The Big Story

this is a picture of our backyard. it sums everything up - the garbage from the fire, the wet rain, and the palms burned from the extreme heat.

Sometimes it might seem trite to talk about the weather, but this really is the big story from the last two weeks. I'll talk about it in Fahrenheit since that is what I and most of the readers here will relate to.

It had been hovering around the low 80s for a few weeks which was pretty nice, some clouds and fleeting showers every once in a while. Then it shot up to low 90s, which is pretty rough with high humidity. Then one day, it went up to 112 (some said 115) degrees. It was so hot that it burned the humidity right out of the air. There was a music festival that day and 29 people were rushed to the hospital with heat stroke.  I had to walk 10 minutes from the bus to my job and I am not being dramatic when I say that it felt like walking through a reverse blizzard.  I felt I had to use the same determination to survive.  I walked in the shade the whole way, I walked slowly so as not to increase my body temperature, and I stopped in at the neighbourhood shop and bought something I never do - a bottle of Coke! Boy, was it good!  It was the hottest day in Sydney's recorded history.  After that, we had a week of hot, humid weather of the common variety.  Basic sticky, sweaty days and only slightly cooler nights.

Then, three days ago, I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. It was a welcome break from the heat, but it hasn't stopped.  The constant rain, not pouring, not drizzle, just rain, is part of a cyclone.  This is a new weather experience for me. It's really not cold so we still have to turn on the AC or leave the doors open and let the mosquitoes in.  There have been flood warnings in outlying areas but we seem to be fine here.

Things seem really quiet with most people staying inside.  It has been good for me to keep steady with the house recovery, last minute sewing and needlework projects, and getting Valerie and myself ready for school.  She started today and I start tomorrow.  I am looking forward to it and I am glad I will be out of the house because the construction workers are coming to put down new floors upstairs.  Hopefully, we will get carpeting shortly after that.

I am off to buy a printer to replace our old one that got ruined in the fire.  Picture me schlepping through the city in the rain lugging a big heavy printer...