Six months later, we flooded again

Water height line on our fence. Yes, the post box needed to be cleaned out!
Creek mud on the front path (all pics from Thurs 21st)

Downstairs main room. That's the upright freezer on its SIDE.

Assorted mess in downstairs big room. Water went entirely over the piano.

My CM shelving. Water went to part way up the second-top shelf here (the last shelf with albums)

Looking from the scrapbooking room towards the big room.

The amazing hovering shelf of books - the books stayed thanks to the water expanding them, but the shelf had fallen out from underneath them.

Bubbling in the paint in the craft room, after the big white shelving was removed.

New table legs (added to the table on Monday) - note the expansion!

The pile of trashed books that took Megan four or five hours to catalogue.

The 2009 Flood

So, when we bought our house, we knew that that area of the street flooded in the 74 floods, the largest flood to hit Brisbane in most people's living memory. We knew that, but we loved it, loved the close location to the CBD, and bought it anyway. And that's worked well for us, until the past six-and-a-bit months. Because on Nov 20 last year, Enoggera creek broke its banks, and flooded most of our street, including around 30cm or so of water through the bottom of our house. Thanks to our awesome parents, my Grandma, family and friends, we got everything cleaned up in a few days, and eventually the insurance got all settled, and some things were replaced (others hadn't been searched for yet).

Then this year, on May 20, I was sitting at work thinking about getting home and putting everything up high that night that wasn't in plastic tubs or those space saver bags, given the huge amounts of rain we'd had on Mon and Tues that week (well over 200mm in those 48 hours). Megan texted me from her bus home to say they'd been diverted from Bowen Bridge Rd, and the alarm bells started ringing for me - Bowen Bridge Rd is near our house, and if the creek overflowed onto it, then our house would be under water, as the road is higher than our street.I had been checking the Bureau of Meteorology website that afternoon, checking the flood warnings, and checking the creek level readings, NONE of which had me worried or gave ANY indication that Windsor was likely to flood.

We got home at about 6pm to a blacked-out street, and water much higher up the street than last time. Again, we found out too late to do or change anything, and would have to deal with the consequences. We had a farewell dinner with Dad and Lylia on Tues night, and Dad had suggested we put everything up high - which we planned to do on Weds night, but even looking back, we couldn't have guessed we'd get up to 1.4m / 5 feet of water through our house.

Luckily on Weds I had bought some new Crocs for our tropical holiday, so I waded through the hip-high water (about 1m, I guess) to get clothes, nappies, etc, for us to spend the night at John's parent's house. John was going to be the gentleman/boy scout, but I wouldn't let him in the water in his leather work shoes, nor without shoes. I grabbed the most random assortment of clothes while he dealt with a tired, cranky, and confused Matilda in the car.

6:30pm was high tide, and we went to John's parents for the night.

In the middle of Weds night, John and Brett went to our house to open the doors and let water out, so that it wouldn't sit there seeping through the doors until we got there in the morning. He got back at about 2am, and told me it was as bad as I imagined.

So, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent cleaning, with heaps of help from Janet, Megan, Brett, Lexie, Jonathon from Property Blitz, Will, Chrissy, Kate, Darren, Glenda, Noel, Narelle, and Jacey (I'm sorry if I forgot anyone!). Our power was out until Friday lunch time, as water got through the power box thingie. The fridge and freezer had to be emptied, all electrical goods downstairs are written off after being submerged, the freezer made a hole in one wall as it floated about, over 10,000 photos were immersed in water, as well as a number of scrapbooking projects that were in progress (luckily fully completed albums were upstairs, but in progress albums included Matilda's first volume and memorabilia from our Gallipoli trip). Megan spent Saturday cataloguing over 400 books that were ruined (and is probably signing me up or renewing my membership with the local library - wonder if they'll have Harry Potter in German? ;) ). The downstairs walls will need to be replaced, there'll need to be some electrical work done - none of the sockets downstairs are working, and only half of the upstairs ones are, as well as sitting down and figuring out the cost of the books and scrapbooking items that have been destroyed.

Sunday, I moved my focus to our trip - our flights and accommodation were all completely pre-paid, and we didn't have time to see about rescheduling, so on Sunday afternoon we left the house in our housesitter's hands, and flew to Sydney (2 hours late, so it was a bolt from the domestic to the international terminal, and no time for duty-free shopping!), and then on to Honolulu, where we are enjoying living in a hotel room where we don't have to worry about not having a washing machine, not having power in 1/2 of the upstairs sockets, we have internet, and most of all - doesn't smell like creek silt. The smell from the last flood had barely gone ... bugger!

Water in Northey St, two streets away

When soap attacks...

After being attacked by a bar of soap in the bath. Matilda recommends relaxing on the couch with an elmo dvd, an improvised ice pack and breakfast cereal.

Easter at Rainbow Beach

Playing in the park. M later tried to use this hole as an exit when we had to go. As a hint of how high up it is, I'm standing, and not crouching very much!

We took a bunny home with us for the five-hour drive back to Brissie on Easter Monday. The ears lasted maybe til we were out of the township.

A bit of face painting done by the fairy at Tin Can Bay markets. And I think the marks all around M's mouth are chocolate...

Not yet a convert to rice pudding, and certainly not when it's cold!

Hunting for eggs in the yard.

There's one in the herbs!

Helping Daddy with his leg exercises. He had very sore legs for the next few days. M made him do LOTS of repetitions!

Family Weekend Away

Happy Birthday Aunty Kate!

For Christmas, Janet, Kate, and Darren gave the rest of the family a weekend away together - what fun! So in early Feb, we went to Peppers Resort at Salt (yes, those are not made up locations/names) for a wonderful weekend together. As it happened, that was the weekend of Kate's birthday, so were able to spend the whole weekend celebrating together!

Aunty Janet picked up some American-style cupcakes from Poppy's Cakes at Emporium. Yum!

Cuddles with Mama while eating yummy cupcakes.

Mama and Dada had a room to themselves - Matilda stayed in the same apartment as Grandma, Grandad, and Aunty Janet. Aunty Janet and M were roomies for the weekend - luckily Aunty Janet is an early bird!

Mama and Dada's room had a lovely big bathroom with a big spa bath. When M spotted Mama having a bath on Sat afternoon, she decided to join in the fun. It was very deep water though - M could only just sit in the bath without being covered up. She did NOT like the spa jets.

After a big day of swimming, no nap, and lots of fun, Matilda fell asleep while we were out for dinner on Aunty Kate's birthday. Grandma's sweet singing in her ear helped, too, I suspect.

Lots of willing arms to cuddle our sleeping girl.

I want to keep swimming! Why are you taking a photo and not swimming with me?! More swimming!

Storybook pages

So since about January, I've been working on a Storybook for Matilda from our trip to Europe last year. I finished it on Thursday night, uploaded it to Creative Memories in Sydney, and it arrived on Monday! I was so surprised at how quickly it arrived. Yay! Here are some of the pages I did:

Last page

January pics

(Yes, I realise it's almost the end of Feb!!)

New Year's day. It isn't just Mama's shoes that get stolen,but also Daddy's joggers. And what else to accompany joggers but fairy wings? And, did you notice, super large shoes also provide a handy butt seat. ;)

Having too much fun running around GG's unit. Always guaranteed that Matilda will clean the fly screens naturally while we're there (by pressing herself up against them).

Lunch and a swim at Damien and Emma's (yay!! they're in Aus now, and even walking distance from us, we don't have to fly for 24+ hours to see them anymore!!). It rained while we were in the pool, and afterwards, Matilda had to dry the back deck. I'm still trying to figure out why she will clean what she does, and blissfully ignores other messes ... I suspect I'll have this motherly dilemma for the next 20 years or so?!

GG Caroline got these shoes for M, I think for her first birthday. They're the funky kind that help kids learn about laces, zips, buttons. Well, our shoe girl had to wear them one day, which made pedalling the trike a wee bit interesting. And please don't look too closely at the dirty deck - we've still got water restrictions. Really, it's nothing to do with laziness AT ALL.

Fruit

Matilda's favourite fruit at the moment is:

Strawb-ba-berries

She's been saying strawberries this way for some time, at least since December. It's ridiculouly cute.

Some other favourite fruits right now:

• Blueberries
• Apple
• Orange (stealing Daddy's)
• Mango (stealing Daddy's)
• Watermelon (stealing Daddy's)
• Cherries - pits and all
• Fruit-flavoured yoghurt ;)
• Grapes

Veges seem to work better when disguised still ...

The energizer bunny hits the wall

After a very full day celebrating Aunty Kate's birthday. BR hits the wall during dinner. Pass the salt. Pass the sleeping 2 yr old.

Transport 2.0

For Matilda's first birthday, back in Oct '07, I hoped that she wouldn't get only "girly" presents. Sure, I'll dress her in pink 70% of the time, and even though I lurrrved my Barbies, I figured my girl also needs some non-girly things to play with. So when her Unca Cam asked what he could get her, I said a Tonka Truck. He really didn't want to, he wanted to get her a dress or something more girly, but I insisted that she should have a Tonka truck.

Recently, M's re-discovered the truck, and is enjoying it in daily life. These pics are from the other day:

M wakes up before us most mornings, as you do at 2 with your aged thirty-something parents, and now that she's happily getting herself out of bed, comes into our room with an armful of toys (currently: flopsy bunny, baby, Dora, and Emma her multilingual English-German speaking doll I got in Philly) and presents them to me. Once she even decided her Dad might wake up and respond to her, and gave them to him. Oh, and she brings her water bottle, too, for the long walk between bedrooms. ;)
A couple of weeks ago, her tonka truck ended up in the formal living room outside our bedroom (aka The Great Dumping Ground and Used Twice a Year room). One morning, after the usual footsteps up the hall, I heard a gentle whooshing sound. Matilda had her butt in the truck, and was shuffling herself along by her feet. I've had a few mornings where I've had to watch where I put my feet as I swing out of bed, in case I mistakenly put one in the truck and go for a nasty slide!

So, Unca Cam, M is LOVING her truck. She may not be using it in exactly the way it's intended to be used, but hey, it works for her.

Happy New Year 08--09!

NYE is Grandad's birthday, so after knocking off work and daycare early (yes, M's Mum and Dad worked through Christmas and New Year, except for the public holidays, pretty much), we went to visit him and say:

Happy Birthday!

We had a lovely afternoon tea, M took some photos with Aunty Janet's digi camera, and we got to see all the family.
We then went to B&L's house for their annual NYE party, and we spent the night there.

Some ANTM-esque "fierce" modelling from the kids of their new outfits from Singapore

JR loves it, he and B spend the night making cocktails, mocktails, litetails for all the friends and family, and generally sampling any leftovers. ;) The kids all tear around and have a great time dancing and playing all over the place. NYE was pretty hot, so after we arrived at B&L's, we hopped in the pool with the kids. I am a terrible Mum, and when I bundled up all the swimming gear, I didn't remember M's ear plugs and headband to keep them in. This means no head under water and you have to be careful with splashing around her. Yeah, tell that to K (4), D (5), and R (7)!! And to M for that matter, who LOVES swimming, and asks at least once a day if we can go back to B&L's house and go swimming. So L & I mocked up a makeshift ear plug situation that kinda worked for about one minute at a time, involving K's hair bands and some aeroplane-style noise ear plugs.

Now a nice photo

After a bit, the party started and M had a GREAT time. It was too hot to stay inside, so most everyone (except our wonderful bartenders) sat outside on the verandah. Although it wasn't as hot as the year that B & JR ended up in the spa at 2am with a blender full of mango margaritas!
Last NYE M stayed up until 9:45. After a few late nights when she's been up til about 10 or so, we figured our little party animal would be up until midnight, and she was!! I got her to bed around 12:30ish, and that went well until she decided to start the year with an early morning and woke up VERY cranky at 5:30. She went back to sleep before 7, but not without wanting to wake the rest of the house and trying to get K, D, and R awake and playing with her. Sigh. She is such a social, interested, on-the-go child. I'm not sure how we'd ever cope after dealing with M with a child who would clings to our legs and wouldn't leave us alone.

It may not look it, but M is practically comatose in these pics. She loved the sparklers and kept going back for more

Matilda's third Christmas

We had planned a rather busy day, but one in which Matilda would see all of her grandparents (all 6 of 'em) in the one day. We'd already seen Gramps and Gran Lylia on the night of the 23rd for Matilda to get her pressie (too big to bring to Christmas lunch @ Great Uncle Scott's).
Here she is at her very cool new table and chairs, just her own beight for drawing (on herself), painting (on herself), and other creative activities.
Then on Christmas Eve, we decided against the 3:30pm Hurry to Bethlehem family service at the Cathedral and instead went to St Marks's for the 7pm family service. A risky move after a late night, but we wanted to be within our community and our church friends at Christmas. Also, 7pm (ish) is M's bed time, so we weren't sure how she'd behave. She went very well, tried to sing the hymns/carols along with us, talked about Santa all through the gospel reading, but then redeemed herself by telling the children's and youth minister that tomorrow was "Baby Jesus Happy Birthday". ;)

For what I hope will be the last time for the next 15 years, I was the first awake in the house AGAIN on Christmas day. After two late nights, M still wasn't awake at 7:30, and we had a champagne brekky at Grandma and Grandad's house to get to (and lunch and dinner with other family members), so I snuggled into her and woke her up. M was far more concerned with giving Daddy kuggles (cuddles) and putting her shoes on, she didn't even notice the presents under the tree until after waking her Daddy. We opened some presents, got dressed and ready for the day, and went to Grandma and Grandads for brekky. Yum, of course! Fresh stone fruit and yoghurt followed by Eggs Benedict, and then some lovely pastries from Belle Epoque for morning tea. And some champagne for the adults, because after the flood, there seems little point in keeping "good" things such as 1996 Dom Perignon (thank you Duty Free shops), and much more point in sharing them with our loved ones or using them and appreciating them.

That HUGE bottle JR is holding is FULL of bubble liquid! With a chocolate smell ... Matilda decided that bubbles were WAY more interesting than eggs benedict (her loss).

We then went to Great Scott's for lunch. This is his house:
It's a former Methodist church, now deconsecrated. It's a pretty cool place for Christmas lunch! We caught up with Aunty Petie, Uncle Cam, and Aunty Jenny before they had to go to their Mum's for lunch.

Fairy wings from Aunty Jenny!
Super funky dress from Aunty Petie
Play Doh (to eat) from Unca Cam!
M rocking her cute chin cupping look
The mob
(M's Mummy didn't get the note from her sisters to wear a nice big loose summer dress)

After lunch, M explored Great Scott's crib. She found his exercise equipment:
After a lovely lunch, we went the next suburb over to MorMor's house. Mumma, Daddy, and M all tried to have sleeps. Well, Mumma tried, M was too excited to pretend to try, and Daddy did have a sleep. Grandad Eric and Uncle Al arrived, and we all had fun opening pressies and then had a yummo dinner.
All weary from a big day, we left MorMor's some time after 9pm (yes, M went all day with NO sleep, the little party animal). What a great, family-filled Christmas.