Careful What You Wish For!

Wow. When I wished for rain I think I wished a bit too hard.

This story starts with a 20-year old bed. It has nothing to do with sewing so you'll have to get your fix elsewhere today. And to be clear - no one got hurt, so at the end of the day we are blessed!

So back to the 20-year old bed...

My fella and I went out on Monday afternoon after I finished work to pay for and arrange delivery of a lovely new bed suite. It is our council pickup next week so we thought it would be a good time to get rid of the rickety old thing.

We knew a storm was forecast and it looked certain to hit soon so we were keen to get home. After four months without rain the roads can get really greasy and be treacherous to drive on once it does rain. Just as we took off, something bounced off my bonnet. "What the $%^& was that?" we both say. My fella suggested hail, but it was 30 degrees outside so I couldn't see how that was possible. Well my fella was right! The next second the car was getting pummelled by golf ball sized and larger hail stones. My driver's wing mirror was smashed right through the plastic casing and the noise was unbelievable. The ice hitting the hot road was forming steam and we could barely see a thing. We tried to take shelter under some trees but just then the rain started and the ground went all boggy so after a few minutes we decided to press on.

By this stage - about five minutes in but it felt like 45 - the roads were completely flooded and all we could do was keep trying to head uphill to get away from it. Eventually the hail stopped and the rain slowed and we breathed a sigh of relief. We decided to stop off at the local bottle-shop as we both needed something to calm us down after the ordeal (and I rarely drink so that it HUGE!). My poor brand new car is peppered with damage. We think it will probably be written-off but I will know more after the assessor has seen it. Shaken but in good spirits we headed the last five minutes home.

Only to get inside and be greeted by a giant hailstone on the dining table and this gaping hole in the skylight:

There was water everywhere and the terrified cats were hiding under the (20-year old) bed. Unfortunately the bedroom skylight was also smashed so things were pretty damp in there too. We put big tubs under the roof holes and had a hug and said "it could be worse". And then it was!

The rain came back with a vengeance. Pouring down our driveway and straight towards the front door. We tried to bail the water away with buckets but couldn't keep up and soon it was in the house. Simultaneously it started coming in the back door as well. All we could do was lay down every towel we owned and keep moving the furniture further and further away from the door. We were in full adrenaline mode by this time. Finally the rain stopped after flooding our entire bathroom and laundry, living room, dining room and hall. Fortunately we were able to hold it back a couple of inches from TV etc. Oh, and in the meantime the water in the roof had fused the lights so we were in darkness while this was going on.

My fella's friend Clint was nearby and came by with a tarp and he and my fella got up on the roof an covered the holes as best they could, just in time for another round of thunder, lightning and rain - fortunately not as bad as before though, but enough for me to be worried it wasn't going to hold.

It held and all we could do after that was to has a drink and spend a very sleepless night jumping at every sound. The next morning here is how my living/dining area looked:

And my garden:

After an hour on hold I got through to my insurer and was told I could rip the carpet up - thank goodness, the smell was awful already! My lovely friend Sarah came over and helped up pack everything up, move the furniture out, rip up the carpet and move some of the furniture (just what we need) back in. Here is the state the underlay was in:
As I said no one was hurt and I am fully insured. Our loss is a lot less than many homes in Perth so we are aware how fortunate we are. We are also very grateful to have such awesome friends who dropped everything to come and help us. Plus I really hated that carpet anyway!

Here is the great tragedy though. Guess where all our belongings are now stored...

Yup, that is/was my sewing room . So all the patterns and fabrics I prepared last weekend were in vain and there will be no sewing done until the flooring is replaced. Given the scale of the damage around town, who knows when that will be - but I hope it will only be a few weeks. If I had to find a silver lining it would be that my ironing board and iron are somewhere in there so no ironing for me for a while!