(no subject)

I'm a bit behind where I ought to be, workwise. I've been doing not-quite-enough ever since this weather hit. Last night, if anyone had been round, they would have seen the reason why: I was migraine-central. Now I'm a bit tired. "A bit" means "Go away NOW, I want to sleep."

The phone keeps ringing and making sure I don't sleep for too long and people keep telling me (oddly) how nice the weather is in Brisbane. The weather isn't at all lovely here, but I've already said that. We have an exact replica of the extremely vile conditions that set-up the fires that burned down 500 homes. Heat, winds, a countryside tinder-dry. The only difference (and it could be an important one) is taht we've had a dry Spring - there may not be quite as much to burn as there was a decade ago.

So far, the fire experts have kept everything under control, but there are fires breaking out all over. We need rain.

Fire and farewells

Today was a trifle surreal. Some of my friends evacuated today, but all of them are safe, as are the ones who didn't evacuate. The Bureau of Meteorology added new colours to the charts, to better show the strangeness of the current climate. Closer to home, two weather changes meant (still mean) that my day has been laced with migraines and our region is going up in smoke. More smoke than fire right at this moment, which is good.

I can't go outside unless I must, for I react to the smoke (and dust! I don't know why we have dust this time round - mind you, I also don't know why the cemetery had to be closed due to the fire). In fact, I declared I wasn't going out at all, for weeks, but I need to get to the chemist tomorrow, and to the library, so I have to dare the rather stupid. Not sensible, but hopefully the smoke will have cleared enough so that I shall deal. And complain. I'm becoming very good at complaining.

Thank to Naomi, I have all the food I need for several weeks, save milk, and she says she'll drop by with that tomorrow, so being confined isn't such a problem (except I've been stupid about the library and the chemist) so things are pretty good. Hot and sore and uncomfortable and occasionally surreal, but good.

Work is slow, so I've had to rearrange some deadlines (they were malleable ones, thankfully) but I'm getting through things.

One big piece of news. BiblioBuffet has had to close. There is one last edition, containing an article by me (among other things) and an explanation of what happened. I can't call it up right now, possibly because it's being moved to a permanent archive. That's the good news, all of the BiblioBuffet columns will be available, even though there will be no new editions. When I can access it, I'll give you direct links.

I shall really miss BiblioBuffet. It as the best writing job ever, in so many important ways. I'll have a farewell blogpost in a little, for I can't let three years of my life and writing go without a proper goodbye.

Watch this space...



ETA: I don't have to walk in the smoke! Naomi (who was going to drop in) is going to pick me up etc. We both have messages to run and they'll take about the same time, and then we'll have coffee and she'll drop me home. Friends just make the biggest difference sometimes.