Nearly the end of a wild summer in Queensland

 Well, what a summer it has been here in Queensland with heavy rain, floods and a cyclone. Thankfully we have been spared any damage unlike many other regions where houses have been demolished by wild storms. Late one afternoon I could see something strange through the windows and when I went outside the sunset was just beautiful. 

As it turned out my daughter and family decided to holiday in Townsville in January and arrived a few days before Cyclone Kirrily arrived. 

At the beginning of the week The Strand looked like this calm and peaceful...

...and after the cyclone a couple of boats had washed up on shore and The Strand was littered with fallen trees, etc. However the damage was minimal thankfully considering the fact that cyclones can destroy everything in their path. My family lost power the day after the cyclone hit and were without electricity for 24 hours or so which wasn't as bad as some other areas but still, it would have been hard to sleep in the tropical temperatures without aircon and difficult to feed four children without being able to cook or refrigerate but they soldiered on. Fortunately they were able to get back home to the Outback just before the highway flooded and the road was cut.

My last batch of soap was 100% coconut oil soap once again as I am trying to use up the coconut oil I bought in bulk last year. I coloured half the soap with Bumblebee Mica and added Daisy Fragrance Oil which I bought from Gavin's Little Green Workshops, 

Now to what is appearing in the garden after all the rain we have had. Of course the Dahlias have taken over once again which bugs me a bit as they grow over all the plants I have put in but my hubby has put hundreds of bulbs into the ground over the past 46 years and, of course, they multiply. Anyway they do add colour to the garden. 

Someone brought some zinnia seeds to our simple living get-togethers last year so I threw them in the garden and they all came up because they were well watered with the rain I guess as I certainly don't have a green thumb. They do look pretty though. 

The Bromeliads just do their own thing every year without much help from us...

...and the Amaryllis are looking stunning once again. My hubby saves the seeds from the darker flowers as he prefers them rather than the delicate looking light pink ones. I am just happy for any flowers that appear without any effort from me. LOL!

Recently I have had pain in my hips and made a rare visit to my doctor to find out what the problem was and, while she had me in her clutches, she send me to have a Bone Density test which showed that I have a moderate chance of a spine fracture and a high risk of a hip fracture. Aren't doctors full of good news? Definitely not!!!!

Anyway a friend has started going to Onero classes which helps to prevent more bone damage and she recommended them.  I got a Care Plan from the doctor which required me to see a Dietician for some reason plus an Exercise Physiologist to do some tests to see how fit or not I am (I am definitely not) and the Dietician told me about all the foods that contain Calcium including the Calcium Rich Tuna in the photo above which, by the way, is on special at about half price at Coles until Tuesday if you are interested in buying any. He also recommended Physical Milk. If there is no Onero Program where you live you can still do the exercises online  for A$5 a week. 

I hope everyone is doing well this year. A number of people I know in real life and in Blogland have had it tough already which is really sad but life is like that, isn't it, and we just have to pick ourselves up and plod along or, should I say, some of us plod along a little slower than others if the old hips play up. LOL!