Hey friends!
Did someone say we are now in May!! Woah! I can't believe that again, the year is getting away from me. I'm a busy little bee at work finalising budgets for the next financial year and all that comes with end of financial year budgeting and reporting, so just a little crazy but that's ok, I secretly love busy!
First Tuesday of the month, brings along some bright and cheery letters to share, and a beautiful photo of one of our very own volunteers presenting a very gorgeous quilt. So thankful to be able to share these stories and photos with you all. Enjoy
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Dear Lyn,
Thank you so much for the absolutely incredible quilt. You've blown me away! I love it. I love the animals, the Aboriginal art, the green and gold, it's all fantastic. You should be very proud of the work you do, it's sensational.
I received the quilt at the perfect time. I'm about half way through my deployment. We normally have a two week break but due to COVID we will be working straight through. The day I received it, I was feeling a little down. Just the usual, missing family, missing home, and thinking I had still a while to go. Then I received the quilt, and I was over the moon. It really cheered me up.
Thank you for putting a smile on my face. I appreciate it very much.
I am from South Australia. I have many fond memories of camping there with my dad. I now live in Queensland. My partner and I moved here in 2019. She has started university at 25 and studying to become a primary school teacher. I'm very proud of her.
I try and get back to South Australia every Christmas. I have been with my girlfriend for 4 years now and we haven't had the opportunity to go together. When I return to Australia, I will be taking her there with me for a week to meet my family. Can't wait to show her around, I love South Australia. She has never been there before and I am looking forward to it.
Thank you for your beautiful letter and your kind words. My warmest regards to you and your family. Best of luck in 2021 and beyond.
Cheers
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Good Afternoon Lesley,
I am a Loadmaster on the C130J Hercules. I am currently on my second deployment to the Middle East.
Just a quick email to say thank you so much for the quilt and laundry bag you made me. You must have put in many hours of sewing and I wanted you to know I really appreciate it.
Again, thank you for the work you do. I know receiving a quilt can mean so much to people and the work you do has not gone unnoticed.
Kind Regards
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Good Morning Veronica,
I am pleased to tell you that I have received my quilt and laundry bag.
Thank you very much for assistance - I love the quilt and laundry bag, and they will accompany everywhere I go.
Thank you to you and the team for your support and generosity.
Thank you again.
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Good Evening Jan-Maree,
I have been having difficulty in finding the correct words to show my feelings in being presented with this remarkable quilt and wish to extend my grateful appreciation to everyone involved in the making and design of this magnificent quilt and will cherish it for life.
It is a great feeling to feel the appreciation given finally.
I would like to mention Lynn F, Philomena H, Kerri B and anyone else who was associated with the making of this magnificent quilt including you Jan-Maree and Carole J.
Many thanks much appreciated.
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Good Afternoon Heather,
I would love to extend a massive thank you for my Donald Duck laundry bag. It superseded my expectations. I am over the moon with it. I am a massive Donald Duck fanatic and love this bag so much.
Furthermore, thank you for your lovely letter. It was lovely to read more about yourself and your family. So now, I shall tell you more about myself and my time in the Navy.
I joined the Navy in 2018 after spending 12 years working in customer service call centres. Sometimes, you just need to jump and make a life change. My family and I are from Victoria, and we moved to Queensland when I was 15 years old. From there I remained in QLD for 8.5 years before moving back to Victoria.
I joined the Navy as a Boatswain Mate and it has opened many doors to valuable learning experiences that you would not get in the civilian world. My first trip was to Indonesia which was eye opening. Needless to say, I found my sea legs and how easy it was to become seasick!
At the moment, I am serving on HMAS Melville as a Gunners Yeoman which is the ships weapons specialist. I work along 4 other Boatswains mates so its quite a small department compared to many others onboard. Recently, we came back from a 2 month trip down to Bass Strait and lucky enough to have a port visit in Victoria.
Thank you again for my laundry bag and thank you for doing your part to raise morale amongst those serving.
Warmest Regards.
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Good Afternoon Pennie,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the amazing quilt you made for me! It's my first one and I absolutely love it.
I am glad an artist like yourself was able to create something that has far exceeded my expectations. The detail in the line work and the material you have chosen is perfect. It has certainly inserted a pop of colour to my room and when I go home, I will find a place for it to be displayed in the house (in consultation with my wife of course).
The rising sun is very fitting, and you were right. I have been in the army for 16+ years now and have had a very enjoyable and extensive career. I'm currently serving on my fifth deployment and like all the others this trip is very different from other (combat and peacekeeping) tours I have had the privilege of serving our fine country.
I am currently posted to 7RAR. We often take our dog down to the beach every now and then for a swim and run around the scenic trip home. I love South Australia, it's such a beautiful place and is somewhere I would consider moving to post Defence. I am an avid Rugby player (prop).
So why do they call me Irish? Well, that's just pure Aussie humour! Have you seen the movie 'The Light Horsemen'? There's an Irish guy in that movie, my section and I watched this movie together before deploying to the Middle East in 2008 and of course, I bit and 'Irish' became my name, thank goodness I don't have red hair as well. Ha-ha! I wonder how that would go? Would it be Blue, Irish or both?
Again, I truly appreciate the quilt! I am standing with it in our little home away from home, that is filled with laughter and good energy, and certainly gives us a place to unwind after a long day's work.
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From a recent presentation by own of our lovely volunteers. He was thrilled with his quilt and wanted to share this fabulous photo;
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Ahoy to you Clarissa,
Please excuse the delay. Every time I thought that every crew member had received a bag, a bunch of new people would join us!
We are now underway, and at the last stop at a port we received a load more laundry bags.
I'm afraid that we haven't been counting every bag that has gone out, but every crew member has received one, so that is well is excess of 190!
Be assured that every bag that was received with joy and gratitude. I hope that a few sailors have contacted their bag makers to thank them personally.
Thank you again, for all you do for the ADF personnel.
Kindest Regards
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Sue,
My dad and I would like to thank you very much for spending your own time to create such a beautiful quilt for us.
It was hard for my mum and I while dad was away, but your gift cheered us all up. And now dad has something lovely to remind him that he is never alone and there are always others thinking of him.
We can't wait to use it to snuggle on our couch together for family movie night.
We appreciate your hard work a lot.
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G'day Toni,
I was lucky enough to receive a laundry bag from you.
First of all, the bag is fantastic. I especially like how it looks like the Blackhawk (best helicopter I've ever served in) is flying through a sunset. Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into making it for me.
Secondly, thank your for your letter, it was quite the entertaining read as you have obviously led an interesting and varied life.
I am currently deployed in Africa as part of the Multinational Force Observers. Helping to maintain peace between here and the Middle East. You may see that my title is Cultural Recreational Coordinator. This means I run Cultural tours for MFO members to have a better understanding of the history of each nation, thereby enhancing the ability to facilitate peace between them. It also helps maintain the morale of the members here.
Thank you again for the wonderful bag and kind words in your letter. It was a great boost to my personal morale when it arrived.
All the best for the future.
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Enjoy your week friends, don't forget to like, comment and share, it helps us reach even more people.
Alex x
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