Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Late, and unofficial, Fun Monday

While you all wait on tenterhooks to find out where I've been for the past week, I thought I'd show you some photos my darling mother recently sent me.

Also, I have a twinge of Fun Monday envy. If I took a photo out my front door, you'd just see another boring, steel-reinforced door in a dreary foyer. So, I'm stealing my mother's glory.

As Willowtree mentioned in his photographic odyssey, parts of Australia are in the grip of drought. This is nothing new, as it seems for the past ten years or so, one state or another has been dry as a bone.

Growing up in lush, sub-tropical Queensland (and it's more tropical than sub, I'll tell ya), I remember the time about five years ago when the Premier ordered the drinking water dams be opened and water be released, as the dams had reached their capacity.

Criticised at the time for letting water go when parts of Australia were really darn thirsty, I remember him saying, "We have enough water here to last us another five years."

Five years down the track, and Brisbane hasn't seen a significant rainfall since... well, since then. Water is now the Premier's number one priority.

So without any further ago, here are photos of my parents lush, sub-tropical front yard...




When people say Australia is running out of water... they're really not joking.

(And as I write this, my cleaner is cleaning the kitchen with the water constantly running. At least it's not drinking water.)

24 comments:

Pamela said...

uh... you have a cleaner? as in a maid? wha!

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear pamela. Oh... um... Yeah. You see, it's because my philosophy isn't, "The Dust Will Wait". My philosophy is, "Dust? What Dust?"

Plus, I'm not going to give up the opp for someone to clean my place from top to bottom for 5 hours, AND do my ironing, for $20 each visit!

Anonymous said...

that's dry! perhaps someone has been sending you packets of that dust to sprinkle in your flat and keep the cleaner busy? (enidd typed busty there, to start with. she doesn't think dust keeps you busty.)

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear enidd. Well, the cleaner has just done a record two hour clean! I think I cleaned up too much before she arrived. Next week, I'll know better. But also, cause we were on hols, there's no ironing for her to do cause all the washing is still... dirty.

Anonymous said...

Young Mr Beattie is certainly feeling the heat over that stuff up! He's also holding out on signing up for the National Water Plan.

Molly said...

Do you think that your cleaner could stop my place on Wednesdays to clean for $20. Even without doing the ironing, that would be wonderful.

I hope that there is some remedy for Australia's water woes. The pictures are very dry-looking.

mindthegap said...

hmmm, those pics remind me of our back yard in Zimbabwe when it was drought time. I bet there's lots of yellow mellowing going on in Australia now! To this day I can't bare wasting water even if it's not for drinking.

Crystal said...

Good grief. The auzzies are going to have to drink, bathe and wash up in fanta by the sounds of things! Hmmm I too am wondering how to get in on this 20 dollar cleaning action...

On another note, I've added some context around the 'lady in waiting letter' : )

theotherbear said...

Fanta's too sticky, I am thinking beer might be refreshing though.
I never heard that story about letting water out of the dams in QLD. What a tool.

Beccy said...

I'll take the cleaner on Thursday then and do you know of a gardener as well?

That's some serious water shortage in Aus, here they'd panic if there was no water for a month and start a hosepipe ban.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. you have a cleaner! I want a cleaner! 20 dollars each visit? How do you manage that? For all that here it would cost at least 120.

Anonymous said...

Pamela, words outta my mouth, lol.

Honestly, though, it felt too weird to have someone in my home doing stuff I could do myself (if/when so inclined), so my "cleaner" lasted all of one quarter of one day.

Anyhoo, wow, little miss moi...dry as a bone takes on a while new meaning with your mom's view! Pitiful :/.

Sabrina said...

you can almost hear the ground gasping for water! i had no idea!

molly said...

As I write this MY cleaner [moi] is thinking I really should get off this computer,spot frittering time away, get a life and go clean something......

molly said...

...of course I meant frot spittering....

molly said...

....oops! I meant frop stittering....

ChrisB said...

Until yesterday we hadn't had rain for month and they were already predicting a ban on hosepipes later in the summer. I can't imagine it being that dry.

All my life I dreamed of having a cleaner now I'm retired and short of money I'm thinking of becoming one!!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you have a cleaner. Ahh, the luxurious life in Ukraine. Perhaps I just need to move there so I can afford a cleaner too....

Love your pics.

Samantha Louise said...

Give me wwatterrr....

WAAATTTEERRRR...

Anonymous said...

How dare you criticize the Premier of QLD. I ask that you withdraw those comments.

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear willowtree. Well, Beattie is a bit of a tool but, as with NSW, there is no alternative. I mean, the Nationals are still big in Qld. Gimme a bucket.


Dear mjd. Sure, I'll send her your way. She may bill you for the cost of transport though, which might hike costs up a bit..?


Dear sarahemily. Eeerrrkkk mellow yellowing! Mellow Yellow.. what ever happened to that drink?


Dear the manns. I suggest, if you want a $20 cleaner, you'll probably need to find an illegal alien. As for fanta - yuk! I like lemon squash.


Dear theotherbear. I thought beer was just for batter for fish and chips? Yep. Beattie is a bit of a silly duffer. Bit like Liddy Clark, his Indigenous Affairs minister, taking a load of grog to a dry reserve. They're dumb.


Dear beccy. Well, for all my life I remember growing up only being able to use the hose every second day. Even numbers on Tues, Thurs, Sat, and odd numbers on Sun, Fri, and Wed or something like that...


Dear vicki. Haha you could do what my mum did when I was your kids age - she paid me to do the cleaning and ironing. Minimum two-hour clean, mind you. I got $20 a week.


Dear robin. Yeah.. it does feel a bit oddd but then we don't really have too many possessions over here - left most of them in Aus! Yep, my poor parents haven't been able to even wash the car for months!


Dear sabrina. Yes, it's really bad. Usually Brisbane is only brown after the end of winter (around Sept) because that's the dry season. And they're going into winter now.. so will only get worse!


Dear molly. Heheh yes well, it was many a though like that one, that made me keen on a cleaner.


Dear chrisb. That's crazy! Then again, perhaps some of the cities in Aus would have a little bit more water now if the councils had been quicker to get us onto water restrictions. As it stands now, they reckon there will be permanent water restrictions for eva and eva now.


Dear melissa. Haha... It does seem luxurious - well, more indulgent because my flat is a bit crap. But I have seen some luxurious ones and they are lovely! A bit drastic to move to Ukraine to do it though...


Dear samantha louise. Oh as a Melbournian, you've been on restrictions for like about a million years haven't you?


Dear anonymous. Are you my mum? As if I'd retract that comment. He was a silly duffer.

Anonymous said...

I'd gladly give Australia some of my water...but then I guess I'd be in a drought.

Anonymous said...

Twern't me Baby!! You know that I don't discuss politics or politicians!!!
Little Mummy Moi.

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear Karmyn. And it would cost quite a bit of money to send it all the way to Oz!

Oh. Now I know who anonymous 1 was. Sorry chizza! That wasn't a criticism! Okay it was. But I love Labor over the coalition any day, you know that. At all levels of govt. Swanny for PM!