Rain rain go away

Yes, I'm back.

I had a fabulous week ++ away. 

Unfortunately we (Australia!!) have been hit again with shocking weather.  Cyclone in Far North Queensland, fires in Victoria (although nothing like 2 years ago thank god) and heavy rain and flooding in lots of other parts of Oz thanks to aforementioned cyclone.  And we're a bloody big country.

The Aunt was evacuated from her house in coastal (read: on the beach) FNQ .  She is OK.  Her house is OK although many others were not so lucky.  The clean up will be horrendous as will the cost and the impact on our fruit and vege supply country wide. 

I spent some wondeful days with Other Brother and Mrs Other.  Sooo relaxing and just what I needed.  I then drove up to the Hunter Valley and caught up with 8 other wonderfully wicked wine wise weight watching women.  It was bloody hot (as was Canberra when staying with the Others) which did mean we couldn't do a lot of things but we spent a lot of time nattering and forging really strong friendships.

VR (a fellow WWer with whom I have become very good friends) and I then drove home via a country New South Wales coastal town to catch up with another WW online buddy.  Great fun and beautiful scenery.  Then onto another country town through recently (so recent the road was just opened) burnt bushland.  Then the rain started so the bbq dinner with yet another WW friend and her husband didn't happen so we all decided to adjourn to the local pub.  Great food, good wine and a very easy on the eye singer!

The rain caused so much chaos in suburban Melbourne and we drove home through the results.  The above photo was taken just before I was about to slowly drive through water over the highway.  Note the two cars abandoned on the other side of the road and the water up the side of them.  One of them is a Rolls Royce ... guess noone is immune!  If you look at the cars ahead of me you can see the wave generated from tyres and the depth of the water.  This was the 4th crossing we had to make to get home.  It was the longest and the fastest flowing but not the deepest.  When I was nearly home I found the road flooded near the local sewarage treatment plant (aka poo farm).  That was really scary as I think it had just happened and the water was quite deep ... and smelly!!!

Our river is running swiftly and full. 

Idiots keep putting themselves in danger and tying up emergency services people.  4WD drivers are arseholes when they drive through flood waters at great speed to the detriment of all other drivers.

My dog has grown.  My cats aren't speaking to me.  My sons all came home for dinner ... that my husband cooked.

Life is good and I'm so glad to be home.