A Year in the Life

Weekend Getaway … [63/365]

Maree — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:09:52 +0000

I’ve cheated a little here and dated these so that they reflect when they were taken. Today we went away to Hanmer, more or less. We’ve come just up past Hanmer via the Jollies Pass Road, then turned onto the Acheron Road through Molesworth. This is where we stopped the night – the Acheron Accommodation House (a campground).

Clever Dog! … [61/365]

Maree — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:02:26 +0000

Had to go out to Rolleston today to pick up the shovel I’d left in the back of someone’s car, and drop off the camera they’d left in mine! While out there, I decided to take Gem to the dog park and give her a go on the obedience course. She picked it up very quickly this time – I didn’t even have the tennis ball to motivate her with.

Student Volunteer Army at Work … [60/365]

Maree — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:57:16 +0000

Helped out today with the SVA by forming a squadron with Mark, Lyndsey, Meika, Aaron, Ness, and Charlotte. It was very hard work, but very worthwhile. The folk we helped and spoke to were so grateful.

Work in Progress … [59/365]

Maree — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:54:37 +0000

Stopped by Jeanette‘s today to take a photo of her finished patio area, but still not quite completed

Working Like a Man … [58/365]

Maree — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:48:45 +0000

Yeah, I’m cheating a bit today. Took this photo of Wayne on Friday, but I like it

Time … is on my side… [57/365]

Maree — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 10:30:45 +0000

Day 5 of the Christchurch Quake aftermath, and I’ve been distracting myself by tidying my craft room Compare this to the before shot!

I want to record some of the stats of the quake (from Public Information release tonight):

55,000 properties are without water (out of a total of 150,000)
approximately 75,000 properties are without sewerage
it’s also estimated that 75,000 are without waste water
Slightly more than 80% of Christchurch properties have power.
Police cordons remain in place around the four avenues (Deans, Moorhouse, Fitzgerald and Bealey) until Sunday.
589 USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) personnel have been deployed including 150 New Zealanders
145 people have now been confirmed dead. That number is expected to increase
The number of missing people for whom there is serious concern is still more than 200
There are more than 1400 New Zealand Defence Force personnel deployed in Christchurch.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has now moved 1542 passengers in and out of Christchurch
121,000 tonnes of freight has been facilitated by the RNZAF into Christchurch in the last 24 hours
70% of GPs are up and running
Schools are closed until the end of next week (4 March)

Doing My Bit … [56/365]

Maree — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:19:52 +0000

Many houses in Christchurch are currently without running water – it’s now Day 4 of the aftermath and about half of Christchurch homes are without water, and about a quarter are without power. We’re lucky in that we have both, but the water supply is possible unsafe, so we have to boil all our water first. Since we need to conserve water to help get it restored to everyone more quickly, we’ve been asked to collect rainwater if we can. I’ve learned that the baking trays are far more effective than the bowls!

Oh Gem …[55/365]

Maree — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:27:06 +0000

Okay, with watching the news of the big quake all day, I forgot to take a photo yesterday! However, Gem was supposed to eat this yesterday, so I figure that counts She was not prepared to eat this treat in the kitchen – totally wanted to take it outside to enjoy! However, that’s not how things work in our household, so in the end I had to cut it into smaller chunks. Then she wasn’t going to leave some lying in her bowl for the cat to steal!!!

The Day After … [54/365]

Maree — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:05:22 +0000

This station was in complete contrast to the other petrol station we passed this morning. There must have been a queue of at least 30 cars waiting to get fuel at the Shell Yaldhurst after the big quake yesterday. I don’t quite know why all those people needed fuel though – we have been told to stay at home (though we were out to drop Mum home to check on her cat). We’re not planning on going any further today though.

Disaster … [53/365]

Maree — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:06:38 +0000

I was at work when the earthquake struck today, but my partner was home and took this photo. It details the full extent of the damage at our place. Not only did the photo frame fall over, but one of the balancing kiwis lost its balance. What a difference geology makes.