centre Volunteers party last Monday and got asked to come back to the Limited Hours Child Care Centre on Wednesday. The Child care is the gig that started the santa business in the first place, but I haven't done it due to health and then they wanted a less confronting image for the little kids so have they have had an Elf do it the past couple of years. I was an old bushy santa with my red and green hawaii loud shirt. my red shorts pulled up to my arm pits with this big black belt across my big belly (no padding needed unfortunately) and black slaps on my feet.  So the director of the center though it might be less confronting.   I had the whole beard hair and hat going as well. I only terrified one child and  a couple others stayed back but some were pretty cool and came right up. Its way fun.  

At the volunteers party I had the same dress but they didn't really have anything for me to do so I greeted folk and had this big empty bag so I sort of did Prednisone Santa and went around collecting purses  and the crackers off tables.  "every year its give give give but this year its all about santa getting something." I thought I was hilarious and some others thought so too but some were still trying to fathom a Santa Clown figure.

We are off to the "The Correct central Queensland city" (Wright-McKay's) for breakfast, then we are all going to see AUSTRALIA the movie at 9:30

Why am I up at 6:00 am blogging? because Floydd was up for his walk at 5:00! I'm getting some good walking and lots of time in the mornings to do things, but I'm beat at night.

more later

Chris

I have new news

We went to Brisbane overnight last Thursday and stayed with Jo at a conference then drove into my doc appointment on Friday and came home that night. 

Two steps forward one step back.

I'm starting to ramp down the prednisone (the one that makes me make Bluey crazy) it will take four weeks to go to zero. And he took me off the lasics (the one that makes me into a fire hose) unless I am retaining water so two pills off ...but one new pill!  Another type of immunosuprression so i'm on three for a few weeks then back down to two kinds.  This new one is to help my body get off the prednisone and I'm guessing I will get weaned off that later, I hope.

So prednisone boy is going away. I'm not unhappy about that it is nice to have lots of extra energy but it puts my body in fight or flight mode all the time and that's not good. The prednisone also messes with my blood sugar (makes it high) and it increases appetite so I'm doubly screwed. 

I met a lad in the clinic this time that seemed to be a teen but has Downs. His name is Ben and I expect that it really sucks being at day 35 of his BMT. I at least understand some of the reasons for all this stuff that goes on but he just knows he has to do these things and that he feels bad. He liked my loud shirt.... it's the 'skeleton'. The nurses got me to model it for him because he asked about it from a distance. So I showed him and then gave him the shirt. 

This could be my new thing. Buy the way Chip at this web site

has great loud shirts by mambo. And you can see the skeleton shirt here.

Anyway Chip is making me a deal on two new shirts so its like Christmas. I'm off at the end of this coming week and plan lots of blogging. Yes I know you've heard  that before. .....We'll see!

more later 

Chris