storms from all directions

Sunday night, we had a rainy storm blow in from the west.

This resulted in a blackout in the middle of the 60 Minutes 

interview with the Victoria Cross winning Aussie digger

and just before the seasonal tornado hunters article.

Ah issues and dramas.

Punky Pete making the most of the hot water left in the kettle,

with a luke warm coffee (no he is not Mormon)

and a bit of light from one of my handy dandy lanterns.

You'd think that after 1000 earthquakes

(That's 1000 actual earthquakes not figuratively)

and living out on the Canterbury Plains

I'd be a little better prepared and less than surprised

when the first winter storm blows up and

the lights go out.

I know exact where candles are,

in the fridge/freezer, cause you can always find the fridge in the dark

and candles last longer if they've been frozen.

Matches remain in the same place they got put after the last big shake.

Both easy to find.

The lanterns are always on the top shelf of the cupboard next to the stove

(another appliance easy to find in the dark).

Batteries remain in the lanterns with the lids unscrewed

so not to waste the energy.

Last June, not long after the fourth really big earthquake
I was at National Fieldays.
For those who aren't in the know,
Fieldays are four days of agricultural exhibitionism with stands from
ag companies displaying their wares from tractors to tasselled alpaca fleece scarfs,
spades to sausages sizzles, gumboots to gumtrees and everything in between.
There are brilliant sales of all sorts of things.
I tackled the camping gear suppliers and got extra discounts
because of all the earthquakes disasters we'd been having.
Yay cheap lanterns that work like expensive ones,
because they are them!

When there's a blackout, even with lanterns
the only thing to do is go to bed and sleep through it
with hopes it will be over when you wake up.
And it was.

Monday evening arrived and brought this Southerly front with it.

Taken as I left Methven, buffeted by really strong winds,

enough to push my one tonne ute around the road,

yes I drive one handed in all weathers

'cause I drive a ute, brah!

After a night without power I figured

Orion, the lines company would be on top of things

so when the freezing cold Southerly front came through

on Monday evening all utilities remained on.

Shame the neighbours rickety old shed rattled and shook all night.

P.S. I love instagram



consistency

is so not my strong point.

For once I had planned on keeping the TOFW posts going

and I will, 

but weird things are happening.

Like,

I can't get rid of the flu

and now its a chest infection.

Its a weird sickness cause one minute I feel fine and

next I have to lie down.

I am lying down at the moment.

Then just now I was fb chatting to Bub

and the huge wind storm blew up from the south

and blew open my front door.

Which does happen regularly but not as often as it used to.

I had to stop lying down to go and secure the door.

When I first moved to my little house

and was living here by myself

(awesome)

my front door didn't actually completely lock

and so I'd wake up and the door would be wide open

or come home from work

and as I drove down the street I could see the door standing wide open.

It was safe and all.

Other weird thing.

The screws in my lounge door handle are coming out.

For no reason.

That's weird.

Also weird is I've only ever seen my cat(s)

run across the road towards  my house

never away from it.

Which I guess is good.

I have also seen them climbing up the Fisherfullas parent's cabbage tree

across the road,

then belly flop out of it.

I couldn't see them land so I'm assuming they put their feet out before they landed.

Oh really weird is when Indie cat runs back towards my house

and a car comes (usually me)

he stops and stares at the car like he is saying

"What the heck do you think you are doing?"

Both the cats look at me like that often.

I think it's a reminder that usually I have no idea what I am doing

I just doing it cause it feels right and

I hope it'll fall into place

which 99% of the time it does.

Bub is getting baptised today

in Hawaii

because she lives there,

not cause it's a special trip or place to get baptised.

Did you know back in the day

and probably they still do,

the missionaries used to baptise people in rivers and streams

even in the sea.

I would think if that were me I would deny the Holy Spirits prompting

 until it was summer.

I got baptised Nov 26 which 4 days shy of summer

but it was in a font so it was warmish water.

Yay for Bub for making the choice to get baptised

even if she can't pronounce the Elder who is baptising her name.

As I said to Bub "getting baptised doesn't change who you are,

it makes you a better you...

if you let it."

Welcome

dry

dry, dry, dry is my garden.


Good thing the earthquake shifted my house further over an aquifer. Now I have an endlessly running tap from the spring that used to only run when we had three days of rain. Now it flows and floods my backyard. I'm thinking of putting a pond in as a water feature.



I am a bit nervous about contacting the council to sort the spring out. I heard they charge an arm and a leg if you have a spring on your land. For the first two years I was here it was drought so I didn't know there was a spring - I don't think I should have to pay for the privilege of having something I didn't know about, oh wait, council is government and I already pay for a ton of things I don't know I have.... hmmmm.



I have an old watering can (though it should be a watering plastic) under the unspigotted tap and drag it over to water my dry gardens. At this point I would normally put a photo of pretty flowering pansies and poppies but I'm about a month behind in getting my garden into shape and am too embarrassed to show you my weed filled beds. Thank goodness for lambs to eat all the evidence of weeds and flowers for that matter.



This howling wind - which is seasonal for us so it's not like we don't know it's coming - stirs up my sleep and I woke this morning thinking about Tiddy Bears and Oti. I think because I was being teased for having a kiwi accent last Wednesday (way to go missionaries - I don't think you should be teased for having an accent in your own country). Oti laughed and laughed at Tiddy Bears - hope it still makes you laugh Ots!

crazy wind

There are crazy making winds here in Canterbury - Nor'Westers are the main culprits but any kind of northerly wind can drive you nuts but when you are having a string of 30 degree days and the sun is divinely relentless you will be grateful for any wind from the south. Watching the temperature plumet 10 degrees in 5 minutes and the winds clash overhead is amazing but, and theres always a but....

but when the dry dust blows in the windows and cakes itself under bathroom mats and in kitchen corners (I don't want to know about the carpeted areas!) the Southerly winds can stay where they come from.

On the South-East side of the house are utility rooms and they have high up windows that I keep open through the summer to dry out the 'wet' rooms. It can be a little cold in May (my housekeeping works on an annual timetable) when in the bath and the Southerly comes howling through the window - makes me feel as if I reenacting a settler reality show.

Show Day storm

At 9.24am this very morning a jet engine of a southerly wind started up and by 9.27 the my lovely blue sky with fluffy white clouds disappeared behind the low grey, endless clouds. The temp dropped and so by 9.35 I was up and putting the fire on. It's November for goodness sakes!

Now I'm sitting inside beneath a low grey cloud cause the wind is blowing down my chimney and my kent fire is puffing like a dragon. It freezing, my window are open (but not those on the south side) and all I can think is "Yes! I knew I was right not to get up and clean the fly poop of my kitchen ceiling!" its gonna need bleaching by the end of today anyway!

What a choice - cold or smokey??? I like breathing but how do you stop the fire? Besides I was warned a storm was coming by the Fisherman, well he said southerly but that means storm around here. Seriously, I'm starting to cry now! can..not...see....the..*cough*...screen!...am....chocking...*cough*..am...going...to ..have...to...escape..*cough*cough*...but...not...before........