Good Morning Ann S,

 

I only just returned to my ship today and was able to grab my mail which to my delight was the wonderful Penrith Panthers Laundry bag you made!

 

Thank you so much for your lovely letter as well, I appreciate what you do and provide to our defence force – surprisingly, finding laundry bags are so difficult so what you provide is of such a big importance!

 

Firstly, I would like to also acknowledge your dads service for our country, they were the golden generation and came together to fight and win during WW2. I love to spend my time on ANZAC day talking to our elderly servicemen and woman and learning about their history and what they accomplished. It makes me so proud to know I too am serving like they once did and hope that we can make them just as proud. Your dads legacy will never be forgotten. I am from a family that’s full of ex-defence force personnel from my grandparents to my dad and many of my cousins. It is very special to me to serve this great nation, we are indeed the greatest country in the entire world.

 

A little bit about myself – 

I am twenty eight years old. I have been a diehard Penrith fan my entire life. You can just imagine how I felt after winning two grand finals in a row, hopefully we can get another one this year! I originally went to university first before joining the military, but knew the military was the only thing I wanted to do, considering most of my family has served. I joined up as an Acoustic Warfare Sailor on Submarines before transitioning to the surface fleet. My current job role is Electronic Warfare and I am a Leading Seaman. I’ve served for 7 years so far. I am looking at serving for a few more years to get to the magic number of 10 before I transition out of the military to spend more time with my girlfriend and hopefully lead down the pathway of a family soon so I can experience that wonderful time in life and give my parents grandchildren so they can be just as proud of them as you are to yours. We are about to become a family of three though very soon, but a furchild! We have got a Golden Retriever called Houston waiting to be cleared for us to be picked up very soon!

 

Thank you once again for the lovely laundry bag, when I came back to my work area, everyone could tell how thrilled I was with it. It is such great quality and it will be with me for the rest of my life, I will always cherish it. I love the design and the added names of the current players as well as mine on it. My words could never thank you enough. I am traveling to America in September for my best friend’s wedding for a month and I will be bringing this with me so I can conduct laundry and show off my laundry bag to everyone!.

 

I hope you have a great rest of the year and have good health,

 

Thank you so much again, 

…

Good afternoon Kathy W,

I am writing to thank you for the quilt you made for me. I have just got a chance to see the quilt a few days ago on my arrival home.

I was so sure about the aeronautical theme either to be honest. I think perhaps it was suggested in EOI email but regardless you certainly nailed the theme. The whole thing is very well planned and nicely put together. My partner who has absolutely no interest in aircraft has taken such a liking to it she has placed it pride of place in our living room.

You  have done an excellent job and although I am no expert, it is plain to see you have quite a talent. I can guarantee you that it will be well looked after for years to come and very much appreciate the time and effort you put into producing it. It really shows you cannot beat the quality of handmade items!

I hope you continue to make quilts as I know I certainly have appreciated your efforts and I hope other members can be future beneficiary of your talents.

Best wishes to you and your husband and once again thank you for the nice surprise.

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.