News & Updates from Vicki Avcin ~ AusCrafts · Page 45

Following on from last week when we got all excited about some rain, weve had 2 big storms this week.

Still a long way off the 200mm they forecast but well take anything we can get!

The first storm happened at 4am on Wednesday morning, waking us with the distant sounds of thunder to the south west.

The rain started so we got up to go watch it and the lightning show.

It was blowing horizontally at the front of the house so we went out the back, hadnt been there for a minute and there was the biggest flash and crack of thunder that weve heard for probably 4 years.

Made us jump and get goosebumps, then bang another one. Something close had to have been struck close by. We have an environmental park at the back of us so thinking it was down there, fortunately with the heavy rain, had a fire started it wouldve been doused quickly.

We got about 30mm of rain out of that storm which the whole thing lasted just under half an hour.

We went back to bed, listening to the rain and the thunder rolling off out to sea. Then lunchtime on Wednesday, out of the blue another very isolated storm rolled over us bringing another 30mm of rain.

Very little thunder in this one but some strong winds and it passed over within about 10 mins. So very grateful for the 60mm of rain but it was nothing like the nearly 300mm that Brisbane had over about 3 days straight.

There is a lot of flooding around the southside of Brisbane and the Gold Coast Hinterland, where roads have been cut, and even landslides where several houses are teetering on the edge of a cliff now.

So far they havent slid so they were very lucky. Major flooding has also happened in NSW where whole houses have been washed away. One while one couple was off getting prepared to be married that day when they saw their house on TV floating down the river.

This whole rain event along the eastern seaboard of Australia is being called a rare event being the way the weather patterns happened and was coastal, unlike when major flooding usually happens more inland and the water comes down the rivers to the coast.

Well after months and months of no or next to none, finally we have had some decent rain. Forecasts were promising for up to 200 mm over the next 10 days.

We laugh at these forecasts because they never happen and usually we get maybe 5 or 10 mm if we are lucky.

So Monday came and started off sunny but cloudy, then Monday afternoon the clouds started building and we were hopeful.

Well true to form we didnt get a lot, 15mm by 9am Tuesday morning. Maryborough just 20 mins down the road got a whopping 101mm in the same timeframe.

So while we missed out it was good that Maryborough got a decent soaking because they have been longing for the rain too.

Everywhere the grass was brown and crunchy and we had a high fire risk, so much so that a Fire Ban had been put in place on the previous Friday.

So each day we had cloudy days with nothing more than showers which for the week hasnt added up to even 20mm of rain.

Today is sunny and hot so will be a very humid day but a lot more rain is forecast over the weekend and into about Wednesday next week.

FINGERS CROSSED.

But what a difference that little bit of rain brings, frogs are out, one even sleeping in the corner of the wall and ceiling on the front patio, the mushrooms are growing (we are lucky they are edible ones) making little fairy circles (well half a one) in the front yard and best of all we have GREEN grass that is soft to walk on!

Our wet season (summer) didnt happen, Autumn looks a little more promising for more rainfall…….. we hope.

I have an old piano thats been in the family for a long long time.

I havent played for years since I was a teenager (which I now sometimesregret) but I cant bear to part with it because I remember my Grandmotherplaying it, my mother playing it and I played it till I rebelled and refused tocontinue with my music lessons when I was around 14 yrs old.

Mum made me take music lessons and do all the exams, which I would gethonours for, but I didnt like the old fashioned stuff that I had to do and wanted to do all the hip songs of the day.

So I deliberately failed the last exam I ever did.

Bad me! Anyway this piano weighs a ton and we thought of selling it but there is a lot of pianos out there and they arent selling.

No one even wants it as a give away! Everyone wantsthe lighter electronic keyboards these days.

I saw a post on FB where someone had the same problems selling so they decided to turn it into a sewing station.

I thought what a great idea and I get to keep the piano. Im looking forward to ripping the guts out of it and make it useful again…… and it will be so much lighter to move around too.

It will also be more workspace than I have now as currently my machine is on a small sideboard table.

I think I have a great plan!!

Just recently Circus Rio was in Hervey Bay for 2 weeks. Friends of ours are the transport managers for it and transported all the trucks and advertising trailers and caravans up here.

After the circus was finished, they only had limited time to remove everything or the Council was going to charge extra fees for each day there was something on the block.

We were asked if they could bring vehicles out and park up on our property as we have 10 acres, so that they could come and collect them over a period of 5 days.

So our front yard became a parking lot for a few days.

Photos are of some of the vehicles. We had free tickets for the show for allowing them to park up. Circus Rio is a non animal circus and is brilliant, like a mini Cirque de Solis.

Here in Australia they do a Share a Coke campaign every year. It usually involves having Coca Cola labels printed with different words, like Maaaaate, Champ, Cuz, etc but this year the campaign allows people to apply for personalised labels.

Hubby and my first date anniversary is 14th February, yes Valentines Day, this year being our 24th Anniversary. This year hubby decided to do something different to the flowers thing that he usually does. He kept saying to me youve got a surprise coming. After him saying it a few times I bit back and asked what was it?

Of course he wouldnt tell me so I assumed one of the kids was coming up. They have this habit of not letting me in on the secret although hubby knows so I did ask him which kid is coming up.

No no kids. So the mail lady turned up with this parcel and all was revealed.

It was 2 bottles of Coca Cola with Nannyfire and Poppyfire labels. So how cute is that? Nannyfire and Poppyfire is the name one lot of grandkids call us because their other grandparents are Nanny and Poppy, so because hubby and I are firefighters they added fire to the end of the Nanny and Poppy.

So these two bottles sit proudly on the bookshelf now, because we dont want to drink them, they are one offs and would be a shame to open them.