Our trip of over and we are back home again. Isn't it wondeful to sleep in your own bed!!! We enjoyed Australia. The country is very draught strickened right now. We did our rain dance and they did get three storms while we were there. One day they got over 10 cms. of rain, so they were glad for that. It was the first rain they have had for at least 6 months. We went to Melbourne on the Greyhound bus and had a wonderful time with a lady that Ardell worked with in Calgary, who has moved to Australia. She met us at the bus station and showed us the whole city of Melbourne. I loved the architecture in their buildings with all the English lattice on their houses. A lot of homes are brick because they have problems with termites in wood houses. We visited the beach and went out for dinner at the Sails on the Beach restaurant, right on the shore with the waves lapping at us and sat and watched the beautiful sunset. Annette and Brian refused to go out for dinner for our anniversay, so we went to Melbourne and Kathleen came out for dinner with us and we had such a good time with her. We wished we would have spent more time with her in Melborne. We went on a city tour on a tram and saw some pretty sights. The tram was very full with people standing in the isles, so we had difficult looking out the windows to see the sights, but what we saw was good. We saw the stadium where they Formula one car races. Every year they re-pave the whole track and parking lots for the race. We saw the big skydome ferris wheel with gondola cars on it. Melbourne built this big gondola for sightseeing, and you can see the whole city from the gondola. But they have had problems with the cars on it, so it is closed for maintenance and has been for some time. I guess it unsafe for people, so they closed it. Now it is a white elephant for the city. We only spent one night at the Holiday Inn because it was so expensive. I paid $425 for two nights in the hotel. Contentinal breakfast at the hotel was $27 a person and we paid for the three of us to have breakfast, so it was $87.00 just for breakfast. We found food to be very expensive. Apples and oranges were $3.48/kg. Coke was $3 - $3.50 a can and big bottles were 3 for $7.00 at the grocery stores. Chips were $3.50 per bag for just a small bag. Peanut butter was $5.00 for just a very small jar. Everything in the grocery stores are very small packages and very expensive. Chocolate bars were smaller than our bars and $3.50 each or more.
We went to a Victory Market in Melbourne and I bought sovenirs there very cheap. I enjoyed shopping there, but I just could not walk so much that day and there was no where to stop and rest in the market.
We did go to the ocean and stayed for three nights in the cabins I told you about. They were a dive. They were trailers homes not cabins. We paid over $1.50 per night, so we only stayed three nights and went home. There were no restaurants around. One night Ardell wanted fish and chips so we went to a take away shop and got the most horrible fish and chips we have ever had. We asked for ketchup and they call that tomato sauce. They didn't have any of that. We did get some vinegar for our chips, but no tartar sauce or anything for them. They were horrible. We never did get to eat any sea food. We were told in Melbourne that lobster is $500 per person, so we didn't go there. Annette and Brian flatly refused to go out for a dinner, so she cooked for us at home the whole time we were there. If we did go out for a day trip she packed sandwiches for us on the road.
I found the Australian women to be very dramatic and out of this world. When they talk, it is not big it of tremdous, and if something happens to you, it just awful. We really should have only gone for three weeks and not the whole month. We did have a restful time sitting in the back yard and enjoying the birds come and eat apples off the tree in the back yard.
We will tell you more about it all when we see you. The flights were very long. We took a small plane from Wagga Wagga to Sydney. That was 1 1/2 hrs long. Then the flight to San Francisco from Sydney was 14 hours long. Then we had a 7 hr lay over in San Francisco. Then another 3 1/2 hours flight to Calgary. So we were glad to be home and in our own bed last night. We never slept at all on the flights so were were over tired when we got to bed at home.
Beth & Ryan - sorry we have missed the baby shower and the blessing. I hope you had a good time. We will be anxious to see Axel when you come to Calgary.
We missed all our family and especially the grandkids. I guess Christopher kept asking Paula where her mom was. Ashley missed us and the kids made a sign "Welcome Home Grandma and Papa" to hold up at the airport when we got home. It was sure cute.
Ok love you all.
Shirley
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Mark Your Calenders!
Brad and Nickee are hosting a party for Aunt Marvelle and Uncle Clifford's 60th Anniv! Keep June 27 open!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
NOBLE NEWS - #74 Marvelle Reporter
Sydney's bsptism must have been wonderful. Thanks Grandma for allowing us to experience it too. We have had a wonderful time too. Brad, Helen and Colleen came down to visit us. It was great.
Helen went to visit her cousin for the first few days and then we went to the Grande Canyon. If we had known previously it was so wonderful we would have gone earlier. La and Gayle are coming down at the end of this month and you should go. We went on a Jeep Tour. And it was very good. We left the hotel at 8:00am and didn't get back until 7:00pm. It was very good. We drove home and then the kids had to go back on the plane on Sunday so the time passed vert quickly.
We sold our home down here and have to be out by the 16th as I have doctor's appointments on 1st of April. We are going to go to Nickee's for a few days. I don't think Gayle and LA can do it without us but they will giv4 it a try.
Shirley has gone to Australia. Jessey is supposed to be going for six months right away.
Well will go for now. We love our Shirley's posts. Keep up the good work, Shirley.
Vadnais and Sommerfeldts came before that. It was great.
Bye for now.
love Marvelle
Helen went to visit her cousin for the first few days and then we went to the Grande Canyon. If we had known previously it was so wonderful we would have gone earlier. La and Gayle are coming down at the end of this month and you should go. We went on a Jeep Tour. And it was very good. We left the hotel at 8:00am and didn't get back until 7:00pm. It was very good. We drove home and then the kids had to go back on the plane on Sunday so the time passed vert quickly.
We sold our home down here and have to be out by the 16th as I have doctor's appointments on 1st of April. We are going to go to Nickee's for a few days. I don't think Gayle and LA can do it without us but they will giv4 it a try.
Shirley has gone to Australia. Jessey is supposed to be going for six months right away.
Well will go for now. We love our Shirley's posts. Keep up the good work, Shirley.
Vadnais and Sommerfeldts came before that. It was great.
Bye for now.
love Marvelle
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sydney's Baptism
We went to Sydney's baptism yesterday and it was a beautiful day and wonderful experience for us all. Syd had asked for her uncles Neil and Ryan to speak and she had also invited several non members. She is quite the little missionary. She was so cute to watch all day. She fully realized it was her day and a very special day in her life. She read every word in every card she received and was so cute as she thanked everyone. Gaylene had fixed some little chocolate bars with a thank you note for each one of her guests and Syd had them in a basket which she carried around to each table and presented one to each of her guests. On her birthday Duane and Gaylene took the family to Fernie for pizza. On the way home, she said to her mom, "I just feel so excited inside." Then yesterday as those who were speaking and taking part in the baptism came out of the bishop's office after the prayer meeting, Syd said her mom "Mom, I just feel so happy I could cry."Neil was blown away by Syd's request. When Gaylene asked him, he said, "I'm speechless." Ryan did speak. He did a really good job in his talk on Baptism. Then Dawn gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and it was amazing. She must get her gift of gab from her mom and her knowledge and ability to say the things that are so down to earth, appropriate, and just what we needed to hear. There were about 50 people there, we had a nice lunch after the baptism, and it was just a beautiful day. Believe me, were very proud, parents and grandparents. That is what Gayle calls a parent's pay day.
I made a baptism towel for her with her name and the date as I have done for all our grandkids. I was looking for something to embroider on the towel, like a picture, or a quote or a scripture. I looked through all the normal sources and found nothing that I really liked so I wrote the following poem for her amd embroidered it on her towel.
Sydney's Baptism Day
I'm making sacred covenants on My Baptism Day.
As I step into the water I am "Choosing the Right" way.
I promise to follow Jesus and to remember Him
And by keeping his commandments I will be free of sin.
Then if I but do my part His promise will be mine.
He will forgive me and a helper will be with me all the time.
The helper he will send is the Holy Ghost
And I can live with Him forever.
That's the promise I love most.
Love from: Grandma Jensen
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
YES just five more sleeps till we leave for Australia. I am so excited. We just received an email from Brian and Annette this morning. This past week they have been up to Geelong where Annette participated in the Austrialian swim meet. I am not sure what it was called, but she won third in her age group in the 100 and 200 metre breaststroke swim, so she has two Bronze medals to show for her wins. Brian is the proudest husband in all of Australia. I knew they were going up there for the meet and we are so proud of her winning place. She will be floating on air.
We will have to take pictures with her and her medals to show Jill Ackroyd for sure. Annette will be in the Olympics next we hear. She swims every day, so I will be going with her alot to swim while I am there.
This morning we are packing and getting ready to go. I just have to work Monday to Thursday, then on Friday till 10:30 am. and then I am done for the next month at work.
I have been up to Edmonton 6 times in the last two months. I am an alternate on the Negotiating Committee with AUPE Union, negotiating the new flex benefits and a new service agreement. It is very interesting but the driving to Edmonton back and forth is very tiring when you are alone and the roads were icy. This last trip was touch and go, I just about stayed over night in Red Deer, but decided to continue on and got home by 6 pm. We usually stay at the new Hampton's Inn on 100th Avenue & 170th St. close to the AUPE office, but this last trip we had to stay at the Executive Royal Inn. It wasn't as nice a hotel as the Hampton's and the staff at Hamptons knew us by name, so they made us feel so comfortable. The Hampton's have a very nice continental breakfast too which we liked. The service in the restaurant at the Royal Inn was the pits. It took over an hour to get a steak cooked.
The negotiations are going good. They start meeting with ATB on Monday. As I am only an alternate to the committee, I don't have to go again unless someome cannot make the meetings. I didn't want to be on the committee as a member, because I knew we would be away in March, so I let my name stand for alternate. I hope by the time we get home from Australia the negotiations will be over and done with and I won't have to go again till fall for the convention.
I don't think these new Flex Benefits will fly with the membership. It is hard enough for the committee to understand them, let alone the ordinary member. You can't really figure out what one would be paying for the benefits, so it is hard to know if you want them or not. All ATB keeps telling us is the glorified benefits we can pick and choose, but people don't realize that all that costs the employee more money and the employer will pay less. The real clincher is the life time maximum cap on orthodontics is $5,000. So the premium to cover orthordonics cost you more and what does $5,000 buy you at an ortho office. Not much. Maybe a visit or two. Then on prescriptions for a single person, every prescription you take to the pharmacy to fill, there will be a deductible of $7.00 per prescription and $11.00 for an employee with two or more persons on your benefit plan. Well I have 6 prescriptions that I get filled every three months, so that will cost me $66.00 every three months, which is $264.00 a year deductible for just my prescriptions, not including Ardell's prescriptions. Plus I pay a premium for the prescription benefits. Mind you my pills alone would cost over $568.00 every three months wihout the coverage I have now. So people are going to have to be very careful when they decide what coverages they want to take. The problems is the younger employees really don't care, until they see the deductions on their pay cheque and the older members will suffer just as much too.
So it is the same old story, the employer will pay less and the employee will get socked in the teeth.
Well I have more packing to do, so better get at it before the day is gone here.
Love you all,
See you when we get back March 27th.
Shirley
We will have to take pictures with her and her medals to show Jill Ackroyd for sure. Annette will be in the Olympics next we hear. She swims every day, so I will be going with her alot to swim while I am there.
This morning we are packing and getting ready to go. I just have to work Monday to Thursday, then on Friday till 10:30 am. and then I am done for the next month at work.
I have been up to Edmonton 6 times in the last two months. I am an alternate on the Negotiating Committee with AUPE Union, negotiating the new flex benefits and a new service agreement. It is very interesting but the driving to Edmonton back and forth is very tiring when you are alone and the roads were icy. This last trip was touch and go, I just about stayed over night in Red Deer, but decided to continue on and got home by 6 pm. We usually stay at the new Hampton's Inn on 100th Avenue & 170th St. close to the AUPE office, but this last trip we had to stay at the Executive Royal Inn. It wasn't as nice a hotel as the Hampton's and the staff at Hamptons knew us by name, so they made us feel so comfortable. The Hampton's have a very nice continental breakfast too which we liked. The service in the restaurant at the Royal Inn was the pits. It took over an hour to get a steak cooked.
The negotiations are going good. They start meeting with ATB on Monday. As I am only an alternate to the committee, I don't have to go again unless someome cannot make the meetings. I didn't want to be on the committee as a member, because I knew we would be away in March, so I let my name stand for alternate. I hope by the time we get home from Australia the negotiations will be over and done with and I won't have to go again till fall for the convention.
I don't think these new Flex Benefits will fly with the membership. It is hard enough for the committee to understand them, let alone the ordinary member. You can't really figure out what one would be paying for the benefits, so it is hard to know if you want them or not. All ATB keeps telling us is the glorified benefits we can pick and choose, but people don't realize that all that costs the employee more money and the employer will pay less. The real clincher is the life time maximum cap on orthodontics is $5,000. So the premium to cover orthordonics cost you more and what does $5,000 buy you at an ortho office. Not much. Maybe a visit or two. Then on prescriptions for a single person, every prescription you take to the pharmacy to fill, there will be a deductible of $7.00 per prescription and $11.00 for an employee with two or more persons on your benefit plan. Well I have 6 prescriptions that I get filled every three months, so that will cost me $66.00 every three months, which is $264.00 a year deductible for just my prescriptions, not including Ardell's prescriptions. Plus I pay a premium for the prescription benefits. Mind you my pills alone would cost over $568.00 every three months wihout the coverage I have now. So people are going to have to be very careful when they decide what coverages they want to take. The problems is the younger employees really don't care, until they see the deductions on their pay cheque and the older members will suffer just as much too.
So it is the same old story, the employer will pay less and the employee will get socked in the teeth.
Well I have more packing to do, so better get at it before the day is gone here.
Love you all,
See you when we get back March 27th.
Shirley
Thursday, February 19, 2009
NOBLE NEW #74 - Marvelle Reporter
hi - we are just waiting for our Colleen to come. Then Brad and Helen will come and then LA, Gayle and Taylor. We can hardly wait. Pat and Ken Vadnais came down and we took Ken to Mexico to have his teeth done. He had 28 crowns done for $3750.00 which would have cost him
$32,000. in Canada. Then Carole and Ted Sommerfeldt and now our family is coming. We are very excited. We are leaving for home the middle of March as I have two doctors appointments on April lst. Will write again. Shirley you are a great writer. Keep it up. You will be going to Australia in March. Just a few more sleeps. For your honeymoon. I phoned you last night but Ardell said you were in Edmonton on union business. See ya soon.
love Marvelle
$32,000. in Canada. Then Carole and Ted Sommerfeldt and now our family is coming. We are very excited. We are leaving for home the middle of March as I have two doctors appointments on April lst. Will write again. Shirley you are a great writer. Keep it up. You will be going to Australia in March. Just a few more sleeps. For your honeymoon. I phoned you last night but Ardell said you were in Edmonton on union business. See ya soon.
love Marvelle
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