Baby

Well, Anne is apparently pregnant.  Testing shows that the baby is a girl and will be due around the 11th July 2019.

Marriage

After nearly 39 years I decided to take the plunge and get married.  I proposed to Anne on Victoria Peak on our first day on our holiday in Hong Kong.  It was a windy afternoon with the sky peppered with clouds overlooking the southern side of Hong Kong Island and the expanding sea beyond.

The next few months were a blur of organising, paying, frustration and dealing with the opinions of others.  Before I knew it the day were here.  I can't really say that I was nervous.  I saw it as a day that had been planned and was just going to pan out as it did.  Anne was also pretty unstressed about the whole day which was even more surprising.  She had a bit more stress coming up to the day dealing with others who wanted to plan the wedding and force their opinions on her.

The service took place at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Alice Springs, and it was a very odd one. Certainly not how I expected.  As neither of us had done it before we asked on several occasions during the pre-wedding rigamarole that he was to provide guidance.  Lots of guidance.  This however never arrived with the pre-wedding practice session dedicated to finding and signing forms.  No running through what needed to be in the ceremony, apart from saying that there needed to be a certain number of hymns, readings and other religious things.  I provided my complaint to the church however I don't hold out hope of hearing anything.  It seems to me that the Catholic Church is always slow to react to complaints and only changes when it is the last resort.

• No pronouncing of husband and wife
• No ‘you may kiss the bride’ moment
• No pronouncement that we were now married
• Homily about divorce and that love only lasts as long as it lasts (interesting as Catholics are supposed to be anti-divorce)
• Very limited direction given throughout the service (it was discussed that this would be required)
• Chairs for bride and groom turned around to face the guests halfway through the ceremony, while speeches were still being delivered (we were not able to watch the speeches that followed which I found to be a rude gesture)
• Certificate not provided (blank official certificate signed during the ceremony)
• After being told that someone would have to complete the certificate in the practice, when they tried to find the priest to do this after the ceremony they were nowhere to be found
• Priest appeared to get annoyed at some of the music choices
• Priest appeared to get annoyed that not all the guests knew what to say during the service yet no guidance was given regarding the process.

Outside the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.

McLean family outside the Catholic Church.

In the end though, there are always going to be some issues on the wedding day.  I just didn't expect so many of them to be in the ceremony with the people who are supposed to do these for a living.  That said though, the reception was good and seemed to go pretty well.  Although there were issues with that too (e.g. canapés served in the room, not by the pool; cake not cut and served with tea and coffee at the end of the evening), overall it was a good night.

A new Puppy

After probably 10 years of wanting to get myself a dog, I finally did it.  An so I went and picked up a Jack Russell from a lady who lives out bush on a cattle station about 180 km to the South of Alice Springs (Palmer Valley Station).  I'm not sure if she's a full Jack Russell but she looks the part.  She is a puppy and like all puppies she has barrels of energy, something that my family were quick to point out when I told them that I'd gotten myself a Jack Russell.  This is apparently something of a major issue.  After wanting and finally getting a puppy for myself, the overwhelming feedback that I received that it was not a good idea.

Unfortunately this put me in a bad mood about my new puppy when I should have been enjoying her cuteness and energy.  Instead I found myself worrying about what she would be like when she was older and how to train her.

These will be some of the things that I will just have to deal with.  I've wanted a dog for such a long time I'm sure I'll be able to deal with anything that comes up.  Now I've just got to have confidence that I can.