On a loop

Andrew found this Swedish group, called Dirty Loops, and they are the reason we have been singing a Britney Spears song in our heads for around two weeks! When will we get sick of this song?

New hair

We're a bit busy at the moment with work, school, homework and such but I finally got around to making Jossie's hair appointment.

Jossie has been planning this for ages.

We love, she loves it and most of her school friends love it. Next stop, as short as mine?

Skunk

Bethany has been watching You Tube videos about drawing, which is one of her favourite things. They are obviously not Australian videos as this is a skunk. The glitter didn't work out quite as she planned and was whisked away before it could infect the whole house and everyone in it.

The weather has, most definitely, turned. It's dark later in the morning and earlier at night and much cooler. It's a great time of year for being outside.

As for what we are reading and watching: Toby's new favourite book is Toby Alone by Timothée de Fombelle (not in French), Jossie is still all about Percy Jackson and Bethany is writing her own fairy book. I just finished (again) Brideshead Revisited for book club and have gone back to The Submission by Amy Waldman. I am loving Spooks and Great Expectations on TV and Joss and Tobes are watching Lord of the Rings with Andrew! Only seven months or so until The Hobbit! Richard Armitage as a dwarf?!

Relief

Relief and the faintest tinge of disappointment. There had been a lot of talk about this flood being set to rival the big flood of '74 and so, when the river peaked somewhere around ten and a half metres, some of us felt let down that it didn't beat the record.

Andrew and Shep went for a ride of dubious legality and very suspect safety! They went into the closed off CBD of Wagga and along the levee - a levee that was under extreme pressure!

This taxi was caught just up the road from Toby and Bethany's school. Today, we were allowed to drive on this stretch of road again.

That means no more picnics on the roundabout.

This is the highway! For those who are familiar with Wagga, Noah's Ark is up on the left. The large pile of dirt that Andrew and Shep are standing on kept it from coming over to the other side.

So now life returns to normal, at least for those of us not in North Wagga where the houses are still under water. After pretending that Stephen had been evacuated to the country to escape London during the Blitz, we received a call on Wednesday morning to say that the SES had given the all clear for Wagga's CBD. We drove Stephen back to his unit, and then went back to work! At the library (and art gallery) we didn't open to the public but simply put everything back from the higher ground we had found for it. The library opened yesterday and everyone is so very pleased about the dry carpet. I was told that had the levee failed, there would have been two metres of water in the CBD in half an hour. I had only moved two shelves of books up! We're so thankful the levee held!

Jossie and Hannah did not receive a phone call today saying that they would be on Camp Orange. Disappointment with a tinge of relief?

Waiting

We're all at home today, just waiting. The weather is sunny and mild, Andrew and Toby are off riding their bikes. Stephen, who lives in Central so was evacuated last night, is sitting in the sun reading and Joss and Bethany are amusing themselves quietly. Later this afternoon the river will reach its peak and the levee will either hold or it will not. I'm not sure that I will be making it to Sydney tomorrow, which is a shame, but I can enjoy the calm this morning.

This is Bethany taking photos of the water on her DS. We were feeling rather cool as the sun set and someone said that it must be the ocean breeze!

High on the hill

Wagga is a town built right next to a river, in 1847 they needed to be close to the water. There have been many floods in the years since then but our eleven meter levee means that the city itself has seen only flash flooding from lots of rain in the recent past. The water that came in to the library at the end of 2010 was storm water from the lagoon. The lagoon was looking very menacing over the weekend and required all night fighting on the part of council staff, SES and army people to keep the library and art gallery dry.

Our suburb is on a hill so we are in no danger from the river. This evening, after dinner (Jossie made macaroni cheese from the Junior Masterchef cookbook), Toby and Andrew went to the new part of Estella to skateboard. They soon came back to get the rest of us to see the wonder of the river that has taken over.

It feels a little bad to find it beautiful but you can't help but wonder at God's power. We ran into lots of Estella people we know up on that hill. Who would live anywhere else?

I have just had a call asking me to go in to the library and move books up. They're evacuating the CBD.... just what I need!

Again?

We're at Prior Flood Warning stage at the library (and Art Gallery - they lost their wooden floor last time!) I took this photo on Wednesday afternoon, they put sandbags up not long after.

In our workroom we have our bottom drawers out and on our desks. I'm not sure I could face ripping up the carpet again. It was all well and good when we wanted new carpet!

At least we have been moved from the park for our markets at the Junee Rhythm N Rail Festival tomorrow - paper and water don't mix.