A live stream weathercam in Townsville that is (so far) online and working.
Facing south. Watch those clouds race by! I cannot imagine being in it. Mighty Mother Nature, 'eh? It is palpable and exhausting sitting this far away and just gnashing my teeth about everyone [and some family who have decided to evacuate NORTH just past Cairns.... Er, I thought SOUTH might have been better ??????? What would I know, though, I'm just a Victorian and don't know tropical weather at all - if I lived there and saw swirly stuff on the radar, I'd be so far out of there I'd be well into another state by now *shrug*].
I just pray it doesn't end up as catastrophic as it seems. But.... yanno. It kinda doesn't look good. Not to mention how it's looking for the poor darling wildlife and the animals who can't go with their humans. I could cry. And I probably will before this event is over.
Video chat rooms at Ustream
Looking ENE towards Castle Hill.
Showing posts with label Qld floods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qld floods. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Look up in the sky!
I'll admit I have been a tad concerned for our Queensland friends - namely, my two step brothers and their young families who are right in the path of this monster Yasi - and have had the national radar loop screen up more than once today.
The LGBB had a little friend over earlier. They played in the pool and then set about being superheroes, running around the house with their hooded towels on as their 'capes'. I left them to it. At least I wasn't getting roped in to be imaginative.
The friend went home, I went about getting dinner on and took a glance at the radar image again. And Lolly, flashing past me, requested that I look on the radar for Super Bunny.
"Oooooookay," I said, not clicking at first, distracted by what I was going to cook. So I went over to the computer and searched the skies for Super Bunny. Behind me, I heard strange and exotic "whoosh"-ing and "zschooom"-ing sounds. Lolly was no longer in the house. But strangely, at the same time I started to spot flashes of pink (towel... or was it cape?) on the radar! Super Bunny zoomed this way and that, from Western Australia, across to do loops around Tassie, then up north to the Gulf.
"I'm gon-toooo saaaave the worrrrld!" Super Bunny cried as she whooshed past. No doubt, I think to myself. It's no surprise this little bunny has called herself to action again, if the recent floods and the strange illness that befell her for the crucial period of time is anything to go by.
NO idea where Super Bunny came from, nor the desire to be a super hero. It's all new to me. In this house, it's usually pink sparkle, fairy glitter, Tinkerbell-my-little-pony World. But not today. Today, Super Bunny was on a mission, apparently.
And then, almost as suddenly as she disappeared, the LGBB reappeared. Freshly "uncaped" (at the floor by her feet) and with a nonchalant "hello, Mum", she positioned herself beside me and asked flippantly what I was looking at on the radar. I tried to tell her about Super Bunny but she wouldn't hear of it.
God, I love this kid. Have I ever mentioned?
The LGBB had a little friend over earlier. They played in the pool and then set about being superheroes, running around the house with their hooded towels on as their 'capes'. I left them to it. At least I wasn't getting roped in to be imaginative.
The friend went home, I went about getting dinner on and took a glance at the radar image again. And Lolly, flashing past me, requested that I look on the radar for Super Bunny.
"Oooooookay," I said, not clicking at first, distracted by what I was going to cook. So I went over to the computer and searched the skies for Super Bunny. Behind me, I heard strange and exotic "whoosh"-ing and "zschooom"-ing sounds. Lolly was no longer in the house. But strangely, at the same time I started to spot flashes of pink (towel... or was it cape?) on the radar! Super Bunny zoomed this way and that, from Western Australia, across to do loops around Tassie, then up north to the Gulf.
"I'm gon-toooo saaaave the worrrrld!" Super Bunny cried as she whooshed past. No doubt, I think to myself. It's no surprise this little bunny has called herself to action again, if the recent floods and the strange illness that befell her for the crucial period of time is anything to go by.
NO idea where Super Bunny came from, nor the desire to be a super hero. It's all new to me. In this house, it's usually pink sparkle, fairy glitter, Tinkerbell-my-little-pony World. But not today. Today, Super Bunny was on a mission, apparently.
And then, almost as suddenly as she disappeared, the LGBB reappeared. Freshly "uncaped" (at the floor by her feet) and with a nonchalant "hello, Mum", she positioned herself beside me and asked flippantly what I was looking at on the radar. I tried to tell her about Super Bunny but she wouldn't hear of it.
God, I love this kid. Have I ever mentioned?
p.s. There's a new one over at the private one....
Friday, January 14, 2011
Time to pick on the cat
There's no better time like the present to be distracted a little by dogs dressed up as humans. But first, a recap on this past week for what an incredibly emotionally draining one it has been for many Australians:
• Two of our own blog community are burying and celebrating the lives of their dear loved ones today and my heart goes out to them - Lori from RRSAHM and Lulu from Unperfect Life, both of whom have surely felt the bottom of their worlds fall out this week.
• The floods in Queensland are receding but not after annihilating our Sunshine State. And now, Victoria is being hammered by heavy rains and flooding has already begun to cause damage. I hope no more lives are lost. Not this week.
• And in the middle of all this outpouring and shock, much closer to home yesterday we shouldered our personal memories as we quietly celebrated the 7th anniversary of our firstborn baby girl, Ellanor, who entered the world what feels like almost a lifetime ago. It was a strange mix of emotions.
-----------------------
After months of dreading coming home to find what had been left on the doorstep by our cat who, going by the condition of her prey, is some kind of crazy ave lobotomist, I decided it was high time to do something about this cat of ours. She has lost two collars, three bells and my patience for her.
I discussed with Steve whether we should just get her a massive bell, but decided that would look ridiculous. We also floated the notion that perhaps the birds in this area are just a bit slow off the mark, or perhaps simply dumb or inquisitive - maybe they think the bell means dinner, we wondered. Well... I suppose it does in a way. In a ... not alive for them in a few seconds kind of way. But it didn't help us find any answers on how to stop our cat being so darn bird-unfriendly. She needs something bigger than a big bell to stop her, I said. She needs a... a doorbell!
Rather than call me unhelpful, Steve considered the possibility of attaching a doorbell to the cat's body, one that was wired to permanently "ding-dong", thereby alert any of the dumb slow birds to get out of her away.
Instead, though, I took MacGyver's biggest fan to the nearest pet store and together, we weighed up the options. None of the cat collars looked to have adequate... bell-ringage. We knew with this wily one we would need, like, the Notre Dame of bells. And they just don't make them like that.
However..... then we discovered this! The cat bib!
Made from wetsuit fabric, supposedly your cat can groom, walk, pounce, run and generally still be the happy-go-luckynagger to be let in/out, whinger for food when it's just eaten puddytat it always was. Just without the killing of the birds bit.
So we tried it on Tabby. And she's hated usmore for it ever since. In fact, mostly she's been sitting sulking on the front doormat. Surrounded by tufts of leftovers (you know, feathers, a bit of matted plumage, some entrails, etc.), she has just huffed there. With her fetching purple cat bib to keep her company. Yeah, yeah, sucks to be her and all that. Steve is concerned she'll get beaten up by the neighbourhood cats for being a dork. Too bad, I say.
When we looked out the window a bit later, Tabitha had gone. Hooray! we said to each other. Perhaps she is going to be okay with it after all. We had both been wondering what she would be thinking of the bib and why we were being so cruel to her. I entertained the image of our vindictive little pussy cat going around the gardens with her bib hoiked around behind her neck, pretending to be a superhero and using it as a cape as she went right on hunting and catching and killing. But when I asked Steve if he'd seen any villains lately that looked suspiciously like a black cat with a score to settle, he said he hadn't.
To be honest, we half expected to see Tabby step deliberately up to the kitchen window with a knife, a fork and a dead bird and a look that said, "This is much more civilised" as she used her bib as a proper napkin.
None of that happened. Instead, this morning I got a message of another kind. A laundry floor strewn with cat vomit. So that's what she thinks of her cat bib.
And as for the dogs dressed as humans? This is funny AND educational:
This post is dedicated to Lori today. The FYBF blog hop is currently being guest hosted by Kristin at Wanderlustlust...
• Two of our own blog community are burying and celebrating the lives of their dear loved ones today and my heart goes out to them - Lori from RRSAHM and Lulu from Unperfect Life, both of whom have surely felt the bottom of their worlds fall out this week.
• The floods in Queensland are receding but not after annihilating our Sunshine State. And now, Victoria is being hammered by heavy rains and flooding has already begun to cause damage. I hope no more lives are lost. Not this week.
 |
| Victoria is under there somewhere... at least 50% of the state experiencing rains again today |
• And in the middle of all this outpouring and shock, much closer to home yesterday we shouldered our personal memories as we quietly celebrated the 7th anniversary of our firstborn baby girl, Ellanor, who entered the world what feels like almost a lifetime ago. It was a strange mix of emotions.
So now, I admit it, I'm in need of a bit of a shaking off of this heaviness, just for a moment.
Click away now if you don't want to join in, but I've got to do something drastic. It involves a story of a cat, too many dead birds, a daughter who's discovered dogs behaving like humans and me displaying my obsessive compulsive tendencies by finding her more and more vids of exactly that just so I can soak up her infectious belly laughs.
-----------------------
After months of dreading coming home to find what had been left on the doorstep by our cat who, going by the condition of her prey, is some kind of crazy ave lobotomist, I decided it was high time to do something about this cat of ours. She has lost two collars, three bells and my patience for her.
I discussed with Steve whether we should just get her a massive bell, but decided that would look ridiculous. We also floated the notion that perhaps the birds in this area are just a bit slow off the mark, or perhaps simply dumb or inquisitive - maybe they think the bell means dinner, we wondered. Well... I suppose it does in a way. In a ... not alive for them in a few seconds kind of way. But it didn't help us find any answers on how to stop our cat being so darn bird-unfriendly. She needs something bigger than a big bell to stop her, I said. She needs a... a doorbell!
Rather than call me unhelpful, Steve considered the possibility of attaching a doorbell to the cat's body, one that was wired to permanently "ding-dong", thereby alert any of the dumb slow birds to get out of her away.
Instead, though, I took MacGyver's biggest fan to the nearest pet store and together, we weighed up the options. None of the cat collars looked to have adequate... bell-ringage. We knew with this wily one we would need, like, the Notre Dame of bells. And they just don't make them like that.
However..... then we discovered this! The cat bib!
 |
| And doesn't this cat look proud (img: catgoods.com) |
Made from wetsuit fabric, supposedly your cat can groom, walk, pounce, run and generally still be the happy-go-lucky
So we tried it on Tabby. And she's hated us
When we looked out the window a bit later, Tabitha had gone. Hooray! we said to each other. Perhaps she is going to be okay with it after all. We had both been wondering what she would be thinking of the bib and why we were being so cruel to her. I entertained the image of our vindictive little pussy cat going around the gardens with her bib hoiked around behind her neck, pretending to be a superhero and using it as a cape as she went right on hunting and catching and killing. But when I asked Steve if he'd seen any villains lately that looked suspiciously like a black cat with a score to settle, he said he hadn't.
To be honest, we half expected to see Tabby step deliberately up to the kitchen window with a knife, a fork and a dead bird and a look that said, "This is much more civilised" as she used her bib as a proper napkin.
None of that happened. Instead, this morning I got a message of another kind. A laundry floor strewn with cat vomit. So that's what she thinks of her cat bib.
And as for the dogs dressed as humans? This is funny AND educational:
This post is dedicated to Lori today. The FYBF blog hop is currently being guest hosted by Kristin at Wanderlustlust...
Can you help? Toiletries and underwear drive for Queensland flood victims
A short and sweet one.....
I'm calling on all the regular readers - and new passers by - of this blog who normally read, then click away without commenting! There are many, many of you who visit here daily without so much as leaving a cheerio. This time, I'm asking you to have a heart and setting you a challenge (and hey, you still get to retain your anonymity!). What could be fairer than that?
A trusted long-time blogging friend has done a very good turn and posted some information on her website. Clarinda at L-Plate Greenie In The Making is calling for any and all help in the form of new (not used) items for the relief of Queensland residents who have lost everything. This is a legitimate and trustworthy drop off point! So rest assured anything you donate will reach flood victims.
A copy of Clarinda's post is below (or you can view the post here on her blog):
I'm calling on all the regular readers - and new passers by - of this blog who normally read, then click away without commenting! There are many, many of you who visit here daily without so much as leaving a cheerio. This time, I'm asking you to have a heart and setting you a challenge (and hey, you still get to retain your anonymity!). What could be fairer than that?
A trusted long-time blogging friend has done a very good turn and posted some information on her website. Clarinda at L-Plate Greenie In The Making is calling for any and all help in the form of new (not used) items for the relief of Queensland residents who have lost everything. This is a legitimate and trustworthy drop off point! So rest assured anything you donate will reach flood victims.
A copy of Clarinda's post is below (or you can view the post here on her blog):
Flood Drive
Donate underwear & toothbrushes to help those who have lost their homes in the QLD floods.
Due to many families being devastated by the floods in QLD, getting basic items such as underwear and personal hygiene items will be difficult. Roads are still cut and shops are closed.
By donating men’s, women’s and children’s underwear, singlets, toothbrushes and other small personal hygiene items we can help the flood victims immediately.
Donate underwear & toothbrushes to help those who have lost their homes in the QLD floods.
Due to many families being devastated by the floods in QLD, getting basic items such as underwear and personal hygiene items will be difficult. Roads are still cut and shops are closed.
By donating men’s, women’s and children’s underwear, singlets, toothbrushes and other small personal hygiene items we can help the flood victims immediately.
You can post any donated items to:
Flood Drive
PO Box 469
SINGLETON NSW 2330
Flood Drive
PO Box 469
SINGLETON NSW 2330
By Feb 10th
You can watch the progress of this drive right here
For any queries contact Clarinda at
Gigglensqueak@gmail.com
**items must be new**
Gigglensqueak@gmail.com
**items must be new**
Please share this on your blog, twitter and facebook.
Lets do something proactive.
Lets do something proactive.
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