Water Water Everywhere

It's amazing to think this time last week we were wishing for rain ...

Right around Australia Day some pretty wild weather hit our lovely corner of the world, thanks to ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.  We expected a lot of rain (that is typical when a cyclone fizzles out up north and travels down the coast as a rain depression) but a few areas actually got tornadoes ... which took many people by surprise.

It isn't unheard of to get tornadoes in Australia, but they are smaller and less common that the ones we hear about in America's "tornado alley".
 
Thankfully, although we were warned to expect a tornado, we didn't get one where we live. However, there was plenty of wind and rain about.  I'm not ashamed to admit that we had a bag with blankets and torches in our bathroom, just in case we needed to shelter there in a hurry.

What we did get in our town was flooding. Those of us who are locals are well aware that flooding is a semi-regular occurrence here and, luckily, most are prepared for such an event. Shops and businesses that are most at risk are emptied out with military precision (thanks to years of practice!) and, afterwards, everything seems to be back in place and businesses up and running again in no time. There is no shortage of helpers and everyone works together - it's one of the things I admire most about our town.  There are other places that were hit much harder and weren't able to prepare for it ... they are the communities I really feel for.

Here in the Crazy Cave, we didn't suffer too much.  Our house is not flood-prone (apart from a section of our yard right down near the back fence) and, despite being cut off from much of the town, we were still able to get to our local shops by taking a different route to get there - although a lot of the shelves were empty. We lost power only briefly, unlike some others we know who were without electricity for days. As an unexpected bonus, I had my sister here for company - she had come up from Brisbane for a quick visit and found herself cut off by the flood water for a few days, but she assured me she really didn't mind.

We even became an unofficial "wildlife sanctuary" for a short time! From a variety of birds taking shelter on our back verandah during the initial storm to a young frill necked lizard we found in the back yard afterwards. We thought it was injured, but the poor thing turned out to be mainly waterlogged - after spending the night in a warm dry box, it looked much better the next day when the rain stopped and we released it.

There was also some frog spawn in our pond, which may have floated away with all the rain if our teenager hadn't rescued it - we now have tadpoles hatching in a bucket, also to be released once they are frogs.

The only way in which the flood really impacted on us was that local schools were closed due to flooding and electricity issues, so the kids got an extra day on top of their six week summer holidays.  Funny, I didn't hear them complaining about that!  It seems even the boring old school holidays can be livened up with a bit of water around the place and some stranded wildlife to look after.

Now that the river has gone down (in our town at least) and school has gone back, I for one am looking forward to things getting back to our crazy version of normal.

Australia Day

AUSTRALIA DAY

Today is Australia Day, which prompted me to read the poem "My Country" by Dorothea MacKellar - most Aussies recognise it by the simple line "I love a sunburnt country".  

I tend to get bored with poetry, but this particular one does pull on my heartstrings. I have never lived anywhere else in the world but, if I did, I can imagine reading this poem would reduce me to a puddle of homesick tears every time.

Australia Day means different things to different people.  It can be controversial - for some it seems to be nothing more than a reason to raise the issue of whether our national flag or anthem should be changed.

I love our national anthem, it stirs emotion in me every time I sing it and I think the words describe our country perfectly (I don't even mind the "girt by sea" bit!).  As for the flag, I love that too.  I am proud of the British heritage shown by the small flag in the corner and I like to think that the Southern Cross is a great symbol for everyone who lives here - aboriginal, immigrant and otherwise.
  
It bothers me when people use the flag (or images of the Southern Cross) as a symbol of hatred or violence against Aborigines or Immigrants.  It makes me sad to think that, on social media, more and more people share narrow-minded views while hiding behind their keyboards and a false screen name. It embarrasses me when the line between "Aussie Pride" and prejudice becomes blurred.

There are so many wonderful people here, of all races, colours and religions, who only wish to to live in peace.

Many Australians use today to simply celebrate the fact that we really do live in a great country. Barbecues, good Aussie rock music and games of backyard cricket are the order of the day wherever the weather is good - and if you can dress up in a crazy Aussie-themed outfit, even better!
  
I see us as a vibrant, optimistic country of stunning landscapes and bright, happy people. Today is a day to celebrate our beautiful land and our national spirit, which is strong. As a nation we have shown we will pull together through adversity. 

I love the people - the fact that we can laugh at ourselves and are, for the most part, happy to welcome newcomers from other parts of the world. I am proud that our children get to experience multiculturalism and can be encouraged to learn about other people for themselves.

Yes, definitely "The wide brown land for me".

Ear's to Natural Beauty

I left a bit of a gap between the last blog entry and this one ... partly because we have been busy, but also because I haven't felt like it. There you go, at least I'm honest.  

We had our trip to Brisbane and spent time with my family - always a treat.  We are a close bunch and I'm blessed to be married to a man who is more than happy to be a part of it, so everyone gets along well.  We got to catch up with my youngest sister and her absolutely adorable baby and also celebrate another sister's birthday with a great family day out.

Then we came home to reality ... doctor's appointments, getting ready for the new school year, etc.  As an added bonus, I had to go and have a skin cancer removed from one of my ears.  This had come as a shock when I was first told, but I reassured myself that there are worse places to have lumps removed from and decided to buck up and be brave.  In the end, I came out of the experience a little more shaken than I had expected.  

The needles required to numb the area weren't too bad and I could cope with being told I needed a skin graft to finish the job neatly - it was either that or end up with an ear like an elf.  What I wasn't expecting was the unbelievable sensation of being able to HEAR my skin being cut (of course, the sounds were magnified because of it being my ear - why hadn't that possibility occurred to me before?).  Then the blood vessels were cauterised to stop any bleeding.  To the layperson, that means burnt.  Which, in my poor ear, sounded a lot like SIZZLE SIZZLE.  The smell wasn't great either.  Urgh.  

The dressings were put in place and I was sent home to take paracetamol for a couple of days. This morning I went back to have the dressing changed - a very uncomfortable experience because there was hair caught under the sticking plaster.  I felt like I was getting the side of my head waxed as the dressing was gently (supposedly) pulled away.  Not to mention my poor tender ear being pulled in every direction during the process.  I was assured by the doctor that it all looks good, a new dressing was put on (I may shave that side of my head before going back for that one to be removed) and I was sent on my way again, with instructions to return at the end of the week. All in all, not a very pleasant experience, but a necessary one that I am glad I've had done.

While this has been an interesting experience to write about (and probably should be a signal for me to remind everyone about the importance of applying sunscreen to the tips of the ears), it was actually something else that gave me the urge to type tonight.  It was the drive we took today.

We needed to go to the Sunshine Coast to get a couple of things not available in our own fair town. On the way home, on a whim, we left the highway and took the scenic route home up through the beautiful Mary Valley.  It meant it took twice as long to get home, but we toured through pretty little towns we usually don't give a second thought to.  We travelled below the speed limit and enjoyed the scenery - the hills and valleys, the heavily treed areas where we drove in silence with the windows down so that we could listen to the Bell Birds as we passed.  Further along, we pointed out scrub turkeys and a kangaroo that hopped across the road a little way in front of us. Seriously, we were like tourists.

The amazing thing was having the kids really appreciate the beautiful areas we have so close to where we live.  

The skin cancer surgery was certainly the biggest event of the week for me but this afternoon's drive was somehow more significant.  After the past few days of feeling a bit low and wanting to keep to myself, I came home today with a clear, happy mind.  Sometimes it's the smallest things that make me appreciate how lucky I am to be healthy and to live where I do :-)

Crazy Cave Camping

We finally did it ... we have officially had our first family camping trip!  That's right, we have never before packed up the car (and trailer!) and taken all the kids on a proper camp.  We decided to start small - only two nights.  We also made sure we camped beside a good friend of ours, who is a camping guru in our eyes, so we had someone to call on for advice - and we did, regularly.  I'll bet she was glad to see us leave today.

We didn't get off to the best start .. our five year old severely sprained his ankle the day before we left.  Not to be deterred (and because he was still keen to go), we threw his crutches into the car, along with the dog, and headed off.

We got to the camping ground - which is absolutely beautiful - and parked ourselves right beside our friend, overlooking the local creek with its brilliant swimming hole.  The first job after arriving was to put up our tent (which we'd never done before ... whatever happened to that practice run we planned to do in the backyard?).  Of course, we had the whining children and the dog to deal with too - it turns out a teen boy and pre-teen girl who bicker constantly at home are quite happy to take that behaviour with them to camp.  The five year old kept reminding us he was bored with having to sit and do nothing, because of his ankle injury.  Even the dog looked a bit miffed (probably because she was immediately tied to the nearest tree).  I must say though, the actual "putting up the tent" part went well and didn't take long at all.

Finally, we had our camp set up enough so that we were happy to take ourselves, the children and the dog down to the swimming hole.  This was where the holiday really began ... the kids spent the next three days swimming, kayaking and playing with other kids who were also camping there.  The Caveman and I got to relax and be big kids ourselves.  Even the dog, ten years old and afraid of water since she was a pup, was getting into the creek and swimming alongside us!  

Of course, it wasn't without problems ... the older kids continued to bicker occasionally, the youngest discovered that "time out" still happens even when the only room you can be sent to is a tent and we learnt that we could have been better organised for the trip.  All of that was swept aside though, by the general enjoyment and relaxation we all got from the experience.  We are already planning to do it again soon, without our friend beside us for guidance, and are genuinely looking forward to it!

Oh and that ankle injury?  Apparently almost forgotten in all the fun ;-)

Happy New Year!

Can you believe, here in Australia, we're halfway through the Christmas/Summer holidays already?  It has come as a big surprise in our house, more because it feels like we haven't done much yet.  Why is it every year we tell the kids we'll make the effort to do heaps of fun stuff on the holidays and then we never seem to get around to doing anything we planned?

These holidays our plans included: at least one day-trip to the beach, a movie at the local cinema, a few days visiting family in Brisbane and a camping trip.  You would think, with six weeks available, this should be easy!  But we haven't managed any of it yet.

We spent the first week getting ready for Christmas - shopping, cooking, etc - and sorting through the piles of books and papers sent home from school at the end of the year (I can imagine the teachers chuckling with glee when they saw all the full backpacks being carried out the door on that last day).

Then we had the "between Christmas and New Year" period - those lazy days filled with leftover food, floors covered in new toys and, being a cricket family, lounging around in front of the telly watching the Boxing Day test match (actually, I read a book).  Of course, it was a sad time for cricket fans with the death of Tony Greig, whose voice we all grew up hearing on the cricket coverage every Summer.  We also had a tragedy in our own house a couple of days later when one of our guinea pigs disappeared without a trace.  It was an awful way to end the year.

Naturally, we decided this must be a sign that the new year would be fantastic, so we celebrated by staying up for New Year's Eve.  All five of us.  Even the five year old.  It was fun, but made us all tired.  What were we thinking?

After a few days of not functioning properly (obviously none of us are very good at staying up that late), we got back on track and dealt with some appointments and catching up on a bit of essential shopping as the leftover food was all gone.  We even bought a new guinea pig.  Now, all of a sudden, we are a week into January and wondering where the holidays are disappearing to?  So, with three weeks of school holidays to go, the revised plan is to cram in a quick camping trip - our first as a family! - then head to Brisbane to catch up with loved ones.  That should lead quite nicely into the "before school starts" rush .. covering books, buying shoes and lunch boxes and making sure the uniforms are ready to go.

Don't worry kids, maybe we can fit in a trip to the beach and the movies at Easter ;-)

It's the Hairdresser's Fault ... Really!

There I was, in the chair at the salon, having my colour touched up and a trim done, chatting with my hairdresser.  We both enjoy catching up on a bit of gossip and regaling each other with funny stories about the things our loved ones have done in the six weeks or so since we last saw each other.  It's always fun, a little escape (and pampering!) for me, with some proper grown-up girl talk thrown in.

Somewhere during the course of the visit, I happened to mention that I am looking to get back into the workforce (my youngest child being in school now).  Naturally, the question I received was, "What sort of work are you looking for?".  Hmm, good question ... and one I don't have a clear answer to.  I had to admit to her that, at nearly 40 years of age, I STILL don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  The only thing I could think to say, off the top of my head, was, "One thing I've always thought I'd love to do is to be an author one day."  Immediately my hairdresser stopped, looked at me and said, "Hey, you could write a blog!"

It was a light bulb moment.  YES!  What a fantastic idea!  I, humble full-time mum of three, could write a blog ... I'd be good at that, right?  I enjoy reading the occasional blog myself.  I have so many funny stories to share (and just as many not so funny), surely nobody else's life would be complete until they've read MY blog.  It may not be an actual job, but would give me something constructive to focus on and maybe even provide some insight (or laughs) to others along the way.  I came home on a high (and it wasn't just because of the chemicals from the salon!) and jumped online to find out all about blogging.

Hmm.  First of all there are lists of mistakes I should avoid making.  From choosing the right name for my blog, to the importance of keeping it interesting so my readers don't get bored and turn away in droves.  ('Droves' of readers sounds promising though!).  There are privacy issues to think about .. do I want the whole world to know my kids' names?  Then there's all that stuff about page design, stat counters and URLs.  I am the most technologically challenged person in my family, so that should be fun.  Apparently I also have to blog regularly (at least 3 times per week according to one site ... really?).  And that's all before I have to deal with some inevitable Writer's Block along the way.

No pressure then.

It hasn't put me off though ... I am happy to give it a go.  I may not follow all the guidelines and I can't guarantee every blog will be interesting to everyone, but at least I will have tried something new (and, who knows, it might look good on my resume!).

If it all falls apart, I'm blaming my hairdresser ;-)