It has begun….

Thank you to all who have emailed me with support, prayers and wishes…..you can’t imagine how much it means to us. We are south of the destructive winds however, only just!….Townsville, which is 45 minutes north of us is on the borderline between where the destructive winds finish and the gales winds begin…..we’re expecting storm surges of up to 4 metres at this stage and flooding rains……am praying that it doesn’t change direction and move further south-west by even a degree or two, but am devastated to think of the damage that will be caused north of us, at the same time. The winds began about 7am this morning and are progressively getting stronger.  I went to town this morning to pick up some parcels from the post office I hadn’t been able to get to, and they were closed!  I guess they’ll be safer there anyway!  The supermarket manager told me not to bother getting out of my car, they closed at 9am….it was 9.01!!!  Getting onto the highway from our road was like driving through the middle of Sydney….traffic was chaos…everywhere was closing and people were panic buying……line-ups at the petrol station were down the street! The rains have just begun…..here is what it looks like out of my sewing room window….

Yasi is knocking on our door…

For those north of us, I’m sure you’ve all battened down…..take care…..our prayers are with you. Sugary hugs Wendy XXX

It has begun….

Thank you to all who have emailed me with support, prayers and wishes…..you can’t imagine how much it means to us.

We are south of the destructive winds however, only just!….Townsville, which is 45 minutes north of us is on the borderline between where the destructive winds finish and the gales winds begin…..we’re expecting storm surges of up to 4 metres at this stage and flooding rains……am praying that it doesn’t change direction and move further south-west by even a degree or two, but am devastated to think of the damage that will be caused north of us, at the same time.

The winds began about 7am this morning and are progressively getting stronger.  I went to town this morning to pick up some parcels from the post office I hadn’t been able to get to, and they were closed!  I guess they’ll be safer there anyway!  The supermarket manager told me not to bother getting out of my car, they closed at 9am….it was 9.01!!!  Getting onto the highway from our road was like driving through the middle of Sydney….traffic was chaos…everywhere was closing and people were panic buying……line-ups at the petrol station were down the street!

The rains have just begun…..here is what it looks like out of my sewing room window….

Yasi is knocking on our door…

For those north of us, I’m sure you’ve all battened down…..take care…..our prayers are with you.

Sugary hugs

Wendy XXX

Prayers work!

  Thanks so much for your prayers yesterday……we came out of Cyclone Anthony pretty unscathed. He decided to take a turn and crossed just north of Bowen, which is about 100kms south of us.  Apparently towns like Bowen and Mackay got up to 300ml of rain and lost power but they were spared any damage which is wonderful! They have predicted another cyclone, 5 times the size of Anthony, to hit the coast on Thursday, so please keep prayers up for all in Queensland.   I think I’ll have to pack all of my sewing gear up and hide it under the bed with me! sugary hugs XXX   Wendy  :o)

Prayers work!

 

Thanks so much for your prayers yesterday……we came out of Cyclone Anthony pretty unscathed.

He decided to take a turn and crossed just north of Bowen, which is about 100kms south of us.  Apparently towns like Bowen and Mackay got up to 300ml of rain and lost power but they were spared any damage which is wonderful!

They have predicted another cyclone, 5 times the size of Anthony, to hit the coast on Thursday, so please keep prayers up for all in Queensland.   I think I’ll have to pack all of my sewing gear up and hide it under the bed with me!

sugary hugs

XXX   Wendy  :o)

The Calm before the storm

  This was what greeted me as I left my house this morning to go to school  to help move things away from windows, unplug electrical items, computers, interactive whiteboards, phones etc in preparation for Cyclone Anthony this evening. It is predicted to cross within 100km of us so we are expecting lots of rain and some strong winds….it is currently only a category 1 with the possibility of it developing into a category 2 before it crosses the coast.  Currently, at a category 1, it is travelling at 120km/hr .  A category 2 storm travels between 125-165km/hr.  You can follow Anthony’s movements here. But at the moment, it is really eerie…..things are calm….there are no birds flying about, the air is relatively still seeing a cyclone is nearing us, the sky is dull and there is little movement about the town.  The car dealers in the main street have moved their display vehicles out of their premises and now, it’s just a waiting game! But we aren’t too concerned with TC Anthony……he’s only a little bubba.  There is a prediction….forecast…..call it what you will…..for a larger cyclone to hit later in the week.  A low currently northwest of Fiji is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone and move west into the region on Tuesday.  Reports say it could be category 4 or 5…..travelling at over 225km/hr, we could be in for a wild ride!!! Well, with all this build up, what is a girl to do?????  Sew, of course!!! Here’s some sneakies of my Vintage Turnovers flimsy I told you about.  I’ve finished the top, now to sandwich and quilt.  That will be done next weekend!   You can get your own freebie pattern here.  Thanks for pointing us in the right direction Khris!!! And I’ve been catching up on some Raggedy stitching too….  onto stitcheries for block 3…… Wind’s starting to pick up and the rain’s beginning to fall…..I’d better think about getting off the computer! Sugary hugs XXX Wendy :o)

The Calm before the storm

 

This was what greeted me as I left my house this morning to go to school  to help move things away from windows, unplug electrical items, computers, interactive whiteboards, phones etc in preparation for Cyclone Anthony this evening.

It is predicted to cross within 100km of us so we are expecting lots of rain and some strong winds….it is currently only a category 1 with the possibility of it developing into a category 2 before it crosses the coast.  Currently, at a category 1, it is travelling at 120km/hr .  A category 2 storm travels between 125-165km/hr.  You can follow Anthony’s movements here.

But at the moment, it is really eerie…..things are calm….there are no birds flying about, the air is relatively still seeing a cyclone is nearing us, the sky is dull and there is little movement about the town.  The car dealers in the main street have moved their display vehicles out of their premises and now, it’s just a waiting game!

But we aren’t too concerned with TC Anthony……he’s only a little bubba.  There is a prediction….forecast…..call it what you will…..for a larger cyclone to hit later in the week.  A low currently northwest of Fiji is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone and move west into the region on Tuesday.  Reports say it could be category 4 or 5…..travelling at over 225km/hr, we could be in for a wild ride!!!

Well, with all this build up, what is a girl to do?????  Sew, of course!!!

Here’s some sneakies of my Vintage Turnovers flimsy I told you about.  I’ve finished the top, now to sandwich and quilt.  That will be done next weekend!   You can get your own freebie pattern here.  Thanks for pointing us in the right direction Khris!!!

And I’ve been catching up on some Raggedy stitching too….  onto stitcheries for block 3……

Wind’s starting to pick up and the rain’s beginning to fall…..I’d better think about getting off the computer!

Sugary hugs

XXX Wendy :o)

Aussie Pride

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia fair!" Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"   Written by Peter Dodds McCormick in the late 1800’s,  this song was submitted for consideration after a competition organised by our then prime minister, Gough Whitlam, to find a suitable replacement for “God Save the Queen”, revealed no suitable submissions. It then became one of three recommendations for our new National Anthem and won with an overwhelming response on the polls  and, in 1984, was adopted as our official National Anthem. My year 6/7 class and I dissected the above two verses from this song…. our National Anthem…… together yesterday. When you really stop and think about the words and what they mean, the song hasn’t lost its gloss…..even after 100+ years……. it gives you goosebumps and makes you proud, even in adversity, to be an Aussie! I can feel a barby coming on!!!! Happy Australia Day everyone! and many, Sugary hugs XXX Wendy :0)