Letter: Losing the Baby

Letter 16 / 12 / 83

It’s only Friday yet, but I get so little done these days I need to get started early.

On Tuesday I saw the Doctor for a check up and he gave me finger prickers and test strips to test my blood sugar - its not as bad to do as I thought.

Then on Wednesday it looked as if I would lose the baby. After cramps and a few hours of loss things settled down again - I think I'm still pregnant.

Now we just have to wait and hope, while I try to take it easy.

That is a bit difficult, but Peter's been great - doing the washing, and carrying Alison around a fair bit. James is worried and frightened because he knows "Mummy sick" - he keeps trying to kiss me better! He's going through an insecure patch anyway with school holidays, island feasts, the new boat ... all too much newness and excitement for him.

Its the King

"The King" stayed with us last night! It was so funny.

When James saw the Bishop (of Carpentaria) in all his regalia leading the procession to "bless" the translation house ... in the middle of a quiet moment in a prayer he called out, "Look, Mummy! Big King!"

The Bishop's wife is not an islander as I said previously - I was getting her confused with the wife of Fr Michael Martin on TI. She's very nice, and James was very impressed when she used our shower facilities - "lady bath in there" he still keeps saying!

We haven't had much to do with this bishop, he hasn't been much help. But we are quite hopeful about the new bishop. Amongst other things, he has his own plane.

Tuesday

Last minute rush again. Peter's gone fishing with a very reluctant James. Peter's had such a hard time lately that he tends to get impatient with James, who responds by getting all of a dither when he's supposed to be hurrying and then dirties his pants because he retreats into his own little dream world and forgets about these things. Poor little chap, he's not "slow", but he's got the sort of mentality that doesn't cope well with a school set-up. So like his father - which I guess is why Peter gets so exasperated with him.

I caught up with the doctor yesterday - just as he was about to return to TI after his campling holiday out here on the smaller islands. He wanted to call a "Med-evac" plane/helicopter for me, but I managed to convince him that I'm okay. He checked me out and we've promised to call him if anything else happens. TI is a hole, not a place to spend Christmas - or any other time if we can help it! The Med-Evac is free, I think, but, as we understand it, I/we would have to pay for the return trip.

The Big Rain

The kipau gobgob came the other day - the annual "big rain". Mud and rocks came pouring down the hill, filled and overflowed our drain that winds around the back of the translation house and our house, and flowed right through the translation house and back shed. So glad our house is up on stumps! No permanent damage done, just lots of cleaning up to do.

Parcels

Thanks for the KLB6. I tried one dose - the night before I had the threatened mis. I know there isn't a connection, but I haven't taken any since. Anyway, I have no appetite. I'm living on four slices of bread a day - and I don't always keep that down. I can't stand anything sweet or fatty. But I'm not losing weight at all - it must be the sea air sustaining me.

We got the two parcels. The information about ducks was much appreciated - we learned a bit more. But it says "Muscovies are more like geese than ducks and will be dealt with in the next chapter ..." Ours are Muscovies of course.

Letter: Rain Rain Rain

Letter 11 / 12 / 83

What a wettie for James' birthday! Its been raining so long and hard this morning that they have cancelled the normal communion service - those that turn up will just mumble through "Matins" - then swim home.

We've had to leave the bung out of our boat to stop it filling up - actually the bung got pinched on the way here, so we are leaving the piece of cloth out.

The translation centre is far from waterproof - the chaps did a terrible job of putting the roof on, it doesn't slope enough (the water runs back underneath), there's not enough overhang, and the nail holes are so rugged it drips everywhere. The mattresses are soaked and the bishop and his wife are coming on Thursday. Its been raining every night all week, and yesterday it continued with light rain into the morning - just when we wanted to try out our new boat. (There's no wind, no swell, the ocean is dead calm.)

Anyway, the news is that we have our boat! When the rain eased yesterday we went for a little ride ... it was very exciting for all of us except Alison, who went to sleep. We anchored for about 15 minutes and caught five small (by local standards) fish - some kind of cod, not unlike coral trout, brilliant red with vivid blue spots. We gobbled them up for tea.

p.m.

Well its still sloshing down. The reason church is "off" is because the church is flooded.

James is having fun. He loves his new red handled cutlery - handles it really well. (Alison is jealous - she's on finger-foods these days, hates being fed. I have to rack my brains for what she can handle with those clumsy little chubby hands and only two teeth.)

We gave James a plastic spade - a big one, he lost his little old one on the beach. To go with it he has a little wheelbarrow and bucket (just like daddy). He's been itching to go out and try it all morning, but he can't in this rain.

So it's just as well that we also gave him a little blackboard (on an easel) and chalks - hours of peaceful fun. The problem is to keep Alison out of the chalk. So we have installed him and his blackboard out in the translation centre.

He loves his new Leggo's bricks - that sure made his eyes light up. We have to wait until Alison's asleep, or else put one of the kids in the playpen to stop her getting hold of those tiny pieces. But he sits there for ages, so quiet, pursed lips and furrowed brows, creating!

He'd love some extra packs and then he can make something "leally big" (as he says).

Christmas Tree

On the last day of school George Sallee (who is on the school board) organised a Christmas tree for the kids. Parents were to provide presents and Father Christmas would appear and dole them out.

But it looked like the show would be a flop, so he felt shamed and went home and got drunk. It was supposed to start at 6pm, at which time there were only about two dozen assorted kids and one or two parents.

We waited two hours, and more and more parents gathered - there were already stacks of presents under the poinciana tree.

Finally someone found George and got the costume from him. Wilfred dressed up - even his own kids didn't realise it was him. A lot of kids, even big ones, were too scared to go up to him.

James's present was near the end of the line, so I had time to talk to him gently and explain that it was just Uncle Wilfred dressed up, and all he had to do was accept his present and a kiss. When his turn came he twinkled up there, tall and straight - we were very proud of him.

Ducks and Garden growing

The ducks are still growing. They are developing their big feathers now. We gave them a box in case any of them felt like laying but they tore it up!

Since the rain started a few days ago we've been popping seeds in all over the place. Our dust patch between the house and the toilet/shower took only a few hours after the first drops of rain before the grass started sprouting. Our little plants are all shooting up - and hardly any grasshoppers around.

The mango trees are in blossom ready for the second season - but its been raining before the blossoms set again so maybe we won't get too many this time either ... well, Peter can't eat them, James won't (he's experienced the burn you get on your skin if the juice sits there for more than a few minutes), Alison can't hold much, and they make me feel sick (as do most things except tomatoes - which we don't have any of.)

Letter: Bun in the Oven

Letter 4 / 12 / 83

Church is on - evening service. James has wandered over there on his own - he just loves being with people. Peter is going over soon. I have bread in the oven, and a pizza for tea. Alison is wandering around near my feet. Two services a day are a bit hard on her - and me looking after her.

Morning sickness has set in with a vengeance, and the tiredness. But I am using my skipping rope every day for exercise, and there are a few hours every day when I feel really good. My mind boggles at the thought of a 16 month old and a new baby - and of course a three-and-a-half year old - but we'll face that when it comes!

Kids growing

Thanks for sending us back the photos from the film we sent. I've promised myself to shoot off most of our next colour film on the kids - James is so tall and slim these days, and Alison is a funny little person.

Its funny seeing her face "frozen" in a photo because she's such a lively character and rarely holds the same expression for long enough to get used to it. She's not a real 'girlie' looking baby (I would have to let her hair grow and keep her in ribbons and frilly dresses ...) but she's well-proportioned, not fat (despite the food she stacks away!) and strong.

Strong-willed too. We had a play-pen sent up from down south - as we have shelves rather than cupboards in the kitchen she gets into all sorts of trouble in there. She likes the play pen - stands up and goes round and round - as long as there is someone nearby.

Pre-wet

Big storm brewing tonight - first rain, we hope. Lightning and gusty wind - James is a bit un-nerved by it.

Its been pretty warm lately. Last night Peter was up at 12.30am (killing rats in the translation house) and checked the thermometer: 28 degrees. It was rather humid and sticky too. But other nights we've commented "Isn't it cool this evening" only to discover its 27 degrees.

The kids both sleep in just nappies. They are like peas in a pod when you see them like that. I put a bottle in Ali's cot and she helps herself 2 or 3 times - I replenish it when I get up to go to the toilet (3 or 4 times most nights).

Holiday and Conference

We like to spend some of our free time camping over on Dawar, one of the two uninhabited islands. We've announced an official holiday for this month (when the boat arrives) to make up for not going to Cairns - it will help keep the administration off our backs about spending too long here at one go.

I guess we'll have to go south about May, under the circumstances to give ourselves time for a holiday in Cairns or somewhere before we travel to Darwin and come under the microscope. I won't be allowed to fly after mid-June.

Branch Conference is the last week of July and first week of August - so everyone will be there (we'll have voting rights this time too) and there'll be friends for James, and Alison, and helpers for us.

All is well

We are all remarkably well. Its "cold-sick" time now as the weather changes, so we are getting stuck into the vitamin C.

The ducks are healthy too - and big! They are now covered in white down, no adult feathers yet. We are expecting the first eggs about Christmas time. We ordered another 12 ducks for friends, and they bought them eagerly. Now there are another 80 fowls (ducks and chooks) on order from Cairns.

At least people will stop coming to stare at ours. Fr Tabo said, "I think I saw a duck once ... when I was a boy."

Letter: Friends leaving soon

Letter 28 / 11 / 83

There have been so many interruptions today. We had to help write out documents for a land ownership business - that was very time-consuming. And just as we finished the S family turned up. (He is the white school principal).

They have just one week to go, and they are really ready to leave! We see a fair bit of them lately, I think they need to let go of a few of their tensions. Funny, we hardly ever saw them at the start of their year here.

James and their two girls play really well together, which keeps all the adults happy too ... but makes Alison get very animated in her desire to join in.

Peter S is in a spot of "trouble" at the moment. Saibo (you might remember he was the chap who took us for a ride in his boat around the back of the island, and left us there) has come to school drunk umpteen times. (He's a teacher). Peter S has given him several warnings, and the other day he sacked him ... and so now of course Saibo has been making all sorts of violent threats against him. Fortunately Saibo is not a popular fellow at the moment and no one is on his side.

New window

Peter made me another window in the kitchen today (the third window). I remember when we first moved in, it was dark, hot, dusty, with boxes of old louvre blades and roofing nails, and then there were wasps nests, rats nests.... bleh!

Now its so bright and airy, with rows of kitchen tools hanging, and neat lines of spice bottles, a sink, a Formica bench top, and a fridge. Not your conventional kitchen, but very "us"!

We've pulled out of a recent low patch - we are all well and happy and thoroughly enjoying ourselves at present. The ducks are growing fast, the tank is full of water, our dinghy should be here next week ... what more could we want? Not a lot of 'formal' language work going on, but plenty of valuable informal contacts.

More ducks

We ordered some more ducks, and they arrived safely and have been sold to island friends, who are delighted with them. James Rice bought three. Peter delivered them to him late in the evening, and James R said he was enjoying them so much he wanted to sit up all night watching them.

Letter: Boisterous Baby

Letter 22 / 11 / 83

Its early Tuesday - the kids are up but Peter lingers in bed under the effects of an antihistamine (his old mango allergy - not that he has eaten any!) A certain boisterous baby has just crawled to me and is standing, swiping at my paper (which I am holding in the vicinity of my left shoulder as I write). She's so much livelier than James was at this age, and full of little clevernesses. Some of these we appreciate - like we can leave a bottle in her cot and she'll find it and use it without calling for me. She has her first tooth at last, and now she is thoroughly good at sitting, crawling, standing - and even makes a fair go at pulling herself along things.

As for her big brother - he speaks Torres Strait Creole quite well for his age. We'll have to spend the summer holidays teaching him English too. Alison thinks he's wonderful, even though he frequently hits her or knocks her over. They are so funny together - they look so alike and they have so many private giggles.

Later

I've just taken James to kindy - he was very reluctant today. I haven't made him go the last couple of weeks because it seemed something there was frightening him. We're not sure if it was stories he was being told, or whether something was happening when all the kids are sent to the toilet. Anyway, with only 1 1/2 weeks left this year I thought we'd give it another try - see whether he sleeps well tonight or starts screaming again. Next year there will be 16 grade one kids - most classes are only 6-10 - so I guess there's presently rather a lot of 'big' kids in kindy, it will be a lot nicer for him next year when they move on.

We didn't get our boat on the last ship after all. We had been told it was on TI, but when Peter rang around no one had seen it. Finally they admitted we had been "short-shipped" - it was off-loaded and left on the wharf in Cairns! They tried to console us by saying there wouldn't have been room on the Melbidir from TI anyway. There's supposed to be another Melbidir about Dec 5, so we wait eagerly.

The ducks continue to grow rapidly. Whereas 4 could swim around in their crisper of water, now there's only room for one to "duck" in, but no room to actually swim as such. We've searched the island dump, but can't find anything bigger, and don't feel they're big enough for the ocean yet. We have to admit to not knowing a great deal about ducks. We are wondering how soon they will lay. And how can we tell male from female? And how much should they eat?

We now have water on tap! Its really hard to get used to, I still reach for a jug to dip into the barrel. Peter has put a pipe from our tank to the laundry sink, the kitchen sink, and a tap by the back steps - isn't he clever?

Letter: Black Magic at Work

Letter 12 / 11 / 83

Its supposed to be our "day off", but we are all too tired and sick to walk anywhere ... James, Ali and I have colds, Peter has swollen, infected feet. Peter S. made Peter an offer he couldn't refuse (ie a fishing trip in his boat) ... so here I am in the "Mir Meta" with a glass of Diet Coke and a handful of peanuts and a mozzie coil smoking by my ankles. Alison is asleep, and James has gone off to the S's place to play with their two little girls (and harass Sue, I guess). Its a perfectly beautiful day - rather hot, but lovely sitting in this little house.

I am sitting staring at the incredibly beautiful blue ocean, I can see the dark patches of sardines, and some weed, and the sandy patches on the reef. Its very hard to imagine scenery like misty mountains! The church women are all jabbering away, doing 'mission work' - ie sitting in the shade or raking leaves from around the church.

This crazy place. Sam Passi is an elderly deacon in the church, yet announced at a public meeting yesterday that he is scared to go to his garden alone since George B died and he wants to hold a ceremony to find who worked 'pourri pourri' on George. Wilfred (of all people) stood up and pointed out that this is now a Christian island and we don't do that stuff any more ... then a fight broke out and we don't know whether in the end they decided to go ahead or not.

After George died Sam was burning little bonfires around his house at night - he lives right next to George's (now empty) house. These days any mishap gets blamed on George's ghost. Amongst other things talked about at yesterday's meeting, it was pointed out (by one non-churchgoer) that it is against the law on this island to go fishing on a Sunday. These people are so mixed up!

Yes, we have a boat! So far its got as far as TI - so we are told. Its only a 13' aluminium dinghy with a 25hp outboard. We hope it will arrive on the Melbidir this week. The S's will only be here for another 3 weeks, so it would be nice to have it before they leave. We've bought a drum of petrol in anticipation!

Sunday pm

Things are really beginning to move again after some months of considerable apathy in the church. There were all kinds of people in church this morning ... maybe it will return to the days (like when we first came here) of having to sit outside because of no seats left. I didn't entirely understand the sermon, but I have an idea it was fairly fiery. Actually it was a repeat (in a longer form) of one Fr Tabo gave about two weeks ago when there was hardly anyone to hear it. George's death is beginning to have all sorts of effects. People are scared - some of the ghost, and some of the possibility of going back to the old ways of looking for the 'killer' by divination.

James seems to have musical ability - he can hold a tune really well for a 3 year old, even when he's not sure of the words! I don't think there is a piano anywhere on the island, even in the school. I guess these people wouldn't know what one is - can you imagine bringing one in in a dinghy and dragging it up the beach? Guitars and drums are all they know about, and cassette players.

The ducks are growing fast - they are so funny, even more than chooks! We have finally persuaded them that the mash we dish up to them is actually for eating, not just walking on. Soon we will have to make different arrangements for their daily swims as they are getting too big for their crisper. I gather swimming isn't actually essential to them, but they certainly enjoy it and I gather they do it to keep cool. We keep talking about taking them to the ocean when they are "bigger", but haven't fully worked out the practical side of it yet. They love fish - I can just imagine them getting into a school of sardines.

Letter: Ghost at Large

Letter 11 / 11 / 83

Just a quick note to accompany your Christmas presies.

People are still scared after the death of George B. When Saibo's boat was caught in the tide the other day they blame it on his ghost, and various other things have happened. There was a big meeting today because Sam Passi wants to look into a glass (not sure what that means) to find out who killed George.