[Tamara]

So you jolly well should be proud of her! I’d be proud of her too! Rock on Julia!

[Masha Richart]

Was inspecting my pea plants today and just about had a heart attack when I saw a snake coiled up under my dry grass mulch. This is the second snake we’ve had in our yard this spring (thankfully this was just a grass snake; the last one was a very very poisonous Leventine viper), and I’m over it! Husband came home ready to whack the snake with a shovel just in case we were wrong about its pedigree, but it had slithered away. We de-mulched the garden to make it less inviting for snakes. Guess I’ll just have to weed now.

[Tamara]

Oh I am so glad we have cooler weather just so the wriggly poisonous snakes can snooze just for a while. I have seen a snake in July before but I am hoping the weather will be colder this winter to make them stay in their hidey holes.

We had an encounter with a dingo the other week – well our sheep did! Three taken and they were pregnant ewes too so the dingo got more than his fair share in a meal!

My husband hit a large red kangaroo boomer on the way home late the other night. He was riding his motorbike one handed thanks to carrying his thermos. He wasn’t wearing a helmet but was going slower than normal. Unfortunately the roo came out of the bush just up from our house and Murray didn’t see it, the motorbike collected the roo and Murray fell sideways. The roo was killed instantly and Murray was badly bruised and grazed. It could have been so much worse but still it was not welcoming to be woken by an injured husband at midnight especially when suffering from a migraine!

All I can say is thankfully the need to work long hideous shifts is over for the year and a helmet the doesn’t inhibit vision needs to be located!

[with love Heidi]

Glad Murray’s OK, hitting a roo is never nice and they’re BIG.

The house in so quiet now, we had 3 kids round for the afternoon And how they’ve gone home. Miss them already.

[Tamara]

Oh well, it is normal to have drama at seeding time but that was a definite first! And unfortunately it seemed to happen when the children were home recuperating from this massive bug that was going around.

And because they were ill for a good fortnight I was actually glad to have silence and worked hard at stopping myself from feeling guilty because of it. I do understand how you feel though. Silence can only be appreciated for so long.

[Nicole]

Oh Heidi, bigs hugs.

Poor Murray, if he killed the roo I would hate to see what he looks like!

[meleliza]

It all sounds terrifying. I hope Murray is OK! I’m glad I only have to worry about muggers.

My washing machine is getting fixed today. I can’t believe how long it took when they assured me it would only be a few days. I might have bought a new one instead! But we had agreed to the parts and labor so were stuck waiting. I’ve gotten so much sewing done without the constant laundry and hubby pointed out how much quieter the house has been without the constant noise of the washing machine.

[Tamara]

This roo was incredibly big so the fact that Murray didn’t have anything broken or worse a head injury was absolutely amazing! He came stumping inside the house rather heavily on one side which forced me out of bed where I saw him looking sore but didn’t see the actual injuries until he had a shower. It was mainly on the left side, basically took the skin off his knee and grazed the shoulder which was very sore. I was worried he had dislocated it but thankfully after rest and icepacks he decided to go working the next day so it wasn’t as bad as it looked. He didn’t hit his head which is a relief and he says he shouted out but of course I was trying to sleep through a migraine so didn’t hear him. It is rather typical though of him to go working and not see to the injuries. He was wearing a wind cheater which seemed to protect him from further injury and the long pants of course.

It has actually reminded me of how important it is to go and renew my first aid! Pity about the lack of nursing degree hehe!

Oh the white noise of the washing machine! We have two going at times as Murray’s work clothes are washed in a machine outside, mainly because I kept leaving them until last and they hardly got done! But like you I would be helpless without doing laundry in the machine – glad no one can see my laundry as I have been very slack lately! I used to board with a lady who had a washing machine complete with wringer! I hated using it and waited to do my laundry when I went out to the farm.

[Masha Richart]

I figured I shouldn’t complain too much about snakes, as half this forum lives in a place where there is a much higher concentration of venomous creatures. At least, that’s what I read in Bill Bryson’s “A Sunburned Country” – a great read if anyone is looking for lighter recommendations.

We would suffer greatly if our washer or dryer broke, not so much because of the actual washing, but because baby currently naps in the laundry room with the machines running. Our house has a very open floor plan and it is the only way to sequester him adequately from his noisy sisters (2.5y and 3.5 y).

I’m glad Murray is alright. That sounds terrifying!

[Lightning McStitch]

Bill Bryson is always fun reading. I loved his book Mother Tongue as it manages to celebrate the English language as well as bemoan all it’s foibles at the same time.

Regarding White noise: I had plenty of people suggest white noise CD’s (as well as a myriad other “cures”) for my non sleeping newborn. I don’t remember him sleeping any better but I do recall the continual white noise making it clear that the baby monitor cut in and out. Not enough that you’d ever miss a screaming baby but enough to really bug me (and lead to a protracted dispute with the baby monitor manufacturer about the expected reliability of their monitor). That stuttering white noise through the monitor drove me nuts!

Anyway, some years later I was reading a fascinating book about the “plasticity” of the human brain (http://www.normandoidge.com/normandoidge.com/MAIN.html) and the author rather casually mentioned inducing autism in rats by exposing them to continual white noise during their juvenile development. (to go on and prove some other theory that required an autistic rat model to prove).

I’ve never seen any other mention of this mode of inducing developmental changes in rats but it did get me thinking about those vacuum cleaner CDs I’d been playing during every nap time!

Anyhow, I’ve recently bought a 10kg front loader washing machine and by gum I love that machine. I’d hate to be without it. My sympathy is with you Meleliza. And, roundtheworldgirl, you put that baby wherever you need to. I put mine in a cupboard once when we stayed in a hotel room that didn’t have a second bedroom!

[meleliza]

Yes, sleep is the most important thing and if he likes the hum of a washing machine, so be it. My middle son was colicy for the better part of his first year. He screamed and screamed for hours and hours at a time and no swaddle, rocking, singing, nursing or noise would soothe him. I can’t think of a worse kind of torture. He relapsed when he was three too! And stayed awake for hours at night screaming, giving us all flashbacks. His record was a 5 hour long tantrum one night from about midnight to 5am. It’s about nothing except survival at that point. By *whatever* means necessary. He’s still a difficult child, but at 5.5 is starting to grow out of it.

My washing machine is humming away again today. In the end, I’m not so far behind since I took key loads to the laundromat. It is funny how much quieter the house was without the laundry machines constantly going.

[Tamara]

My children wouldnt sleep with CD’s but they would with the radio. Our house is too tiny to really have a monitor (not that we didnt have one anyway). I hate the radio playing constantly but was willing to do it for the sake of some sleep (my second was terrible at sleep). What drove me nuts was weening them off the jolly radio! They now listen to audio stories on their ipods (the simplest oldest versions you can find) and thankfully dont wake up crying because the noise has stopped!

[meleliza]

I will never ever buy a front loader again. Especially after the repair man told me I can’t have one on the second floor, especially in an old house. I have a long huge rant about front loading machines, but you don’t want to hear it. They’re Eruo trash.

[Nicole]

As someone living with daily water restrictions I would not buy anything but a front loader.

Or a twin tub.

[with love Heidi]

Why can’t you have one the the second floor of an old house?? Most of the houses here have a cavity underneath so while not technically 2 story have the floor suspended and we all have our front loaders in the house on what would be the “second floor”. It sounds like you might have a dud repair guy, espically given that he said a couple of days and it seemed to be more like a week!