light, water and no water

I think this could have been the theme song for the eastern seaboard states this summer. It’s something everyone is talking and asking about. Just how is the water?

I’m now mostly settled back in the family home. I did however receive an upgrade from the West Room (my former residence as young adult) to the Balcony Suite (which my two brothers lived in at various times). Apart from obviously having a balcony (it’s 2.5m x 0.9m as in big enough to have perhaps a table and chair but no more than that) it has windows on two sides facing south and east over the garden. I’m not just talking about a window on each side. I’m talking about windows that run the entire length of two sides of the room from thigh height to the ceiling.

Believe me I’m in light heaven. There is light and I love the light.

The new room

Went to lunch today at Gusto da Gianni at Portside with the ladies from work as one of the nurses turn 60 on Wednesday. The decor was interesting, cohesion was lacking in some areas, not just with the decor but also with the serving ware. Every single dessert dish came on different serving ware. The gelato was served in a what is best described as a Tuscan pasta bowl and the tiramisu was in a gorgeous conical frustum glass bowl. It was different. That aside the food was generally pretty ok.

These photos are the end of the flood for me. I’ve spent time with SES cleaning up streets, I’ve spent time in my own clothes cleaning up streets, I’ve spent time sorting through my belongings and the water logged belongings of total strangers.

The house on Saturday 15 Jan
and the water went down

The house on Thursday 13 Jan in the early morning.
looking up the street

5:20ish, peaceful

and that folks is how the water rose and fell on the house that I used to live in.

Ship Visits

Flying the Flag
The past weekend the HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Leeuwin have been in town and of course on Saturday they were open for a looksie. We ended up having a Medical Section family afternoon out with three of us from Med and three other family members. We toured the ships, had some good laughs and ate way too much ice cream at Hamilton Portside afterwards.

HSA girls on the bow of the Melbourne

There was a really impressive turn out of people for the afternoon and both ships put on really good tours. The Melbourne had people stationed at various points where the people accumulated waiting for people to climb stairs ready to have a chat about whatever they were near. On the Leeuwin we had good fun looking through the binoculars with which you could see a fly on a leaf 2km away, ok maybe not quite but they were slightly impressive.

Looking through the big binoculors

HMAS Leeuwin

On Monday the main deck of the HMAS Melbourne was the place where the enlistment ceremony took place for this months Navy intake. In addititon to the ceremony been on the Melbourne, it also saw the fourth son of one family enlisting. This meant that the Chief of the Navy was in town to do the honours and the press turned out for the occasion.

HMAS Melbourne A245 aka HMAS Leeuwin
Naval Signal flags on the Melbourne