Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

This is a traditional Christmas Pavlova dessert. For those of you unfamiliar with a Pavlova it’s essentially a giant meringue – which we top with strawberries or kiwifruit – it’s a very typical NZ and Australian dessert. This one was consumed shortly after the photo was taken and it was quite delicious. It has been a lovely day in Christchurch today – sunny, warm and relatively free of earthquakes – at least the ones I have felt have been very small and not the least bit concerning.

Friday however, was not such a good day. Getting three large earthquakes in quick succession after having a long quiet spell has really upset people and has psychologically put people back. People (including myself) were a bit stunned, felt terribly flat, tired, and emotionally drained – hence the lack of photos on my part. It really came at a bad time. Everyone is stressed out anyway at the end of the year – and the rush to get things finished before Christmas was certainly my focus. But it’s funny how priorities change so quickly after a round of shakes rattles and rolls.  Fortunately I was not alone for the quakes this time around, but it didn’t make them any less frightening. It’s the unpredictability that really gets to me and most other people. When you feel the start of a quake you just don’t know if it’s going to pass quickly or turn into something nasty. We were lucky this time in that we didn’t lose power or water and just a few things fell off the shelves. People living closer to the epicentre of the most recent quakes (which were out to sea or by the beach) were not so lucky – losing even more crockery and stuff falling out of the cupboards. And then that dreaded liquefaction came back in some suburbs.

Hopefully most people have managed to enjoy today. I know I have – even though just yesterday I was still so tried and ‘down in the dumps’ that I couldn’t see how I could enjoy today. But it’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do for you! And having good people around you who care and make you laugh and make yummy food for you to eat!

This last year has been rather surreal to say the least. I sincerely hope 2012 is much better to Christchurch. I for one have had enough ‘growth experiences’ and I know more than I ever cared to know about earthquakes and how to be prepared for them.

So I sincerely wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a seismically dull New Year.