Time

A long time ago I used to think that a lot could happen in a week. Then as I grew older I realised a lot could happen in a day. Different experiences in my life have taught me that a lot can happen in an hour. Now, after seeing the images and hearing the stories of the recent flood events in the towns further east of here, I realize that a lot can happen in a minute.....and where you were standing or sitting in a particular minute last Monday determined whether you survived or not.

Toowoomba, Murphys Creek, Postmans Ridge, Helidon, Gatton, Grantham and numerous other little hamlets and settlements we didn't even hear about had no warning that the wall of water was rushing towards them, obliterating all before it. Horrifying images brought gasps of disbelief and awe. People, houses, cars, bridges - there one minute and gone the next, swept away by a raging, swirling mass of uncontrolled fury - some likened it to an inland tsunami. Grantham appears to have borne the brunt of the storm with estimates of up to 30 people losing their lives. One body was found 86km away - 86 kilometres. That's the distance from Dalby to Toowoomba. What hope did they have?

Then our state capital flooded. Whatever the river wanted, it took. For nearly two days we watched the water rise and rise then slowly fall, revealing a dirty brown landscape of mud, sludge and debris. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an army of volunteers came to help, armed with brooms, buckets, shovels and spirit. Watching this unfold on tv, my throat swelled with emotion and pride and my eyes filled with tears. Complete strangers delivered overwhelming support to those whose lives had been ruined.

Anna Bligh said it best when she uttered these words through a haze of emotion and tears:

"As we weep for what we have lost and as we grieve for family and friends and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we are. We are Queenslanders. We're the people that they breed tough, north of the border. We're the ones that they knock down and we get up again".

I'm a Queenslander.

Chronological Update

A lot has happened since I last found the time and energy to post. I'll catch up chronologically.

We received the phone call about Drew going to Sherbrooke, Quebec on Tuesday 4th. This presented an interesting challenge as Quebec requires an additional layer of study permit documents...I had a stressful 24 hours while I tracked down, signed and sent off the documents the next day.

We were expecting a visit from our CEO the day after, Thursday. I cooked the usual suspects - Thai Chicken Mince Balls and Andrea's Carrot Cake recipe from the DJRU cookbook. The morning dawned overcast and rainy; after numerous itinerary changes I met the plane with mince balls, carrot cake, sandwiches and bottled water in tow and waved Gibbo off to Surat. He returned late in the day. The rain bucketed down.

A friend from Sydney rang and said he wanted to donate some money to some "battlers" in our home town who had been flood affected. It didn't take long to track down some worthy recipients so when I receive the cheque I'll be able to distribute the funds.

We had a look at Sherbrooke on Google Earth on Friday night..........it looked a lovely town, built on the confluence of two rivers. In light of what's happened in our area lately it's perhaps a good thing that Drew isn't going there now.

Chris came back from Warwick and he and Gibbo versed Drew and Meg in Articulate. It was an uneven match - whoever gets paired with Gibbo grasps the short straw due to his cryptic and unorthodox descriptions of the chosen word; he is so confident that his descriptions are succint and clear while his partner sits looking baffled and confused. (this may sound harsh but we all laugh about it, including Gibbo).
The rain continued to bucket down.

On Saturday we went to town to the surprise farewell of a lady who has worked at Mary's for 25 years (or longer). I was standing in the scrapbook shop, choosing stickers for my 365 book, when I got phone call to say that no, Drew wasn't going to Sherbrooke, Quebec...........he'd be going to Ottawa, Ontario. The necessary documents were emailed through and that night, I finished the application process. All that was left to do was have some of the documents notarised by a Notary Public.

The closest NP to us lives at Gatton. We left here on Sunday afternoon to see him. We knew him - he's a wagyu breeder so he was happy to accommodate us on a weekend. We finished the formalities and drove back through Grantham, to Toowoomba. The rain was pouring down in sheets. We left the package of documents in Toowoomba for our rellies to post on Monday (I suspected that the road to home would be cut on Monday so thought that leaving them in Twba to be posted would solve that problem). We headed home through shocking rain and perilous conditions on the road; I was a little scared. I drove from Jondy to Dalby. About half an hour after we made it
home we heard that the road had been closed.

So Monday arrived and our rellies posted the documents. We all know what happened after that. Toowoomba was hit by the inland tsunami and a shocking train of events were put in place. Some stories are just too sad to contemplate.

Needless to say, the documents didn't make it out of Toowoomba. The Canadian Consulate has agreed to process Drew's application based on faxed copies and will email the letter of confirmation through.

Meanwhile, chaos reigns in our region. Our local town has flooded again for the fifth time in 10 weeks. Towns to the west of us are flooding and being re-evacuated. Towns to the east have been devastated and almost obliterated. Grantham expects to lose 30 residents by the time all this is over. Brisbane has just flooded. When will it all end?

Sherbrooke, Quebec

A phone call at lunchtime - finally, a destination. A very excited lad. A slightly shocked but relieved Momma. Now the panic for the visa requirements begins. Time is ticking. No details on the host family yet; that's to come. Breathe. Smile. Breathe.

A quick glimpse on the net reveals a university town; population 147,000; heritage buildings; all streets have French names; surrounded by hills, mountains and lakes. Plenty more research to do.

The Perils of Palm Trees

Whilst it is nice to have three palm trees in our garden, they are a rather messy plant. Three or four times a year we remove the enormous seed fronds and also the pods before they open. To hear the sound of a pod hitting the ground makes one wonder if they would survive a direct hit. They are very, very heavy.

 A man with a plan.

 Two men with a plan. The plan involves me driving the machine in the background.

Woofman is the foreman, checking on proceedings. 

It's all ok momma, they'll be fine.

 That's me in the cab, craning my neck to see that I haven't lost sight of the boys.

 You can just make them out - because while all this was happening, a big, dark, angry storm was brewing. Why would we want to prune three palm trees in a windstorm?

This isn't a great picture (for two reasons - 1) because it's blurry and 2) because I have a singlet on that shows my bones) but I wanted to show the approaching storm in the background.

 Down safely - but not before abandoning tree number three due to safety issues.

And here's the storm. It didn't last for long, blew a lot, dumped a bit of rain then moved on.

365

Drew and I started our 365 journals yesterday. We bought one each at kikki-k just before Christmas when Meg was at her epic hair appointment. What a shop kikki-k is; I spent a very long time in there admiring (and fondling) and smelling the stationery. It's right up there with a bookshop.

The idea is to use the journal to record a year in your life - the birth of a baby, a new job, a holiday. I am going to chronicle the year of Drew's absence - but it won't be all sadness and tears. Each day will reflect how I'm feeling on that day and some pages will have nothing to do with him being away and some days I may miss altogether. It will be whatever my mood delivers me on that day (ha, that should be interesting!). Drew's book will chronicle all his new experiences - and we will swap books upon his return.

World Introvert Day

Celebrate the qualities of the introverted soul:

Reserved

Quiet

Solitary

Introverts are people who find other people tiring

I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush

An introvert survives in an extroverts world by staying "inside"

Introverts regain energy through solitude

For introverts to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating

We don't do small talk. We tend to think before talking; extroverts tend to think by talking

Extroverts are energized by people. Introverts need to turn off and re-charge

When you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you alright?". Don't say anything else either

The introvert is a very good listener. She listens and learns. The introvert speaks when there is something to say

2011 Here We Come

What does the year hold for us? Some of the things on this list are definite, some are maybes and some...well I just hope for some.

- a year in Canada for Drew

- a trip to Korea for Gibbo to meet our customers and see our meat

- a European trip for Meg with Chris and two other friends

- a hiking trip for me, either in Tasmania or New Zealand

- the fruition of some plans we first put in place 9 months ago (which would deliver me the long awaited project I've been looking for)

- a slower pace of life

Let's see what happens!!!

And So, That's It...

for another year. Goodbye 2010. Goodbye to 18 years of continuous education. I saw some school books in the newsagency yesterday and felt a little pang of surprise (and relief) at the realisation that I won't be doing the school book list thing ever again.

It was a good year. There were ups and downs, laughter and tears, celebrations and commiserations; the same as every other year. It was a year of having my beautiful daughter home (after being away for four) and a year to watch my son mature and grow into a fine young man.

It was a year that went awfully quickly!

Goodbye to another year of blogging.

Happy New Year everyone.

We've Also Been...............

Playing volleyball..............

and arguing the point.

And swimming.
We also did a lot of things that I didn't record on camera. We played cards every night. We played word games and mind games. We did some gardening (6 bodies @ half an hour = 3 hours work). We laughed and ate and drank and enjoyed each others' company.....and we'll do it all again next year.

The Dogs Have Had Fun Too...

We only own two of these dogs.........the rest of them came to board for a few days. Some of them are still here!

Here is Da Wolfman looking for mice.

This is Annie.

This is Sampson.

This is the pup (that ended up leaving us two nights ago to go to a new home at the coast).

This is my baby, Coco.
This is Tess, the mother of the 9 pups born on Christmas Day. Sadly, we lost one.
This is Abraham, Clarabelle's brother. We lost Clarabelle to an angry brown snake two and a half years ago. I didn't get a photo of two of the others - Muchos or Bailey.