Sunshine Before the Storms.

With the weather we've having lately, it's hard to imagine that just earlier this week, we were kayaking at the beach.

We took advantage of the streak of sunshine to sand and stain our picnic bench, and gave our carpet its annual deep clean. 

Dark clouds rolled in almost as soon as we'd finished, and the carpet and freshly-stained bench were barely dry before the rain started coming down. Little did we know it would be almost 24 hours of nonstop rain. 

We're grateful to be safe and dry in the string of thunderstorms that bucketed down on Auckland in the last 24 hours, with possibly more to come. It's sobering to know that not everyone has been so blessed and that there are many struggling in this time.

We got some sunshine this afternoon and the children got to be outside with friends. It was also a fruitful time in the kitchen with cooking and freezing done for school lunchboxes and morning teas. School starts on Tuesday!