Grati-Tuesday 21April

G'day all.   By the time you read this I will be in Canberra and getting ready to go to the Australian War Memorial to see the Centenary Quilt be presented. 

 I am still trying to catch up from being at AQC.  Please bear with me if I have not put the request list out yet.  It is coming..... I promise..... and if you have emailed me and I have not replied.... I am working on that as well....

I can manage some show and tell though. Here is a very happy Chaplain with his quilt courtesy of Lynn who made the top and Robin who quilted it.

Hello Deb,

Thankyou for all your hard work making the quilt and sending it over with the lollies as well, it was a great morale booster. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate at home running a farm and keeping up with the grandchildren so I just wanted to say thankyou for the time and effort you put into making and sending my quilt, people like yourself are the reason we are happy to come here and do what we do and it's nice to know there's some support coming from home. Anyways I have to run, sorry the reply is quite short but I have attached a picture of the quilt on my bunk for you to see.

All the best in the future Deb, and thankyou once again! 

Kind Regards,

......

Hi Joan & Robin,

Received the laundry bag, I can't thank you enough, very Australian and very fitting.
Myself, and the rest of my Platoon here are very grateful for the time and effort that you put in, it certainly doesn't go unappreciated, and the craftsmanship is quite amazing.
I am the Platoon Commander (Lieutenant) here with about 70 people under my command, I can tell you that all the guys and girls eagerly await the arrival of their Laundry Bags or Quilts, and no one is disappointed.

Thank you again,
.....

Ruth S,

Today I received the care package that you sent to me and I would like to thank you very much for such a kind gesture. I am currently in Kabul on my seventh deployment; however, this is my first deployment to Afghanistan. I will be home in early August from what will probably be my last deployment. 

Once again Ruth, thank you beautiful quilt and other goodies (snakes are a favourite of mine).

Best wishes to you and your family.

.....

Hi Jan-Maree,

I relieved my RAEME themed quilt to Kabul yesterday and would just like to thank you and your team so much! It surpassed my expectations and it will definitely go straight to the pool room!

Unfortunately I have been away from the Platoon for a little while and have not been able to see how the guys are going with receiving their quilts, however if they are anywhere near as happy as I am then you have nothing to worry about!

Thanks so much again.

All the best,

.....

Jan-Maree,
I just received my awesome new Seattle Seahawks Quilt.
Thank you very much, I couldn't have asked for a better quilt - It will be with me on all my future deployments.
Could you please pass on my many thanks to Gale C and Jenny D for a fabulous job!
Also thank you for the Tim Tams, the boys and I  finished them in one sitting!
Once again thank you for your support to myself and to all those that serve.
Have a great day. 

......

Dear Pauline and Elaine,

I hope this email finds you in good health.

Firstly, thank you so much for the laundry bag. A very thoughtful and useful gift. It's not something I thought to bring with me but has been invaluable. Unique is one way to describe it but I prefer to describe it as a masterpiece! It certainly stands out.

The picture of the Kangaroos on the beach and your kind Aussie spirit, sure reminds me that Australia is the best place to call home. You can't find better.

Again, thank you so much for your contribution and your support.

Cheers :)

.....

Dear Stephanie and Lyn

Thank you very much for brightening my tour of Afghanistan and my bed through the

generous gift of a wonderful quilt. I am not convinced you have so much fabric hiding

in the cupboard that it needs an overseas holiday, but I am certainly appreciative of

the fact that you took the time to make a quilt and send it to me. 

The fact that you are taking the time out of your life to do such a wonderfully selfless

and patriotic act is humbling to us all over here in Afghanistan and in other areas of

operations. Your act of kindness goes a long way towards reminding us all that we are

not forgotten by distance and time and we feel very much appreciated for what we are

doing over here. I hope we are justifying such kindness through our performance and

that you receive the thanks you truly deserve.

,

The quilt you have sent me is currently resting on my bed and is providing great

service through the very cold nights we are experiencing at the moment. We have

recently had the largest snow fall so far since commencing my tour in Sep last year.

We are due for some more cold nights to come, however, when the weather starts to

 warm up I think the quilt will change duty to wall hanging or potentially become my

primary means of cover during sleep.

Thank you once again for your generous gift I think this will now become something

that I will become a family heirloom and be handed down to my grandkids in the not 

too distant future. .

....

Dear Irene

I would like to thankyou so very much for your beautiful laundry bag. It is absolutely

gorgeous. Your design and colours are absolutely stunning: and the Australian floral design is just amazing. Thank you. I can't imagine how much time and effort has gone into this amazing art work; and I am so very honoured to have received it.

After 26 years in the ADF, both ARA and RAAF, this is my very first deployment to the MER. As such, l was not fully aware of the Aussie Hero Laundry Bags. I’m not sure who requested it on my behalf, but it was one of the best surprises that I received during this deployment. Thank you again for providing me with such a beautiful opportunity to smile.

It is just amazing when beautiful caring people like yourself donate so much of your time and money to making us feel so very much appreciated. Thankyou, 

I'm not fully aware of what's been presented in the Media, as we don 't have much access to it over here. However, in case you're interested, we are positioned in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) as a part of the Australian Defence Force contribution to the international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It is a contribution that I feel is extremely important; and it feels great to be a part of it. After all, it's extremely important in order to help ensure the safety of our current and future world population not only overseas but within Australia. 

The area where we are positioned is a safe haven. It's a very busy base with a lot of personnel from many different walks of life, which can be entertaining in the very least. We are living in large green tents although, that is not as bad as it sounds. They are segregated with curtains to give you a bit of privacy and are air-conditioned so let's call it "glamping" (like camping but with a bit more glamour and comfort if you haven't heard the term before). We also have several facilities available to us during our downtime which include some common areas to relax and catch up with some mates. The meals that are provided are also certainly nothing to complain about; in fact I think it would be easy for me to put on several kilos if I wasn't careful. All in all, the only thing we really have to worry about is the separation from family and loved ones back at home. The weather over here can be very hot and humid at times.

Thankfully I’ll be leaving before the extreme heat arrives. Unfortunately though, the cooler months here don’t give you relief for very long. There's nothing like a 40 degree day and 100% humidity to zap your energy.

Personally. I am in a position within a supporting element that sustains the base that we operate from. It is a very rewarding, though at times can be difficult with long and stressful working hours. We do try to get some down time whenever we can though to give our body and minds a rest. Most of my contingent has been here for six months and we're now about to return home. Overall, the days have gone by slowly but the weeks seem to fly by and months are over before you know it. You could also say that every morning is like a Monday and every afternoon like a Friday.

I'd like to thankyou again for your beautiful gift and your kind words; and I hope that this letter finds you and your family safe and well.

Thank you.

.....

Ladies,  Irene, Joy Robyn

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the lovely Laundry Bag you have made for me. I will treasure this gift for years to come.  You are an inspiration to me and a true reflection of the Aussie spirit we all love.   

I was lucky enough to be given the one with the Aussie flags along the top of the Outback themed bag.

Our lot is from the 3rd Combat Signals Regiment (3 CSR) in Townsville.  I am heading home on my mid tour leave in a few weeks and look forward to seeing my Wife and three children.   This is my third deployment now, so I think my family are well versed in the hardships of separation. It never gets any easier though!

Thanks again, I wish you all the best. 

......

Hi Marie,

I am writing to say thank you very much for all your hard work and effort in sending me a Hero Quilt. 

This is my fourth tour of Afghanistan and to receive such a personal gift that had so much thought and hard work put into it was very humbling and myself and some of the other boys who have received a Hero Quilt are very appreciative. 

Thanks very much for the magazine and the Easter treats too. You are correct the weather is very extreme, in January it was heavy snow everyday and now it is getting into the mid twenties.

Thankyou once again

.....

Noeleen,

Thank heaps for the quilt and the ‘goodies’. I have just finished leave and was expecting the weather to have warmed up here in Afghanistan but there is still snow on the mountains so I slept under it last night and was warm as toast. This morning when my American roommate awoke he was more than impressed not just with the effort to send the gift but also the detail of the stitching.

Again thanks for the gift I will treasure it for years to come.

......

Jan-Maree, Lynn and Robin (the talented makers of (XXXXX's helicopter quilt!)

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to you wonderful ladies. You created the most amazing quilt for XXXX and I wanted to personally thank you for such an incredible gesture.

XXXXX said to me that he absolutely loves the quilt.

So thank you again. Not only you are giving to our service men and women a moral boost with such a thoughtful gift; but for us you have created a keepsake for our future family. 

Thank you again!

.....

Hi Jan-Maree,

I just wanted to let you know that I received my Quilt (made by Lynn and quilted by Belinda) and Laundry Bag today.

I love it, and truthfully, I feel like I don't deserve it....... I actually saw the laundry bag on your recent blog post, and did wonder if that was mine, haha.

I will send Margaret a personal email, but I just wanted to express my deepest gratitude for the work that your organistation does. I feel rather emotional as I write this.

I will take a picture of the quilt and post it to Facebook.

Again, thank you for the work Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry Bags does. Receiving this package has truly made my day.

Cheers,

.....

Greetings Stephanie,

I am the lucky recipient and new owner of your amazing monkey and chicken themed quilt!

Firstly thank you very much for the time and effort you have clearly put into the quilt. It really is a work of art and something I will no doubt treasure for a long time. 

Not sure whether you are aware but we are currently enroute to Greece to partake in the Centennary of Anzac commemorations and as you can imagine, are all quite excited. A once in a life time opportunity to pay our respects so close to where it all unfolded 100 years ago. From there we are essentially homeward bound after what will be a long, arduous yet very rewarding deployment.

Thanks again for the quilt Stephanie, I will endeavour to get a snap to you in due course.

Kind Regards,

.....

Dear Jan-Maree,

I needed to write to you for a plethora of reasons, first and foremost to tell you how humbled and proud I am to hear my colleagues and I are thought of at all let alone the esteem you and your amazing network at AHQ hold us in. I'm currently serving on my 7th deployment in the MEAO totaling around 26 months. Needless to say I'm very familiar with this part of the world now and in all my time over here nothing has touched me as much as the personal attention given to us by AHQ. I was first introduced to AHQ when I commented on the brilliant red and white Swannies quilt one of my staff had adorning his bed making it look homely and inviting rather than looking like a jail cell. When he explained where it had come from and the story behind it I was amazed.

I've obviously been in touch since and I now proudly show off an inviting room decked out with one of your quilts decorated with surfing scenes and a C130 silhouette. Absolutely fantastic as the photo attests! So, a huge thank you to Lynn and Robin for the quilting, and of course you for caring about us in the first place and certainly not least for the amazing personalized quilt.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart to you, your amazing team at AHQ and to all those who spare a thought for us. We'll be raising a toast to you on ANZAC day from afar.

King regards,

Till next time...............keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx