Rain

   Since we've arrived in Australia--strictly a coincidence, by the way--the people of Queensland have had a run of bad weather and bad luck. First up, lots of rain leading to massive flooding, the worst in 50 years there. Three-quarters of the state was declared a disaster area.
   Next up, Cyclone Yasi, the biggest cyclone in 100 years. I thought this comparison with Katrina was very interesting. Pretty similar stats, although Yasi was bigger in size. Perhaps the most shocking to me is the death toll, which now stands at one for Yasi. The man suffocated on generator fumes. On the flip side, three baby girls were born, and no, I don't think any of them will be named Yasi.

   I don't know what else to say about it, other than our thoughts and prayers go out to those people in Queensland. It's the biggest news in Australia though, so I wanted to mention it here. It hasn't affected us personally, yet. Let's see what happens with the proposed levy and to the price of produce. Some of you may know that Alanna loves bananas. She even asked Santa for some in her stocking. I just read at http://www.theage.com.au/ that prices are already doubled in some markets, and one store is even limiting customers to 1 kg, which is four or five bananas. Worse: "It is feared bananas prices could skyrocket to $15 per kilogram with more than 75 per cent of Australia's banana crop wiped out by tropical cyclone Yasi in north Queensland." Yikes. I know, small hardships compared to what the Queenslanders are going through.
  I wanted to also share a link that I got from Ben's site, some incredible photos of the damage and devastation: 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/cyclone-yasi/gallery.htm   We're actually dealing with a bit of flooding ourselves, at our house back home. Tree roots are blocking our main sewer, and caused water/sewage to backup out of our downstairs shower. It got into the hallway and office floor before the tenants noticed it. Looks like we'll be replacing at least part of the laminate flooring, and of course, there will be a big plumbing bill for both the temporary fix and the longer-term one.
   Finally, today the girls started school. Hopefully that will ease some of their misery. They've been a bit bored and lonely. If nothing else, they are past the first day of school, which they have been nervous and worried about for over a week.
   Cheers, see ya next time.