Red gold and green - happy Christmas

Awful day today, two more very large quakes, several big jolts and lots of small ones, people on the streets, liquefaction pouring out the cracks, everything on the floor again. No breakages, there's nothing left to break! Everything that had survived the first quake still packed away. Ran outside to check on my husband, as the last time I'd talked to him he was lying under the jacked up car fixing the brakes, but he'd managed to roll away and the car did not come down.

The ground is rumbling underneath me while I'm typing, and we've just had another jolt. They are coming thick and fast. And for those who have been following my blip for a while, Tofu the earthquake cat is back under the house.

We've checked our neighbours' homes, and they all have belongings strewn round, but no one is home - what an awful thing to come home to the day before Christmas Eve.

My blip is to try to keep some sense of normality.

Every time it starts I'm wondering if this will be the one that finally takes our home. We have had over 7000 - yes seven thousand quakes now, and it's wearing people down.

All I want now is for no one to be hurt, and for the airport to be opened again so we can get out tomorrow.

I feel for the children, it's supposed to be a time of happiness and excitement, not a time for tears and fear.