Soggy hello

Starting this in bed, with both cats curled up nearby, one under a blanket and the other pressed up against my leg. It’s been cold, and wet. A big storm passed over Wellington over the last few days. Heaps of flooding, some scary scenes of people forced out of their houses, cars floating down the street in Berhampore. A man in South Karori (near where we used to live) has gone missing after water swept through his house. School was closed yesterday after a state of emergency was declared in the Hutt. I think they closed a few bridges. The Hutt river was high but didn’t rise past its banks, thank god. Everything pretty quiet as a result. Lots of noodling in the kitchen yesterday (work was quiet too): bread, potato dauphinoise, lentils and salad for dinner, and a self-saucing chocolate pud for dessert. It was one of those days where you just wanted lots of warm things. Today will be similar, I think (Steve has a cold, and it’s getting worse; I told him to call in sick and spend the day…