Grati-Tuesday 15th Aug 2023

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Another week of amazing, heartfelt and sincere thank you letters. It never gets old!!!

Grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy some well deserved gratitude!

...

Dear Jan-Maree B, 

 

My sincere thanks to you, Alison C, Keryn M and the ‘Garage Girls’ (who I met when I picked up a quilt for my 100 year old veteran). The quilt was presented to me yesterday and I was totally overwhelmed by the beauty and work that has gone in to the making.

 

Would you please pass on my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all involved, a truly wonderful gift so very much appreciated.

 

Kind regards

...

Good afternoon Bridget R,

 

Thank you so much for the laundry bag! It will definitely make my life easier differentiating from all the other laundry bags.

I am really grateful and appreciative of the time and effort you put it in and I absolutely love it. 

 

I am very happy to hear a little bit about yourself and your beautiful family. I really like dogs as I have 2 naughty Border-collie cross poodles myself. 

With the tempo of deployments, I have been away from home and my wife for the better part of a year. So to hear that my service means something to someone other than my family means a lot.

 

Thank you once again

 

Much appreciated,

...

Hi Kirsten O,

SO thank you thank you thank you!!!  Thank you so much for all your hard work and attention to my amazing quilt.  I absolutely love the design that you have come up with, and I am very glad you enjoyed some new elements like BSG = Battlestar Galactica, my most favourite TV series and one in which a number of female warriors were integral to the story!  Along with the amazing women in Star Trek and Dune, these kinds of fictional characters were quite the inspiration as I progressed along my own warfare career, so it is very special to have these touchpoints in my quilt.

It's just incredible to think there are special people like you out there dedicating your time, skills and efforts to making something special like this for others.  It's so kind and so thoughtful, and we really are so grateful for you and for this Aussie Hero Quilt, it's such a wonderful personal treasure and a special marker of some of the highlights of my career.

We lived in and out of Canberra a few times (I am married to ex-Army) and we loved living there too.  We were always south-side -we are in Vic now and although it doesn't get as cold here, it is much more gloomy.  I think the beautiful blue skies in Canberra even on freezing cold mornings make up for the chill!

Thank you again Kirsten, I really do appreciate your creativity and hard work and I hope you have a wonderful day / week / month etc ahead.

Kind regards,

...

Dear Hilary P,

I have just received the amazing quilt you have made for me. I absolutely love how you have been able to combine all the things I love.

I really enjoyed the UK and the countryside it had on offer. 

Once again, thank you for the quilt and best wishes to you.

Regards,

...

Good Afternoon Colleen S,

 

I hope this email finds you well.

 

Thank you so much for the quilt you made for me whilst deployed in HMAS Hobart. 

 

The quilt is awesome, sits atop my bunk and is the envy of all the other officers onboard (particularly the AEGIS trained ones). Thank you so much!

 

A bit about me. I’m from Melbourne, joined the Navy in 2015 and am now based out of Sydney. I have a wife and two young girls who are fortunately very supportive of the long months away from home (last year I did about 10 of 12 months away!).

 

Thank you for Colleen for your continued support to the guys and girls out here.

 

Looking forward to seeing more of your artwork out here in the fleet!

 

Kind Regards

...

Dear Beverly U,

Just a short note to thank you very much for the laundry bag. I got to choose mine myself and your design caught my eye immediately. We'll be back home in about a month but it's been a very rewarding task that most don't get to experience - so no regrets for some of my life choices in that regard! 

You may have noticed I referred to the laundry bag as a Dobie bag in the subject line of this email. I began my military career in the Navy and that was one of the many odd names we had for everyday items. I've continued to use it in Army much to many a soldier's confusion. Dobie dust, incidentally, is the term for washing powder. Dobie is also a term for marijuana in some places, but I don't think there is any relation. Although perhaps the original laundry bags were made from hemp?? Who knows.

Anyway, thanks again for your efforts. A distinctive laundry bag is always a useful item in a shared laundry and I daresay I will be using my new one for many years to come.

Kind regards,

...

Good evening Jacqui D,

I would like Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I was truly overwhelmed to hear your story and how you came to be involved with friends of AHQ .

I hope that you can watch the games. This experience I will hold dearly to my heart meeting like minded people participating in adaptive sports.

After the games I wish to continue helping people living with disabilities be connected to community supports. Being involved around sport brings communities together. As a former soldier in Australian army and family also serving in Australian army , we are all one big family. It certainly does bring an interesting conversation to family dinner table.
Hope that we can all make you proud and I will treasure my laundry hamper bag forever.

Thank you so much
Yours forever grateful

...

Good evening Jenny and Steve W,

Today I received your Laundry bag. I love how personalised it is. Obviously my initials, but also the RAAF crest and my sports. This year I reach 27 years of service, so am very connected to that crest.

Thanks for the letter. It helps paint a picture of who and what went in to making it. 

I am extremely proud to be selected as Co-Captain and also privileged as this is my 2nd games. Only awarded to 5 of us from The Hague last year. 

The quilt I received from the last games was made by Sue N. I have brought it to all my camps for these games and hang it over the top bunk. 

Take care. Thanks again. I'll send you updates from Dusseldorf.

Regards

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Hello Ruth S,

 

I wanted to send you a quick note to say Thank You for the Laundry Bag.  It was a delight to receive, and it will be put to good use.

I have no doubt that when I get home my girls will also love playing with it.

While the laundry bag will be of great assistance here, it will endeavour also attend various exercises and trips away with the Army.  It’s one of those things that is always helpful regardless of where you are travelling.

 

Thank you again for all of your work and assistance you are providing myself but my deployed colleagues.

 

Best wishes.

... 

Dear Bridget R,

Today I was presented a quilt and it is heartfelt thanks that I humbly accept it with pride.

It certainly stirred some memories for me, good and not so. Regardless your skill and talent as a "Quilter" is truely astounding as represented in the design of my quilt and I am in awe!

From my humble military beginnings as an Army Apprentice Fitter & Turner to Warrant Officer Class 1 and all the incredible skilled, talented and devoted Service personnel I met throughout my journey as a soldier.

Then to be asked to return to Army as an Officer to guide middle and senior leadership - wow!

In closing, Bridget you have an exceptional gift as a Quilter and rest assured, mine will hold pride of place in our home.

Kind Regards,

... 

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.  

Tuesday's would be so totally boring without them!

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