Gentlemen, start your engines!

Well, for those of us who (sometimes against our will) follow car racing, this is what they say at the start of the race. Here in Illawong, at seven o'clock every morning, it comes true. The trucks that have been lined up all along the neighboring streets during the night now start up and so does the big jackhammer. They are excavating an area near the shopping center across the street to build apartments and right now they are digging out for underground garages, we think. If we stay home we have to walk around with ear protection, or alternatively go out for the day. Today I think I opt for going out. It is the Sydney Festival so maybe there is something fun on in the city.

Other than that life has been quiet this week, so not much to tell. We have had a few busy weeks, so it is nice with some down time.

The builders even work on Saturdays, so tomorrow we are going to see a sandcastle competition in the Hawkesbury region. Well, it is only the start of it, so they won't pronounce a winner yet but it is fun to see when they build these big sand sculptures.  Hubby won first prize and had his picture in the paper when he was 8 or so (names have been changed to protect the innocent), so we have a certain interest in this "art form", plus the region around there is very nice.

Speaking of art, here is some graffiti that I saw the other day when we went to dinner to some friends' town house in St Peter.  I have always liked graffiti and admired what some talented artists can do with a couple of spray cans, and hopefully mouth and nose protection.  Here is a link to more cool stuff.

Have a great week end and remember to tell yourself "I am a nobody, nobody is perfect. Therefore, I am perfect!"

This bus is from Nimbin, of course.

Just spoke to youngest daughter in Rio and she told me of this tragic and seemingly pointless death of a  another great street artist, Selaron artist.  Very sad.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

When we first came to Australia I was carefully instructed to be aware of the fact that Australia has a big problem with water. Therefore I was told not to brush my teeth under running water, or to peel potatoes under running water, or to rinse dishes under running water etc. I was even told that it could be better to have showers only every second day. Many people have also arranged so that waste water from the washing machine etc can be used to water the garden.

Well, let me tell you that I have rarely seen such a lot of rain as we have been having lately. I heard on the news that in parts of the state of NSW school children should be kept home tomorrow because there is danger of flooding. A large portion of the state is under water and during the night they expect a dam to overflow. Here is a link about it: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/mass-evacuation-from-nsw-floods-20120301-1u3wg.html

The area where we live was hit by bush fires a few years ago and when we moved in people told us to organize a survival kit: just a bag with necessities to bring if you have to evacuate. That actually got me a little concerned, but isn't it ironic that now it might be just the opposite. Too much water!

Anyway, we live in a place called Illawong, which means between two rivers in the Aborigine language that was spoken by people here originally. From our house we can see one of these rivers, the Georges River. The other river is the Woronora River. Here is a photo from our upstairs balcony.