Grati-Tuesday and start to think Christmas

G'day all.

A couple of reminders first.  

The next sewing day at my home is on this Friday.  

If you are coming can you please let me know so that I know how much to bake and how many projects to have ready for you to work on.

If you can't make the 18th then 

the next day at Penrith will be on Sunday the 3rd of November.  

Same deal applies for both days.  BYO sewing machine and lunch.  Morning tea and materials provided. 

Now a few people I know have started to terrorist the rest of us by reminding us that there are only ten Saturdays to go to Christmas.  

Good grief!  Like I have time to worry about Christmas with all that has to happen between now and then -the dinner, the raffle and so much more that you don't even know about!   

BUT what that has made me remember is that it is time to start thinking about sneaking a little Christmas cheer into your boxes.  Maybe a Christmas decoration or two or some tinsel.  Remember, they cannot buy Aussie decorations in the Middle East as far as I know, and that includes the ship, and these guys and girls are going to be away over the festive season.

Personally I will be looking for some tinsel to send for starters.  So light, not expensive to buy and nothing is more cheery at Christmas time that tinsel! 

Last year I asked several of the troops to send me pictures of Christmas over there for a special Christmas Eve post for the Aussie Hero Friends.  This is one of the great pics I received and having now received a hug from one of these fellows, it is one of my favourite pics.

If you want to check out the whole post have a look here - I just did and it made my day all over again.  Big thanks to the handsome heroes who provided the pics.

:-D

Okay, time for a few thank you messages!

Good Afternoon Julie,

Thank you so much for the laundry bag which I've received in the mail today.

I will be home just before Christmas and my birthday so I'm really looking forward to that already once my job here has been successfully completed here in country.

I can't thank you enough for thinking of me whilst I am over here and I feel very honoured to have received your gift today.

Please take care.

.....

Good day, just a quick email to thank you for the quilt !!  It was a great surprise to receive it and just in time as its starting to get cool at night, it is well made and a credit to the talented people that are making them.   It is something I will treasure, I am here until December  its is very mundane work here at the moment and were all looking forward to getting home o our families for Christmas.  Again thank you very much

.....

Dear Peggy,

I just received a huge parcel from you and it was very humbling to open. I cannot thank you enough for the beautiful quilt you have made me as I will keep it for ever. I also want to thank you for the wonderful letter you wrote me as it reminded me of home and my family so much. 

I will be returning from my third and final tour in Afghanistan as we are deconstructing and packing up to get all the guys and girls home as soon as we can by Christmas hopefully. We all miss our families a great deal and it’s hard to explain to those back home how difficult it can become. 

I also want to thank you for the chocolates which I have already eaten and the lip balm which I used out on site today as the heat is unbearable at around 47+ most days. 

Thank you so much Peggy for what you have done for me as I will always appreciate it.  

Yours Sincerely 

.....

How about a picture of a happy Heroine modelling a gorgeous quilt by Angela.

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Hi Jan,

My AWESOME quilt arrived yesterday, and I couldn't be more happy. Thank-you so much for all the effort you guys put into it - when I get home it will be my 2 year old's security blanket so he can drag it down in front of the TV at night just as I did when I was little. You guys will always have a special place in all our hearts for all the support that you have provided over the last  Afghanistan Rotations. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe new year.

Kindest Regards,

Funny story about that one.  This fellow requested a quilt that says "Keep Calm and Chive ON. 

This is the background to the design in the recipient's words ...

The American public wanted to support their Soldiers on Operations a few years ago. So they started a Web site called "www.thechive.com". This web site has funny pictures, stories, video's and of course girls in swim suits and the like. So when ever it gets tough when away from their families they could use the power of their new found Motto " KEEP CALM AND CHIVE ON" or "KCCO". So now every country over here goes by that motto. 

 Simple enough you would think........

Simple enough to fix thankfully!

LOL

Oh and if you decide to go on line and check out the website...be warned, Rita C did after I told her about the quilt and this was the feedback I received...

this is an EVIL website, I spent (wasted) 2 hours the other night looking at it and LAUGHING

.....

Hi how are you. I am just letting you know how thankful I'm am in receiving your quilt. I think it's fantastic in what your doing and I know that it brightens everyone's day up in receiving a package from home, I know it did mine.  I hope that this email reaches you and sorry that it took a while to reply as down time over here is pretty rare. Thanks again take care.

.....

Dear Su,

 

Today I received the quilt you made for me, I cannot begin to thank you enough for what you have done. The quilt looks amazing! It was so nice of you to go to so much effort and to give up so much of your time. Now not only do I get to enjoy seeing pictures of my two boys, but the quilt will keep me nice and warm as it's starting to get a little cold at night.

 

As I'm sure you can appreciate, we don't get many creature comforts here in Afghanistan.  

Receiving something like this from someone you've never met who simply wishes to give something to deployed Australian troops is quite remarkable.

 

I spoke to my wife today and told her about the quilt, she was jealous despite the fact that she gets to see them both every day anyway! I haven't seen my dogs for six months now, but at least there's only a couple of months left until I get to go home and play with them.

 

I will endeavour to send you a photo when I get some time, thank you so much again for your efforts they are most definitely appreciated.

(and by the way.....the two boys are his dogs .......we have to remember that the furry members of the family are important too!)

.....

Dear Julie-Ann

I would just like to thank you for the laundry bag and treats that I received, it is well appreciated.

I'm glad to say that I will be home for Christmas, and as for the footy, I follow the NRL.  I did get to watch the Grand Final, so you can tell your husband that I was happy to see the Roosters beat Manly.

Thanks again for your time and effort.

Kind Regards

.....

Jeann typed this one out for me (which I really appreciate by the way) and I just had to leave her comments in red for you. Love em.

Dear Mrs C.... (What was he thinking!! I signed as Jeann. Probably a very polite bloke!)

I received your quilt and I must say I was really surprized as I didn't know I was being sent one. I really love it. It's absolutely awesome.

I have been able to watch a few football games (not as many as I would like) but it has been good to see some TV from back home.

Seems like your Magpies have a lot of support from your family. I know my Uncle goes for Collingwood as well.

Thank-you so much for the Quilt. It's come in handy on my bed already and with the temperature dropping for winter already I will get a lot of use out of it.

Yours sincerely,

.....

And the same lovely polite fellow wrote to Julie Ann

Dear Mrs S,

I received the laundry bag you sent for me, it looks great. I was really surprised to get some mail,

I wasn’t expecting it at all. My partner must have got in contact with AHQ.

I really appreciate the time you took to make the bag. It will give me lots of good use

and is much better than the plain one I was using.

Take Care.

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Don't forget that you can now buy your tickets for the dinner and the raffle.  

All the details are here 

Hope to see you there.

Till next time...................keep spreading the word and happy stitching!  JMxx