And the waters retreat...

The flood waters peaked yesterday, but are receeding now. People are starting to be able to go back to their homes, and the news crews are showing footage of all the destruction the water has done to so many houses. Power is apparently starting to be reinstated to the central business district of Brisbane, and to the 120,000 homes that were cut off for the last few days. And a lot of the major roads and highways are still impassable, simply due to the massive amounts of stinking black sludge the waters have left behind.







There have been so many sad sad stories to come out of this flood. The one I mentioned in the post below about the family trapped on their car roof that the rescue helicopter lost sight of, had a bittersweet ending. At last word they managed to find the mother and the son a few kilometers down stream, but no sign of the father yet. Another death occurred when a rescue worker was helping evacuate a family and a 4 year old boy fell from the boat. It really is quite horrendous. And kind of surreal for me. I know that this is MY city. I know all the places they show on TV - I've been there, had a meal there, done shopping there, taken Chelsea to the park there - but because we were up high and dry, and we didn't see the floods first hand, it feels like it is happening somewhere else. (These photos were taken from the Brisbane Floods facebook page - everyone got together and shared photos and information. It was pretty amazing.)

So while Mark has been home (the city went into a bit of a shutdown - people couldn't get anywhere, food was scarce, employees were told to stay with their families), and we've been watching the constant footage, I managed to get that Mongolian Wool bear done. I've named her 'Jindalee' after one of the suburbs that got hit really badly.




The weather is beautiful today, with just a slight breeze. But as Jindalee's stunning fur is so soft and light, it only took a slight breeze to make getting a good photo of her rather tricky! She's now on bearpile, ready to face the world!

A break from the Brisbane Floods

I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but Brisbane is in the middle of a bit of a flood crisis. (which may be a slight understatement!).

All the TV/radio stations have been broadcasting updates all day. The suburb where I grew up as a child, and the suburb that my mum lives in have been evacuated. The Brisbane River and surrounding rivers have risen so much that many of the main roads, bridges and highways have been cut off. Toowoomba (a city further inland and up in the mountains from Brisbane) got hit yesterday with torrents of rain. People have been killed and heaps are still missing. All that water is making its way down to Brisbane, joining up with the swollen river. And, to top it all off a king tide is expected for tomorrow! There has been footage of horrible scenes all over the TV today. Last night we watched helicopter footage of a family stuck in a car in the middle of what seemed like a lake of mud and debris. They climbed onto the roof, hanging onto the roof racks. Apparently the helicopter landed so the emergency crew could go rescue them, but when they got back out there they couldn't find the car.

I am sure many more reports like this will start coming in over the next few days too. Our place is fine. We're near the river, but high enough that we won't go under. Which is a relief. Mark went to the shops this afternoon to grab some milk, bread and supplies, and he said he has never seen it that busy. Apparently there were only three loafs of bread left, and all the bottled water was gone! (all the photos above were taken by a friend of mine).

So after a good 12 hours of solid news, I decided that I needed a break. I haven't been game to check my blood pressure today because I'm sure its high! In an attempt to take a break I did a bit of sewing. I found a stunning Mongolian Lambs Wool cushion in the sales after christmas, and decided to turn it into a panda. I've worked with this wool before and it can be a bit tricky. This particular piece is just stunning. Uniform, rich, silky curls and a very good backing. It always amazes me how much volume you get when you turn it right way out too! The arms show this really well. Hopefully this little guy will get completed over the next few days. (disaster permitting!)