@wotsup - last night I wrote a long reply to you - and it is nowhere to be seen? don't know what happened.
Briefly, my hubby's 'career' and work ethic was pretty similar to yours, except he (and me too) saw a lot more of the world, worked in many different places - here in Australia, his first job was for the railways at Peterborough (S.A.) then flew to Sydney to welcome me there, and missed my arrival in Adelaide. I was miffed, local Lutheran pastor and his wife took me in - got me sorted for a job etc. then plane ticket arrived from my fiance - to Sydney. This particular pastor was a true humanitarian never forget him and his wife (Pastor Zinnbauer) - a book was written about them, too.
In Sydney: lots of new, young friends from all over the world - lots of financial 'goings-on' with young men trying to start businesses, trying to out-fox one another - my hubby an honest simpleton, if truth be told - so we lost out a number of times. Trip back home, wanting to stay home, with small child, but my Mum was still working, so could not be asked to do Kindergarten duties for our first child, husband picked up almost on arrival to do his army service was offered job there . . . but he couldn't take the military seriously - so we returned, but not after checking out possibilities in Switzerland and Germany, but had become easy-going Aussies.
In Sydney, again, lots of international friends, but also one lovely lady, who had been deserted by her husband (with 4 small children) and she was clawing her way back via selling real estate - so I sometimes looked after her little kids, the older ones went to school. She turned out to become a formidable businesswoman - Australian country girl, descendant from a relative of Sir Joseph Banks . . . she has died since, but her kids are now in their 50s and have all done well and I could still turn up and be regularly 'treated' - her youngest daughter came over here for my husband's funeral.
Lots of stories like that - Western Australia was the turning point - here he always had work, no longer machinist, always technical, working, fixing problems, having parts built etc. last job was with 'engineering' at CBH - one guy who rang up when he died so suddenly was an Aboriginal man who manned one of the bins in the 'country' can't remember where - he was devastated.
(in between all of that, he renovated and re-built 3 homes, last one with a whole new 1st floor extension and a wooden circular stair case, which he designed, built, carved, machined, over many months - in the basement - it was a wonder to behold - and he designed and built his own cider press, which I flogged off for a pittance after his death, I am still sorry about that.
He basically got on with everyone, was Lutheran by faith, but didn't believe, just believed in being a real human. I have one picture of him in mind when he helped a friend shift a foal onto a float and he picked it up ever so gently . . . with such a sweet expression on his face . . .
and when young was so skinny, my Mum called him a 'tomb spy' - put on a fair amount of muscle, but never the Mister Universe stuff, which is revolting.
My girls (well 2 of them now) still miss him - and I talk to him every day, his best friend did a large portrait painting of him, which hangs in my office.
Sorry, I talked so much about him and not your wonderful achievements, but you wrote about them, and they are exceptional! Congratulations - thanks for sharing - now I know who to call should my roof leak - but it daren't - I've put a spell on it.
(I totally understand this thing about rearing cattle for slaughter, my new friend, ex-farmer, told me of the same experience. I wonder, will we ever become vegetarian as a species? It can be done, millions of Indians are vegetarian - and many others, too, of course.)
Hope you did a good job on your roof; weather still unpredictable - foggy here, which is so rare and wonderful. Time to take a break?!!
All the best
Taurisk
