Fires

You've probably all seen the pictures coming out from the fire in Northern NSW at the moment. It looks absolutely horrendous and frightening. Its a miracle that no human lives have been lost (although countless animals have lost their lives).

These pictures are truly frightening, here and here

This is a part of the world I know really well. I know lots of families in the area, and my best friend lives just 20 kilometres from the fire. With a fire front of 100 kilometres, that's way too close for comfort!

My friend had no power for 24 hours, leaving the authorities to have to door-knock to give her fire updates (fortunately the power has returned now). Ash has been falling from the sky, and my friend is struggling to sleep at night because she wants to be on alert in case they need to leave. Particularly last night when it looked like it was heading in the direction of her town.

Fortunately, last night the wind changed direction, making the fire less of a threat to my friend, however now others will be experiencing the same fear.

I remember previous bad fires in the area, but nothing has ever come close to this one. My heart really goes out to those that lost their homes, pets and livelihoods.

Additionally, the loss of wildlife must be horrendous. Wildlife didn't stand a chance, with a fire that moved that quickly and one that was so large. Read this article about the loss of farm animals and some of the native wildlife.

I'm Feeling Productive

I've been absent from blogging for awhile, but it's been a very busy time for us. Let's recap:

In mid-December David and I returned to his hometown to attend his PhD graduation and look at potential wedding venues. David pulled off the PhD floppy hat quite nicely during the graduation, and gave an excellent vote of thanks on behalf of the graduates. The nicest surprise though was seeing my friend Lisa whose husband Ben graduated at the same ceremony.

After looking at multiple venues, we chose one that felt the most like us. With views of Bathurst, a relaxed country feel and gorgeous vineyards we are really happy with our choice. Best of all, we now have an official wedding date! Here's a sneak peek of our venue:

Then there was Christmas. We spent time visiting all our family, eating too much and being tourists. It was brilliant. The week off is never long enough.

In late December (just before Xmas) we put an offer on a house and it has recently been accepted. Looks like we will soon be homeowners! It is a four bedroom home, with a small yard and double garage. It is right beside a nature reserve and a pond so it is in a nice location. It's only 2 years old, so we don't have to do any work on it. Most exciting of all though, it is well insulated, energy efficent and has air-conditioning. The heatwave is currently horrendous at the place we are renting with thinly insulated walls and no air-conditioning, so my (soon-to-be) new home sounds wonderful. Pity we probably won't get to move in until the end of summer.

David and I are also working on our engagement party final preparations but it's coming along nicely.

My free time lately has been spent sitting directly in front of the fan, watering my distressed plants or jumping in the pool. Despite being from a hot environment originally, I can't stand the heat.

When you don't have air-con this is your best friend

In short:

wedding venue - check

wedding date - check

buying a house - check (or at least it is more underway than it was) 

engagement party - nearly sorted

Don't try this at home though kids. There's a lot to be said for working on one thing at a time.