Sudokuaholics Anonymous 7

"...people dieing when the fireball sucked out all of the oxygen in the air and there is nothing left to suck into your lungs but fire..."

fitting that my tissue box is black like so much of our countryside....

Well so much for all that deep breathing...

Cockatoo has been held up as an example of how a community can rebuild.

I'm still stuck on 120 kph

My husband said the same thing, why does it take something of this magnitude for the best to come out in people and for the government to be united?

I just received a message from the organiser of the event Ally sang at on Saturday...

"Alyssa did so well...I have had some very positive feed back!!! Go Ally"

I needed to see that after listening to the condolence speeches.

SUZY, what a lovely message you received about Ally's singing.
ALLY

Ally!

Have just had a message from Broni, she is ok and has asked about other members of our Sudoku family are alright. I have told her that we have heard from most in the affected areas. As yet, we have not heard from Rosemary/Wangaratta, her town is near the most recent fire complex at Beechworth.

I have just been to pick her up from school - she made it through okay and didn't have to do a fitness test in PDHPE. None of her teachers have given her work to make up for last week!

Thanks for that Gail. Did she go all the way to Echuca?

OH, and she sends her love ♥

Not sure Suzy and she's about to lose phone service shortly so I wont message her at the mo, but I did ask her to check in occasionally.

I hope she is able to. Mum's phone has been ringing off the hook with people checking on her. I was just talking to her and she had to leave because it was ringing again. She's about 3.5 hours from the Bendigo fire, so safe.

Gail, I hope Rosemary has evacuated to somewhere safe. Will be holding my breath until we hear from her.

I've fed the dogs, and am going off to bed now.
I hope there's good news in the morning. Like the fires are under control...... that sort of thing.

Angie has posted on easy that she has heard from Rosemary and they are all ok.

Keep safe everybody near the fires.

Rosemary has posted on easy and Gath's parents are OK.

Good news!

June, thank you for the update on Rosemary & Gath's parents! And now, I'm off to bed (almost 1 a.m. Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Almost forgot to mention - the next 10 days are so will be VERY busy here, so may not get to visit much. Please, everyone, take care of yourselves and stay safe and healthy!

Does this sound like Susan?

Fortunately, these are pretty stoic folk, they're north Queenslanders and they like a joke, they like a beer and they like a good time.

A quote from Treasurer Wayne Swan

Will miss you Julie!

Suzy - that was nice that Ally got good feedback on her singing and that she got through the day OK.
Bean - I'm still smiling about Al Grassby - you probably got tongue tied when you saw his tie - didn't he have some corkers??

Bean - I just heard that one of those fireballs took 6 minutes to travel 14 kms. How can a person escape that?
Dino - I was listening to a discussion yesterday on the radio about counselling after the fires. I'm sure you'll be in great demand - even here on site. In the meantime, stay safe!
I don't know about anyone else but I feel shell-shocked and useless. This will go down in my mind as one of those times (eg Bali bombing, 9/11 and the Asian Tsunami) where you remember where you were and what you were doing at the time.

Cyn, my kids are pulling me back and grounding me. I cried more yesterday than I have in years. Today I only lost it once, though I have felt very very sad.

Urgent threat message issued for 3 or 4 small towns now. Wishing them out of the way of the fires...

Google Australia engineers have created a Flash map to keep track of the deadly bushfires ravaging southeastern Australia and help reduce the traffic burden to official sites coordinating emergency services

The problem is there are so many fires, you can't read the names! If you put your mouse over them the names pop up though. I had a look to see if there were any new fires near Mum - NO, thank goodness.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10159214-2.html

Evening SA7.
Is anyone watching Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities tonight? I have not watched TV in a long time but this has such great reviews I thought I would watch it.

Suzy - thanks for that link. Fingers crossed that the fires get nowhere near your Mum!
Viv - I've set 'Underbelly' to record on IQ. I didn't watch the first series but remember a lot of the events covered in this series. I thought I'd give Episode 1 a go, if I don't like it, I won't watch any more. Getting great reviews, though, and will be 'light' entertainment after the realities of the last few days.

Hi CynB. Yes i need something different so will be a novelty for me just to watch TV.Hope I can sit still that long. I have printed off some sudoku puzzles so will do them at the same time.
I had not watched the first series either but I too remember all about it.
I met John for coffee and crosswords today.
I was just thinking I must get his sisters phone number and address in case anything happens to him.
She rarely visits him but would be good to have a contact number etc.
I often think of Ruby and her friend she met for the crosswords and both of them have passed away.

I'm not planning on watching it. By the time the kids get settled these days I basically fall asleep in front of whatever hubby is watching or with my face on the keyboard.

Australians have already donated about $7 million to the Victorian bushfire fund set up to assist the victims of the disaster.

The Red Cross says it has received pledges of support from 40,000 people across the country.

Meanwhile, several millions of dollars has so far been provided by the corporate sector to the bushfire victims.

I saw something on the news that distressed me greatly tonight and I believe it was journalism gone amok. Channel 9 drove a couple back to their home and kept the camera on them as they saw the ruins of their home. They were so distressed and crying and still the cameras rolled. I know they probably agreed to do it but even if they felt brave heading there, the reality for them was truly awful. We had to stop watching ourselves. This is why I seldom watch free-to-air TV news. I listen to the radio, read the newspaper and look on the internet. Only at times like this do I venture into TV news.
Off my soapbox now.

The generosity is amazing! Unfortunately I think they're going to need a lot more than that... I read there will be an appeal during the one day cricket match.

I didn't see that Cyn, and I'm very glad I didn't.

Well I have finally got a couple of nut and date loafs and a coffee slice in the oven. Now I can relax for a while.

Suzy - I can't see your avatar clearly. I can see the red cross but what is the rest of it?

I worry about all the money that goes to appeals how much actually goes to the true victims.

Looked at your photos Suzy of Ally and her teacher. Good one.