The bushfire saga continues here in Australia, and here in my beautiful part of the country.
So many people have lost their homes and their livelihoods, so much of our beautiful countryside blackened and so much of our beautiful wildlife killed or maimed.
It truly is heart breaking.
And while I know how lucky we have been, we still have our lives, our home, our beloved pets and all our belongings, it is taking a toll.
The exhaustion from being hyper vigilant 24 hours a day.  Of the alerts on my phone going off when new fires start or current fires get worse.  The sorrow of knowing that friends have lost everything and other’s are in danger.  The sorrow of knowing that nothing will be the same. Ever.
This map shows you how we are surrounded by the fires.  The blue binoculars indicate where we live.

Many people are asking how we will ever recover from this tragedy.  How people can move on and start again.  But we will, people always find a way.
The sad part is, it’s not just in our immediate area that these bushfires are raging.  It’s further north and further south.  There are fires in most parts of Australia.

These are photos taken of a beautiful area we love to go to, before the fires on the left, and after on the right.

And another photo of the amount of burnt debris that has washed up in a similar area.

With bushfires up and down the coastal area, during our primary holiday time of the year here in Australia, I also wonder how businesses will cope financially.  Today, it all feels too difficult to even comprehend.  But perhaps that’s just because I am so lacking in sleep.
This photo is of the mountain near us with the red glow of fire behind it.

Today, we have the news that the conditions have eased, and we can relax just a little.  The fires are still out of control, but with better conditions it will be possible for the firefighters to contain the fires and stop them spreading.  In reality, many of these fires are just too big to be put out, for that to happen, we need rain.  Heavy rain over a long period.
This photo, taken by Ben Marden, a local photographer, really says it all, the devastation, the despair, and the question of how and where to start.

Even for those of us who still have our homes, that despair and feeling of helplessness is still intense.  The recovery from this will be long and hard, and very emotional.

So where does that leave me?  It’s the least of my worries really, but I do have a business as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator which relies on other people coming to my classes or buying product.  But these people are probably not going to be coming to classes for some time to come, and we are all focussing on pulling together and helping those that have lost everything.  Without classes and sales, unfortunately my business may just be one of a number in the area that closes down.
I sincerely hope that’s not the case.
In the meantime, I may have some cards to share with you soon, hopefully I can find a few minutes to relax and be creative.
Please continue sending rain our way, pray if you believe, or do a rain dance.  Anything at all will be appreciated more than you can know.
And thank you to those that have left comments of love and support, your comments mean so much to me.
Keep crafting,
Chris
xx