I should be sleeping, as it is Monday tomorrow, and I have to get up early tomorrow to have breakfast and be ready by the time the minibus comes. But unfortunately I just read the news from Melbourne, my sister had told me there were bad fires in Victoria, but not how completely devastating it was. The area where I lived for some time (Mornington Peninsula) does not figure on the maps of fires, but I know that that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't any at all. They may be having the "usual" ones, as opposed to horrible ones like Kinglake and Marysville.

We did have a bushfire when I was there, it destroyed some sheds and practically all our vegetation, but not the house. That was bad enough, and I was evacuated down our driveway, walking between burning rows of agapanthus, which gave me nightmares for months afterwards. My dogs also had nightmares and got agitated when they couldn't see us, I had a large wolfhound trying to sit on my knee every evening for several months, but at least no-one died. Of course I'll never live anywhere like that again, I just couldn't.

Here of course, it is completely opposite, we have had snow on Friday night, so an icy Saturday, but rain today washed it away, and I went for a walk at normal speed today. I also had a facial at the hotel spa, and had dinner with two of the others at a Russian restaurant, where Julius, the other architect, impressed us by talking Russian. I suppose it is easy for him, because he was born there.