Arlington National Cemetery

Trace Adkins - Arlington

This & That?

I've dropped out of blog land for a few days, I have been busy busy busy. My Granny's house went under in the floods & at 87 she is finding it very hard to cope. Family First right!!

I have also been having a massive clean at my own home, with a leak in the roof last week & a small amount of water getting in under the house. Everything has grown massive amounts of mould. Did you know that mould even comes in different colours, we have had the white looking dusty mould, the black/grey mould and even to be a little bit artistic(yuk!) a blue & a pinky colour.

Everything & I mean everything has had to be wiped clean. I have found Vinegar & a good dash of Oil of Cloves to be the best. I have also been running the air-con on the "DRY" air setting and if you go outside where the outlet pipe is the amount of water that is running out of the pipe is amazing. Didn't think to use that setting when it was teaming with rain all last week but I'll be sure to remember from now on it may help to eliminate the mould problem. Although living in a hot humid climate like ours I may just be "DREAMING"

Luckily, although we have had storms the last two afternoons there has been plenty of sunshine in the mornings to put things out in the sun for a good air. Nothing like a good old air in the sun!!

I find the kids old trampoline is great for putting items out in the sun that are difficult to hang on the clothes line. I pull the trampoline over close to the house & because the mat is a mesh material it has good air flow from all sides.

I realize I am much luckier than most- my grandmother included, all her worldly possessions have been put out on the footpath as rubbish for removal.

Hope to get back here soon & to get around and answer the growing amount of mail in my inbox. I have had a few new followers of late -Thank you. I hope to be able to get over to discover your blogs soon.

Emerald has her operation scheduled for this Friday for her Sleep Aponea so wish us luck. we are hoping for the best outcome, meaning hopefully she will not have to sleep on a machine for the rest of her life.

Caroline xoxo

Wildlife in the Qld Floods

In the last couple of days we have seen a lot of different wildlife doing a lot of different things. They surely do have good survival mechanisms, in fact just by observing we could probably learn a lot from them.

BUT, I wouldn't like to take any tips from this baby bird.

He flew into our front sliding door and must have given himself a throbbing headache,

along with a 3hr stretch of the dizzies.

Lane picked him gently up and put him on the bush seat on the front veranda. At least it was under cover and he was also able to dry off a bit & groom himself. It took the little bird about 3hrs to pull himself together before flying off. Hope he's okay.

If you have any concerns with wildlife caught up in floods Ph-07 3221 0194 or go here for more information.

Caroline

The BEST blog post I've ever read!!

Mandy & all her family from The Old Diary are safe.

Thankful

Caroline

QLD FLOODS

So we now have water under our double story house, it is more from run off then the actual flood water level rising. We bought wisely for that reason as I have always been concerned about houses in low lying areas(we live on a hill) BUT on the top side(pardon the pun) the roof has started to leak-must have a cracked or moved tile. We have been up into the roof cavity & placed a bucket under the drip. I have been told that the SES is tarping roofs, but I really think they have more important things to do at this time. We will continue to empty the bucket!!

It has however damaged the ceiling as the first we noticed it was when the ceiling colour appeared wet. It has very quickly developed into a nice shade of black mould. I must heartily congratulate our hot, humid & wet climate for that little gesture.

My Granny has been evacuated from her home late this arvo. Atm. it is more a precaution than anything else as they don't know what the night will bring she is 87 and still lives by herself so better to play on the side of caution. In the 1974 floods she had water through the downstairs areas of her home. Granny's house is only about 200 metres from the Brisbane River.

However we can't get over her way from our side of town & she can't get to us from her side either.

I talked to Soldier Boy a little while ago he is still yet to be called in, but knows many others that already have been.

I am still very concerned about the welfare of Mandy & her family after the devastation that unfolded in Toowoomba yesterday, please continue to pray for their safety.

Caroline xoxo

QLD Floods & Queenslander Houses

Thankyou for the emails I am receiving from international bloggers with well wishes for us Queenslanders. It means a lot to know we have the support from other countries. I can't thank you enough to know people on the other side of the world care.

However I can understand your confusion as to thinking WHY?? So here's a bit of info you may find interesting/useful!!

We have been hit by absolutely tremendous amounts of rain, in my small town we have had 22inches since Saturday. 6inches fell from 9am to 12.30pm(3 1/2hrs) this morning. On top of that we have been having heavy rains for months, in fact most of last year. The ground is so wet, the dams, rivers & catchments areas are so full it really does, just have no where to go.

Here in Queensland we are used to living with flood & drought in fact in Australia there's not much in between, it's either doing one or the other. I have put up some pictures(courtesy of google) to show you the type of house that is common in our state.

It is actually called a "Queenslander" by name.

It is built to withstand the elements - Built on tall stumps to resist flooding(well usually) built on stumps it also ensures good air circulation for our hot, humid climate(especially before aircon became commonplace) Large verandas also provide an area out of the elements & again allow a cool place for the houses occupants. "Queenslanders" also often have an area called a sleep out, which is an area with beds often used on hot, humid nights for sleeping. Any way the big point is these are built on tall stumps- but it doesn't mean you will be flood proof.

Another good point for international bloggers to know is the sheer size of The State of Queensland, we could nearly fit all of Germany & France inside of the Queensland borders and as you can imagine when most of out state is in flood the sheer, size & enormity that out emergency services have to contend with is simply overwhelming. Resources are becoming stretched.

Toowoomba that was devastatingly hit by what they are referring to as an inland Tsunami was actually caused by the sheer amount of rain we are having.Toowoomba is actually approx 2000ft above sea level.

Hope you find this info useful.

Thank you to all our Emergency Services, SES (State Emergency Service) and the Australian Defense Force (My soldier Boy hasn't been called in yet) for there tireless work, away from their own families in others hours of need.

Caroline xox

PS- My internet has been going in & out all morning so I don't know how long it will last. The mobiles are playing up to, along with my Austar (Satellite Pay T.V) because of the dense cloud cover.

Toowoomba Flood an inland Tsunami

Yesterday Toowoomba was hit by a flash flood that some have likened to an inland tsunami, an 8 metre wall of water hit the main CBD with little warning resulting in loss of life & tremendous damage. Whole houses were reportable washed away.

Please go here to read a more official report.

Thank you for all your emails of concern for me & my family from my interstate & international blog buddies. We are all okay.

However this morning I am very concerned for one of my other blog buddies Mandy from the Old Dairy as after the wall of water hit Toowoomba it continued down the range & into her area again causing loss of life & damage. I have been thinking about Mandy & her family since I heard yesterday & hope she is okay. Please let me know if any one hears anything??

Caroline xxoxo

And if it's something you do-Please Pray

Rain Totals & Water Rates!!

92mls,368pts from 4pm yesterday to 9am this morning.

Total rain from 9am Saturday morning to 9am this morning(48hrs)

352mls or14.08inches

but I bet Unity water won't make our water rates any cheaper!!

Caroline xoxo

Flooding!!

Rain in the 24hrs previous to 9am this morning -140ml or 560pts,

in 24hrs.

Rain from 9am this morning to 4pm this arvo-120ml or 480pts,

in 7 hrs.

So in the last 31hrs we have had 260ml or 10.4inches onto our already

flooding area.

Please, Mr Rain Man stop the rain we have had enough.....Please!!

Caroline

Turkish Dips - Guest Post from Simcha

My guest post today is from my beautiful friend Simcha. You can read about her Turkish cooking blog & the antics we once got up to in my post yesterday. Today she has provided some quick & easy dip recipes-Enjoy!!

Hello everyone what kind words from a kind soul. My friend Caroline and I used to have lots of fun and hopefully we will have more when I come back. If you are anything like me you are curious about different cultures and people, what they do and what they eat. This has lead me to cook various things other than just the average meat and 3 veg. I came to Turkey 6 years ago and what an adventure,! many things have happened including living the way the locals do and learning all their culinary secrets. Turkish food seems to becoming more and more popular these days and I can understand why. The Turkish food culture is one of appreciating fresh at its best. Combining ingredients to compliment each other and eating in season. I have lived in many areas of Turkey from the European side to Middle Anatolia to the Mediterranean. All the areas have their own distinct dishes and styles but there are many dishes that the Turks as a whole have in common. Those are the ones you will probably find at your local Turkish restaurant.

What would most people order at a Turkish Restaurant if they have no exposure to the food before?

I'm thinking the dip platter(I have checked online and most still seem to be serving this)so I will give you the recipes for all those beautiful looking dips and you can do this at your next BBQ and impress your friends.

We will start with Baba Ghanoush, Beetroot dip and Cacik. You will find these very very easy to make. You might all have your favorite recipes for these as I know in most areas these are sold in the fridge sections of most supermarkets. I will be giving you the recipes as I know them from the average Turkish housewife.

Baba Ghanoush

1 large eggplant or a couple of small ones

garlic to taste, minced

salt to taste

lemon juice to taste

yogurt --- probably 1 or 2 cups

Cook the eggplants whole in your oven until black. Place them into a plastic bag until cool. Take off the blackened skins, rinse off then chop roughly. Add everything into the yogurt and serve. You can garnish with dried mint or chili.

Beetroot or Pembe Sultan

I love this and make it all the time. I usually eat it as a side with salad.

1 kilo of cooked beetroot - you can boil it or roast it to be fancy - you can add it in raw if you like but it doesn't give you the deep red colour.

garlic, minced

salt

yogurt - 1-2 cups

Peel and grate the cooked beetroot. Add everything else, stir and serve.

Hummus

1 tin of cooked chickpeas

sesame paste - half a cup

lemon juice to taste - 1 or 2 tbsp

salt

garlic, minced

olive oil

Drain the chickpeas and put everything into a food processor or use a hand blender. When you add in the sesame paste add half in first, taste to see if you want more, then add the rest(some people find it a bit strong) same with the garlic add to your own taste. I would probably add in 4 cloves. With the olive oil I would probably put in a couple of tablespoons, if the mix looked a bit dry then add in some more.

With all of the above dishes you can add olive oil.

---

Everyday Turkish Cooking

One of my bestest friends Simcha has just started a blog on Turkish cooking she is an Australian(now living in Turkey) that comes from the same small town as me.

Now if you loving eating Turkish food as much as me, get over to here and check her blog out for some of the authentic stuff.

Simcha is hoping to move back to Australia with her family soon & maybe open a little Turkish restaurant. I know already it would be a raging success, she was a fantastic cook(and friend) before she left. (maybe she will give me a job or at least share her cooking skills!!)

Simcha, remember our little escapades,when once we would put the kids safely in school for the day we would be off on an hours drive to West end for a little fix of Greek or Turk food or maybe a little fix at the hare krishna rooms, a stock up at the deli & then a frantic drive home -hoping all the time there would be no accidents on the highway to JUST meet the school bus in time!!

Hope we can have more fun times like that in the future, love to you & your family

Caroline xoxox

A Belated Happy New Year

We have been away since Christmas Eve, stuck in the floods.

Blessings to the wonderful people we were staying with & to my wonderful,

housesitter(who incidentally my dogs just adore)

I hope all my blog readers had a wonderful Christmas & New Year & a big thankyou to all my faithful followers from 2010.

Catch up soon

Caroline xoxo