Happy Tuesday Friends!
To Lynn F & Philomena
It has now been just over twelve months since I was presented my wonderful AHQ&LB by Warwick E in January 2022. It was crafted with care by both Lynn F and Philomena and it came as an absolute shock to me for the effort and consideration that went into its fabrication.
Our family was able to continue the association with Lynn F at the 2022 Thank you dinner in Canberra with our eldest son and his fiancé [both serving ADF personnel] joining them at their table – well orchestrated by J-M and your team. The guile behind the scenes in acquiring the detail for the quilt was nothing short of a very clandestine operation. Well done all.
Kind regards and sincere thanks
Good Evening Ruth S,
I received your hand made Laundry bag along with the lovely letter a couple months ago while on deployment.
I have successfully returned home and still use it!
Thank you so much for the laundry bag, I love it! The hand written note alongside the bag was very thoughtful and I feel touched that you took the time to put the personal message into the letter.
I hope you are doing well and hope it warms you to know I am much appreciative, and I have been be putting it to good use and will continue to do so.
Kindest Regards,
Good Morning Ruth S,
I just wanted to send you an email to thank you personally for my laundry bag I received which was ordered for the crew of HMAS Hobart whilst on deployment last year. I absolutely love my laundry bag and it is definitely getting its usage up during our periods at sea this year.
Thank you very much, it is exactly what I was hoping for.
Kind Regards,
...
Laura C,
Many thanks for the thought and effort you have put into the laundry bag – I love it!! It was a great surprise to come back to, ahead of our next operation and it has added quite a bit of colour to my cabin on board.
Sounds like you had a busy Christmas planned and I hope it all went well! I’ve never been to NZ, I have been scheduled to go with Navy on a few occasions but our plans have seemed to change ahead of our port visits.
I have been posted to HMAS Hobart now for a little over a year which has provided some interesting challenges. I’m looking forward to an upcoming maintenance period which will coincide with my wedding in April.
Again, thank you very much for your work. All the best for 2023!
Yours aye
Hi Abbi W,
Thanks for so kindly making and sending me a quilt for my rack on the ship! The one that I received was the envy of many and it is evident how much care has been put into the craftsmanship.
My late aunty was a quilter so it’s a very kind gesture.
I have been away with work on deployment from the beginning of September until 16 Dec last year, we had a great time and I got to see and do a lot of things I would not have if I were not in the navy, including Darwin, Cairns, Japan, Philippines, Singapore etc. – my favourite being Japan by far!
I was lucky enough to get to spend some family time at home over Christmas for 3 weeks prior to receiving some dreaded short notice sailing orders again on Thursday to leave on Monday. It’s very tough on family life, but we make it work.
I’m 31 years old and 9 years into my navy career as a Marine Technician – Electrical. 5 of those years have been spent posted to HMAS Hobart which we commissioned in 2017 and I’m still here. I reach 10 years and accrue long service leave in Jan 2024 which I intend on taking the family camping for 2 weeks at Crescent head in NSW, it is out favourite place in the world to be as a family, away from the city and the biggest thing to worry about is blue bottles and sunburn.
We managed to spend 5 days there just after new year’s eve this year, unfortunately when it was time to pack up and go home I has just starting to feel relaxed!
I have a fiancé and a 3 year old daughter at home in Sydney waiting for me, I miss them ever so much whilst being deployed, the older I (and my daughter) get, the harder it is becoming.
In late Feb I commence study through university remotely which will make the sea time go by a bit quicker, I am enrolled in and aim to complete a Master’s degree in Cyber security, it is a very in demand role at the moment and I see it as a good opportunity to future proof my employment with a young family and lots of ‘work from home’ roles in the sector.
My partner works 2 jobs (even while I’m away). One being an SLSO (student learning support officer/teachers aid) and the other a program advisor/co-ordinator for out of school hours care centres.
She does the SLSO role mon-thu and our daughter goes to care 3 days a week and grandma one day a week, she then works from home on the computer when our girls is asleep most night till late, she is quite the worker.
We are getting married in Sydney in June which gives us something to look forward to after the turbulent 9 months the Navy has been kind enough to deliver.
We also purchased our first investment property in March last year, then in September it was flooded thanks to a 1 in 100 year flood, you wouldn’t read about it, we were very lucky we have building insurance, although the claim has been approved we are still awaiting repairs as all the contractors have been quite busy in the area. Hoping to have tools in the house in a few weeks, we are looking at the loss of rent as a lay-by renovation. Have to remain positive.
We have been on the ship preparing this week for out short notice deployment, we are leaving on Monday, I get 2 days off with the girls prior to leaving and my daughters 3rd birthday is in 2 weeks, so we are going bed shopping with her so she can pick her ‘big girls bed’ as she asked for a Frozen bed.
She is obsessed with the songs from the movies so she gets to pick the bed frame and we will fit it out with a frozen quilt set, she is also going to get a vanilla cake with sprinkles (by request) to sing happy birthday with dad and blow out the candles together. Very much looking forward to my final 2 days family time.
Her birthday at sea will still be difficult for me none the less.
We have a great crew and an even better Marine Engineering department on-board Hobart which makes the time away that little bit more bearable, even though the days are long and often tedious, we manage to make our own fun, its currently 1:30 in the morning and I’m half way through my shift on watch.
At sea I try stay active by doing a gym workout or Yoga 4-5 times a week, reading books and watching movies.
When I’m on the ship I seem to drink more black tea then many would think is humanly possible.
Thanks again to you and the AHQ team for the kind gesture and I will cherish my quilt for years to come.
Kind regards,
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