I’m still alive!

After moving last year to a rural town (Walcha, NSW), renovating a house, and settling in to a new lifestyle, I have been much remiss about keeping this blog up to date.

We are loving life in Walcha, and are getting to know people, and adjusting to what life is like here. Many people have been greatly struggling due to the drought. It just keeps getting worse. It is a privilege to be able to walk with some of our friends through their dark and difficult times, and learn from them.

From about October onwards, we have had fires in our region. Friends have been threatened by bushfire on and off for months. Just when you think things might be settling down, a new fire front emerges. While most of the major fires near us are (hopefully) nearing their end, each day when we have dry lightning (common in summer for thunderstorms, though normally would be accompanied by rain), new fires start. Thankfully, none of them have yet taken hold. I took this screenshot the other day of the fires in our area from the Fires Near Me app.

The blackened bits are the areas that have been burnt, and the fire icons are probably fairly self-explanatory. We have been fortunate that we really haven’t had any fires terribly close to Walcha, though many in our community have been affected. This effect has included major roads being closed due to bushfire damage, which has caused a severe downturn in trade in the town, meaning some businesses are only operating a few days a week. Very difficult for both employers and employees. So even though we haven’t had fires on our doorstep, the effect has been very severe.

We pray that rain will come soon.

I am working on my next book, and if I stuck to my usual schedule it would be due out in about June this year. However, due to the big upheaval in our lives last year, I am behind on it. I hope that it will be out late this year or early next year. I do sincerely apologise for the delay. I am only one person!

I know that media around the world has been covering the fires here in Australia, so I wanted to assure you that we are ok. Many people have been badly affected by the fires. However, the whole of Australia is not burning!

I wish you a very happy New Year. May 2020 be a year of joy and large quantities of stitching for you.