COVID Meltdown

The Moment when you discover that your Carpet is NOT Wool!

It was a hard lesson learnt in keeping your workspace clear and tidy...

Hello Sweetheart ...

The one thing that will send me into full Mum Mode is to answer a call from one of my Kids and be met by silence....  Such was the case Wednesday night.

We are OK Mum but -
The House next door has just exploded.

Oh and the backyard is full of CFA - Firemen

and I don't know what they are doing to my Garden.

She was extremely shaken to say the least, and not one who is prone to exaggerating -

I knew it was bad.

DD has 5 properties backing onto her rear boundary and if any of them were involved in a fire it would be 'touch and go up in flames' for all the others - This is what the House next door looks like on Google Maps.

And the photo she sent through while we were talking showed how close they were to the flames.

Paying strict attention to the advice of the Fire Brigade they stayed inside until directed otherwise.

Even so - the heat of the flames could be felt through the Glass.

In the cold hard light of Day-

This is all that is left of the House Next Door.

With the Fire starting slowly and quietly in a Clothes Dryer in the Garage the home was well alight before the Family could stop it spreading.

They have lost everything but evacuated safely.

HOWEVER:
 
The residents in the next door Unit were totally unaware of what was happening and that THEIR house was also on Fire - until the Brigade smashed a window to alert them!

In all, 3 properties were damaged.

And DD's Garden?

She said it was Best Decision of her life to Buy a Block that had a big Backyard.

And let's just say She won't need to Water it for Quite Some Time!!!

Back in Lockdown

Just when you thought it was safe to go out....

Someone did something daft and now we have that "Second Wave" we were trying to avoid.

Lock-down 2.0 started off with a few Suburbs, now it encompasses all of Melbourne and Mitchell Shire an area of approx 13,000 km². 

For those of us that live within this boundary we have just 4 reasons to leave the house. 

The hope is to contain the Virus to a Geographical Area.

Is SIX weeks going to be enough to squash the curve when, with more and more testing, more and more infections are being found?  Time - and only Time will tell.

How am I surviving the Lock down?      

UFOs - That's How! 

I have been a "Stay at Home Mum" for 35 years, and have many projects that have been put aside with the wail of a Child in need. 

In all those years I have never been bored and I don't intend to start now.

So - Which Project will it be?

Considering that Going on Holidays is not one of those 4 allowed Options - I decided to pick up my Scrapbook record of "Our Last Big Adventure." 

It was a Holiday of a Lifetime and one we wanted to have before the Kids went off, and started having adventures without Us.

The last entry was 3rd December 2008 - It was DH's Birthday and we were far far from Home!

Actually we were taking a Shortcut somewhere between the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas in the middle of the Spencer Gulf - 

South Australia. 

The Boys were thrilled to be invited onto the Bridge by the Captain and shown the finer parts of the operation of the Vessel.

The First Instruction - 

Sit and Don't Touch!

My Scrapbook is not all that different to Instagram posts I send today - so I am hoping to finish the next 10 Days of pages by the time we are out of Lock-down.  

Now - Where do I start?

Cat Tower Rescue

  

We have a Cat, His name is Spike. 

He is a Siberian Forest/Chinchilla mix.

   

We adopted him as a very frightened 13 month old from the RSPCA so he is Indoors Only and Loved to bits by all who meet him.

He has a scratch tower that he has also Loved to bits.  And needed to be re-upholstered.

Sadly I didn't get a photo of it before I dismantled it - but the photo  shows the state of the Carpet cover.

It was a bit of a mess to say the least.

Removing the cover was easy for the round section as it was cardboard.

The flat section (and favourite scratching post) was timber and the Industrial Strength Hot Glue that was used was a bit harder to remove.

A remnant of Carpet that had been laying around for a while was just the right size.

The board was shaped and I also discovered that the carpet (a loop pile) also has a Nap so I had to make sure it was facing the right way down.

Six sticks of Hot Glue later and the Pieces were ready to screw back into place.

(I think I may need a bigger Hot Glue Gun if I am going to do this again.)

The restoration was fairly easy to do, took a couple of hours (including a Coffee Break) and cost nothing as I already had everything I needed.

We saved $$$ by not having to buy a new one AND kept what was actually a perfectly good Cat Scratcher out of Landfill!

Job well done!

Moving Out

Moving out of home during a Pandemic while you are supposed to be working from Home is not an easy thing to do.  

No time to pack - sort, or deal with a lifetime of memories.

I can't say that the dust has settled. 

Far from it! 

The Vacuum Cleaner gave up on it's 3rd Barrel load for the day and is currently sulking while it recharges it's battery.

It has been a while since the house has had such a deep clean and it amazes me as to how much dust was lurking under the furniture.

We have done One trip to the Resource Centre with the very recyclable packaging from Ikea and I think there is at least 2 more to go.  

(Just as well it is free to drop cardboard!)

Bubble wrap can be recycled too (via the Supermarkets) as long as it is in A3 size pieces. 

So it is all being brought back here to deal with.

The house is starting to feel very empty now that "the important stuff" has gone.

But before we start moving Furniture around -

I need to take the opportunity 

to Paint!

Old Tech - New Tech

I have a Storm Glass.

 
DD made it for me when she was doing her Chemistry Degree.   

Last night I noticed that The little Storm Glass was forming Crystals in the bottom of the Tube.

This means - It was going to be Frosty!

Today I checked the Weather Report on my Phone - and well look at that!

1.5 Deg Celsius

With a "Feels Like" Temperature of -1.6℃

I wander across the Street to the Playground  - (where I am sure to get a good photo)

and BEHOLD!

There is Frost!

* * *

And I have the greatest respect for the driver that left my Veggies on the Porch at 1:18 am this morning.

Whoever you are - THANK YOU.

When you are Lost for Words

45 years ago I bought a little Devotional Book.

Each time something unwanted  happened in my Life I set about to look for it - but to no avail.

Today I found it.

So I feel that TODAY is the right time to post the Poem that kept me looking for that little Book.

 

"Security"

Isn't it good to Know

When all roads are dead ends and

all skies are overcast and

all dreams are Nightmares and

all hills are Mountains . . .

Isn't it Good to Know

when all Faith has oozed out

and there is No Place to Stand

that

"Underneath are The Everlasting Arms"

* * *

The Copyright is held by The Upper Room Ministries Nashville Tennessee.