WHAT A GIFT
Praise the Lord for the gift of rain.
About 60 mls fell last night, according to our rain gauge, and it continues to come down steadily. According to Charles, 60ml would have collected about 10 000 gallons from the roof of his shed alone. Our own tanks are overflowing, and hopefully a small start has been made in building up the much depleted water table.
For the past couple of days, we have been doing the laundry for Fletcher Christian, because the water supply there was under a strain, but today there is plenty of water! Getting things dry may prove a bit more of a problem!
Unfortunately the rain is part of a bigger weather pattern, which includes Cyclone Wati, said to be heading our way tonight or tomorrow. As you can see, the outside furniture has been brought under shelter, and we are prepared to batten down. But we are hopeful that Wati will have exhausted the worst of her (?) fury by then, and we will experience just a few strong winds.

Meanwhile, I have been receiving gifts of a different sort.
Stella, a visitor from Katoomba, NSW, and a sister of a very old friend of mine, brought me a lovely package yesterday.
This very beautiful leaf was handcarved by Stella's late husband George. It has been fashioned from Huon Pine, 800-1000 years old. George used to say that working with the pine was like working with silk. Now I can relate to that. Nothing compares to the sensuous delight of handling silk...although having chocolate melt in your mouth comes close!
Stella, knowing my passion for "glitz", also brought me two pieces of beautiful, sparkly and reflective fabric. You can see them in the background, although the scan has not done them justice. They will be a treasured addition to my stash, and pieces of these fabrics will soon find a place as "highlights" in a new batch of little bags.