The amazing story of the birds.....

One of the concerns in these times is for the animals. When my inlaws left their house they could do nothing about the birds ( cockateils) in the aviary outside. My soft hearted daughter worried the whole time about them, as we didn't know what we would find. Then we received a phone call to say bring some bird seed when you come, all the birds have survived. I can tell you there were eight very happy birds ready for that seed. The cage had nearly gone under,which means that the birds must have clung to the top for ages as the water rushed through. It must have been scary for them - I imagine that the current was very strong. The cage was still standing! The wheelie bins from nearby have disappeared, probably never to be found so it is amazing that neither the current or the surrounding debris knocked them about.
The water line is about 8 cm from the top. The red arrows show where it came up to.

So this is just a little flood story with a happy ending.

Cleaning up the mud after the Brisbane floods...

All over Queensland there are scenes like this. This is about one little house which has been our focus in the past few days but there are so many more all over the state. Thank you to everyone for their help everywhere.

We have started cleaning up the mud at my parents-in-law's house. It has been heartbreaking but everyone is safe.

This is looking across the Brisbane River. The submerged building is a boat club. You can see a yellow boat on the right way up high.

The water here is still way above the banks.

The mud left behind....

This was the lounge room...

And here's my husband and daughter working in one of the bedrooms.

Looking down the street - This was late after everyone had gone home. During the day the street had been full of cars, trucks and people. The next day saw the street even fuller as people cleaned their houses.

I want to thank everyone for their concerns and also all the quilters and bloggers who are rallying around to keep people in this crisis. My inlaws have got a lot of support and although starting over at nearly 80 years old is tough, there are so many other people in very needy circumstances. I can assure you that every bit of help is appreciated.

Brisbane Floods

We live in a high area of Brisbane and so have had no flooding. We are all safe.

But people will be seeing so many images of the damage over the next few weeks. The heartbreak is not isolated - I think that everyone will know someone who needs help. In our own family my husband's parent's house probably will have to be gutted and perhaps rebuilt. This photo was taken over 24 hours ago on Wednesday morning. By the afternoon the water was apparently covering 3/4 of the height. Now there is more water so it is most likely that it is totally covered by now. At this stage we have no idea of what we will find. Lots of stories like this will emerge.

My husband and his family experienced the 1974 floods as well and know what the clean up is like. They were in a different house then and the water missed them by three houses. But they know all about cleaning up as neighbourhoods all rally to help each other.

Who knows what the next few weeks will bring?

Camping....

We were supposed to go camping last weekend
But it rained..... and rained.....
And was cancelled at the last minute.


We went camping in the middle of December
And it rained........ and the tent leaked.......
And we came home a day early.


But we did have some curious visitors......

We won't mention how many leeches there were.

December's camping was at O'Reilly's

(although we were roughing it at the National Park campsite)

Christmas ornaments...

This cute little angel has been living happily on my tree for a little while. I participated in a swap by Quilt Fabric Delights, in a group who joined in the Christmas in July. I received her from Georgette, along with some other sweet goodies. Thank you so much Georgette. This is the ornament I sent my partner. I used to do quite a lot of counted thread work, including hardanger and I really enjoyed making this one. I might just have to do some more for next Christmas.

SSCS

Remember the one parcel under the tree? Well, it is open now and here is what was inside.

A beautiful Christmassy stitched wall hanging. And just check out the cute peppermint fabric which matches it. Just perfect.

Thank you so much Tracey - it is lovely and I have just the right place for it to hang next Christmas.

And of course, like so many other happy swappers are saying, a big thank you to Elf Chookyblue for holding this swap.

Happy New Year !!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the year.....I hope 2011 brings lots of happy times.

Like a lot of Eastern Australia it is wet here. This is the view I see this afternoon - clearer than a lot we have had but still grey and moist.

We did have one or two clear days and so managed to travel to wish our beautiful Lily (grand daughter) a happy birthday yesterday - 6 years old on New Year's Eve. Her brother always asks why she gets fire works for her birthday.

Happy Birthday Lily!