Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Wrap Up!

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year.  We had a rather "different" Christmas Day here in the Valley.  

We awoke to the sounds of palm fronds crashing onto the roof and vertical rain pelting against the louvres.

And then........




"Cyclone Tasha" swept in from the Coral Sea


We lost power (electricity) for 2 days!


The mighty Mulgrave flooded leaving us no access to the outside world!




Ah yes, this was certainly going to be one of our more challenging Christmas Days.......

First things first - we needed to assess the situation and see what damage had occurred.   Fortunately for us Cyclone Tasha was only a Category 1 cyclone so the wind damage was minimal however the RAIN was torrential. 

So much so that our access bridge across the mighty Mulgrave was 9 metres over the railings!   Between these 2 clumps of trees is where our bridge usually sits.  

Somehow I don't think we will be making the Boxing Day Sales!


Resigned to the fact that we were not going to get out for a couple of days we headed back home (safe and sound high on the hill) for the opening of gifts and a bit of "creative" Christmas breakfast cooking.

This year we had Kendall's Irish boyfriend joining us for a typical Australian Christmas.  I'm sure it will be a Christmas he will never forget!  Here is the little Christmas stocking I made for him.  Note the cute little shamrocks I included  (just to make him feel at home!)



Here's Kendall's Country Angel stocking.  I couldn't resist including the cowboy boots.  Very Kendall-like!


Thank goodness for my Gasmate portable cooker!  It's amazing just what you can do when faced with the prospect of preparing a Christmas feast for 6 (with no electricity).   It reminded me in some ways of what Christmas must have been like for the pioneers - Christmas turkey cooked in a camp oven over an open fire.   How amazing is it that in the 21st Century we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

After countless games of "Celebrity Heads";  "Name that Tune";  and a clever little Christmas Quiz that Alan managed to whip together - we were well and truly over all our family bonding time and kept looking longingly at the fairy lights on the Christmas tree just hoping (once again) to see the twinkle and sparkle of those lights.  "When do you think the power will come back on?"  I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this question......



Eventually the power did come on and the river height dropped and my children (and their partners) hastily made their way back into civilisation (vowing NEVER to cross the mighty Mulgrave again if ever there was the likelihood of them being marooned together again under the one roof with no electricity!) 

Ah yes ......  Christmas 2010 - certainly one I will never forget.


PS - I did invite them back again for New Year's Eve for another family get-together.  Somehow it seems that they have ALL made other plans - funny thing about that?

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8 comments:

  1. Oh my, what a Christmas you've had and I was hoping the heat had subsided a bit for you...but not due to having a cyclone...yikes! I'm glad you were all safe and sound, albeit stranded! And the stockings are adorable! I hope New Year's Eve is much less eventful for you!

    Kat :)

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  2. Your stockings are so beautiful. I love the cowgirl. Everything you make is finished so perfectly. I find it a cross between incredibly inspirational and incredibly intimidating!!!

    I can't believe those pictures of the river. You sound so clam about it. Does it often happen? I'm so glad you were all okay.

    I really hope that you have a happy - and dry - new year!

    Sarahx

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  3. My goodness, what a Christmas you had - I'd seen pictures on the news of all the flooding in various parts of Australia. Glad you are all safe and sound and escaped any serious damage.

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  4. You have certainly had an eventful christmas Sharyne. I hope everything is getting back to normal soon for your sake and you have a very happy new year.

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  5. Oh WOW Sharyne, what a Christmas adventure!! Hope that the flood waters have stayed down and everyone is safe and dry! Still sounds like you all managed to have a good Christmas, good on you!! Mmm campfire Xmas turkey sounds really good, actually! Happy wishes for a great New Year and all my very best to you for 2011. Hugs ~ Txx

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  6. I have to laugh at your last line; somehow it seems that they have ALL made other plans. We're finding that our 5 kids are making lots of phone calls, and taking lots of phone calls, and scurrying about trying to make New Year's Eve plans so that they aren't sitting home with their Papa and I. Guess all that family time did them in at Christmas as well. Boy, I can remember a day that I wished they had a place to go on New Year's Eve so we could go out and have some fun but, now that they're grown, they've worn us out and our goal is to relax and be asleep in bed by 10 PM!

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  7. LOL! Now that was a great story! And I'm sure, memorable all the same. How clever are you figuring out a way to cook for the crew with no power! Goodness... I'd have handed out chocolate bars myself I'm so not savvy that way.

    Sorry about your quiet New Years... oh well, no cooking, right? :)

    Donna
    http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

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  8. Wow, Mother Nature sure mixed up your plans! Thanks for sharing your story. I wonder why the kids didn't want to come back for New Years?

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