Grati-Tuesday

Greetings all and welcome to another Gratitude Post.  I hope you all survived the long weekend unscathed by traffic queues etc.  My poor old husband left home this morning for an 830am flight interstate only to get to the airport and find his flight delayed a few hours due to fog!   I survived being locked in the kitchen for most of yesterday cooking for my son's party last night.  All went well and if you are not bored at the end of the post I might share a little more of it with you. Just a pity I can't share some of the leftover food - I will be doing delivery runs to my girlfriend's houses tonight - never have I seen teenage boys eat so little!

So, back to business, time for some thank you messages.

For Joan

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know that myself and the rest of the guys over here are grateful for the support that we are shown by Australians like yourself. It makes being away from our own family more worth while knowing its appreciated. A personal thank you for the laundry bag, it is something I forgot and it is great to have one. 

Thanks again,

Good Afternoon Joan & Robin,
Thank you so much for your thoughts and effort.  Myself and one of my
room mates (currently in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan) got one of your
laundry bags and they are fantastic!
Bright and cheery, as well as a necessary! We didn't think to pack
one and they are much better than the mesh bags available to us here.Thanks and best wishes!

This fellow wrote to let me know his quilt had arrived which I ask all of them to do if they request via me directly.

Jan-Maree,

                     I have received my quilt. Words can not explain what I think of it and how many guys want it. A quilt signed by the Broncos. All I can say is Thank you very much. That some one would go to this effort for some one they don't know. 

I have the letter that came with the quilt and I will be writing a letter very soon. I will also email photos from TK showing the quilt.

Again Thank you to you and all the people who do this for us.

I think this is an extra special one.

Hi Debbie,

Firstly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the quilt you spent your valuable time to make for me. I was a little stumped at first when the parcel arrived as I didn't recognise the name. But I saw the "Aussie Hero Quilts" at the top of the box and remembered that I had heard something about this before. What I couldn't figure out was how you knew I was a big Brisbane Broncos tragic!! Then I remembered my partner mentioning something about her ordering something for me that was being sent over. And so the penny dropped. I have to say that the quilt is amazing and it has been on my bed since it arrived. So I can assure you that it is being put to very good use. The laundry bag has also come in very handy and I definitely understand how this came to be with all the white laundry bags I still see in the laundry. The quilt is the perfect thickness for the weather we are experiencing here at the moment. I have had very comfortable nights sleeping since putting it on my bed. The doona I previously had on was a bit too thick and I would wake during the night too hot and have to kick it off, so once again, thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

I have to say Debbie, I think what you and the rest of the volunteers do back home for the deployed men and women is fantastic. It is people like you that raise the moral of us all over here when we are feeling home sick or just not happy about  being in the place that we are. It really does make a difference when you receive a package in the mail and it's something from back home. Even more so when it's someone sending you a quilt to say thank-you for your sacrifice. You are just as much a hero as the men and women deployed overseas. So thank-you Debbie.
I have attached a photo of my quilt on my bed :) 

Dear Angela, and Jan-Maree for your part in this,

Well the quilt has arrived, and isn't it just beautiful!   Where to start to try and convey my thanks? I will write properly, but with the delay due to distance I wanted to get a thanks to you more quickly, so please excuse the relative sterility of email. Back in my room it made such a difference to my white bed - when I get to send the photos through you'll see what I mean!  The hard part is which side up? Maybe I'll go week about. 

I think it has made my room a warm home now - because if its vibrant beauty, and because of the obvious care with which it was made.   Your labour will be part of my and my family's enjoyment for many, many many years I am sure. 

These photos are wonderful.  You are left in no doubt that the quilts are adding colour to otherwise drab accommodations AND personality where uniformity is the order of the day in most things.

Hello Janine,

I want to say thank you for my laundry bag, there has been a lot of tender loving care put into it I can see. It's fantastic. It's great to have a personalized one just to be different and to find my washing quickly as it really stands out.

Thankyou again for my laundry bag and I wish you well up on the Sunny Coast.

Kind Regards,

Dear Mrs Ball, (that would be me) 
I just arrived in Afghanistan two weeks ago and cannot believe that of all things, I forgot to bring a laundry bag with me!!  One of my friends kindly loaned me one of hers, but it is just the standard white mesh bag.  This can be very confusing as we simply drop our bags off at the laundry in the morning and then collect them at night.  With over 50 bags of paundry per day, it can be very difficult to locate your bag, especially when they all look the same!!
Thanks so you, your hard work and generous donation, I now have a lovely and unique bag to use.  Needless to say, I will never lost my laundry again!
Thank you so much.  What a clever and helpful donation to the troops.

Since we started to send quilts to the ships deploying to the Middle East on Operation Slipper those on the Volunteer Email List have been able to enjoy a copy of the ship's newsletters from both HMAS ANZAC and HMAS Toowoomba.  Well, this time around with HMAS Newcastle, you can all enjoy it if you like.  HMAS Newcastle is published on the 
Navy website and so it is accessible to all.  The only problem I will have now is remember to go looking for the next issue. For now, however, here are the last two issues.  The first one covers a period before Newcastle deployed which I thought you might find interesting

March Newsletter 

and the second one covers their departure.

April May Newsletter

Enjoy!

And I did promise to share a little more of my son's party.  I thought you might like to see a picture of him with his friends - and a gorgeous bunch they are as well.

Till next time..............keep spreading the word and happy stitching!