When Life Gets a Bit Too Interesting!

Life is certainly interesting at the moment. A little bit too interesting!

You might remember how a week or so ago, we prepared our house just in case the out-of-control bushfire that was burning not very far away arrived in our village. Well, the other day, the fire did arrive.

Life hasn’t been normal since we received an emergency warning about the fire. It’s become full of bushfires, fire trucks, evacuation centres, water-bombing aircraft, containment lines and bulldozers. There has been no time to think about such things as podcasts and blog posts. I had intended to make a Christmas podcast episode, but that didn’t happen.

Despite the bushfire, one thing I have been managing to do is upload a photo to Instagram every day. My laptop (which I use to write blog posts) has been in my evacuation bag, but my phone is constantly in my hand where I can use it to check on the fire. It’s been relatively quick and easy to write a caption with a fire update to keep my Instagram friends informed about our safety.

Today, I’m going to share all my recent Instagram posts here on my blog for all my friends who aren’t on Instagram but would like to hear our latest adventures.

21 December 2019

The spark has gone out of the lead up to Christmas because of the bushfire situation threatening our home and many others. (Or maybe there are too many sparks!)  A quick update just in case anyone had been wondering if we’re safe.

Yesterday, Sophie, Gemma-Rose and I got stuck in town. The one road leading in and out of our village was closed because of the fire. The girls and I went to the evacuation centre in town before spending the night at a friend’s house. This morning, we’re back at home after our road was reopened.

Today, we’re shrouded in thick smoke, but we’re in no immediate danger. Tomorrow, the weather will deteriorate so we’re watching the situation very closely. We’re packed and ready to leave if necessary.

It’s such a frightening and emotional time. The fire is unpredictable and moving fast. Lots of houses have burnt down including one belonging to a friend. Two firefighters have died. There are people in hospital after being injured. But the firefighters are fighting on. So grateful for these brave people who are trying to keep us safe.

Today, we’re keeping up with all the fire updates and doing not much else. I should be wrapping my Christmas gifts, but somehow that doesn’t seem important. .

Photo: this is one of Sophie’s photos. The cats might look disinterested in the tree, but they’re not. They think we put up the Christmas tree just for them. They love lying under it. Unfortunately , they also like eating the tinsel!

I hope all my Aussie friends are not in any danger. Keep safe!

Later: Thank you dear friends for all your thoughts and prayers which we appreciate very much. We’re still at home, but we’re all packed ready to leave. Conditions eased a bit this afternoon so we stayed. Tomorrow’s fire conditions are described as catastrophic so we’re getting up early and heading to town before the temperature rises. We’ll be safe there. Hopefully, our home will still be here when we return. One last thing: a big passenger plane has just flown very, very low after our home. Oh my, it was unbelievable! I can still hear it. Could it be the Marie Bashir converted passenger plane water bomber? I was reading about how this plane hasn’t been approved for fire fighting. Perhaps the bushfire situation is so bad that everything that might be helpful is being used. Certainly the sight of the plane was very impressive! Sending love to everyone. Take care and stay safe if you’re also in a dangerous situation! (And if you haven’t seen the Marie Bashir plane you could google it!)

Later: 12.53 pm Saturday. We just got out of our village in time. An emergency warning has been issued for our village. Everyone has been told to take shelter. Too late to leave. Appreciate your prayers very much xxx

22 December 2019

Not so long ago, we returned home to find our village almost untouched by the bushfire which is still burning out of control near us. Apparently, the fire raced through our village and all our homes were expected to burn. It was a miracle that most of them were saved. So grateful for the hard work of the firefighters and everyone’s prayers and the help of family and friends who helped us while we were evacuated.

The girls and the cats spent last night with friends away from the fire zone. Andy and I and the dogs went to the evacuation centre in town. We were treated with overwhelming kindness and compassion. We intended staying at the centre all night, but at 9.30 pm one of the aid workers said that she’d found us a motel room and it would be paid for by the emergency disaster fund.

When we got to the motel, we discovered it was a luxury resort room. It was beautiful! Normally pets aren’t allowed, but an exception was made for our dogs because we were in an emergency situation. It was so good to sleep in a beautiful bed after our stressful day.

The fire is far from over. Please keep praying especially for the people who have lost their homes. The village next to ours is gone. A whole community burnt out.

When we got home, we could see the Christmas tree lights twinkling through the living room window. Somehow we’d forgotten to turn them off before leaving. Such a cheery sight. Perhaps we can now think about wrapping our Christmas gifts even though the fire is still burning.

23 December 2019

Last night, we saw a huge earth-moving machine travelling along our road towards the bush (where we run). It’s going to be used to open up the containment lines that were put in place to contain the huge bushfire that swept close to our home 6 years ago.

Temperatures have fallen. There is hardly any wind. Conditions are good for firefighting. There are fire trucks and water tankers and all kinds of vehicles and equipment gathered at the fire station in our village. Yesterday, we could hear helicopters. The fight goes on.

Our family can relax and prepare for Christmas. Only two days to catch up. So much to do! Even though some of our gifts won’t be delivered in time because of the bushfire and we feel rushed and unprepared, at least we’ll be celebrating Christmas in our own home. Many people no longer have a home. Firefighters can’t take a break just because it’s Christmas. There’s grief and hardship at a time that should be filled with joy. It reminds me of when our son Thomas died and the sympathy cards were arriving in the mail together with the Happy Christmas ones. But despite the pain, there is love and compassion, and communities are pulling together to get through the crisis. .

On a happier note, this photo is of Gemma-Rose. She’s holding a salt dough ornament that she made when she was much younger. She’s not impressed with it, but I love it. The seemingly imperfect things that our kids make are very special, aren’t they? They are real treasures. This is Sophie’s photo. She doesn’t mind me using it. I’m posting photos that are on my phone, ones that Sophie gave me before the crisis, because I haven’t had time recently to edit my own photos.

Thank you friends for your prayers, love, messages and concern. They are greatly appreciated. ❤️❤️

23 December 2019

At the moment, life feels very strange. There are firefighters and trucks on our road. Water bombing helicopters are flying overhead. A huge earth-moving machine is destroying our park and bush as it creates a firebreak a few hundred metres away. In neighbouring streets, embers are turning into fires.

And we’re at home wrapping Christmas gifts and doing Christmas baking!

We don’t think we’re in any immediate danger so we’re carrying on with life. However, we’ve repacked our evacuation bags, just in case! Oh my, this is a Christmas we are never going to forget!

Photo: Imogen and Gemma-Rose are looking rather strange. They’re enjoying lemonade spiders. One of my overseas friends once asked me what a spider is. In case you don’t know, here’s how you make one: put a generous scoop of ice cream in a tall glass and then add a soft drink of your choice. Lemonade and creaming soda are our favourites!

Later: Here, we’ve been under a bit of pressure today but the situation has now improved. The wind has dropped. The temperature is falling. There’s even a small chance of rain tomorrow! The fire trucks have pulled out of our street for the night and returned to the station at the centre of the village. They wouldn’t have gone if they expected anything to happen overnight. A couple of sky crane helicopters have been working all day dropping water on the fire about 1.5 kms away. Bulldozers are clearing firebreaks. The RFS didn’t back burn as expected because of gusty winds. We were apprehensive about the back burning so we didn’t have to worry about that or deal with the smoke. Maybe we can get some good sleep tonight! One last thing: there’s some speculation that not as many houses in our neighbouring village were lost as was reported. I hope that’s true!

24 December 2019

I hope you’re not getting tired of hearing about our bushfire. This last week, it’s been hard for us to think about anything else. But today we’re trying to concentrate on Christmas instead!

It’s a wonderfully cool, still day. We’re not in any danger at the moment. The helicopters have just taken off. They’re continuing to water bomb the fire. Our house will soon start shaking as they pass overhead every 5 minutes or so. But we’re going to ignore the noise and the fire trucks and everything else that’s going on outside. We’re preparing for Christmas!

Last night we read a week’s worth of Jesse tree readings in one evening. We prayed a rosary for rain. And Mary and Joseph took an express journey almost to our nativity scene. They had rather a lot of travel to catch up with after getting stuck on the piano for a few days!

Our gifts are wrapped. Andy and Charlotte are busy in the kitchen making Andy’s Famous Potato Salad. The other girls and I are going to hide our evacuation bags and try and put some order back into our home. Later, we’ll spread our presents under the tree. And then tomorrow we’re going to celebrate Christmas!

I hope you all have a very happy and blessed Christmas. Thank you for being my friends!

And that’s all my bushfire posts, at least for now. The bushfire will be burning for a long time. It’s still out of control. It covers an area of more than 200,000 hectares and its perimeter is more than 1000 kms. That’s a lot of fire!

As I finish this post, I can still hear the water bombing aircraft flying overhead. Today, there’s a helicopter with a water bucket and a converted passenger plane on duty. They’ve been working non-stop for many hours. Just a moment ago, I went outside to get the washing off the line and discovered that the air is very smoky again. The RFS must have begun back burning again. They’re taking advantage of the milder conditions to try and slow the fire. We’re expecting hot weather again at the weekend. On Saturday, things might get a bit hot and sticky again in more ways than one! But we shall worry about that in a few days’ time.

Today, we’re thinking about Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve. Only a few more hours and we’ll be going to Mass, opening presents and celebrating.

Happy Christmas!