ANZAC Day

Today is the one day of the year where the Aussies and Kiwis come together as one, to commemorate ANZAC Day.  If you want to read more about it, this is a great website here.  A snippet from their site is the following:

“ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

Australians […and Kiwis obviously…] recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.”

Today it’s been incredibly quiet around the office … the roads are sheer bliss to drive on without the usual hubbub of business traffic (it’s a public holiday today for those of us who are non-shift workers), and it was incredibly peaceful around the area when I enjoyed my lunchbreak at 9am … sheer bliss, and chance to offer a quiet bit of silent thanks and remembrance for those who fight for both our wonderful countries (both past and present). 

Of course, nothing good lasts forever – now I’m home my peace is well and truly shattered … the neighbours that own the property on my right have been seeing how big they can get their power bill this month by using every single garden power tool they can lay their hands on.  What started off as slightly annoying hedgetrimming with the electric cutters for an hour, soon turned in a continuing rhapsody of weedeater, lawnmower and the latest masterpiece instrument, the leaf blower!  I’ve been home for almost 3 hours now, and he’s barely stopped to take a breath … geez, I’m sure he must be due for a smoko soon!!!  I wonder if he thinks he’s in the northern hemisphere and that Spring has arrived … personally I’d like to wrap him IN a spring coil right about now so his hands can’t touch a power tool for the rest of the day!  Ooh, ooh, wait … there’s silence … could it be true?  Nah, must just be smoko time 😛

So, how do you spend your day when you’re working on a public holiday?  Personally I enjoy the extra 8 hours allowed to be sitting at work in my scruffy jeans … that in itself is worth being in there (and of course the extra pay won’t go astray)!  I actually got to bed on time last time and was settled in under the duvet at 8pm … I don’t even remember getting comfy, so I must’ve flaked out straightaway and didn’t wake up until the alarm went off at 3.45am.  I’ve felt absolutely fantastic all day!  I think my lack of energy etc really must get linked quite seriously to my sleep patterns – if I can get a full 8 hours sleep it makes so much difference!  As for the rest of my day, it was ‘steady’ on the phones … regular callers throughout the day, but not really ‘busy’.  I went into work prepared with my biscornu to stitch some more on, plus some quilting magazines to drool over … I can’t believe I pulled the magazines out first, and spent all day flipping through them.  Oh boy, I think I’m going to have to feed this urge very very soon, and I think I’ve worked out how to do it – I’m going to drag out some of my beginner quilt books that have some tiny projects in it, like a bag, pincushion, cushion etc, and try something small first from my scraps.  Then when I can afford to get some ‘real’ fabrics, I’ll start work on my ‘proper’ quilt.

As for my ‘main hobby’, I did actually manage to get a sum total of 1 1/2 hours into Egyptian Garden Mandala last night, to officially kickstart my rotation again.  It’s actually quite pitiful just how little I managed to get done in that time (mind you, I kept getting distracted by the TV) … it just looks like I tied a couple of bows on the corners!  I’m actually showing the progress piccies more for my own record, so I can see how much more will have been completed after the full 10 hours of rotation.  Of course it’s about to be Bordeaux time, so it’s going to be pushed to one side again soon – poor EGM, it’s only just come out of hiding and it’s being rejected again … it’s going to need counselling soon!! 😉

 
Before ……………….. After
(the latest piccie is probably the closest to the actual fabbie/thread colours)

Talking of which, I’d better get cracking and get the needles out again – I’ve got a couple of hours overtime over the next 4 days (1 hour tomorrow, 2 on Friday, then 4 hours each on Sun/Mon yippee) … it means my 6-day week has now turned into an 8-day week, and my 5-day break next week will now be a 3-day break, but pay-day will be looking good! 😀