Australian Parliament & Government Part II

These are the finished posters that Brid made. She worked really hard and there is a lot of detail.
Hope you can make some of it out

there was enough information to make 2 posters. She has little flaps over selected areas as well

Brid wrote about how a Bill was passed, that was very interesting. next to it on the right is the original questions I had her answer- look at previous post 

Brid merged the 2 houses so she could place various key people in there positions

Brid followed the levels of government and now has a fairly good understanding of who does what. She even found our Local councils emblem

Australia, Parliament and more

Every year we begin our homeschooling year with Australia, in one form or another.
This year, I decided Brid needed to discover more about Australian Parliament & Government. So I proceeded to write out a list of questions and gather some links.
I wrote down basic questions to start with, knowing she would want to research and investigate various areas. The questions were:-Who is our PM, What council do we belong to, Who is the Local Mayor, How is a Bill passed, what type of government system do we have???? etc. These are random- they were set out much neater and in order.
I had a few links to various kid friendly sites like this as well.
This has been quite a worthwhile project. I have not assisted in this one at all. Brid has had a vision for it and has set out to achieve that goal by herself. I have been banished from the school area, so she can surprise me. So tomorrow is the day it must be completed. From the little peek I have had its looking good.



Parliament House, Canberra.



An email



Dad and Brid

 Recently we had my parents over for dinner. The topic of conversation was the internet, or My Dad and emails. Mum had been telling me about it late in the week.


He was trying to send and receive an email from my Uncle. Dad isn’t very computer literate, so he just gets a mental blank and gives up. This however, frustrates my Mum.

This time Mum really wanted the email, because it was of the family home in Lorn, in a little village – (or it was), about 30 mins drive from our home.

Dad is a fitter and turner- machinist (they are called these days), by trade. He taught his trade in the Technical College nearby, but left, as the computer age was really coming into full swing. He has his own business, and only really uses the computer as a word processor.

They have a dial up connection; He can’t see the point of broadband and says I have no use for it. My Mum however, loves to look at various sites on the internet, as I help her browse around, while she is visiting us.

So therein lays the problem.

Dermot instructed Dad that evening, on how to email, but Dad didn’t know his email address. I think he just needs practice, and as he thinks there is no need for doing anything “on the computer”, he does simply that. Nothing.

Dermot would gladly put broadband on for them and sort out antivirus protection. We would even lovingly educate them on the ins and outs of the computer world.

So today, I took a stand and said to my Dad. Ok I will be emailing you weekly if not more. I want him to be more familiar with what the internet can do, so the first step. He needs practice and confidence. He will love chatting to Brid on the Emails, and it will encourage him and give him a purpose.

I don’t know where it will lead, but it will be fun trying. He’s a good sport and already has send me an email.

My Nanna- Rest in Peace

Today is the Anniversary of the Death of my beloved Nanna. She was the most wonderful Nanna in the entire world, but her life was cut short. She suffered from Asthma and was not controlled very well. She developed emotional Asthma after her Dad died, when she was a teen.
She was born on Goulburn, NSW in the 1920s of Irish stock. Brogan was the family name. Her mum and Dad were Lillian and Bryan Brogan. Nanna  had 5 brothers and sisters. Her elder sister is still alive today. She is 92, making her my great Aunt..
The family settled in Maitland, eventually, a rich farming country in the Hunter Valley in the 40s. Her Parents owned a Baker shop and my Great Grandmother was reknown for her cooking, she was brilliant. They left Maitland after the second Flood in the 50s, around 1958. Nanna and her Husband, Arthur Sullivan, settled in a suburb of Newcastle, NSW called Mayfield. My great grandmother moved in with them in the late 60s.
         So my Nanna was the women who taught me my faith and surrounded me in The love of Mother Mary. She would whisper the Rosary as I settle to sleep.
She was gentle but was stern if you got her mad- which I did often. I stayed at Nannas frequently to go to Mass and to help out with her mothers nursing care -Nanna Brogan was the reason I am a Nurse. Nanna Brogan required a lot of care and my Nanna Sullivan was a little breathless with her Asthma, so I just helped bath and groom her. Nanna Brogan And I sat and had breakfast together -drinking from our saucers!!!
I was very close to both my Grandmothers, but Nanna Sullivan and I would go to town- Mayfield, and the city-Newcastle to pay the bills and do her part of the Shopping on the Bus. My other Nanna would wave us off at the gate and in her later years from the window.
I was in the UK getting Dermot his Visa to travel to Australia to Emigrate when we got the word from my employer. ( We had no Phone). It happened very quickly, Nanna was in Hospital for a Cataract operation, and had a fatal Asthma attack, the night beforehand.
I didn't go to Nannas funeral. Mum suggested I stay in the UK, as we were at a delicate time in Dermots Visa application.
I was,  and we all, were devasted when she died. She was the glue in our family. Everyone came to see Nanna. Everyone loved her.
Something changed the day she died.
Nanna said to me before I left for my big adventure to Europe and the UK. " I won't see you again". I fobbed it off. "Yes you will Nanna". Nanna was in her 60s. Not that old.
Dermot never met her, obviously the children never met her, but she is in all our hearts. I have made sure of that.

I MISS HER AND I WILL ALWAYS HAVE HER CLOSE IN MY HEART. My sweet Nanna. I LOVE YOU.
May You be resting in the Peace of Our Saviour Jesus.

Jesus with us



Jesus is with us always, in all we do, in our ups and downs, with our children, our friends and marriages, and we are meant to be like little children coming to him. Thank you Lord for showing me this image



Lakes Entrance

A couple of weeks ago, we took a holiday to a lovely part of Australia. Lakes Entrance, East Gippsland in Victoria.
We had never been there before, so we decided lets just go and make new memories.
I googled the area, and discovered there was not a lot to do there. Fine. That's good for us. Dermot was in need of a holiday.. It happened to be the week of the scorching temperatures in NSW. We didn't miis those temps though, We had several hot days, but a pool was by our door. We stayed here, out of town slightly.
We hired a boat to take us around the Lakes that lie just inside the channel taking you out to sea. Brid and Dermot & I fished from the boat and it was 43*C. We got home and stayed in our cottage to just cool down in the air conditioning. We got a knock at the door. "There is a fire 18 kms away, we are on alert. ". We asked the questions like "where is the gathering spot and where do we meet.?"  I meant just the cottages, but our host said. " Oh we meet down at the waters edge, in town". We were a little off put and immediately put the emergency channel on for updates. At this point , the fire was uncontained and out of control. Our access for getting "home" was cut. ie, the Princes Hway, so we would need to head south for safety anyway.
I scanned the room through the afternoon, seeing how quickly I could pack the essentials into the car. I had several things already in a bag for each of us. We had to wait til the next day, until the warning was lifted and the fire was contained.
I txted my parents "we are safe from the fire, we are OK"- they actually had no idea we were in danger. They knew we would be OK. I deliberately didn't want to alarm Louise, she would only worry, But we then got a message from Louise, "are you near the fire". What could I say. So I tried to allay her fears. After several messages back and forth, she was satisfied we were Ok.

But all this said, This all happened during the Cyclone Yasi crisis, the Egypt Crisis and floods coming down the darling murray basin to Victoria. It was bizarre.

All this didn't stop us enjoying our holiday. We fished, swam, used the spa, saw Buchan Caves, chilaxed, caught fish- Yes Brid caught her very first Fish and then went out another night and caught another.
So here is a few photos of some highlights. 

Our cottage, Brid in the pool

Brid reeling her first fish-Daddy is so proud

In our little boat

Buchan Caves

The haze is from the smoke, not the weather

remembering .........

The 4 little darlings. We had a lot of fun as they were growing up...This is Kierans' Birthday..

Ride On

Late last year we made a fairly significant purchase. We have quite a big block of land and it was taking Dermot nearly every weekend to mow and maintain it, and that didn't include the gardens. The mowing for long lengths of time over the weekend was stopping our interest gardening. It is something we both enjoy.

So finally Dermot got this little beauty. Brid was ever so excited and couldn't wait to get on for a ride.

It has made all the difference. It now takes Dermot, myself & Brid 3 hours to completely mow, blower vac and finish off our work with a well deserved drink.