Castle in the Mud

At the moment it looks as though the cyclone will not make landfall, however, they are so unpredictable you never say never. We will continue to be aware of what is happening.

We had nearly 40mm of rain here today and it is quite cool and windy tonight.

Once I have typed this I will be going to bed as I only had about 4 hours of broken sleep last night, thanks to the wind and general unease about the weather. I am so tired that I am sure tonight will be better.

We are looking forward to our trip to Canberra on the weekend to meet up with friends. I think all of the planning is done - tonight I booked the long-term car parking near the airport. I hope the cyclone watch is finalised before we go away.

This week we are eating from the freezer as I want to reduce our frozen supplies a bit before we head off to Japan in under 3 weeks. Tonight was spaghetti bolognaise and today I took some vegetable casserole to work for lunch.

Watching and waiting. That is what the next couple of days will be all about. We have done al of the preparation that can realistically be done at this stage. Now we just have to go about our daily business of work etc and wait and see what track the cyclone takes and consequently what effect we will feel here. I must say it is a bit unnerving. A cyclone coming this far south is unusual but not unheard of and I fear a lot of people will be caught unawares as they have no idea of what to expect.

More news tomorrow.

Meanwhile we did have a lovely, leisurely lunch with our guests today. A most enjoyable gathering.

As I write, another chapter in the book of Australia's extreme weather is about to be written.

Severe TC (tropical cyclone) Hamish is tracking south-east parallel to the north Queensland coast. The communities most at risk in the near future seem to be Mackay and the Whitsunday Islands. Some island resorts have already been evacuated.

Here, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland all appears to be 'normal'. A slightly overcast day but no wind or rain, however, I suspect that may change over the next 24 - 48 hours. Although we are not close to the coast we are on a fairly high, exposed ridge and often get quite strong winds from the coast.

Due to the possible deterioration of weather over the next few days we have made some preparations and will do more tomorrow. So far we have checked on the food stocks, plenty of matches, full gas bottle as well as torches and lanterns working. Tomorrow we will clear the loose furniture, pot plants, laundry trolley etc from the verandah. I also want to fill the 20 litre drum of water. We have our own tanks and certainly hope nothing catastrophic happens this far south but you can never be completely certain.

I decided not to get my hair cut today as on closer inspection it can wait another 2 weeks - or I may get it done on Wednesday if I have a day off.

Today we went to Brisbane to the exhibition which I mentioned in yesterday's post. It was well worth going and I would thoroughly recommend it. The exhibition is on until 19th April. While we were out we also went to Aldi and did some routine grocery shopping and replenished our stocks of food.

Tomorrow I need to go into Maleny to buy some specialty cheese and also some fruit and vegetables for the coming week and also for lunch as we have guests (my sister and her husband) coming for lunch. That will be my first failure in my No Spend Sunday challenge!! We are having Tasmanian Atlantic salmon with potatoes, Green Bean & Feta salad and minted cucumber. My sister is bringing dessert so that is a surprise.

Thank goodness it is Friday at last. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Today I got my boots repaired but unfortunately they did not have the batteries that are required for my pedometer in stock. I will try again next week.

I also picked up my yearly rail pass which will save me about $25/fortnight compared to the cost of a weekly ticket. I don't have to pay for it upfront as my pay office deduct a fortnightly amount from my salary which makes it relatively painless.

Speaking of money, the electricity bill arrived in the mail today and the exciting news is that the account is actually in credit. We pay a set amount each fortnight and our consumption has been consistently reducing, thus a credit balance. I will see how it goes during winter but may consider reducing the amount we pay each fortnight - I wouldn't want to be too far in front!

Tomorrow we are going to have a look at a house with C & A then heading off to an exhibition of Cressida Campbell's art at the QUT Gallery in Brisbane.

Before that I will need to do some mundane things like do a menu plan for next week, buy some fruit and vegetables and perhaps have my hair cut. I would normally leave it another week but since we are going away next weekend I would like to get it done before we go.

Life continues on as usual without any earth-shattering events but lots of little stories to tell.

Today I spent the enormous sum of $4.95 on a chain for my computer glasses. They are perfect for working at the computer and also reading documents, however, every time I get up to go and photocopy something I just about fall over if I look through my glasses. Rather than putting them down on the desk constantly I have resorted to a chain around my neck - it may not be super-stylish but much more practical.

I have also found a bootmaker in the arcade near the train station so I intend to take my winter boots to get them re-heeled and toed before I do any major damage to them. He has quoted me about $25 which is much better than $180 for a new pair of boots. I will take my pedotmeter in as well and see if I can get new batteries in it (they are like hearing aid batteries).

This morning I caught a later train and was able to water the lettuces in the garden - they are growing (so are the weeds) and 45 of the orignal 57 seedlings that I planted have survived. Not bad for a $2 punnet. I picked 2 ripe figs which I had for breakfast. The pumpkin vine is quickly sprawling everywhere and I know there is at least 1 full-size pumpkin on it already.

I managed 2 loads of washing today - 1 this morning which was dry when I got home this evening and is now folded and put away except for the ironing which has been added to the pile. I will try to get some done tomorrow afternoon. I have set aside 2 pairs of socks which have small holes and I will 'darn' them using the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine. I did the second load of washing this evening and hung it out.

I want to say thank you to everyone for their interest in my ramblings and encouraging comments. They help to keep my focus. Thank you all.

Another week and another rubbish report:

Week 9 - 87grams

2009 total - 1426grams (1.42kg)

It is 3 1/2 weeks until we head off overseas so hopefully at this rate I should be able to achieve my goal of less than 2kg by the end of March.

Here I am, home at last. It is good to be back with G. The dog also seems to have noticed my absence as he greeted me with gusto when we arrived home this evening. After a gap of a few days I am back to my writing.

I had a great weekend in Melbourne and Bendigo, catching up with family and friends. Lots of eating, chatting and fun. I went to the Haute Couture exhibition at the Bendigo Gallery which was excellent and well worth the admission cost.

My knitting which I have mentioned previously can now be discussed in full. It was a scarf for a belated birthday gift for my friend in Bendigo, although it will have to cool down considerably before it is scarf weather.

Yesterday was an orientation day for work. I flew back to Brisbane last night and then stayed at my mother's place.