Moving On

Remember my cuttings from December last year?

The time finally arrived last weekend to move them on.

After a few alternatives were offered, I decided that they would go to the one that was the most prepared to receive them before the winter months set.

So They will be going to a disability service in Winmalee to replant a sensory garden lost during the October bush fires. 

But when the request was made, via social media, I knew that these herbs would be perfect for a sensory garden. 

The plants include:
Rose Geranium

Lemon Balm

Lemon Grass

Lemon Thyme

Thyme

Bush Basil,

Eau de Cologne Mint

Chocolate Mint

Mint

Marjoram

Oregano

Lavender

Unfortunately, the sage cuttings didn't survive!  

WOW II

There was a queue.

Damian Ryan was there too.

They waived to the crowd.

Then they had a media huddle.

 They were mobbed by the crowd.

 They were hi-fived, 

...and mobbed some more.

There was a Red one,

And a Blue one...

And a Purple one.

And of course we can't forget the Yellow one.

The local area command was called in for crowd control. (LAC also handed out balloons and bracelets to the pre-schoolers in the audience).

Welcome Wiggles On Wednesday...W.O.W.

They came to put a smile on the faces of some children affected by the recent fire storm. 

They presented Serge Rosato, the principal of the school with a new guitar to replace the one he lost when the family home was destroyed. 

Not only did the children smile and get in on the act, but so did the parents.

Thank you to the Wiggles for helping with the emotional recovery of our children.

And afterwards...while Yellow Wiggle, Purple Wiggle and Red Wiggle signed autographs for the pre-schoolers, Blue Wiggle rushed off incognito, carrying his own guitar, to meet other obligations.

Footnote:

Although the children at St Thomas Aquinas School range in age from five to twelve years of age...the Wiggles made it age appropriate for all the children by introducing 

Justin Bieber and 1 Direction into their act...ingenious...

Also, the Wiggles were once known as the Cockroaches...yes that's right...and during the eighties the Cockroaches played to adoring crowds consisting of many a teacher in training...so as you can imagine - some old memories were revived for a number of the school teachers present this afternoon.

Superheros

Little Miss Five, who turns six tomorrow, returned to school today - her first day back since being evacuated because of the fire on Thursday 17 October.

I was on school pick-up duty today.

So, for me it was the first time I've seen the devastation.

It is going to be a long emotional journey for so many.

Over two hundred homes destroyed, over one hundred damaged and in such a small pocket of our community.

Fifteen families at the school lost their homes, two of my Grand Daughter's classmates' families included.

We can be thankful that no lives have been lost.

The realisation of just how close the fire approached the school is beginning to dawn on some of us .

Hugs are free flowing in the main street of our little village.

Everybody knows someone who has lost a home.

Back at the school the car park is still littered with blackened leaves.

The fire approached the school from the school's entrance preventing the children and staff from walking out the main gate.  They walked away from the fire toward the back of the school and exited along a side street which later saw homes attacked by the fire.

Little Miss Five, almost six, has told us repeatedly that she saw 'the scribbly gum was burning'. It seems there was more than one gum tree burning.

Our community has a  new sense of what it means to be a Superhero. 

As of 17 October 2013 - if you live in the Springwood, Winmalee and surrounding area our Superheros don't wear capes, or masks or fly or perform superhuman feats.

Our Superheros wear  hi-viz protective clothing, our Superheros drive trucks and fly air-cranes and helicopters.

Our Superheros hold children's hands, walk or drive through smoke and flying embers.

Our Superheros are Mums and Dads, Brothers and Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Neighbours and Friends and Teachers.

Our Superheros rescue pets, feed the hungry, clothe the ruined, comfort the traumatized, accommodate the homeless.

Because of our Superheros, our community will be buoyed, sustained, strengthened, carried, propped and cushioned through the days, weeks and months ahead.

A big enough 'thank you' cannot be expressed to our newest Superheros.  

  

Day Three

Looks like we're in for the long haul as far as the bush fires in the Blue Mountains go.

We have packed our overnight bags and some irreplaceable belongings, along with essential paperwork into our cars and we wait...

There has been NO activity in our area...very disconcerting, it is too much like the calm before the storm.

The smoke haze has the effect of twilight...all day long, and the light is very harsh  on our eyes.

Just after lunch we drew the curtains and switched off radios, computers, etcetera because we were feeling bombarded by all this information about the fires.  Maybe not good...but I think we are at enough distance to get out should everything suddenly go pear shaped.

So far there are almost 200 homes destroyed just in the Linksview Road Fire (Springwood/Winmalee/Yellow Rock).  Another fire is burning further up the mountain and another in the Lithgow area. If the Linksview Road & Lithgow (State Mine) fires were to join up...I think the work apocalyptic comes to mind.

I've added a link to Gary P Hayes Flikr Page for images of the fire.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyhayes/10325451976/in/set-72157636648984283

Evacuation

My what a day...Little Miss Five was evacuated from her school due to a bush fire which burnt down a building on the parish grounds. Our family waited for six hours to be reunited with her at 8 p.m.

The entire school was evacuated to the local shopping centre where the kids ate doughnuts and drank bottled water.

We are so grateful for all the teachers and staff did to keep our children safe and for the emergency services' bravery.

We are just beginning to receive news of friends' houses that have been destroyed by fire. Some streets have lost up to ten houses.

We, luckily, were not in the direct line of the fire.  But even from where we are...it looked pretty scary.

Thankfully, the weather is predicted to be a little more kind to us tomorrow.