Well what a week! The weather warnings were spot on when the predicted gale force winds for Tuesday night. We went outside with the dogs about eight and couldn't stay standing up then...about an hour later the power went off and as we lay in bed, Lyall was saying, "I don't think our roof will stay on." The noises around us were amazing!

About eleven thirty I could hear that sound of flying metal...I looked out a back window to see something flying up and down on our garage roof - I assumed it was the roof, but it turned out to be the flashing instead (much easier to replace :-) The morning arrived fine and fairly calm. There was quite a bit of stuff around the place from who knows where. I pinched Donna's car to head off to work because I couldn't get mine from the garage (yep, I know you can pull electronic door open, but you have to be fairly tall and strong to do that over the top of a 4wd!). As I drove down our road I could not believe my eyes. There were trees everywhere. Whole plantations of trees had just fallen over. We knew there were chickens under one lot of pines - poor chickens didn't survive that onslaught. We have friends who have lost stock - cattle, sheep and in one case a stag. How lucky we are that all ours and our neighbours were fine. Driving to work, I wondered if I should turn back - but with no power, no phone, no cellphone, no interet (the cellphone tower was damaged) I couldn't let anyone know anyway. Up on people's lawns, down driveways, across the odd paddock and to work I went. We shared our storm stories :-) The day was one of thunderstorms followed by sun - a great day for learning about the weather. Home I went, they'd managed to clear a path through the worst lot of trees, so not too much cross country driving to get home. I feel for the people whose retirement money was tied up in these trees. I know of a family whose trees were three years off being harvested and that's what they were going to retire on - a thousand trees gone, just like that. The people who had eggs in incuabators that are now lost. The calves that couldn't be fed because the farms didn't have running water. Our friends in Loburn who had a water tank come through their french doors - and their neighbour who had just brought that water tank. So for the next few days it was moving the generator from one fridge/freezer to another (two at our house, one at Donna's). Unplugging it, and putting it onto the pump (that's how we get our water/the stock get their water). Candles and torches. It's at times like these that those around you pull together. We showered at my workmates house. On Friday I arrived home to find my washing had been taken by a friend (who later returned it washed, dried and folded). Which was great, because I'd planned to head to Vicki's on Sunday to do it all :-) Families at work said to come round, have dinner, have a shower etc...Friday night the power returned, we were the lucky ones, there are still people who won't get there's on till Tuesday. Well I guess that's Spring weather for you! Have a good week.

September

I thought I'd only managed to get two layouts done at Scrapfest, but look at that, there's actually three LOL.

Bits and pieces... Spring sure has sprung...Here's Hagley Park - making the most of the daff's because they aren't around for long. Hmmm hoping that's shown up, but can't actually see anything so won't know until I've posted this and then I can go back and check. So are you enjoying the America's Cup racing? My lucky nephew is over there at the moment and putting some great photos on Facebook, I'm just a tad jealous lol. Not jealous of that flight over there though... Only three weeks of term left and then I head back to Auckland for a catch up with friends and rellies. Looking forward to that. So happy to have caught up with Hannah, Michelle, Megan R, Megan G, two Heidi's and Nic C yesterday at the Scrappin Patch Spring retreat. What a lovely weekend out there and so glad Vicki and I were able to shoot out, even if we had to be gone before afternoon tea got put out (we would have been charged otherwise). Have a great week everyone.

Scrapfest

This time last week Vicki and I were cruising the mean streets of Lewis Pass LOL. Mean because you should see the size of the sandflies!! We'd been prepared for a wet drive home, even getting the capable Esther to change the wiper blades on my truck because my other ones were making the loveliest noise (whup, whup, whup...) and then we didn't need them, it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Anyway I think the photos speak for themselves... (hmmm hoping you can see them because all I can see are the codes for them...) In the next week or two, I'll dig out the whole two layouts I actually completed while at the retreat, and hopefully get what I did in the two classes I took, done and dusted, so I can show you them. Have a good week - Spring is here!