Lovely to see you both! What a gorgeous smile you have, Julie! Having met Maryann a couple of times now, I already know how beautiful she is. Stunning eyes. What you can't see here is her voice, which is deep and creamy.

Jayne - meeting other Sphereans has never disappointed me. Do it when ever you can!! In fact, I'll be in Oxford in July, and travelling around the place for a bit - are you anywhere near?

Cally

Hey, all! It was great fun to meet one of my imaginary friends in real life. Now I keep thinking of stuff I should have asked. And why didn't we SING something together? DOH!

The weather cooperated nicely, by not dumping three inches of snow on the roads until later that evening. (I must say that winter driving topics are awfully, um, theoretical in California drivers' ed...and two fishtails later, I must say that the novelty would be wearing thin, if it weren't so much fun to hear my passengers scream in terror.)

Who's next? :)

Sadly, it won't be me you'll be seeing next, Julie - but I will be seeing Janet tomorrow!! I'll post a photo of the occasion - and you can be sure I will be asking Janet to sing (while I sit silently, listening!)!

Cally

Wahey, Cally, you bet! I'm about 50 miles away, that's all. Roll on July; it will be fantastic to get to know you 'for real' :D

Fantastic, Jayne!!!! You're on!!!

Let's run amok for a few hours!

YAY!!!!

Remember how I mentioned a few posts ago that I would be seeing Janet?

Well, Janet and I are both currently enduring record flooding in southern Queensland. Janet's town of Hervey Bay is now cut off from the rest of the world - she is, literally, marooned, islanded!

On the road this morning, I was nearly washed into a river - suddenly, the river raced across the road, slamming into my van! I just made it across before the road disappeared in a torrent of liquid mud!

And now I'm unable to move in any direction - all roads are closed. The Isis river is at least six feet above the road - the main highway that runs up the east coast. Me and hundreds of other motorists and truckies are turning this service station/truck stop into a makeshift camp ground. Truckies, mums and dads and kids and dogs - everyone wandering round in the rain. We have given up on shoes and raincoats - so much water, these items become pointless. We will be held here by the police for at least the next 24hours.

This is a natural disaster. My first flood! I've been trapped by bush fire, now water.

And Janet's dry house is so close, but she is unreachable, cut off from me by impassable swollen rivers, rising tide waters, relentless sheets of rain, rain, rain...

This land is a lesson. Drought ends in flood.

And as Janet has grimly reminded me, today we could have watched Australia lose the Ashes as well.

So much water, after so long dry.

Cally

I'm glad you survived the flooded road, fair dinkum! Your makeshift campground sounds a little like Woodstock. Could they fly in some rock groups? :D

Louise Bogan: The water will always fall, and will not fall...

Oh Mary! How timely, the Bogan line! I will never forget it now! It is so true!

It could easily turn into a party here tonight, believe me! The truckies are already breakin' out the beer, and I'm just sittin' here in the rain with my guitar, strummin' an' hummin'. I reckon there could be some singin' in the rain tonight!

(You'll notice I always drop my 'g's in truck stops!)

Cally

Cally, it reminds me of the night in the outback after the fire!!! Maybe you could recite some poems to the truckers? I bet they'd love it! How about "I Need Men"?

Mary - you have no idea how funny that is!!!!!!!!!!!! I have tears rolling down my cheeks!!!

If only you could see what surrounds me! These wastes of water have carried in a sea of men! And you should see how they make 'em up here in the north of Australia! Did you ever see Crocodile Dundee?? Well, that's what they're like up here - they're tough and funny and some of them are f'ing gorgeous! If I started singing out 'I Need Men' right here, I'd get more of them than I ever bargained for!! The van would be full of hairy legs and sweaty blue singlets!! I've already had one knocking on my door saying "I'm bored, can I come in?"!!!!!!!

I Need Men - hilarious! It's raining real outback men here!

I feel so safe with them. They can fix things, and they have gold hearts.

Cally