Grati-Tuesday 11th June 2024

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Welcome to another awesome Tuesday.  I hope those who got a long weekend (sorry WA and QLD) had a fantastic break.  I managed to get quite a bit of sewing done which was bonus.

We have another lot of beautiful messages from far and wide and some awesome images, so grab a cuppa, sit back and relax while you soak up some well deserved gratitude. 

...

Good afternoon, or evening Jenny D,

It was an absolute pleasure to hear from you and read a little about your family and your amazing long marriage, congratulations! That's an amazing achievement in itself.

Travelling, speaking near and dear to my heart, my partner and I have done alot of world travel abroad around the world solo and some together and quite a bit in Australia, not to mention the moving with each posting the Army has delivered over the last 16 years. I've lived in NSW, QLD, VIC and WA and various places in each state. We now get away locally in my mrs pride and joy which is an old 1977 VW Kombi van, great fun.

A little bit about myself - I'm currently deployed to the Multinational Force & Observors in Sinai, Egypt. I'm sure you have heard of it through the hero quilts society at large, but we are here to uphold and facilitate the treaty that exists between Egypt and Israel since the late 1970s. We are just over half way through the deployment at this stage, and keen to be getting home. It's been a great experience though and good to be deployed again.

My home life, I'm based in QLD, I have my mrs at home with a young husky who currently keeps us very occupied most of the time, planning for kids in the near future also. I've been in the Army for 16 years, as mentioned above, in the Infantry as I'm sure you gathered from the quilt.

I'm very interested in military history, equipment and the customs and traditions, etc. In my spare time I restore and collect military vehicles, mainly WW2 and have a certain pride about service and such, hence some of the requests on the quilt. I actually visit NSW once or twice a year to attend military vehicles events when work permits.

I just wanted to reach out and thank you, and all the folks who support this amazing organisation, I truly appreciate the support and the generosity of your time creating such a remarkable piece. I wanted to be as detailed as I could in the request to allow for options, and well you just nailed them all haha, I didn't expect something with as much detail as I got, so I appreciate the effort their so much. I've still got long term plans with Army and my career, so be sure this quilt will be around many years yet and hopefully stay in the family longer than I am around. 

Please see below, not my best quality photo and in need of a Haircut, Don't tell the RSM haha. At my side is our beloved Mascot Sgt Roo who's served here with the Australian contingent for some time, he's roughly about 10 now and a great companion.

Please pass on my thanks to the Hero quilts organisation and the other folks you work with Jenny. All the best with future travels and retirement plans...I've got another 21 years at least until I can live that dream haha.

Take care, thank you so so very much

 ...

Good afternoon Cheryl F,

I write to you to extend my sincere thanks for the adorable floral laundry bag and your very thoughtful accompanying note. Thank you for the wonderful and tireless work you do for veterans. I adored my colourful and ultra feminine bag and it will be cherished for a very long time.

Sending lots of love and gratitude,

...

"Hello, I recently received this beautiful quilt by Beverly U! My wife and I would like to send our warmest of thanks! We absolutely adore it and use it every day! 

...

Good Evening Bobbie S (Mystery BOMers & Bridget R),

 I just wanted to reach out and say a massive thank you for the letter and blanket that you went out of your way to sew and then post while we were deployed on Operation Kudu. It is very thoughtful and I am truly grateful.

A bit like yourself, my family have also served in the RAAF. My mums father was posted to Papua New Guinea and various locations throughout Australia while my dad’s father was a navigator in the Canberra bombers during the Vietnam war.

It’s great that you found yourself in the Mid North Coast of NSW, we would often stop by there on our way to Byron Bay and love the laid back lifestyle there.

Thank you again for your kindness and sorry I got to you so late, the parcel was delivered at the end of my three month rotation and has only just made it back to my home address.  

All the best.

Regards,

...

Good afternoon Bev and Geoff C,

I write to you to extend my sincere thanks for the gorgeous quilt you have lovingly made for me and the thoughtful accompanying note. Thank you for the wonderful and tireless work you do for veterans. I adored my beautiful and ultra feminine quilt, and it will be cherished for a very long time. I am particularly appreciative of the effort taken to include my beloved aircraft (the PC-21) and all my previous postings. 

Sending lots of love and gratitude,

...

Dear Beverly U,

 

I feel so privileged to have received the gorgeous laundry bag and quilt you have designed and made for me whilst I am currently deployed. I suppose whilst technology has its advantages in terms of easier access to communicate home, nothing quite matches receiving mail in the post. For it to be something that has clearly been made with so much thought truly did bring a smile to my face. I wish I could offer more than just email in return to share my gratitude. Sewing is truly a talent that I admire and have never quite been able to master myself.

 

It was lovely to read about yourself, and congratulations on 55 years of marriage. What a milestone! And I thank your family for their service as well.

 

A little about myself: I joined the Army to fulfil a promise made to my Grandad while growing up and it has been a journey ever since. Outside of my Grandad who completed his National Service and my maternal great-grandfather who served in WW1,  I am the only member of my family to have served and am very fortunate to be on my second deployment to the Solomon Islands. It has been particularly amazing to learn about the rich culture and meet all of the children over here. They are always so quick to smile and wave to us.

  Could please pass on my heartfelt thanks to Sheena B as well.   

Kind regards,

 

...

Good Morning Pennie T,

 

I would first like to say Thank you!, the quilt turned out more amazing than I could have imagined.

 

That’s good to hear about your Anzac Day, I find its always a great idea to visit different areas, as everyone has their own unique ideas for the service and are usually an awesome experience.

 

So, you are probably wondering when you got the request why is an Air Force Officer asking for a Tri-Service quilt haha.

 

Well my story has been an interesting one. I have been in the Military for 16 years now, joined when I was 18 and have never looked back. I started my career in the Army and spent 15 great years in the green reaching the rank of WO2. During that time I was fortunate enough to get posted to Navy ships for 4 years. Recently, only about 12 months ago, I decided whilst I’m still mildly young (15 years in the Army the body doesn’t feel young), I should trying something new and different, try a new direction in my ADF career. So about 8 months ago I transferred to the Air Force and commissioned to a FLTLT, so far so good, though half of my AF career has been over here (UAE on OP Accordian) haha.

 

Well now you know how my crazy tri-service idea came about. I couldn’t have asked for a better quilt design!, once again thank you so much!

 

Regards,

...

Good morning Danielle McA, 

I'm writing to express my gratitude for the laundry bag that you made and sent to me. I'm very very happy with the design and how it has turned out. It is a fantastic way to remember my deployment as well as my travel within the region, most notably my trip to Egypt. 

I hope your son is doing well and it's fantastic that you are involved within the Defence community. 

I would also like to thank you for the gifts in the care package. It is always nice to get a care package from home and nice to know that people back there are thinking about us while we are deployed. 

Thank you again for the work that went into making the laundry bag. It is exactly what I wanted and will be a special memory from this experience. 

Kind regards,

...

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

Tuesday's would be so totally boring without them!

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻