6 Hours of Clearing and Spinning.

I know I had promised to Post soon after my return. But excuses got in the way.

1st I was super jet lagged with Dolly getting up at 2am every morning ready to start her day. She had naps in the day while I was at work trying to keep my brain focused and eyes open. After 2 weeks she was back to normal and I was going to Post....

....But then Yasi headed towards my family and friends in El Arish, Tully and Mission Beach. I was sure my aunt was going to die as she stayed in her house. I cried most of the day and stressed all night, I knew she was a goner in her old house. I just knew her roof would rip right off and windows smash. But I got a call at 4am saying she had survived, the roof had stayed put... some broken windows... she stated she would never ever stay again through another cyclone in her home.

My aunty Pat she's a tough lady, born and bred in El Arish from hard working sugar cane farmers. She has been through many cyclones and never bats an eyelid, but Yasi was the 1st to put the fear in her. She was real scared and at one stage my Macho Uncle Robbie and Cousin Boydie had to put all their weight on the door to prevent it flying off. That was over and I was going to Post....

....But my coughing fits became more and more intense causing dizziness and vomiting. So I handed over my $$$ to the doctor and found out I had Whooping Cough! 7 days of antibiotics and I'm starting to mend. The coughing is less severe but still a nuisance in my life.

Tonight I posted!!!! Yeah... I also spent 6 hours of tidying junk, packing necessities and spinning my clothes in the washing machine. My back is aching and I just want to toss all the suffocating junk away. It's been raining heavily since Sunday night, the wind is strong and on the scary side. Today we were issued a Severe Storm Weather Warning. This was then upgrade to a Cyclone Warning by the afternoon!!!

It's small, nothing like Yasi. A category 1, maybe 2, expected to hit tomorrow. But it came out of the blue and the rain and wind has made it difficult to get ready. I had 5 loads of washing on the line Sunday afternoon and the rain came late Sunday and hasn't given me a chance to have any dry clothes. So I have been spinning clothes in my washing machine hoping to get most of the water out. I have clothes racks in the lounge room but the moisture in the air will make them difficult to dry and will encourage mould to form. This is the beauty of the tropics.

I am a official shelter volunteer for the Government. I don't trust my home, it's old and dodgy. I prefer a shelter... so I might as well be useful while in it. I packed blankets, clothing, food, water and entertainment for Dolly. We also have a small dome tent, this can be set up to give privacy and a room for sleeping if need be. The shelter is big and spacious so the tent wont hinder anything. If I get the call that the shelter needs to be set up then I'm taking my family with me. No splitting up in times of uncertainty.

The wind is raging outside and every once in a while my heart beats hard with a little fear. I look outside and see lots of knocked down branches and a few fallen trees and the cyclone isn't here yet! The banana trees are sadly sagging and the pawpaw trees look snapped. My cat is stressed and the green tree frogs sing a great loud tune whenever it subsides.

So Goodnight for Now.... I'm off to bed for a jumpy, edgy night as I listen to the howling of the wind and the snapping of branches.