Lots of smoke in the air for the past week so everyone was talking about the summer bushfire season and how the undergrowth is drying out – so we while we are distracting ourselves with that we get a FLOOD!

I was getting ready for church yesterday when the light rain we were having suddenly turned to a downpour. No worries, we’ve had plenty of those before. Then the rainpour seemed to increase and increase until our backyard was a sheet of water and the road was a river. Then the gutters choked and into the back of the house it poured! Panic stations! Luckily Trevor was over here already as he was checking my side drains so buckets appeared and we emptied them as they filled.

It was about half an hour of heavy, heavy rain and then it slowed down. This is when having a carpet cleaner helps, Trev got as much water off the floor as he could and I used heaters to dry up the rest. Carpet over concrete can dry out fairly well so not a lot of lasting damage. Our suburb was on the news last night with the highest rainfall total and pictures of road closures all around us.

I spent most of the day listening to the rain falling down and praying that nothing worse would happen. Needless to say I didn’t go and see Ray as I wouldn’t have been able to get over some of the flooded areas. I read and sorted out a few things and had as restful a day as I could listening to the waters of the whole hillside pouring down past the side of my house. Woke up to the sunlight streaming in my window this morning so panic mode OFF.

We have lived in this house on and off for forty plus years. We didn’t used to have the trouble with rain water we do now because it was just a house on the side of a hill. But as others built higher up, made terraces for swimming pools, build huge stockade style gardens and altered the contours of the hill, the drainage has altered dramatically.

In the old days you would have just got a survey done and notified the neighbours of the alterations they needed to make. Now as we know life is far more complicated than that. So rather than face court cases I have just built bigger and deeper drains to carry the water away. As I age and am no longer as strong I need to consider moving rather than having to cope with all of this summer after summer.

The rain pouring in poured over the area my computer was in so we yanked all that out of the way and dried all the equipment off but I only re-installed it this morning. I am getting so skilled at this, pity I don’t know how to fix my laptop so it goes onto the internet again with the new modem/router. I will have to leave that to Trevor to figure out while I use his old computer for Strokenet etc.

I am going to be away for a few days down with my daughter. I am taking Lucas too so he can catch up with my grandchildren down south, his new cousins. I will miss both caregiver chats this coming week. Hopefully next week I will be up and running again so I can get back to you all. I really miss life in cyberspace when my computer is down. I have become addicted to knowing what is going on with all my cyberspace friends.

It’s a funny thing but I think of all of you by your username, mostly I guess as I don’t know what your real name is. So Fred you are still Scooterman for me as well as my friend Fred from Fort Hood, Texas and “fking” when I see a reply to one of the posts or a comment on the blogs. What a big difference finding Strokenet in May 2005 has made to my life. I have seen so much goodness in strangers who have become friends now.

I’d like once again to extend to you all my thanks for your participation here on the blogs, your good advice, your loving support and your thoughtfulness and kindness. Thank you for your PMs and the messages you send me via email and for those of you who do so your comments on my Facebook page. As our world has closed in on us due to stroke and dementia our world in cyberspace has expanded. And that is largely due to lovely friends I have made on here.

I love you guys and gals.