I Can't Be Trusted

When I was little, my uncle and aunty had a pool. As they lived next door, this was extremely convenient and many's the summer afternoon we would hear "Kids! Out!" as the twilight deepened. I never once gave a thought to the time and money it takes to maintain such a magnificent plaything.

When I became a pool owner a few years ago, I was extremely naive. I had no idea just how much time, effort and dollars go into making sure that lovely water stays crystal clear and swimmable!

Most of the time I casually leave the pool stuff up to hubby, but with him being away I have had to assume a few duties. Turns out I can't even manage to keep the damn thing full.

No rain for a while and few hot days has resulted in some evaporation. I glanced out the window one afternoon one week and noted the water level was down but still above where it should be. Then on Sunday morning when the pump came on I happened to be out at the washing line and suddenly a loud, strange sucking noise started eminating from the skimmer box...

It was sucking air, because the water was well below the required line! Frantically I chucked the hose in the pool and then had to figure out how to turn off the new pump!

I left it going an hour then turned it off when I had to go out. When I got home in the afternoon, I decided to put it back on again for a while to bump up the water to where it should have been.

And promptly forgot to set myself a timer.  It wasn't until I was preparing for bed later in the evening that I realised I could hear something... the hose!

I bolted out the back, heart in my mouth... and it was about an inch below the edge. Thank god I hadn't overflowed it!

However, it was now TOO full, and one good rainstorm could result in disaster. So this morning I had to LET OUT water.

And you can bet your boots I remembered to set a timer for that.

Do you have a pool? Does it stress you out as much as mine does?

Getting Ready for Storm Season

Get ready, Queensland.

No, seriously, you need to get ready. Why? Because storm season is once again approaching! I've blogged about prepping for the unexpected before, and one of the things I am hellishly passionate about is being somewhat ready for things like rain, hail, wind, lightning, floods, bushfires, blackouts, cyclones and plagues. Ok, maybe not so much that last one (though speaking as someone who has lived through the horror of a mouse plague, I would not wish one on my worst enemy).

This year, Queensland Government has launched Get Ready Queensland week. It runs from 14-20 October and focuses on knowing the risks, being prepared, staying alert and knowing when to take action. Visit their website here for more info,or hit up your local council site. My council, Moreton Bay, will be having stalls at local Bunnings as well as sausage sizzles around various neighbourhood centres, to help educate people on how to prepare for storm season.

You can even download their brochure here. It's full of great tips!

Yesterday, hubby and I decided to muck in and try to clear some of the shed-building debris that has accumulated in our yard. There were steel offcuts, wooden fence palings and the entire old garden shed to be gotten rid of, plus some old chairs that we have been meaning to throw out for years.

 

 So we borrowed a trailer from a friend and loaded it up. Twice. Two trips to the dump later, we have managed to get rid of most of the major risks. Can you imagine if any of this stuff had gotten airborne in a windstorm?

It was a heck of a lot of work but very worth it - not only for the peace of mind but having that junk out of the backyard is pretty great too!

There are still quite a few things we need to do to be completely ready - clean the gutters, do a battery check on all our torches, do an inventory on our go-bags, check the drains, do a stocktake on the pantry and make sure we have bottled water on hand.

And THEN, I might feel prepared for what mother nature decides to throw at us this year.

Do you prep for storm season? Got any hot tips?

Things this weekend has taught me

* Never underestimate the restorative power of a good lie-in.

* Thunderstorms are more fun when you can share them with someone. They are not fun when you are home alone.

* It is very hard to read by candlelight.

* My flatscreen tv looks feather-light but weighs two tonnes

* I have a lot more vintage stuff than I thought. A lot more.

* After 5 years of living in this house, I have yet to work out a storage solution for our collective stuff.

* A nice hot cup of tea and a pretty magazine cures most things.

How was your weekend? Learn anything?

Sun and Rain

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I’m beginning to believe that I run on solar energy. When there’s no sun, like today, I feel drained and lethargic. I feel like staying in bed under the covers and just daydreaming the daylight (or more accurately, murklight) hours away.

This morning I woke to the sound of rain on the roof – good, steady rain of the sort that we need. The garden and lawns have been crying out for some moisture for some months now. The sky was grey and has remained so all day. Sitting in my little office block, I am periodically peeking out the window, hoping for a patch of blue. But the sky remains steadfastly dark and forbidding. I have a good view across the Brisbane River and south towards Logan, and I can’t even see the suburbs today for the mist of rainclouds.

My mood is as gloomy as the weather. I know I should be grateful for the life-giving water and the wonderful greening effect it will have on my lawn, but I can’t help it – I just crave the sun. Sunlight warms my bones, recharges my spirit. Sun is life just as much as water is, and a hot summer’s day reminds me of my childhood and holidays at the Gold Coast filled with sand, the ocean, ice cream and afternoon naps.

Sometimes on a hot day when I’ve been sitting shivering in my (too old, never working properly) office air-conditioning for a few hours, I escape. I burst out of the elevators and propel myself forth, out onto the concrete footpath and into the light. I immediately feel better. I love feeling the warmth seeping up from the concrete below my feet, and basking in the sun’s rays shining down from above. My feet will inevitably take me to the nearest corner store, to get a cold iced tea or frozen slushie to enjoy back at my desk.

With the weather forecast predicting quite a few days of rain, I also have this strange sense of foreboding that I’m finding hard to shake. It’s this vague feeling of dread that when I really examine, I have to admit to myself is related to the Big Wet. The January Floods left an indelible mark on our state, and my brain is trying to remind me that all started like this. With the rain. The unrelenting, unforgiving, never-ending rain. It rained in December and out West flooded. It stopped for a few days over New Year but then it started raining again with a vengeance. And it didn’t stop for two weeks. What happened after was just so terrible, it must not, CANNOT happen again.

Here’s hoping it won’t rain like that again this year. Here’s hoping the sun will come out again soon and we have one of those long, hot summers that I remember from my childhood. Besides, I want to swim in my pool… and eat ice cream… and go to the beach… and nap in the afternoon…

FNQ Fashion

We're going to the tropics for Christmas.

I know, I know. It's going to be perishingly hot and humid. But C's parents live there and this is their year to have us. I know his mum will be taking care of the food, so I've been left to worry about other things.

Oddly for me, I've been fixating on clothes. Because I remembered the last time we were up there two years ago, I was warm and uncomfortable pretty much the entire time. My wardrobe was not designed to cope with that kind of weather.

So I've been trying to think about what would be suitable, and wondering if it's in my budget to get a few more items. Clothes to suit the heat and mugginess of Far North Queensland!

Of course, I turned to Polyvore. I present three ideal outfits for three different occasions, though in FNQ you can pretty much wear the same wardrobe to a restaurant as you would to the beach.

FNQ casual - beige by surelysarah featuring a wooden chain necklace

FNQ - shopping by surelysarah featuring knot jewelry

FNQ Evening by surelysarah featuring a blue maxi dress

What do you think? I am VERY aware that I am obsessed with the beige, the bone, the off-white, the cream, the ivory... What I was aiming for was breath-ability and present-ability. I don't want to be rocking board shorts and a tank top the whole week I'm there.

What do you wear when it's hot?