This message was deleted.

elliehen - 2011-06-11 13:48:00

This message was deleted.

indy95 - 2011-06-11 13:55:00

thanks EA only 1 wee to go

hope u are well my friend xxx

Julie what a lovely read, your kids sound happy ...and when it all comes down to it thats all i really want, is a happy kid!!! i am also a very proud mum to one

earthangel4 wrote:

Hi All,
Have not been in for a bit,have been busy,it is so cold here,with rain,we have had rain for over a month now,getting really sick of it.
Winnie sorry to hear about your friend,hope you are ok.
Charlie,good things are getting better for you.
Motorbo,thinking of you moving soon,hope it is a nice day for you.
I don,t have much news,time for a shower.
Have a wonderful day all

motorbo - 2011-06-11 14:13:00

there are still very beautiful sights in christchurch the river avon is lovely, I know there is cracked concrete and signs and dont forget your wonderful wonderful flowers that christchurch people have in buckets we dont have lovely gardens like you guys get, peonies for example just lift ones spirits, I know some of the ground has changed and flowers are not growing but there is still a lot. Juliewyn thanks for sharing your story I have read bits an pieces over the years and knew that you had health issues with your daughter, sometimes because of the adversity it can make the most beautiful souls.
I like the merriment, thats a good one to think about when you find the positive in everything it can make the whole day seam much brighter, I sometimes think I could do better on the positive but am sure we all feel like that at times. anyway troops my housework is not being done. btw I have made a ham hock soup, did the bones and celery head last night and have finished off with veggies this morning, husband, daughter and son whom is home have all gone - yuck what a revolting smell and dont think we are going to eat that!! its going to last me a long long time lol

auckland_ali - 2011-06-11 14:17:00

i hope to visit chch this or next year, living in a major city means i can fly there much cheaper and i have a couple of friends living down that way

motorbo - 2011-06-11 17:17:00

Thank you for your lovely words everyone.. :-)..

I've just talked with Chris for almost 2 hours.. he's been offered the position in Melbourne that he applied for, and rang to talk with me about it..

He's thinking about taking three weeks off after working through his notice in Brisbane, and if he does that, is thinking of shipping his belongings back to Melbourne, flying from Brisbane to Sydney, then (Julia and Calista, you'll both like this) cycling!!! from Sydney to Melbourne - almost 1000kms.. He cycled 100kms in one day recently, and thought he'd feel the effects the next day, and felt fine, and thinks he could cycle that far in about 10-12 days.. I'm thinking that cars and trains and planes were designed for that distance! lol

juliewn - 2011-06-11 22:08:00

Hi Sumstyle.. I'm thinking of you.. it's hard to imagine what it must be like there with so many homes, workplaces, park areas, etc..etc.. affected.. and I think it must be quite - almost - confrontational - to walk through the city and see so much of what has happened.. I'm sending you hugs..

I recently purchased a newspaper memorial book titled 12.51 - the story of the Christchurch 2011 earthquake.. I cried as I read through so many people's experiences, saw all the photos and the heartache that shows in the pages.. there's a DVD as well - haven't faced that one.. the photos I've seen online and in newspapers, etc.. show so clearly a little of what has happened there..

One thing I notice is that all the quakes and after-shocks are called Christchurch quakes and after-shocks.. when they're affecting a much wider part of Canterbury.. and I wonder if people in the areas outside the city feel like what they've been through and are dealing with isn't being acknowledged.. and/or that their needs aren't being met with regard to work needed, support given, etc.. etc...

I remember this happening here with the 1987 Edgecumbe quake and after-shocks.. though Edgecumbe was the worst hit of the towns, many small towns and rural areas around the plains here were hugely affected too.. and those areas weren't acknowledged or supported even, initially.. and attention wasn't given to helping the people in those areas through.. it eventually happened, however could have been handled better by local authorities, media, etc.. so the people in those areas weren't kind-of separated off from what was done for Edgecumbe.

I truly hope that isn't happening there in Canterbury.. my thoughts are with everyone affected right throughout the area..

juliewn - 2011-06-11 22:09:00

ps.. Psychologist Nigel Latta is having a programme on Wednesday on TV1 - it's 8pm - 8.30pm.. and it's about the effects of the quakes on children.. a little info is here:

http://tvnz.co.nz/after-the-quake/index-group-4187362

juliewn - 2011-06-11 22:13:00

Elliehen thanks for posting that article about the 2 friends sharing the quality of merriment. It is so true. This reminds me of when our dear friend rang to say goodbye 5 hours b4 his death. there had been laughter & tears at the same time during that conversation & during the time of his last few days of life. I have learnt a new term called merriment from your posting..

510 - 2011-06-12 06:35:00

Love reading this thread & all the meaningful posts. Thanks everyone for contributing cos you all make this thread such an enlightening thread to read..

510 - 2011-06-12 06:38:00

Happy Birthday to lennyb1, wishing you a wonderful day.

Edited by 510 at 6:42 am, Sun 12 Jun

510 - 2011-06-12 06:40:00

happy birthday to lennyb stil young!!

auckland_ali - 2011-06-12 09:34:00

really dont know if I would cycle from sydney to melbourne, theres a lot of nasty things that slither and wander at ground level - presume would be camping beside the road!! but great that hes got the job juliewn.
we are 2 days before daughter leaves, she asked me the other day how to thicken things and what I would use and how much - not because she was cooking dinner, but so that she could "raid" the pantry of a little of this and a little of that!! - we went thru pantry and she as a good start up kit for when she arrives in her flat!!

auckland_ali - 2011-06-12 09:43:00

Popped back in for a rest from grooming the dogs. I have to do it in stages very stressful for both the dog & the owner who is mad enough to be grooming the dog in the first place. Then the dog gets the shakes, or it sits down when you want it to stand. The thing that keeps me going is the thought of the $200.00 I have saved doing it myself. Just as well I don't drink cos I could do with one right now.

510 - 2011-06-12 10:19:00

This message was deleted.

charlieb2 - 2011-06-12 10:32:00

Sydney to Melbourne sounds like the kind of biking my mad brother would do, although last time he cycled some distance he ended up biking at 3 am because 3pm was just too hot.

I am finding beauty in unusual places, mainly because I am making a conscious effort to see it as I sometimes get really depressed at this time of year and am trying to change that pattern. On Friday when it was raining I walked to Eastgate shops along a walking/cycleway beside a small stream. It is not beautiful (back fences of houses and concrete banks) but there were a couple of swallows swooping and diving, like the balsa wood gliders we had as children and some mallards that took off with a whirring of wings as I approached.

Also I'm looking out for blossom trees in bloom, as a reminder that spring will come. It helps too that the days will soon be getter lighter, even though the weather will be colder.

Despite that I am missing some favourite places too. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think, "it's a lomg time since I went to X", only to realise I can't or it doesn't exist any more, It's like when someone dies and you almost ring because you haven't spoken to them for ages - and then the pain of the loss comes back...

Edited by calista at 5:05 pm, Sun 12 Jun

calista - 2011-06-12 17:03:00

This message was deleted.

charlieb2 - 2011-06-12 23:38:00

question charlie, if the ground has turned into liqiudfication doesnt it take all the nutrients out would it be like planting in sand? can you plant where the stuff has bubbled up? - it changes the compound doesnt it?
the lol on the "help out" I said to DD you have done very well little girl, and her reply was Huff - If I lived around the corner I would be coming for weekly pantry raids !! -, lol
lovely day here neighbour has requested a sympathy card which I havent got any of so have made 1/2 doz love playing in my craft room, I get such a buzz when the floor is covered in bits of paper (I am a very messy worker and its measures how much craft I have done to how much is on the floor, some weeks its just covered!!) am making a album for friends 50th so will crack onto that tomorrow,
am sure you are enjoying the wiff of freshly washed dofs anne, I am not a huge doggie person and really appreciate when people make sure their dogs dont stink to high heaven, its amazing how that smell penetrates into everything.

auckland_ali - 2011-06-12 23:53:00

p.s. wasnt the netball game great - we have such a talented team out there, didnt loss in the the last quarter either!!

auckland_ali - 2011-06-12 23:54:00

Charlie & Ali the dofs do smell nice now . I ended up attacking myself with the scissors, & the black one ended up with a graze from the clipper. She always let out a yelps to let me know that I have hurt her. The brown one is older & easier to groom. I wouldn't mind if it was just bathing them, It is the ear plucking, the feet grooming, & the nail clipping etc etc that are the harder parts. I am very much a novice with the clippers, Anyway enuf of my moaning I love them to bits & our lives are so much richer for having them as part of our family. Luckily they both have lovely natures. They wouldn't exactly win a prize in a dog grooming competition LOL but from a distance they look good.

Edited by 510 at 6:44 am, Mon 13 Jun

510 - 2011-06-13 06:30:00

This message was deleted.

cookessentials - 2011-06-13 06:41:00

calista wrote:

I am finding beauty in unusual places, mainly because I am making a conscious effort to see it as I sometimes get really depressed at this time of year and am trying to change that pattern.

Calista , that is so cool, a lot of people would never even know what that meant or recognise the need to do it.
At the moment I do something similar when I watch the Monarch Butterflies in the garden, when I find life getting busy & stressful I go out side & see the butterflies, they are just so tranquil & doing their own thing . I find it takes me away from everyday worries etc. It is probably even harder for you when you are surrounded by the destructive changes of the earthquake I loved your descriptions of the beauty you were seeing. I could just picture it.

Edited by 510 at 7:04 am, Mon 13 Jun

510 - 2011-06-13 07:00:00

didnt realize it was the full job with nails and suchlike ewwww a job well done and as you say prob $60 a dof so money well saved.
you guys are so early risers this is really early for me, mind you got a phone call at 8 so that woke me up,
Pam hubby and I did the mornington pennisular a couple of years ago, what we did was hire a car from melbourne and drive down geelong way - then down to queenscliffe and torquay beautiful spots - that series seachange was filmed down there and you can hire out Lauras cottage by the sea, Dans boathouse is a really rustic restaurant and the views are just wonderful. we then took the car ferry over to the mornington penninsular, its a wonderful place with all the changing sheds up the coast and the vineyards are just amazing they give you heaps of wine to drink, one vineyard gave us a taste of all 15 of there wines, needless to say we had only done two and had to rest and sober up!! its then up around the dangelongs - very westy we went to the market there not as nice as queen vic market. would highly recommend you do that trip, one side of the penninsular is quite different from the other.

auckland_ali - 2011-06-13 08:48:00

This message was deleted.

charlieb2 - 2011-06-13 09:02:00

This message was deleted.

cookessentials - 2011-06-13 09:46:00

This message was deleted.

cookessentials - 2011-06-13 09:46:00

No one, whatever their sins, should ever have to deal with ACC and EQC at the same time. This constitutes a breach of the Geneva Convention and constitutes "a cruel and unusual punishment"

calista - 2011-06-13 12:47:00

Yet more scary quakes here ... a 4.3 follwed by a 5.5 ... hope everyone is ok!

winnie231 - 2011-06-13 13:23:00

Just heard about today's after shock (earthquake) - hope you have all survived yet another jolt - love to you all

rema - 2011-06-13 13:23:00

Reporting in - all OK, but I don't know where the fat'n'fluffy one is - not too worried,

calista - 2011-06-13 14:05:00

Hi All, just dropping in to say Im thinking of everybody down in canterbury and hope everybody is as alright as one can be under the circumstances. Cheers

gr8stuf4me - 2011-06-13 15:00:00

I've heard from charlieb2 - they're all okay and together, but no water or power. "Big huge ... mess again." Poor chooks.

lennyb1 - 2011-06-13 15:19:00

Thanks Lennyb1. I have been thinking about her and other from round the Port Hills as well - Halls2?, Sumstyle, etc. Hope they are all well and not too shattered.

greerg - 2011-06-13 15:25:00

2halls is ok - I've been in contact. I'm ok - just freaked out!!!

winnie231 - 2011-06-13 15:27:00

This message was deleted.

cookessentials - 2011-06-13 15:35:00

Thinking of you all in Christchurch. Sending cyber hugs to everyone

510 - 2011-06-13 16:31:00

This message was deleted.

cookessentials - 2011-06-13 16:40:00

hugs to everyone, I feel close to tears and Im nowhere near chch, its just too much, I hope the grand chancellor holds it together how frightening it all must be for you all down there, and the clean up every single time, all well and good to have food in the pantry but if its all on the floor in broken containers what good is that. hugs for everyone
and I am so sorry it continues on.
wonders if we should have clicked with the chile ash cloud happening!

auckland_ali - 2011-06-13 17:05:00

Gosh.. close to tears here too Ali.. my heart goes out to you all there.. thinking of you and hoping that this all ends very soon.. thank goodness no loss of life, some injured and in hospital.. keep safe and together..
Huge hugs x

juliewn - 2011-06-13 17:20:00

Here I am, power just on in my area - thanks for thinking of me greerg. No water, and power may go again (based on previous experience!) so I boiled the jug and heated my tea in the microwave while I could.

Crazy days. Sydenham streets a bit messy again with water and liqefaction on the way home, but not as bad as Feb. This time I waited 20 minutes before heading home, and of course there wasn't the surge of people escaping from the CBD this time.

sumstyle - 2011-06-13 17:38:00

This message was deleted.

charlieb2 - 2011-06-13 17:48:00

hugs everyone - glad you have power hot water bottles etc at least its not the depths of winter just yet, have you guys lost much again with all the shaking, damage etc. and how is hubby hope hes safe

auckland_ali - 2011-06-13 18:06:00

Another big bottle of grape seed oil was my only pantry casulty. O, and the baking I had done for my sister welcoming her back to NZ after 11 weeks away has accidentally fallen into my mouth, thanks to the EQs!

Edited by sumstyle at 6:40 pm, Mon 13 Jun

sumstyle - 2011-06-13 18:39:00

Hi Sumstyle.. sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.. especially when it comes to yummy baking! Enjoy having your sister back.. :-)

So glad you're all safe.. has anyone heard from 245sam?? and Tixy??

juliewn - 2011-06-13 19:37:00

This message was deleted.

charlieb2 - 2011-06-13 20:23:00

I've heard from Shirley/245sam - she's ok too.

winnie231 - 2011-06-13 20:23:00

This message was deleted.

elliehen - 2011-06-13 20:52:00

I don't know what to say anymore. I am so sorry Christchurch. I want it to stop for you. Hugs. Erica

evorotorua - 2011-06-13 21:02:00

Weird ol' times eh? Our work building has been closed for at least a day, but I still have to try to fly to Hamilton tomorrow morning to visit the regional office, so maybe I'll have a day or so of respite.

sumstyle - 2011-06-13 21:27:00

The fat'n'fluffy one came in, ignored tea and slumped down in front of the heater. Then she went and pooed on my nightie in the bathroom, before hiding herself somewhere in the house. She has the runs - which I'm thinking may be stress related. I don't want to take her to the vet as that will just add to the stress, but will if she doesn't perk up,

calista - 2011-06-13 22:13:00