Big Wet Update

Things are much calmer here now with the river having peaked last night with no major dramas.  However, the old goldmining village of Sofala, which is on the banks of the Turon River, had 6 houses evacuated.

I went into town late this morning and the Campbells River, which I showed you yesterday had dropped from its peak and when I came home at about 4.30 this afternoon it had dropped much further.  The strange thing was that the way I came home yesterday was closed this morning.  I’m not sure where the flooding was, but I had to go down another dirt road to get into town.  We are so lucky to have a few options.

While I was in town, Mick went for a ride on his dirt bike.  Here are a few of his photos.  Firstly, this is one of the causeways we have to cross going to town.  The water had been much higher yesterday morning.

Then he went out to Chifley dam to see the water flowing over the spillway.  Once again, this is after the levels have dropped considerably.

 

When I am driving to town I can glimpse the Dam at one spot. Yesterday and today you could see all the spray in the distance looking like smoke coming off the water.  Mick took a little video and you should hear the roar of the water.

He also had a look at the Fish River, which is quite close to us as well and it is also way up.  Fortunately, the rain has eased today and you can even see the odd star out there now.

I know that it is best to stay off the roads in this weather, but I had to get to town to see the Quilt Show held in the Anglican Cathedral.  This is the first time I have been and it was lovely.

There were about 100 quilts on display.

It was nice to see some of the ecclesiastical embroidery on display as well.

Now for the quilts.

I’m itching to make one of these L’il Twister quilts with my ruler….just a few other things to do first.

There are some rather talented ladies in our local area.

Look at the detail on this one.  Each tile segment is individually needle turn appliquéd on.  Just beautiful.

This lovely soft quilt was beautifully enhanced by the quilting detail.

Isn’t the border quilting gorgeous.

Do you get the impression that I was drawn to the traditional medallion quilts?

The rest of these quilts were all made by the one lady.   I think she started quilting in the early 2000’s and since retiring has been rather prolific.  She may have made some of the others on display as well.  Her work is just stunning.

I think a hand quilted whole cloth quilt is about as stunning as you can get.  This one was also HUGE. Yes, this is by the same lady as well.

Beautiful, tiny, even stitches.  A masterpiece in my books.

It was disappointing for the organisers to have such rotten weather and people unable to get in to visit the display, but it was really lovely with the Cathedral as the backdrop.  The next display is in two years time and I’ll definitely be visiting again.

Squelch!

It’s a little damp here, mind you, not as damp as some places.

We have been just on the northern edge of all the rain, only getting light showers……… that is, until last night.  This morning there was water right through our shed.  When we get very heavy rain it comes down the hill behind us and flows through the shed.  Fortunately, nothing of importance or electrical was in its path.

I didn’t get any photos on the way to work, but had the camera out on the way home.

We can go to town two different ways, both about the same distance. One way has two causeways and comes out on the Sydney side of the Macquarie River.  Both these causeways were under water this morning, with the road surface damaged on one and a big tree across the other.  I didn’t go that way, so haven’t actually seen it.

The other way is usually OK, so I travelled that way today.

This is the Campbells River this afternoon, downstream from our local water supply, Chifley Dam.  The dam is overflowing and the water levels here this afternoon are much higher than when I went to work.

Now for a bit of Geography…..

Chifley Dam is on the Campbells River and has a wonderful catchment area from right up behind Oberon.  As a result Bathurst usually has no water problems during a drought.

Bathurst is on the Macquarie River, which is created from the convergence of the Campbells River and the Fish River, just south of town.  The Fish River also comes from the Oberon area.  Add to that the Vale Creek, also from the south of town and when you get a lot of rain in that area we get a nice big flood.  Of course, that is where all the rain has been this time.

It has been a bit crazy in town today, everyone seemed to need to get to the opposite side of the river.  There are two crossings, one has a low level bridge, which has been under water all day and the main highway floods next to the sporting fields due to a little local creek.  Schools were closed and everyone was trying to get home before they were stranded.

The river is expected to peak tonight at about 9.00pm.   Don’t you hate it when these things happen at night and  progress can’t be monitored easily.  The last big flood was in 1998.  I don’t know if this one is expected to be as big, I don’t think it is.  There have been lots of levies built since the last flood and it will be interesting to see how they go.  It will be their first test.

And guess what…… it is still raining……with lots more predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

Anyway, back to my trip home.  Unfortunately, wherever I could get a good view of all the water I would have a car sitting right behind me, so couldn’t stop for a photo.  This is a bit closer to home.

See this little trickle beside the road…

It flows into this dam…..

Then out of the dam….

Then back along the road…. (sorry for the spotty photos, but it was still raining.)

Then under the culvert where we turn onto our little dirt road….

Early this morning it was up over the bitumen.  The first time that has happened since we’ve been out here (16 years).

About 500m further along another little creek crosses under the road to join this one and they then flow to the left of the photo and create “King Georges Gully” which flows through our place.  It is normally just a trickle in the bottom of a gully.  From the house we can now hear it roaring.  We might have to get out the gum boots and go for a walk in the morning if it stops raining.  Our big dam is full, which is always good.

Our little road had turned into a creek….

The Council only graded this road about a week ago.  So much for all their work.

And our communal driveway will need a bit of work too….

Our last big wet was in December 2010 and you can read about it here and here and here.

Obviously, we have only been slightly inconvenienced by the weather, with a bit of road damage and dampness and the phone being out.

I grew up in a flood prone street and am fully aware of the anxiety that lots of rain causes and the horrible, slimy, smelly mess that needs to be cleaned up.  Fortunately, my parents were able to move to higher ground when I was in my early teens.  I do feel so much for the people who are badly effected in these events.  Let’s hope this rain stops soon without too many more people needing to be evacuated from their homes.

SKOW – Making Progress – Don’t You Just Love a Wet Sunday

This weekend was much quieter for us.  Mick had to work on Saturday, so I just stayed home and pottered.  I’d planned to spend the afternoon making sashings for the SKOW quilt, but it didn’t happen.  I did, however, make a yummy baked lemon cheesecake from this recipe, cooked perfect poached eggs using Lucy’s tutorial (yes, I am probably the only person that didn’t know of the magic of vinegar) and had my first foray into jewellery making, but more on that another day.

Sunday was to be spent with my Dad at the Sofala Show, which is a great little country show, while Mick was still at work.  However, it started to rain, so that idea was cancelled.  Therefore, I had a lovely wet day to spend sewing and having friends around to help eat the yummy cheesecake.  Mick even had to knock off early due to the weather, so he could also enjoy a lazy wet Sunday.  It was so nice to actually stay home for the entire weekend.

So, what did I achieve….

I made all the sashings, except for the top row, which needs a stitchery to be completed.  December is completed.

As is January.

Like everyone else, I have found it hard to get a photo once it was all sewn together.

My plan was to be up to date by the end of February – I still have 2 days to go, but it is not looking very promising.  Then again, if I really make an effort….we’ll see.

Olga Goes on an Outing

Continuing on our busy weekends theme, we had another early start on Saturday, this time heading up to Orange for the Classic Motorcycle Rally.  This was a great excuse to take “Olga” the old girl on an outing, not to mention that we enjoy the friendly rally.

It is based that the Scouts Camp at Lake Canobolas and we take the tent and camp overnight.

It was just the perfect morning to be out and about.  Do you think I am getting a bit of a thing for taking photos of the sky?

I love it when we get to see our shadow of the bike as we ride along.

There was a great roll up of bikes, ranging from a 1916 Harley sidecar to the latest models.

The green bike next to Olga is from our Club.  Her name is, surprisingly, “Kermit” and it was her maiden voyage to a rally.  She ran really well and drew a lot of attention.  There was quite a good roll up from Bathurst and from our Club.

Having travelled to Orange for the start of the Rally, we then proceeded to ride back to Bathurst via Blayney for lunch and a display of the bikes.  There was a good roll up of sidecars and also BMW R75s (the same as Olga), which was good to see (not that I am biased).

This beauty won the Best Bike in the rally.  It is a very early Rudge in totally unrestored condition, however it goes really well and is seen in several rallies. It is not at all showy, but a real workhorse.  A well deserved award.

After lunch we headed back towards Orange via the Ophir Road, which has only recently had the last little bit sealed.  Another great motorcycling route that has now been opened up. 

Doesn’t this stretch of road with the tunnel of elms just out of Bathurst remind you of an English lane, especially with the old British bike and MG car.

How the scenery changes…… this is only about a mile further on.  Check out the lovely sky.

Turn the next corner to then be greeted by this!!!  That doesn’t look too promising when  you are travelling on a bike.

Fortunately, we dodged the storms all the way to Orange.  We had a tiny sprinkle and went on some very wet roads, but didn’t need to get out the wet weather gear.

Unfortunately, Kermit didn’t have quite as good a run in the afternoon.  She had a puncture in the rear tyre.  Not to worry, once back at camp, the boys got in and put in a spare tube and she was ready to go again for the run on Sunday morning.

One of the most important events on a weekend like this is “Happy Hour”. Six of our group camped over, so we had a nice leisurely hour or so sitting in the afternoon sun.

The presentation Dinner is held outdoors, but in a big tin shelter shed, which was just as well, as didn’t we cop the biggest storm!  The thunder, lightning and torrential rain lasted for a couple of hours, but fortunately, stopped not long after we went to bed. After that it cleared up to a starry night and lovely morning.

On Sunday us girls decided not to go on the ride, so Mick found a substitute passenger.  They have a lot of fun.

While they were on the ride we strolled over to Lake Canobolas.  We sat and watched this little family for ages. There was another duckling as well, but it was a bit of a rebel and kept swimming off.

The lake has a wonderful setting and it was so peaceful early in the morning.

When it was time to head home a couple of us decided to ride along the Ophir Road again, as it really is lovely.  It is also amazing how different the scenery can be when ridden in the opposite direction.

There is one spot half way along where there is a little dirt road heading up to the very top of a hill and Mick wanted to go up there to see what he could see.  Well, he could see a lot.  You felt like you were on top of the world and once again, check out that sky.  We could have sat there for ages, but had to get on our way.

We had a great weekend, although Olga had a couple of little coughs along the way.  She is now in surgery, as Mick is going to have a bit of a look into her innards to see if he can’t get her running a little better.  Hopefully she won’t be in hospital for too long, as we do like riding her.

Our next bike adventure will be on “Snubby” in March.  I can’t wait.

Another Swap Meet

Now that Christmas and the holidays are out of the way our weekends are starting to get a little busy.  Also, I’m a little slow in getting around to telling about them.

The week after our Swap Meet we went along to the one at the little village of Newbridge and had another little stall.  It is always nice to be able to just turn up and not have to be doing the work.

It meant a very early start, as the early bird catches the worm and it helps if the worm is actually there to be caught.

This is really a great way to declutter.  

There were some rather interesting things that turned up for sale.

What a procession.  Behind the cream car there was also an old bike.

I think they all went home on the same truck they arrived on.

We sold a little bit, but I think the best bit is sitting in the sun, catching up with friends that were there and just and having a chat to lots of people browsing.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Here’s Cheers

One of my best friends had her birthday recently and it was good excuse to try out a tutorial for a wine tote I found  here.

It’s not the best photo, as it was taken as I was about to run out the door.  I think it turned out not too bad, although the pattern was a little fiddly.  I used insulbrite for the wadding, so it should even keep the wine cool, and the fabric is rather appropriate.

It is certainly something I would make again.

Swap Meet Time Again

The first Sunday in February always sees the Bathurst Swap Meet take place at the Showground and keeps us very busy. You can see previous years here, here and here.   It is the major fundraiser for the Bathurst Historic Car Club and also allows us to make some great donations to local charities.

We were down there bright and early on the Saturday getting everything set up.  There was, however, time to do a bit of stitching before the we manned the gates in the afternoon for lots of the stallholders to come in and set up for the next day.

It has been wet here all week, although nowhere nearly as bad as some places.  Mick’s phone ran hot in the few days before with people wanting to know if it was raining, if it was flooding and if it was still on.  Someone must have been looking down on us because it was fine on Saturday, with just a light sprinkle in the evening.  Then the sky lit up, boding well for Sunday.

We camped in our little camper trailer overnight, ready for the early start at 4.30am when people started to turn up.  It really is a case of the early bird coming to catch the worm.

We had a stall again this year.  Mick took down the old Douglas bike to sell and it was just amazing how it worked as a magnet.  People literally flocked to look at it and find out all about it and how much it was. The flow on effect was that they then looked at the stall and lots even bought things.  Mick had a big clean out in the shed. No, the Douglas didn’t sell, but we really don’t mind.

I didn’t do too badly with my section of the stall either.  Once again, having a big clean out of the cupboards.  We collect too many things and the house is about to explode.

During the morning this little fellow took a liking to a little green china vase.  He walked around and around it for ages.  The number of people that came up and asked if it was real or part of the the vase. He really did keep me amused.

The weather was just glorious and I think lots of people just wanted to get out in the sunshine, so they came down for a look.  Therefore, all the stallholders that I spoke to had a very successful day, as did the Club.  We have been so blessed, as in the 26 years of the Swap Meet we have never been washed out.

We were both really strong and didn’t even look at any other stalls.  It is the first time that I didn’t even go for a walk around, except to get breakfast and lunch.  It was the only way I could be sure that I wouldn’t defeat the purpose by bringing more “treasures” home.

Next Sunday we will do it all again at the little village of Newbridge.  We really enjoy attending their Swap Meet as we just turn up and don’t have to do any work. Hopefully, we will get rid of a bit more of our surplus stuff.