Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall in Brisbane

 Totally unheard of, very nearly, because Brisbane doesn't get cyclones as a rule.

 

Saturday 8th of March, around midnight, Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall near Redcliffe.

 

There is widespread damage from Hervey Bay down to the Gold Coast and out as far as Toowoomba (up on a mountain range, and yet it flooded again).

 

The northern rivers of New South Wales also got hit.

 

I am currently flooded in, with my road cut in both directions.

 

It's a complete mess out there and we are still due torrential, and life threatening, rains today.

 

Most of the areas around here have been issued with Emergency Alert messages ranging from "watch and wait" to the one I got which read "too late to leave. Seek higher ground if possible".

 

Thing is - there's nowhere to go! 

 

Tropical Cyclone Alfred

 Today has been getting rather windy. 

The BOM is saying that currently Alfred is a Category 2 cyclone (was supposed to only be a Cat 1 at this point in its development). At some point tonight it will pull away from the coastline, towards New Zealand, before pulling back into the Queensland coast, and heading straight for the coast at high speed and at least Category 2, although they are now saying it could actually hit us at Category 3, which is really not good at all.

The cyclone in January that hit Townsville and surrounds was a Category 3, and it wiped them out. Flooded everywhere, power outages, people died, houses wiped out (and their houses are built to withstand cyclones). A Category 2 is bad enough, but a 3?

I have spent the better part of today working in the gardens, pulling down greenhouses, and securing garden furniture, working out where my farm animals will go to keep them safe, along with my dogs and cats.  

Tomorrow I am going out to get food supplies for the animals to last at least a week, as it's unlikely anything will be open come Thursday. Add to that, my street floods at the smallest amount of rain, and we still tend to lose power here for days, if not weeks, on end when there's a bad storm, so who knows how bad it will get with a cyclone.

We aren't used to them down here, and it feels truly odd having to prepare my little farm for just such an occurrence! 

It is Autumn here now, but it's still Summer temps of low 30s, making the days sticky and hot, even despite the oncoming cyclone. 

Because the alternative is to be very very scared, I am looking at all of this as a chance to renovate my garden and fix the things that haven't worked, plus get a lot of stuff sorted around the house and in the sheds, and fix some fences after the cyclone has gone. To start from scratch again, somewhat.

I'm not looking forward to being flooded in, with no power though. Especially as I do not drive.

Thursday, maybe Friday, and the cyclone will be here. Wednesday is when they say the rain will be heaviest and when we are likely to start being flooded. Thursday they think the power will probably go out, although that could also start happening on Wednesday. If it hits Brisbane itself, Brisbane will probably shut down completely for a few days. The BOM is saying if it hits north of Brisbane, the people living south of the point of impact will get worse weather than the people at the centre of the cyclone. All of it is scary. 

I have a rechargeable radio now at least, and will be sorting out some way to charge my mobile tomorrow, assuming my mobile carrier doesn't go down when the power goes out (they usually do). 

How on earth do the people of Townsville in Far North Queensland cope with multiple cyclones per year???

I will try to update each day for as long as I am able. No guarantees though!

Cyclones and Earthquakes

 Earlier this year, Townsville, Ingham, Cairns, and surrounds in Far North Queensland, was hit by a Cyclone. It was quite a doozy.

 

Last night, Townsville was hit by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. Not something that normally happens here in Queensland!

 

The scariest thing though, is that down here in South East Queensland, we are expecting Tropical Cyclone Alfred to hit the Brisbane area on Thursday. 

 

Brisbane hasn't had an earthquake since the 1950s!!!! Our houses aren't built to withstand Cyclones.

 

Life is getting scary!

Life

 Life always seems to get in the way. So much has happened since I last posted an update!

While I'm still living in the same place, my circumstances have changed drastically in the last two years. In some ways for the better, in other ways not so much.

I have been very ill this year (bedridden for the first 6 months, and no it isn't covid), and while I am not over it yet, I am definitely starting to feel better these past couple of months. 

I have started setting up my garden again - greenhouses are my friend! I've had issues with wildlife eating my broccoli and cauliflower and peas, but for the most part, everything seems to have survived.

I have a lovely little collection of English Cottage Garden flowers too, plus roses, geraniums and daisies, and for my birthday last month I got a dwarf sunflower, which is bringing great joy to my life currently.

My chickens are in the process of getting a new coop. I lost my beloved aracana hen in June, but gained a young leghorn girl who is somewhat distantly related to my big leghorn rooster, having come from the same farm. I still have my old english game hen and my isla brown hen too. The leghorn girl is giving me daily eggs, which is very much appreciated as there is nationwide egg shortage here at the moment.

I'm also slowly renovating the inside of my house, removing the carpet in the bedrooms and changing the walls over to wallpapered (peel and stick, but it looks fabulous!). 

I've also been adding solar powered lights to my garden, and rechargeable lights inside the house, to help with the rising electricity bills, and the general cost of living crisis. 

This week, the last week of Winter (and August), we are seeing temperatures in the mid 30s (celsius), which normally would require fans on through the day, but the work I've been doing inside the house has resulted in a much cooler environment, and fans are yet to be needed!

Did I mention I've been putting the privacy window film on the windows that face the road? Not only has it made a world of difference to life in general, but it has also considerably cooled my house. I will be adding them to all the windows in the house, slowly but surely!

Last year I lost my old horse. He was in his very late 20s. 

One of my dogs made it to 14 this year and is still going strong.

This year I have been trying to live by the seasons a little more, now that I have time to do so, and it has been interesting. I spend far more time out in the garden than I used to, and I am enjoying watching things grow. I'm also enjoying being able to eat home grown produce (cherry tomatoes and eggs so far, but come Summer there should be an abundance of edibles to chomp on!), especially as this illness I've had all year has resulted in my having to go gluten free. While I can still eat gluten to a point, my stomach doesn't hurt if I steer clear of gluten-filled products. So I am cooking interesting meals, and reading labels on every mortal thing I buy, but life is not meant to be stationary!

Farm Life

Recently I was gifted a lovely big rooster, who I named "Gorgeous George". He's a white leghorn, and is quite the romantic with my three little hens.

He crows, politely, once or twice each morning, (and not very loudly), and then goes about his business of wooing the girls. He is quite gentle with them, as well as being quite protective of them. It's all rather sweet.

I do hope that, just maybe, there will be babies soon, or at the very least, that my 3 girls will start laying again, as they have been on strike for quite some time now.

I'm also starting the slow process of building a vegetable garden. I have four fruit trees growing (two mandarin, one orange, and one lemon, all of which my Dad planted many years ago), and my sister gifted me a macadamia nut seedling from her tree.

I do plan on adding to my fruit grove, with a mango tree as well as an avocado tree at some stage, but for now I will work on growing food and herbs.

The birds have helped out with some of that, as every Spring (which it is now), I often find cherry tomato seedlings in the strangest of places. I have moved them all to a raised garden bed, and planted them.

As to my flower garden, my geraniums are getting bigger, as are my collection of roses.

The cost of living has gone through the roof here, with more rises to come (although our incomes stay the same), so rather than my gardening being a hobby, it has now become something of a necessity.

Thankfully I don't mind being something of a homebody, and "Make Do And Mend" is nothing new to me. But living below the poverty line was something I had hoped was in the past.

Never mind. Things will, eventually, get better (I hope).

Queen Elizabeth II

 Our Queen has died, aged 96.

She was the longest reigning Monarch, with 70 years of her life spent serving the people of the UK and the Commonwealth.

It is still hard to believe that she is gone.

Here in Australia, very late last night we were told that The Queen was in Balmoral, Scotland, and that her family had been summoned as her doctors were concerned about her health.

This morning, I woke up at 5am to news that our beloved Queen had died.

So much has changed in her lifetime alone. I don't honestly think the younger set get that. They don't understand what she represented, and how she guided us through all the trials and tribulations of the last 70 years.

R.I.P. our dearest Queen. You will be missed.

Floods

 Queensland is now in the throws of its second major significant flood in the space of three months.

In January we had Tropical Cyclone Seth hit just north of Brisbane, but impact very badly on Brisbane in the form of cyclonic winds and hail.

In February, Brisbane flooded. Worse than 2011. Worse than 1974. In fact, the last flood to be as bad was back in 1863!

Shortly after Brisbane flooded, Lismore, in the Northern Rivers area of northern New South Wales, was pretty much wiped off the face of the Earth. The ENTIRE town flooded.

A month later, Lismore flooded again.

This week has seen Townsville (far north Queensland) all the way down to the Queensland/New South Wales border flood, and out as far west as Goondiwindi.

Will it ever end?

Prior to the floods, back in December of 2019, we had bushfires that raged across much of the Eastern Coast and some of the Western Coast of Australia, then Covid-19 rocked our world for two years straight (although it is still here, but the floods have become more important news just now).

So much for Australia being "the Lucky Country"!

Farm Life

Autumn is here. 

Cool mornings, warmer days.

Life this year on the farm, after the last 3 years of bushfires, floods, and Covid, sees us with a total of 10 sheep (2 intact rams,  3 neutered boys (all full merino brothers), and 5 ewes), 3 horses and 4 chickens (plus, of course, my cats and dogs!).

A much smaller concern than in previous years.

My vegetable garden is slowly growing - I have four different types of tomatoes, a capsicum plant, a solitary broad bean plant that survived possum and bird attacks, as well as one spinach plant that also survived attacks, and two roly poly carrot plants. My lettuce and strawberries, my baby carrots and the rest of my veggies were taken out in an overnight onslaught by marauders of the verminous kind, plus birds and possums.

I have recently bought some raised garden beds and drop over greenhouses from Aldi, so I'm hoping that my much needed home grown source of food will survive in the future, and that I will be able to add to it as the cost of living continues to increase.

I also bought a lovely book at the newsagent that is for Australia. Most of the books like this deal with the Northern Hemisphere and their topsy turvy seasons (although some would say it is Australia and the Southern Hemisphere that have the topsy turvy seasons!), so it was nice to find this the other day, and it will be put to good use!

I've started using my little stock pot again as well. Slowly but surely I am finding my way again, I guess. Life has been very hard since Dad died in 2019, and I have felt very lost indeed. Cooking was something Dad very much enjoyed, and while I will never be as good as he was at it, I do sometimes enjoy actually creating things, especially when it is using up contents I already have in my house!

I re-watched Victorian Farm yesterday, which is still as good now as it was when it first came out. I have the books that accompany Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, and Wartime Farm, although I have yet to see Tudor Monastery Farm or get hold of the book. They are all worth while watching, as is Snowdonia 1890, which I watched the other day on Tubi.tv 

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, and picking up my life from long ago - my history, my music, my craft etc. I feel very much as though I have been "on hold" for about 6 years now - the three years that Dad had cancer for and the 3 years that have followed since his passing. I know that I will never truly get over the loss of my father, just as he never got over the loss of his, but I need to start seeing joy in life again, even if only in the small things, and starting to accomplish things again - like growing my own food (something I haven't done in 20 years).

It will all be a slow process, I know, but what better time to do it than the Autumn and Winter, when it is nice and cool, and I feel more alive than I do in our hot Australian Summers?
 

Of Droughts and Flooding Rains

 

My Country

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die –
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold –
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land –
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand –
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

-- Dorothea Mackellar

 

Poor Maryborough went under last night. The townspeople have been ordered to evacuate. Their makeshift barricade in the middle of the CBD couldn't withstand the flooding waters. There's still a 14 year old girl missing since yesterday morning, but in true Aussie fashion, the townspeople are taking it all in their stride.

Tropical Cyclone Tiffany is hitting the far north Queensland coast today (Cairns and above). The Bureau of Meteorology is waiting to see whether it will head South towards us, or continue in a notherly fashion towards the Northern Territory.

We have the strangest weather going on, but it is also no surprise, given we are Australia! Months ago they predicted that Queensland (or the South East Corner, anyway) was due to have roughly six months of rain. We are about two months into that so far. Looks like Autumn and Winter may be wet as well. As Summers go, it's been a nice reprieve from the usual scorching temperatures that we normally get at least!

Cyclones, Flooding, Rationing

 It's 2022 (I know - I've been slack).

We've had Tropical Cyclone Seth almost hit Brisbane (something that hasn't happened since the 1950s). Bundaberg and surrounds, up the coast a bit, are in the middle of flooding due to now Ex-Cyclone Seth still wreaking havoc.

We have Omicron here. Covid is killing people again in Queensland. Since we opened our borders in December, we've gone from zero cases to 18000 today. Two deaths yesterday, with more to come. Three this year alone, and it's only the 9th of January.

Too many of my friends all over the country are sick now. I've had both vaccinations and was sick with both of them. I'm not due my booster until about March. Assuming we get through the next couple of months, I'll be ready to go, I guess.

The weather has been wet, then mid 30s but humidity up near 100%, then we get a week of 24, 25, 27, then back up to 34, 35, 32. 

I've lost numerous sheep here on the farm due to the produce I use and have been using for decades changing an ingredient in it, that is now toxic to sheep, but not putting a disclaimer on it. Money is tight enough as it is without this!

And we are back to rationing, not because there is a shortage of products, but because there is a shortage of manpower to staff the shops, to ship the loads to and from the dock and supermarkets etc.

We have gone from a Country envied the world over for how we have dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, to one being pitied.

Our Prime Minister is a fool, and he isn't helping the States, only himself. Our Premier was doing the right thing by keeping our state border closed to the rest of the country, but was pretty much forced to open the borders just before Christmas. So for Christmas this year, everyone got Covid 😒

Life goes on though - as things get harder to source, life will get more difficult. But I just need to find a few extra hours beyond the normal 24 in each day to get a garden going, to repurpose old clothes and bedding into new things for me and the house, to get around to mending the winter dog coats before the great freeze comes (though our winters still aren't at a point of snow just yet, but they are definitely getting colder!).

I did buy myself a super dooper new all in one crock pot thingy though. It even does baking. So Winter meals will be good. Our power hasn't been as disruptive as it once was (though as manpower goes down due to the pandemic, that is scheduled to change apparently), so making meals for the freezer isn't as questionable as it used to be. 

We are in lockdown without it actually being called a Lockdown just now. Our Chief Health Officer for Queensland, plus our Premier, have advised that we must stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out. If you can work from home, do so. If you can study from home, do so. Only go out for unavoidable things, like getting vaccinations, boosters, or tests, or if you are unable to do your shopping online. And always but always wear a mask. Because I live on a farm, I must leave the property for pretty much everything, but I am always careful and try to get everything done on one or two days each week, where possible. But I will be staying home a lot more where I can, and going without a great deal. Things are hard to get hold of anyway, just at the moment.

People are panic-buying again, because most of the shops are empty, so whatever is left, people are grabbing. It's quite a scary scenario, and this is only the beginning.

I've been stocking up on cheap battery powered string lights and lanterns, plus candles of course, for the inevitable power outages that are to come, most likely this winter. I also have a lot of solar powered lights around the property, which do help (when the sheep and horses don't eat them!). 

I'm reorganising my house again too - partly out of boredom, and partly as a fresh start this year, as it's always nice to have a different outlook sometimes. I also have the occasional dog living in my house for various reasons, so making it safe for them is important too.

My chickens are on strike. I'm down to four now. Two I picked up from Facebook Marketplace as local giveaways, the other two were born here on the property - one was Dad's, one is mine who I rescued from the mud when she was 3 days old. They are steadfastly refusing to give me eggs though. I'm going to be building them a new chook enclosure soon, where they can free range much better than they are able in their little temporary (but very sturdy and fox proof) chicken enclosures that they were moved to after the last fox attack took three of Dad's remaining barnevelda hens and both male ducks. 

 

As the pandemic seems set to stay for the time being, it is becoming more and more important that I get to a point where I am as self-sufficient as I can possibly be, it seems. Products are already hard to get hold of and will only get worse, our workforce is halved, with it likely to get much worse before it ever gets better.

But on the good side, I can be a homebody and not feel out of place! I can read and do craft and home studies without the world thinking I am odd. At least I now kind of fit in 😂😂😂

"The Great Sickness"

 I was reading a blog yesterday that referred to the Pandemic as "The Great Sickness". Rather apt, I guess.

Life continues on in what is now the new normal. We no longer hug, shake hands, slap each other on the backs, instead we nod (from a distance of 1.5m or so, depending on the State you live in and what the levels of lockdown are). We talk online. We ring each other. We send parcels and letters. We alienate ourselves from the world for the sake of the world. It's an odd place to be right now.

One thing that seems to be happening a very great deal over here is everyone, because they are home a whole lot more than they used to be, are renovating! Bunnings is doing a wild trade.

We had a vicious storm go through a week ago. Serious amounts of hail and thousands of dollars worth of damage. We as a country are cash-strapped as it is, without this extra level of dramas, but it is getting into our storm season here in Queensland, with Summer less than a month away, so I guess it is to be expected. We are already dealing with extreme heats of 37-39 degrees Celsius, and it's not even Summer yet!

Recently our Reject Shop (a nice affordable cheap shop that seems to stock every mortal thing) went into an agreement with Britain's Tesco's. I'm loving it! We have been told that other stores (Coles I think, although it could also be Woolworths) will soon be stocking ASDA and Marks & Spencer products soon as well. About 7 years ago there was an incident when Coles stocked Waitrose Christmas Puddings as they did a deal with Heston Blumethal, who did the Christmas Puddings for Waitrose. I'm definitely not against our trading with our Motherland!

As it gets hotter here, and closer to Christmas, I always think of my time spent in England during the Winters, and of the snow and the cold, which still makes much more sense to me for a Christmas setting than sun, and surf and excess heat ever did.

As seems to be the normal at the moment, I have spent time these last few extremely hot days, browsing the libraries of the world, and came across this lovely little video of sleighing in New York in 1898. The video comes from the Library of Congress, and reminds one of simpler times, don't you think?

https://www.loc.gov/item/00694381/

Rationing

Coles is slightly less stringent on what you are allowed to buy and now much. For Woolies, it's pretty much only ONE of everything, which is why all the checkouts are now open at Woolworths, instead of forcing everyone to go through the self checkout, so they can take away any multiples of anything you might have.

Here's the list from a local Coles that I was in today:

It's truly odd to be living in a time of Rationing. We are literally seeing History being made though, as well. 

It seems that those of us who are happy in our own skins, living alone and not going out huge amounts are doing better than the extroverts in the world, who like to flit from place to place. Thankfully lots of places are giving the world access for free to museums and palaces, to space stations, to opera halls. The list goes on. And it's cool. Seriously cool. While we are all self quarantining, and administering "social distancing", we are coming together with the help of the internet, and sharing our experiences and our lives with people all over the planet. Now, more than ever, we can travel the world from our own houses, for free. Something to be said for the scary times we are currently living in, I guess!

Pandemic update

Yesterday our PM, Scott Morrison, officially banned all gatherings over 500 people. While Schools and Universities will continue for now (subject to review), any other place where 500+ people are likely to gather will be banned as of Monday. 

Italy has today gone into total shut down. The only travel allowed is for medical (health) and work. All Schools and Universities are shut down until April 3rd.

England is facing the same shortages as us now in their shops, with rationing returning to the Mother Country for the first time since it ended in the 1950s.

America has closed its borders to the rest of the world, pretty much.

Spain looks set to be hit as badly as Italy has.

Life is getting very scary out there!

Films watched - The Blues Brothers

It's Official

Last night the World Health Organisation (WHO) formally, and finally, announced that we are in a state of Pandemic.

Italy has closed its doors and is in a state of total quarantine. The only way to visit now is virtually - via the web.

Iran is a complete mess. The virus is spreading madly over there.

Australia will be announcing a few new protocols fairly soon, with an overnight increase form 65 to 77 cases in NSW alone.

Panic buying and hoarding continue unabated here in the Great Southern Land.

- - - - - 

Autumn arrived with a bang this week. Last week we were 36+ degrees Celsius. This week we are lucky to see 27 degrees C.

With the help of a friend and their ride on mower, I am slowly getting on top of the sudden growth of grass and weeds here on the farm, while also dealing with sick sheep.

We have a cyclone off the coast, so these few days of sunshine are a nice respite from the rain that is due to arrive once again this weekend.

I am starting my veggie patch today in my small greenhouse, as well as some cottage garden flowers for one small corner of my little enclosed garden, now that I have a safe haven away from the farm animals and prying eyes of neighbours. 

With all the dramas going on in the world, I am very glad I have this little square garden, with its tall colourbond fencing, off my back verandah. My little bit of private oasis away from the world. 

Restrictions and Rationing

Our Supermarket Giants have today released revised restrictions on the purchase of some products as people continue to panic-buy.

WOOLWORTHS:

TOILET PAPER                               1 PACKET PER PERSON
RICE                                                 1 LARGE 2KG PACK PER PERSON
HAND SANITISER                         2 BOTTLES PER PERSON

COLES:

TOILET PAPER                              1 PACKET PER PERSON

ALDI:

TOILET PAPER                              1 PACKET PER PERSON  

COSTCO:

TOILET PAPER                            MAX OF 2 X 48 PACK PER CUSTOMER
EGGS                                            2 CARTONS PER CUSTOMER
A2 MILK (3.5L LITE)                  2 BOTTLES PER CUSTOMER 
FULL CREAM MILK                  2 BOTTLES PER CUSTOMER  
TISSUES                                      2 BOXES PER CUSTOMER

It is starting to get serious out there now. There are 400 dead in Italy from the Coronavirus. Australia has 3 confirmed dead. Every country except for Antarctica now has the virus in some form or another. It is spreading like wildfire and we are close to the WHO announcing a worldwide Pandemic. Scary times we live in!   

Pandemic, Doomsday Prepper

My day to day life these days is one in which I live on a farm, complete with sheep and chickens and ducks and a horse, plus my dogs (all inherited from Dad when he died). The reality of my life is that as I don't drive, I don't get off the farm much, and when I do, I must rush around and get what I can, where I can.

Before the bushfires, and then the floods, I was able to get the food for the animals delivered. Now, because of those two events, I am more often than not having to go out looking for food for the animals, picking it up in weird and wonderful places, and paying top odds for it as some foods are quite scarce here in Australia just at the moment.

With the recent arrival of the "pandemic without being called a pandemic" Coronavirus, we are now officially in a Rationing scenario. Whereas during the last world war, it was the government that decided who got what and where, at the moment it is the supermarkets enforcing their own limits on how much you may buy of a particular product, with promises that more is to come. Depending on where you shop, depends on how much you are allowed to buy of a particular product, though nearly all of the various shops we have - Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA - have all set a standard of no more than 4 packs of toilet paper per trolley. To be honest, even that is too much, especially since loo paper is one of the remaining items that Australia still produces, and which doesn't need to be imported from China, who have seemingly bought out about 90% of all Australian lands, goods, and way of life!

Because of my somewhat unique (but not totally unique because I know I am not the only person in this country to be living this sort of life) situation, I have a fairly decent store cupboard with a lot of the basics they are telling us we need to stock up on for a minimum of 14 days. There are a couple of things I would like to get a few more of (like frozen veg, tinned veg, as well as some cous cous), but other than that, I could survive for possibly a month here if I were stranded. The animals, however, would still need a weekly supply of food coming in.

I am very glad that over the years I have had a habit of collecting war time receipes, and hints and tips, as they are all very much becoming handy, as the supermarket shelves get emptier and emptier, and items become hard to obtain. I've been saying for a good few years that I really need to get my vegetable patch going again, and now it seems that I really will have to! Life is rather more expensive right now than it was pre-bushfire days! Plus with meat and fresh fruit and vegetables disappearing almost as fast as loo paper from the supermarkets, I may not have much choice soon.

When I'm not turning into a Doomsday Prepper (which I'm not, by the way!) (waiting for the Zombie Apocalypse, as is joked about here in Australia with all the fools getting into fights and pulling knives and such on people over TOILET PAPER), I am learning to live my life more and more from home.

I am back studying again, as a break from reality. I won't gain anything out of it, unless I wish to pay $70 for a certificate at the end of the course, but the courses themselves won't help me along in life. They are merely for interest's sake. 

I am learning to crochet (badly). This may not pay off, but it would be nice to be able to make some things with crochet, as wool is much cheaper right now than blankets and socks and the like, in the lead up to Winter. I am also learning to use my nearly 96 year old Grandma's sewing machine that she bought in the 1960s. Grandma is still kicking along, though sleeping much of the time these days. Sewing is a very handy ability to have.

I recently bought myself a battery-powered push mower. I inherited two petrol-powered push mowers off Dad that were here on the property, but I am not strong enough for the rip cord start, nor can I easily get petrol for them when they run out, plus I am unable to sharpen the blades on them. Mine is as big as a normal mower, but has a rechargeable battery (that is huge!) and a quick charge charger plus spare battery. I have started to learn to mow, as the sheep have gone on strike due to lantana poisoning among their number, and the loss of a few of them as a result. A friend of Dad's has been coming and helping me mow and cut back the lantana, which has been a bonus, and an impetus to get back into it, now that we are finally starting to get below 30 degrees each day. I have a track here that I walk the dogs on, which until yesterday had been very overgrown - easily 6 foot high in grass - and which is now almost all mowed, thanks to Dad's friend and his ride on mower. There are still trees to remove, and bits to cut back along the sides, plus the marshy bit right down the very end of the track which is currently too wet to mow due to recent rains, but it is now at least safe once more to take my dogs for a walk each day on leads.

Other things that I am doing at the moment is travelling the world via Street View and Google Earth. It is not that safe to travel at the moment, at least not physically, nor can I afford it just now, so this is the next best thing, and allows me to spend 5 minutes or 5 hours exploring a city at my own pace. It's not the same thing as physically going there and experiencing life there, but it is, at least, something.

Out of interest's sake, and for posterity, here is the list that has been published in the news about what we should be stocking up on, along with part of the article it has come from:

"To help you stay organised, a leading Australian charity has shared a shopping list revealing the foods worth stocking up on should you find yourself under lockdown.

According to the charity, those stockpiling will need to have a selection of dry goods available which will form the basis of several meals.

These include pasta, two-minute noodles and rice. If you are a single person, purchase 2kg of each. A family of four is advised to buy 8kg of pasta, 5kg of rice and a 6-pack of noodles.

Additionally, pasta sauce needs to be included. Two jars for a single person or eight jars for a family of four.

A range of spreads will ensure there is some variety. The charity recommends Vegemite, Nutella, peanut butter and jam. For a single person, half a jar, for a family of four, one jar.
Cheese slices, frozen fish, meat (pork, beef, mince, chicken) canned tuna or salmon and eggs will ensure a good supply of protein.

Shopping list to survive 14 days in quarantine for a family of 4

Protein
Cheese slices: 4 packs
Frozen fish: 4 boxes
Meat: Selection of pork, beef, mince
Chicken: 15 chicken breasts
Canned tuna/fish: 14 tins
Eggs: 3 dozen
Non perishables
Pasta: 8kg
Pasta sauce: 8 jars
Rice: 5kg
Noodles: 4 pack
Spreads: Vegemite, Nutella, peanut butter, jam
Tinned soup: 14 tins
Frozen vegetables: 3kg
Tinned vegetables: 15 tins
Long life milk: 1 person = 3 ltr, 4 people = 12 ltr
Pantry Staples
Bread (freeze): 6 to 8 loaves
Sugar: 1kg
Cereal: 3 boxes
Cup of Soup: 12 packs
Extras: salt and pepper, powdered milk


Other items that need to be included are tinned soup, seven tins for one person, 14 tins for four people, bread for the freezer, two loaves for a single person, six to eight loaves for four people and long-life milk, three litres, for a single, and 12 litres for four.
Additional extras are frozen vegetables, tinned vegetables, sugar, cereal, Cup-A-Soup sachets, and salt and pepper.

Shopping list to survive 14 days in quarantine - for 1 person

Protein
Cheese slices: 500g
Frozen fish: 1 box
Meat: Selection of pork, beef, mince
Chicken: 5 chicken breasts
Canned tuna/fish: 7 tins
Eggs: 1 dozen
Non perishables
Pasta: 2kg
Pasta sauce: 2 jars
Rice: 2kg
Noodles: (Two-minute): 2 pack
Spreads: Vegemite, Nutella, peanut butter, jam
Tinned soup: 7 tins
Frozen vegetables: 1kg
Tinned vegetables: 5 tins
Long life milk: 3 ltr
Pantry Staples
Bread (freeze): 2 loaves
Sugar: 1/2 kg
Cereal: 1 box
Cup of Soup: 3 packs
Extras: salt and pepper, powdered milk

...people should focus on steadily building up a two-week supply of non-perishable fibre, carbohydrate and protein foods.

Only if “severe” pandemic hits should you start stocking up on perishable foods as it could mean those supplies run out.

When that occurs, .... buy up bread, meat which you can freeze, dairy products like milk and yoghurt, eggs, fruit and vegetables.

“In a more severe pandemic, supply chain issues may mean fresh food becomes harder to get."

Additionally, it pays to ensure you have adequate supplies of a range of medication, include any you regularly take."

Films and stuff

Life has been hard here on the farm. I have lived through bushfires and floods all in a period of four months. I have watched my sheep die of starvation as there is no food to be found, despite all I do for them. Grain just isn't enough to keep them alive. I have had to part ways with the majority of Dad's chickens and all of his roosters for much the same reason - as there isn't any food to be found, especially since the bushfires wiped out most of the country.

I am over the endless heat that never seems to end. I am over the extreme changes in temperature and weather. I am over it all.

I miss my Dad more than I could ever imagine. My life feels very empty and ever so much more difficult without him in it.

- - - - - - - - - - 

As it's February and we've just had Valentine's Day (spent on my own again), I've been watching films with a French flavour.

Film 1 - Paris Blues (1961) - a really lovely film to watch. Has an incredibly gorgeous and rather young Paul Newman in it along side Sidney Poitier (also quite young, and before his rather more famous 'To Sir With Love' film a few years later), and an older, but still very amazing, one and only 'Satchmo'. To see Louis Armstrong in any film makes it instant watching for me. He's been a favourite of mine since I was a child and first discovered jazz and dixieland swing, and Rhythm 'n Blues. Most of the music was written by another favourite of mine - Duke Ellington.

Film 2 - The Rage of Paris (1938) - French in so much as one of the main characters is french, but still a very fun little film to watch. It has a young Douglas Fairbanks Jnr in it, along with an equally young Louis Hayward, as well as Helen Broderick being her usual talented self. 

While Paris Blues was darker in nature, touching on various subjects (including that of racism), it was the music that drew me in. With The Rage of Paris, it was the fun nature of the film that kept me watching it. It literally is a romp of a film, very much of its era, the storyline lacking a whole lot, but fun nevertheless.

Today's film is going to be The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). This one I have seen more than once before, and is an old favourite of mine. It will also be the first of my French films to be in colour. It has an all-star cast with many famous actors and actresses in it, so I am looking forward once again to a visit to this lovely film.

Life

My beloved Dad died in May, after fighting bowel cancer for two and a half years.

It still doesn't seem real, that he's not here anymore. Life is cruel sometimes.

Floods and flu epidemics

Poor Townsville in far North Queensland has seen a year's worth of rain in a week. Thousands of homes were flooded, dam gates opened to full to let the waters out that were at 200% of capacity.... it's feeling very much like the Brisbane and Toowoomba floods of 2011 all over again.

I feel for family and friends caught up in the floods up there. 😢

 

- - - - 

For the history people out there (me included) this article is of interest!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-05/the-deadly-spanish-flu-and-qld-nsw-border-closure-100-years-on/10781296

When people think of the Spanish Flu, they tend to think of the Soldiers coming home from WW1, but Australia (along with most of the world) was affected by this deadly flu epidemic too. All my life I've been aware of the border points between Queensland and NSW, as well as SA and WA. Many times as a kid, when we'd go down south to visit family, we'd have to go through the checkpoints along the border - not that they were still in action (ie they weren't always manned when I was a kid), but there was also no other way to cross the border, so through the gates you went.

It's interesting to find out WHY the gates were put there!

Australia Day, Movies, Books

After a somewhat long break from blogging, I'm giving it a go again. The weekend just gone, we had our National Day (Australia Day).

I've been recording movies on Foxtel - January was Western Month - and I've been trying to watch a movie a night, when I'm able, as the weather here is far too hot to do much else!

Last night's movie was a Jimmy Stewart film called "The Far Country". Not one I'd seen before.

Today's film isn't a western, but is a Katherine Hepburn film - "Suddenly, Last Summer". Also has a relatively young Elizabeth Taylor in it 😀

I have to admit, I am enjoying the films.

I've also been building a library for my books. Kmart sell $15 flat-pack bookcases. They only have 3 shelves, but at least I can stack them. I've missed reading my books, as they've been living in boxes the last few years.

I'm working my way through "The Diary of Anne Frank" currently. Given that the weekend also saw the anniversary of the liberation of the Death Camps so many decades ago, I thought it an appropriate book to read. Every time I step back in time to that Secret Annex with Anne and her family, I learn something new, despite knowing how it ends. It is a book that stays with you. 

I'm going to try and keep a record of movies and books I get through, as a way of giving myself incentive.

Last time I was in Brisbane (around October), I went for a walk around New Farm (one of my favourite historical places to walk), and took these photos. This is down near the old Woolsheds, where there is a walkway now.

BOOKS READ                              The Diary of Anne Frank
MOVIES WATCHED                    "The Far Country", "Suddenly, Last Summer"