We're in pioneer mode! ('Glam Pioneer' perhaps?)

 

Hello chic friends!

 

On the weekend I had a hot shower and a hair wash- and got to blow dry it too! - for the first time in four days. Before that, bucket washes were the order of the day. The hot shower wasn’t at my house of course, we still don’t have water or power. But our roads are now passable, just, so we had a shower at my sister’s house. It was epic :) We also took the opportunity to fill water bottles and drop off our laundry.

Driving there it was sobering seeing the all the destruction and mess around as it was the first time I had left our house since it happened.

Many of you have contacted me to ask if there is a charitable organisation you can donate to who is helping, but do you know what? I have not seen or heard evidence of any charities in the area. There are plenty of everyday people helping others with working bees etc, but no setups or logos around. I actually saw an article about how you can give to one of the biggest relief charities in the paper online, but no information on how people can apply to be helped! Maybe it just takes time for them to roll into town, I don’t know.

But I thought in the meantime, that I could set up a fundraising page in support of our lovely neighbours, who have lost absolutely everything and are living with us currently. So if you do wish to do something, the page is here:

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/fionaferrisauthor

And if you can't use that for some reason, feel free to email me for our neighbour's PayPal details.

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As I said, we still have no power, but we now have a generator to run during the day which is such a blessing. Amazingly I managed to get a copy of my newest book printed out so I can proofread and edit it by hand.

There is little time spare from daily admin - we are living like pioneers right now but even to compare that feels unfair. We have no water or power, but we have a shop to drive to and a place to go and have a shower and get more water if we want. Pioneers didn’t have that! We are very lucky.

So in my ‘free time’ I will be sitting down with my pen for a bit of editing time. It will be my treat :) I’m just so glad the book was completed before the cyclone happened.

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Sweet Nina Cat has been sleeping in the garage the past week. She found a peaceful spot on one of the dining chairs under our spare dining table which is in front of my car and covered by drop cloths. Just the place to rest and relax. She always comes when I call her for her food, and this day, when everyone was out, she took the chance to have a sleep on her favourite chair.

 

 

 

All the pets are a bit out of sorts at the moment, but they’re all eating well and pretty happy considering the tipsy turviness of everything.

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Our weather post-cyclone has been gorgeous - actual summer weather. Everything at ground level is still a dire mess, but when we are greeted by a bright blue sky to lift the spirits everything seems that much more bearable.

Our little household of five adults, four dogs plus Ninacat is fab too. We all get along so well and every night is a relaxed dinner party of sorts. Even if we’re dining on paper plates with paper napkins since we don’t have water on. We draw the line at plastic cutlery and wine glasses though, so use the real stuff there. We do have our own personal standards after all!

 

Thank you for all your messages of support and your thoughtfulness.

It means more than you will ever know.

xx Fiona

 

PS. Before the cyclone flooding happened last week, I'd been playing around updating the covers on my very first 'blog series' eBooks, and the print copy of all three books in one volume. I love how they have turned out!

'How to Live Well' contains practical and easy ways to bring more peace and elegance into your life.

 

'Chic Inspiration' gives encouragement to create your own version of a truly charmed life.

 

 

'How to be Slim and Healthy' is focused on the topic of blending the European way of eating into your own life wherever you may live - for pleasure, slimness, and good health.

 

And of course, the '3-in-1' book contains all of the above.

 

 

You may already have some or all of these eBooks, and if you have, I'm pretty sure you can go to your Amazon account 'manage your content and devices' and download the new title versions.

I sort of ignored these books for ages and didn't really consider them 'real books' because they are collected posts from my blog 'How to be Chic', but when I was having a read through of each one to check the formatting, I thought to myself, 'these are really good!'

So I'd just like to take this opportunity to say sorry to my little books for treating them like Cinderella left home from the ball. Now they have their lovely new covers and are ready to shine.

Here are my Amazon Affiliate links to view or download these books (or you can go through the link in my profile):

How to Live Well (Kindle eBook only)

Chic Inspiration (Kindle eBook only)

How to be Slim and Healthy (Kindle eBook only)

3-in-1 book (Kindle eBook and paperback print copy available)

Happy reading, and for now, I will carry on with my offline editing!

 

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(My Amazon links are affiliate, and via Amazon Smile which donates money to the ASPCA. The price you pay isn't any different, so thank you if you choose to use my links!)