Another jam packed weekend

Gab Tutui Cultural Centre - Ilan Cafe is situated at the back

Brother Damien's helicopter ride

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Catholic church on Thursday Island - Mass is every Sunday at 10am and morning tea afterwards on the priory verandah. We have amazing views of the water and there's always a beautiful breeze blowing.

Some weekends are mundane, hum-drum and others are jam packed. This last weekend was jam packed.

Saturday morning started bright and early - well for me it was early, if not bright - at church. A working bee to clean up the church and grounds had been scheduled to start at 8am, but I was tired and slept in. No biggie - I knew that when I got there I would still be welcomed. And I was :)

Most of the others had already arrived and were hard at it - mowing, clearing, raking, polishing brass candle sticks. And I was soon assigned a task - dusting the pews and the entrance - statues, tables, shelves. I moved from that to the outside to help prune the bushes, rake up the leaves and generally clean up the yard.

We worked solidly for 3 hours and were rewarded with a delicious lunch of freshly made sandwiches, fresh fruit and chilled juice - a feast fit for a very hungry and tired working bee.

After a much needed shower and a rest, it was off to the hairdressers for a bit of pampering. I came out feeling p-r-e-t-t-y good and ready for a night out. Which was just as well because later I took Rob to dinner at the Ilan Cafe - I've been raving about it since that time three weeks ago. Things have been hectic here, as usual, so I took advantage of a night out together to enjoy some 'us' time. It was just what we needed - a bottle of wine and a fabulous meal. Rob had the linguini with bugs, I shared an antipasto and bruschetta with him, and then another entree of carpaccio as a main. For dessert Rob ordered a creme brulee ..... with 2 spoons - good man :) 

This morning it was Mass as usual followed by our regular morning tea. At the moment we're lucky to have the services of a priest - we've been without one for months and months - and hopefully he will be assigned to us permanently. The church is also home to a small community of Marist Brothers - Hugh, Damien, Brian and Tim - and they are quite active in the community as well.

Anyway, after mass, while chatting to Brother Damien at morning tea, I mentioned that we regularly helicopter pilots to our base at Yorke Island. He said he would love to go on one, so I suggested that next time we have a chopper going out, I'd let him know. We had one going this afternoon, so a quick phone call and Rob went to pick him up and take him out to the helipad.

While waiting for him to return, we spent a very pleasant afternoon with the remaining pilots, sitting in the open area under the pilot house, chatting and enjoying a red wine. Brother rang when they were 10 minutes out so Rob and I had time to drive over to the pad and collect him. He was one happy chappy and literally bounced into the car and out again when we dropped him home.

It's now Sunday night - Kacee is asleep on the couch, Rob is in the office doing last minute checks on the ships and I'm here blogging. I posted on Facebook this morning that I wanted the day to go slow so that I could fit in everything. Yes, there's still a bit more to do, but I think it can wait another day. What a week days for if not to recover from the weekend?

Life is good.