Jumping through hoops!

So...I have recently been filling in forms, searching for, collecting and providing evidence for two reasons.Firstly, after much soul searching, I have decided that I cannot throw away my teacher registration and so I have reapplied to the Queensland College of Teachers for the renewal of my provisional registration for another 4 years. After 27 years of full time teaching I gritted my teeth at having to send proof of the three teaching practices I completed in the early 1980's. I have since heard that I have been re- registered and so I am able to continue to do supply teaching at my leisure. I am already booked in for two days (one tomorrow) and have had to turn down five more because I was either booked in at another school or working at the library on the days they needed me. I will not take any contracts and will only do supply now and have emailed all the local schools to inform them that I will only cover Prep to Year 2 classes. I am going to be choosy.Secondly, on the fourth of February I will have been a Permanent Resident of Australia for four years and as such am entitled to apply for Citizenship. If successful it will mean I will finally be allowed to vote in future elections and plebiscites. I have completed the 36 page form, scanned and attached the 12 pieces of evidence to prove I am who I say I am and paid the $280 fee. I will have to sit an Australian Citizenship test at some point but know all about Kylie Minogue so am pretty confident it will be a doddle.Now I just have to wait and see if they will have me. Would you give Citizenship to this man?(I was trying very hard not to smile as facing me, in the Post Office, was a huge queue of impatient customers while I commandeered two of the three available customer assistants to take this photo. One had the camera and the other was holding up a large envelope to prevent the sun glare on my bald head which ruined the first three photos.)

Coming soon to Frogknot!

So...Pacha is sitting on 10 White Crested Polish hen eggs (she accidentally broke 2!) that are due to hatch around the 14th Feb!

Job done!

A wilderness taming weekend.

So much of this holiday weekend has been spent in mowing and weeding and taming the wilderness around us...give her an inch and Mother Nature takes a mile!

Next on the agenda for Nickification....

Cooling off.

So...with all the hot weather recently we have pretty much been having a daily dip in the dam to cool off. Today we had just got in when a swamp wallaby appeared over the hill and cautiously came down to the waters edge for a drink. I don't know if he saw us in there trying to keep as still as possible but he had a good drink, I could hear him lapping away behind the reeds, before he hopped off and left us to enjoy our swim.