Blowing winds, the roof is on fire and the black dog has a bad cough

Deb's fantastic letter box.

It's been an interesting week this week, I tell you. On Wednesday night the kids, Carlos and myself marched to EK and 108 Sterling Drive - the house of the giant rabbit letterbox which apparently has local bus commuters hanging out the windows - Deb has mosaicked an Alice in Wonderland inspired, four foot, 3D white rabbit into a letterbox and EVERYBODY'S talking about it! They can only imagine what the indie looks like, every wall, floor space, table space, cupboard and shelf is devoted to art, sculpture, and fabric and related tools. Our purpose for this cross suburban trek was to visit our wonderful old friend; mad artist Deb Harmon otherwise known as DHQ and her screen printing prowess. Iggy's response to screen printing had been lackluster earlier in the day; however, when we got there he started coming up with ideas and feeling really inspired; he finally came up with (DRAMATIC PAUSE) a question mark! And for two days straight he wore my old green t-shirt with a red question mark printed on the front, all day and all night until it smelled so bad I washed it!

One of the amazing outside walls of Deb's house.

Ms DHQ herself in the spring/summer garden with mosaics behind.


Later that evening I switched on the TV and stayed glued for hours to the cyclone news. About 10 p.m. my sister posted me a message on FB that my uncle Peter, who lives in Mackay had called his wife my aunt who was staying with my mum and dad and was feeling frightened - this really made me feel the events more keenly; the recent Brisbane floods had me feeling the same way. I barely slept a wink worrying about a dear friend of our little group who was with her partner and son in Brisbane during that event, we felt so helpless. 

The outcome is that Halliday Bay where they live was barely touched by the cyclone - the winds would have been extraordinary; however these guys are so used to extreme weather events the house was prepared; so that's great.

I suspect these events are just the beginning...

Getting to the dog Maxy is ill - he's had a cough for three, maybe four weeks. The vet had him in for a whole day of testing on Friday and has explained to us that he has a dramatic shadow on his lungs that is not an infection, therefore a tumor. He has left it with us to make a final decision as Max's cough increases - which is of course means putting our loyal friend to sleep forever.
Iggy has cried and cried.

Roller-skating Saturday
After roller-skating in Sunshine we dropped in to see mum and dad - three weeks ago mum fell down the back steps and broke both her ankles - and say goodbye to Auntie Joan who is leaving for QLD Monday morning.  Just about to leave and the house two doors up catches on fire - a multitude of dramas followed in quick succession, all witnessed by the three children in my care. The air-conditioning unit was a apparently faulty and the fellow that there noticed a smoke smell climbed on the roof and found the fire - by this time he had moved his wife and two small children from the house  and to the long driveway - he worked to douse the flames with his home hose; however, he was unsuccessful and called on neighbors including my dad - the fire-brigade was also called and eight trucks quickly filled the street and our car was blocked into the court for the next few hours.

By the time we got home last night poor Iggy was emotionally frazzled; he had had enough of dramas - he doesn't cope with unusual, unplanned events at the best of times, but he'll get by - learn to be stronger and more resilient - he'll have to be for this new world with such ever-changing dramatic environmental uncertainty.  This is the generation at the front line of a new and changing world; a world we have no prediction model for. This is the generation who will hopefully have the technological nouse to save out planet - now wouldn't that be something!