There has not, in twenty years, been as much water on the ground as there is now. After weeks of rain (soaking down at least 8 feet according to a dam builder), the ground is so saturated it just can't absorb what continues to fall from the sky. Dry Creek is now Rampaging Creek. The Peach Paddock is Peach Pond.

We took a short drive to look at Spinach and Ma Ma Creeks. They are huge and wide and turbulent. Another 3 people have lost their lives in Queensland by trying to cross creeks in their vehicle - despite repeated warnings and news reports about the dangers of doing so.

Awoke in the night to hear the rain coming down like a tap had been turned on, coming so hard and fast that it no longer was a case of hearing drops but of hearing a cascade. Straight down, no wind, a 'means business' sort of deluge. We had two inches overnight. It's tailed off a little now, the worst has flowed southeast but the rainfall is set to continue, in the form of showers, for the next 5 days. It looks as though we will not go to Redcliffe for Boxing Day and may not even attempt Brisbane for Xmas - which is fine by me. I don't want to take the chance that we can't get home. We have too many animals depending on us.

It occurs to me that I haven't written of Natalia lately. She is a remarkable cat. Very bold. I've never seen her flinch or run away from Matisse when he has a go at her. That's saying something for he is a large and intimidating cat. She's called his bluff and now it's him that hisses and turns away. She likes to be close to me, even on hot days which I know is uncomfortable for me and must be for her too. She lies next to me on the couch while I'm drawing. She likes being beneath the plastic sleeve I use to protect the work. Perhaps the smoothness and the crackling noise it makes when it's crushed amuses her. When it's hot she stretches herself long, like a tube, arching her back and often rolling onto it to present her paws for stroking (she has very strokeable paws). Natalia is the only cat in the household to give kisses. She also shows affection by gentle nibbles on nose, chin, arm or hand. If she is not happy, the nibbles have a bit more 'bite' in them. She purrs when you look at her or speak to her. Where you are she usually appears. Like Matisse she has developed a taste for the yoga mat. When the mat is unrolled there she is. Not as often as Matisse but most of the time. I don't know why cats find the mat attractive. Even Nairobi has been known to show interest but as she is more timid than the others, I don't see her as often. The cats are endearing and I appreciate them, being as they are yoga masters, showing me how it's done except they are usually demonstrating an asana right where I need to put a hand, a foot or my chest.

The new sketch is coming along. The mirror ball image needs more work but I'm leaving it at the moment while I fiddle with the rest of the drawing. I think leaving it alone, trying not to see it, will show me where it needs more work. The nude is also half done. I got stuck on her head. It was in proportion, in the right position but I just couldn't figure out what to do with her hair. I even tried the nude with the head of a finch but that didn't work either. Anyway, I've got the hair started and I like the look of it (blown up and off her neck like a nest of snakes but I'm not going to accentuate the reptilian aspect). So now it's the soothing background to do which I'm doing in ink. Very slow, very painstaking but it makes the mirror ball and the nude jump out. The nude is going to be a real test as I want her to be as 3-dimensional and smooth and real as I can possibly make her. Certainly a learning prospect. I keep looking at Greek and Roman sculptures in books and on the net - that's the look I'm aiming for with the nude...well, one must aim high even if one falls short.