so here i am, don't know where to start really....

first of all work.... I had a [paid] week off while the head beancounters decided what to do. While it was nice not having to go to work , the news each day was miserable. In the end i couldn't listen to any more of it.

Anyway, they have decided that we are getting the store refurbished, yey!

with heating and airconditioning [looks like its not going cost the million dollars they said it would!!!] funny that...

All the fabrics were written off and anything out of packets like bedlinen and curtains had to go.
I could've cried seeing all the quilting fabrics get loaded into the containers [and the felt and the dmc cottons].
So far this week we have filled 6 shipping containers of stock . I so hope its going to get resold off cheap somewhere and not dumped in landfill.
We are all exhausted as we have hauled and lugged and lifted and walked our legs and arms off.
First day back , OH+S said to us , go slow, have lots of breaks [we did!], then by wed all that was forgotten!!!

The plan is to move into the newly 'sterile' shop next door and set up a market type store on trestles for the three months while the original shop is being refurbished. We are supposed to be moving in Monday week but there is still so much to do. At the moment every piece of stock has to be cleaned and packed into boxes. You can imagine what fun that is:(

The good news for all of us is that we all get our weekends off till we go back to our normal roster.

oh and for any of the local girls reading this you can get your yellow bushfire ribbons from Lyndsays next door.

When i look at the map of where the fire went , it didn't end being anywhere near me. none of my craft girls were worried!
However but for that wind change, things might have been different.We had all left the store by 5.10 and there was smoke about and inside the store then. When the store manager came up to see everybody was out at 5.20, the house over the back was on fire along with our rubbish skips. How quick was that! The firies said that if the complex had gone so would've half of Bendigo, as it was, we lost 65 houses and one life.

There are no words to describe what has happened all over the rest of the state.
i just feel very sad for the families and animals who are suffering and in pain.
I do however feel very proud at the response of our services and community.

On a bright note, i received these gorgeous fabric atc's from Dot last week.

I was blown away. They are just so beautiful and i have waited till i got the good camera back so i could do them justice. They are too lovely to be stored away and i will have to come up with some way of displaying them. They are just so full of life and color. This first ones a bit dark, the light was fading.



I keep pulling them out to look and find new things in them, Dot is definitely the 'encruster' [jacky's word!] of beads.


I love those trims and she sent me some, lucky me!

fires raging....

Ive heard that Bendigo has lost 100 homes ,the Scweppes center and Spotlight [my work] and there are casualties.... I am very worried about a lot of workmates and their homes.

Dont know if its all true yet but we were so close to losing it all too , just that the wind went in the opposite direction and fanned it into the city.
*EDIT* I have since found out that the Scweppes center and spotlight complex is ok , but the fire burnt right to the back wall and it has soot and smoke damage. No one that i knew has suffered any loss but one poor person has died here. They still havent contained it and it was threatening a housing estate last i heard.


We could smell the smoke at work and at about 4.30 it got quite smoky inside the shop . It was the most awful day, ferocious winds and 45 c heat.


When i knocked off at 5pm we had to detour to get home.The roadblock was at the Schweppes center which an hour or so later was supposedly gone.

Hubby and Lucy went out to to feed and check on the horses and help John implement his fire plan.... They could see the fire not 1.5 kms away but the wind was blowing it away from them. We're about a km from there. If it had gotten into the bush, all this area would have gone up too. so scary, and im sad to say our fire plan was non existant. I gathered up all the photos and albums which were all over the house, but i was more concerned about how we get all our animals out.

It seems like most of the state is on fire with entire towns wiped out. It seems you know someone from every area and hope that they are safe. Lots of areas are without power too.... The fire burning around Beechworth could bring all a lot of victorias energy to a halt if it gets into the powerlines. These are just the worst fires , ever....
and in this economic climate it will be a long road back.

I so feel for all the people who have lost loved ones , their homes and animals.
And the loss of wildlife , specially the slower animals like Koalas , they dont have a chance.
Not that anyone or anything would because the wind just fanned it on so quickly. So far the death toll stands at 25 but sadly the authorities are expecting it to rise.

Keep safe everyone and hope our wonderful firies can get it under control.

And get your fire plan organised.

thats what i am doing today.