And then it Shook!! 25+ Eqs yesterday - 62 in the past 24hrs!

FOR THE KIDS - JO-JOS PLACE -
Information about Earthquakes and Stuff...

Interesting EQ Planet Alignment On YOUTUBE

CROWE QUAKE Website

ABOUT EARTHQUAKES HERE

and a NZ Site HERE

Avon Riverside

Well it happened! I had just sent Missy inside up the front, into the Lounge to watch TV while I made lunch.
Weve been outside, in the garage, tidying. (A job I will have to go and redo by all accounts, what a mess!)
I had just yesterday, taken in the boxes of china. I had thought I would unpack them. Get back to normal, make the Lounge look a little less sparse.

Our Lounge Wall has a myriad of large cracks in the plaster

BANG, THUD... shake. My missy was thrown down, and came crawling to Mummy. Hate that terrified cry. She just shook. SO I picked her up... took her outside, and went to check on my friend across the road, who met us halfway there.

We had just been talking about an hour earlier, about how it might happen, joking about *the next big one*.
Her first words to me were... See, you SHOULDNT JOKE about these things... She wasnt cross, just couldnt believe that we had again had *a big one*...

So, we parted ways... I went and got the eldest from school.  Not a gridlock of traffic this time, home in fifteen minutes, YAY! He was quite glad to see me, but not nearly as pleased as I was to see him... Got home and Mr EB rang. Did I want him to come... Was everyone ok? ...



Its Another Crack! From Floor To Ceiling!



ARGH... I did the girlie emotional thing and cried down the phone. He came in and we had just made coffee, when Mother Nature swung into action again.

Good God. My COFFEE!! All over me, freshly made and boiling hot!! This one was stronger and longer... and I slipped into the coffee and got thrust up against the wall and fell. Ouch. Bump

Poor Mr EB was thrown too, sore hips, knocking him around... The thing we dont realise, is the swinging is so hard on the bones. Its like the whiplash effect, and it hurts. You feel quite out of sorts afterward. The *Equilibrium* is altered.

Shops Down - Stanmore Corner

River Road - large cracks right alongside the River

Looks like snow? Nah, its Sand Bags on the banks of the River.

Gloucester Bridge. Approach With Caution! Large hill to climb up from the North side!!

Anyways, the two littles were outside playing, and I saw the Earthquake turtles as Mr 11 crouched over Miss 4. Thank God theyre so sensible. Miss 4 was screaming, and Mr 11 just told her they were ok, to keep down. So Proud we are!

And so, in the past 24 hours, 62 Aftershocks. Most in the 3-4 region, but several high fours which just ARE NOT FUNNY anymore...
This morning... Tuesday. I wake, to the tv on - (small people watching cartoons) we kept power. Yay for Orion! The first thing I notice when I open the windows, is the sun... Yay Mother Nature! And then I recognize the scraping of shovels and the swish of the wheelbarrow tyres again. Oh sweet Liquefaction, how you do defy us! Yesterday we saw the liquid from Liquefaction start to ooze. Quite a phenomenon. When stable, it is solid like silt. Once moving, and being bumped onto the road for collection, it starts to ooze. Which then creates another solid settlement in the gutter which later has to be scooped out too. So its a back-breaking prospect, and some of my neighbours have it *In Spades* ok, poor pun. Not funny.

As I say, the big difference this time, is POWER! It sure beats boiling water and cooking on the BBQ...  Lots of broken stuff this time. As I said to my neighbour, who has also lost china - I know its only stuff, but I dont have much *stuff* left... to which she agreed. Her daughter has house issues, and has a 3 week old baby - I wont complain. I have power and the kids are all ok. My Emergency supplies stand us in good stead. All except for the MILK POWDER.
A big tip here - DONT store your laundry powder next to ANY food. The strong perfumes permeate through the plastic bags and taint the food... How do I know this? I hear you ask... Ever had cornies with a touch of Lime and Jasmine? Not nice. eewww

Noticeable changes around the city today when we braved the roads to find Milk. Many people doing similar. It was the only thing we needed really, and it was nice to get out for a little break - it wasnt planned that way, but nothing is open til tomorrow (hopefully back in stride with the schooling!)

River Road, and around Dallington Terrace way is looking sad. Its beautiful big trees are being forced into the water on both sides. The Avon is high, the tides being high too, but seriously there is a lot of land that seems to have sunk back into the river, as if Mother Nature is reclaiming her own. The bend we used to walk around, and over the now severely twisted bridge is gone. There are cracks on the pathway which is now almost non existent. There are new flood banks and sand bags on either side of the river... there are sizeable cracks in the road. And further round towards Stanmore Road there are holes in the road where things have subsided. Some of the roads resemble muddy paddocks, but to their credit, the  council workers are hard out trying to repair and reseal. Awesome, cant fault them, out there right from the outset trying to get us back on track... again.


Theres this weird lady who grows ALOES in her WINDOW... Grow.. Aloe.. In Windoe... ;-)


THREE people hospitalized overnight with hypothermia. Makes you think. This is a NEW REALITY we are living. As Mark Quigley who is an Eq man said on the TV last night ... It will happen. He isnt into predictions, it is fact.
So I parrot to the children, the importance of keeping their extremities warm - Ok - so I nag them about socks and shoes... Hats and Gloves. Getting sick is NOT an option in this enviroment. We need to do all we can to keep the Winter Ills at arms length.
It is bitterly cold here in Christchurch by early evening. The mornings are horribly cold, icy and frosty -until mid morning or later usually, the heat of the sun is watery until the afternoon. Gloves, hats, scarves and a damned warm  jacket are a neccessity.
If youre coming to Canterbury for any reason - keep your feet warm & woollen socks are a must. Also, bring a hot water bottle. You wont regret it. I got two more last time I went shopping, and we have made good use of them. The warmest place to be sometimes when youve got no glass in your front windows or a gaping hole in the roof, is in bed. And there are a few houses like that here.
Our favourite pieces of clothing at the moment, are our GUMBOOTS. You just cant be without them. And they have grippy bits on the bottom, cos liquefaction makes you slippy (Grippy Cos its Slippy - ooh!)

Again, the people of this street, and in general, this City, have got together and roused help for one another. Good to see!
Even the plants continue to grow, just like Mother Nature will keep doing Her Thing. I will keep Doing My Thing... Planning the new seasons Garden!
Will be interesting to see how we do over the next few days, and nights.
Thinking of you!

Love,
EBUTTERFLY
XXXXXXXX


My Capsicums. Sigh. Arent They Pretty?