Queensland Creepies!

One of the joys of living where we do is that home 'visitors' are common. Our back yards are full of interesting creatures....some cute and some not so cute! While I do love checking out the native fauna, this little girl was a little scary. She is one of the biggest red back spiders that I've ever seen!

Before Christmas, we bought a new outdoor table setting. Thinking that we were very trendy, we opted for a nice black number. We didn't even consider how black also makes the perfect camouflage for black spiders. I knew that she was in there....her messy web gave her away.....but I just couldn't spot her. She was hiding up under the rim of the table, in a little hole! Actually, I think it must have been a huge hole to fit her in.

For those outside of Australia, these spiders are deadly, although if bitten, it usually involves a few days in hospital, an antivenom and feeling very sick. They are not fast and are usually easy to spot. Their abdomen tends to be not much bigger than your little finger nail. The problem that we have with them is that they like to get up under outdoor furniture to nest and so can take you by surprise if you don't know they are there!

I can assure you, however that this red back was enormous...more like thumb nail size! And yes, I think that is a grasshopper she was chowing down on!

I am sorry to say, however that a can of repellent did a quick job....after I took the photograph, of course!

Excitement Plus

It was with a little 'jumping up and down' excitement that I discovered that I'd won a couple of movie tickets from Kylie on her blog, "Flying Ducks". Now, to put it into perspective, I never, ever win anything. I am probably one of the most unlucky people when it comes to competitions, so this little win just made my day! Thanks Kylie. And I am very much looking forward to going to see the movie!

Sushi Train

Miss Eleven's first experience at Sushi Train! She liked it but just couldn't bring herself to appreciate the smoked salmon (I know, I know...I love it, too!).

A Lazy 'Booked Out' Sunday

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Dear Husband said, "Let's all go to the Lifeline Bookfest!"

"Not I", said Superteenager!

"I suppose I will", I replied.

"I will", said an excited little Miss Eleven, "But can I ask my friends to come?"

"I suppose" was our weary response.

So, this afternoon, Dear Husband, Miss Eleven, two of her friends and I all packed into our car and drove into the city to visit the Lifeline Bookfest!

There were books everywhere! Tables were packed with them, even though today was the last day.

We browsed, we looked, we played, we walked and we spent!

And the best part of it all was......it was all air conditioned!!

Reading and coolness are what lazy Brisbane Sundays are all about!

Life Is Too Busy!

A quick up-date:

* Holidays are over :(
* Kids are back at school and I am back at work
* Dear Husband is still recovering from his work going underwater. He has had very few days off since the floods hit.....and is still going!
* Australia Day was a family bbq....nothing better.
* We are intensely watching weather forecasts for Tropical Cyclone Anthony crossing the Queensland coast....more bad weather!
* Family history research has continued to be interesting.......I am still trawling through ancestry.com for information.
* I bought a new lamp for the lounge room...pic later!
* The dogs continue to bounce around the yard and house in their own contented way. We put them in a kennel for the first time ever when we went up the coast after new year's and they weren't even excited to see me when I came back! What was that all about!
* I have joined a reading group! The plan is that all books are to be easy to read and it's a great excuse to get together and have some quality girl time! I like it!
* And Miss Eleven is continuing to enjoy her reading....as you can see!

Rocklea Flooding

My husband had the opportunity to go up in a helicopter in the middle of Brisbane's devastating flood, to assess damage to his work. He took these pictures from the air. His work went underwater, but as you can see, so did a whole lot of other businesses!

More Flood Pictures

My husband had to make his way into work this morning to the suburb of Rocklea as water was rising quickly and they were trying to move stock out. Sadly, he wasn't able to get through (he did move stock at another office on the other side of the river though). The clearing out of the company office proved futile as the water was rising too quickly for the enormity of the job. However, all are safe and DH did get some good photos. Now, they are waiting for the waters to recede and for the clean up to begin.

As I write this, many people who live in and around the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers are living in emergency shelters while their homes go underwater. Most Brisbane people know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who is affected by this flood. Devastation is everywhere and as a Brisbanite, born and bred, it makes me cry to see the footage coming out of our televisions. I was a little girl in the 74 floods (hmmm...giving my age away a bit there!) so my memories of it are very dim, but to watch footage of places so familiar to me being destroyed by flood water is heart-breaking.

So tonight, I am thinking of all of those people who have lost so much and I'm thanking God for the emergency workers, volunteers etc who are helping them! And I'm thinking of the city that is my home!