Monthly Archives: December 2019

Smoke gets in my eyes… and lungs… and nose… and mouth..

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Australia is currently experiencing unprecedented bushfires. Right now as I write this, there are 117 fires in our state (NSW) and many more in other states.

We are quite safe here and theres no fires in our immediate area, the closest are about 45 minutes away and being controlled, but the air pollution has been the highest ever over the last 48 hours, over 200 at the moment.

Yesterday visibility in town was about two blocks, today its slightly better. We usually have views for miles out to the mountains from our house but I can see about 100 meters the last two days. This is what it looks like outside. I really do miss seeing the blue sky!

Our house smells like smoke, all I can taste is smoke and our clothes smell of smoke. Usually the first thing I do each morning is throw open all the windows and let the fresh air in but we haven’t been able to do this the last six weeks. Its also been really hot here (38C yesterday) and we can’t sleep with the windows open to cool the house down. There is no going outside at all except to get in the car and go to work.

We all have the ‘fires near me’ alerts on our phones and the air quality app and I check both frequently during the day.

I have been taking extra ventolin over the last few weeks, but today I had to leave work and go straight to the drs as I just could not get a proper breath in after having to walk outside from the carpark ( less than five minutes). The smoke was quite heavy.

So the doctor has put me back on asthma meds (haven’t needed them for years) and I’m off work for several days.  A few hours later DD also ended up at the drs, she has quite bad asthma and had missed two days last week. She got quite tight in the chest at work and went straight down to the doctor. She had her meds increased and is off work also. I did some research online and bought an air cleaner with a HEPA filter to try and filter the smoke in the house ($200).

There would be hundreds of people being similarly affected I’m sure, particularly worrying for the elderly.

It’s been an eye opener this last few weeks. And I’m one of the lucky ones! We are not under direct fire threat, we haven’t had to evacuate, or lose our home. I have sick leave and medications are subsidised here. I hate to think how the people in high fire danger areas are coping and the stress they must be under.  And our firefighters (many volunteers) are exhausted after six weeks of this and we haven’t even started the hottest part of summer yet. We’ve had firefighters from US and Canada arrive this week for which we are grateful. And our government is just pathetic in dealing with this, having cut funding to the fire service and refusing to use defence forces or declare and emergency!

So at the moment I am just resting at home, taking meds, keeping an eye on DD and feeling grateful I don’t live closer the the fires. Its a summer like we have never seen before!

A lot of the smoke we are getting is coming from this ‘megafire’:

Share the Dignity

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This year I put together two teen backpacks for Share the Dignity. Its a charity that was set up to help women that are homeless or leaving domestic violence to have access to pads and tampons. They do two collection drives during the year. At Christmas they have the ‘its in the bag’ collection where you fill a handbag with products that are given to women & teens at Christmas. I’ve worked with lots of women and teenagers in these situations so I really enjoyed doing this.

We included pads, tampons, shampoo, conditioner, comb, mirror, lipgloss, shower caps, a new purse, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, a drink bottle, bracelet & necklace, moisturiser, notebook, pens, socks, soap dish, hair towel, makeup bag and makeup. It was stuffed to the brim.

Each teen bag had a yellow ribbon attached and a card with an encouraging note inside. I dropped them off to Bunnings this morning – the last day for collection! Next year I will be more oganised and start earlier. This is one the charities I’d love to volunteer with once I’m retired.

I remember as a kid being receiving a huge washing basket filled with groceries at Christmas, left at our door by someone who knew we were really struggling.  Then as a teenager, when we were in better circumstances, Mum would shop for a family every Christmas and take me with her. She taught me that its important to pay back the kindnesses we had been shown. So every year I do something, and it always makes me feel grateful for the many little acts of kindness I have experienced and a mum who taught me to appreciate them.

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted”
Aesop.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

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We have a tradition of waiting till after December 1st to put up our Christmas decorations as November is a month of birthdays and anniversaries for us.

So last night we put on the Christmas carols and got to work! We had a lot of fun decorating the tree. It brings back memories of when the children were young and when Mum was alive to share the Christmas festivities with us.

Christmas was always a big occasion for us. When the kids were little we used to decorate the outside of the house with lights and the pine tree in the front yard was lit up at night. We’d play Christmas music from the front verandah while we’d sit outside trying to keep cool in the summer heat. As the kids got older it changed a bit but it was always a time for fun and family.

For a few years after Mum died we lost our Christmas mojo. But life goes on and while some of our family traditions have to change as we get older, the core value of family, fun and gratitude continues. The tree is done, we’re watching corny Christmas movies and planning our family get together foods.

I also decided to take some Christmas spirit to work this week. Everyone had been so down this last few months, we needed some fun. So I set up a Christmas tree, some decorations, some snacks and wore my Christmas gear in to work – and it gave people a lift and a change from talking about office politics.

So I have a few charity sewing projects to finish and send off before Christmas, some donations to make and some food to cook. Theres only 20 days left and I’m planning on enjoying it to the max!

How are your Christmas plans going? What do you do keep the Christmas Spirit alive?