Sunday Selection #665

 Long ago, Kim of Frog ponds Rock, (who no longer blogs), dreamed up a meme called Sunday Selections. 

A place where those who were willing could put up photos they wanted to share, new, old, good, bad or indifferent, any photos you please. 

Nothing rude or vulgar though.

And we don't mind at all if other bloggers care to join us.

The meme is now continued by Elephant's Child and I join in as do a few others. Andrew is one.  Messymimi is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

Wisewebwoman has also occasionally been joining us.

Last Monday I took myself to the shopping centre that has replaced the old Brickworks Market, it's quite nice there

the Chritsmas tree has lovely decorations

and there is a little "Wiggles" merry-go-round or roundabout depending on where you live, it's for babies and toddlers

after leaving the shopping centre I walked as far as I could manage back towards the city and finalyy sat down to wait for a bus opposite this Greek Church

this tower still has a bell, while the other one has what appears to be loudspeakers

the gates tell us this is Saint Nicholas Church

later that night we had a huge storm with so much rain the gutters and downpipes couldn't cope, here you see some of the spillover

and the backyard behind the flats got flooded, but there was worse the next morning:

this is my upstairs neighbour's back balcony, ankle deep in water because the drainpipe was completely clogged, that water flowed into her flat and all the rooms were awash, at least an inch and a half deep.  I went up there to help her scoop and bail until the emergency plumbers got there. 

They tried to snake out the drain pipe, but couldn't, so tried from the other end where it is supposed to open out into the driveway and guess what? The under garden main drain is completely collapsed and filled with dirt and tree roots. It will have to be dug up and replaced. So in a way, the flooding might be seen as a good thing,since otherwise the collapsed drain might never have been discovered. 

The plumbers used a suction vacuum thing to get the water out of her flat, but only after they had drilled a hole in the outside edge of her balcony to let that water escape.

this is inside my back porch showing the plastic sheets covering the shadecloth, with the underside of the upstairs balcony being that grey triangle at the top. See the tiny gap between? A LOT of her flood water came in through that gap and my previously dry back porch got quite wet. 

I had to prop up my fake tree after dragging out the fake grass from under it so the underside could dry out

some of Angel's old lost toys floated out from under the big plastic trunk, badly stained and smelling funny, so I threw them away.

here is most of the fairy houses and other stuff which also got wet

it was all due for a wash anyway, but I hadn't planned on doing the whole lot at once

some of the sudsy wet pieces draining off

and then draining/drying on a towel on the kitchen floor. Now of course I have to put it all back the way it was, and I'm not sure I want to. I may just pack it all away.

the letter of the day was "S", for Sesame Street, Strawberries and Sunhats. They LOVE strawberries.

This is the fake fireplace made by J and S from foam blocks and other bits, and the top section of their Christmas Tree, up on a cabinet where the girls can't reach it. S is really crafty!

here we are having a really great day together, well a few hours anyway

this little video shows the flickering "flames" in the grate inside the fake fireplace. I hope it plays.






 



















Comments


  1. That was a nasty surprise for your neighbour. I hope it all gets sorted out before Christmas.
    The fake fireplace is a lovely idea. Anastasia and Genevieve will really enjoy Christmas this year, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jabblog; her flat is dried out now, though her mattress is ruined since she doesn't have a bed to put it on.
      The girls are going to love Christmas for sure.

      Delete
  2. The flickering flames video does play - and is lovely.
    I am sorry about the damage to your neighbour's flat and the extra work for you. Hopefully the collapsed drain will be fixed sooner rather than later.
    We have had quite a lot of rain here too - and emergency services have been v busy - mostly being called out to leaking roofs.
    As always the twins are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elephant's Child; I'm glad the video played. I've seen the news about floods everywhere, emergency services everywhere are run off their feet I'd say.

      Delete
  3. Oh! How distressing for your neighbour having the water come in like that. You're a good neighbour, River.

    Lovely pic of you and the girls. You are so lucky to have them in your life, and vice versa.

    May the coming week treat you well...take good care..I hope there are no more troublesome storms.. My cuddles to the lovely Lady Lola. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lee; I had to help, I'd feel terrible if I did nothing. We worried in case the water leaked through to my place but it didn't. I love that pic of me and the girls, though Ana was slipping off my leg, they're so heavy now and getting taller too.

      Delete
  4. The backyard behind the flats looks like there was a big catsup spill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike; it's just rain water, the base of the buildings is painted brick red.

      Delete
  5. What a job you had cleaning all your bits and pieces.
    I love the fake fireplace; the little video played nicely. The girls will love the real deal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne; it was a big job, I didn't expect it to hurt my hands this much but it's done now. I love the fake fireplace too. The girls will love Christmas Day I think.

      Delete
  6. You are such a good neighbor to help with that catastrophe. With such a sunny attitude to use your "flooding" as a good time to wash up your items. I am impressed with the fireplace and the flickering "firelight." The girls are growing so much! I love your picture with them. It won't be long before holding them both on your lap will be difficult indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val; it is already difficult since a good portion of lap is taken over by my belly. I really need to work on losing more of that.
      I had to help the neighbour, I would have felt bad all day if I didn't.

      Delete
  7. Oh yes, the video plays, it's nice.
    Gosh, not good for your neighbour to have that water problem then you too, what a mess.
    We haven't had any rain but wind and cloudy days, today is much improved though.
    Take care and it's good to know most of your things are ok after the rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Margaret D; my water problem was just a bit in my back porch, the neighbour had every room awash in water. Most things in my back porch are meant to be garden ornaments, so pretty much weather proof and no damage done. I'm glad the video played.

      Delete
  8. I still have the bad "smell" in my nose from when Ingo´s apartment flooded. That was 2008. It took us weeks to clean up the place, hope your neighbour is off better (but then Ingo said if flood comes back again he´ll move to Braunschweig!).
    I have a fake fireplace here, too, soooo nice! And who does not love strawberries - happy pic of the three of you, have a great 1. of advent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iris; the bad smell is probably memory now, my neighbours flooding was only clean rainwater and quickly dried out once the plumbers sucked it out with a vacuum. Her mattress is still drying out, because it was on the floor, she doesn't have a bed to put it on, doesn't want one, so for now she sleeps in a chair. We have hot sunshine all week now 34C today.

      Delete
    2. Yes, Ingo´s water came from a small stream, with earth and everything. Yuck.
      No bed is kinda strange and to sleep in a chair sounds very uncomfy!
      -1C right now. Which is good as I baked Brussels Sprouts and can cool them outside.
      I remember when we always bought four spinach-cheese pies in Darwin and had one batch sitting in the front of the steering wheel to keep hot all day! Need to post a pic! ;-)

      Delete
  9. Oh River, what a mess, what a hard time you had cleaning it up! And so wonderful to see a pic of your happy face and those glorious twins!
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wisewebwoman; wasn't hard so much as time consuming and then waiting for all the bits to dry before putting them back. Aren't the twins just beautiful!

      Delete
  10. Oh, yikes! That sounds awful! I hope you didn't get too much water in your place. Is your furniture OK? How terrible for your neighbor.

    I like the parakeet Christmas ornaments. Reminds me of the rose-ringed parakeets we get on our bird feeder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve Reed; no water at all in my place, just a bit of overflow in the back porch when the plumbers drilled a hole at the edge of her balcony. The back porch is where I have "Fairy" houses and garden gnomes that should be in the garden, but it is too overgrown out there and things might get stolen.
      I like the parakeet ornaments too, I've never seen any that big before.

      Delete
  11. Your farther long on Christmas then I am.
    Coffee is on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dora; not at my house, I don't do decorations anymore, but the twins house has lights and baubles and elves everywhere.

      Delete
  12. Sounds awful. A flooded house is misery. Those babies! Too sweet for words.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

being unaccustomed to public speaking,

Words for Wednesday