Sulfurous clouds and banshee winds

Everyone is talking about this dust storm aren't they! It's something never before seen in Sydney, but not so uncommon in other parts of Australia.

I recently read The Road From Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway. In it she describes a three day dust storm her family experienced on their property in far western NSW:

"One sweltering late afternoon in March, I walked out to collect wood for the stove. Glancing towards the west, I saw a terrifying sight. A vast boiling cloud was mounting in the sky, black and sulfurous yellow at the heart, varying shades of ocher red at the edges. Where I stood, the air was utterly still, but the writhing cloud was approaching silently and with great speed.

...

A dust storm usually lasts days, blotting out the sun, launching banshee winds day and night. It is dangerous to stray far from shelter, because the sand and grit lodge in one's eyes, and a visibility often reduced to a few feet can make one completely disoriented. Animals which become exhausted and lie down are often sanded over and smothered. There is nothing anyone can do but stay inside, waiting for the calm after the storm. Inside, it is stifling. Every window must be closed against the dust, which seeps relentlessly through the slightest crack. Meals are gritty and sleep elusive. Rising in the morning, one sees a perfect outline of one's body, an afterimage of white where the dust has not collected on the sheets."

Windy

I hung some washing on the line this morning, and lazily left some small socks in the bottom of the basket, thinking as it was going to be a hot day, they would dry without having to be hung up.

Later on, I went outside, and was surprised to see the socks scattered over the garden. The basket? It was nowhere to be seen! I think the wind must have picked it up and carried it who knows where - although I suspect it could be at the bottom of the pool. (I can't tell if it is or not because the water is green and murky at the moment.)

I did find something in the pool though - a big fat frog. I scooped him up in the dustpan and transferred him back to the pond.

A Crime Has Been Committed

Oh dear - this is really quite bad.

Guess what I found in the carport this afternoon?

A quite large, and quite dead, guinea-pig.

Not sure if one of our cats killed it, or just found it and dragged it home, but it's not good either way.

I had to put it in the bin, it made me want to cry. I hate the way dead animals feel. Poor thing - not a pleasant way to go.

In Honour of Fathers Day...

Here is a picture of a Cumquat tree that my dad has been looking after for me for many years - it was given to me as a present and as it is at his house, it's become part of the orchard. I'm told it looks very impressive in real life, so I'm looking forward to seeing it soon.

Happy Fathers Day, Dad - and Papa, and of course Adam!

Garden shots

Childcare

Nicole linked to these two really thought provoking posts about assessing childcare from a biblical perspective.

I like Jean's ideas about elevating motherhood over having a career, and about the church community pitching in to help struggling mums.

Exciting news today

The RTA has approved our application for exemption from the restricted vehicles rules for P platers - meaning I can drive our car! No need to sell it and buy another...and I can start putting pedal to the metal.

One small, final hurdle - need to get some p plates. We'll do that on the weekend and then I'll be set.

It was sort of surprising that they granted the exemption, but fair I think. Very exciting!

Attention Span (or lack thereof)

My attention span is shot these days. I don't know if it's because I spend too much time on the internet, flicking from screen to screen, or if life with a kid means my brain has to be constantly running three tracks at the one time , but I find it really hard to sit and focus on one thing.

I'm ok with reading, but tv and movies? It's a struggle to last more than 30 minutes without getting bored. And around the house, I get so easily distracted - between trying to get stuff done, chasing after Hamish and the menagerie, and keeping up with emails, voicemail and texts, it's a rarity for my brain to be still.

I need to work on this - only do one thing at a time! And cut back on having to be connected all the time - there's been a few articles on this recently, like this one by Mia Freeman. It's a not healthy habit, but a hard one to break.

One of my favourite bible verses is "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). Perhaps easier said than done, but well worth taking to heart.

Mommy?

This is an interesting rant from Pinky McKay. She writes:

I am feeling sad at seeing so many littlies propped in front of television (sure, it’s helpful to buy a few minutes to get dinner, feed the baby or have a shower but in my humble opinion it is downright neglectful to disengage from a child as he stares mindlessly at a screen for many hours of the day ).

I certainly use the TV with Hamish, but try to make sure it's not on if it doesn't need to be. Otherwise it just becomes background noise - and really, there's only so much in a day that I need to get done while Hamish is safely occupied watching the screen.

We tend to have more enjoyable days when I get on with what I need to do, and let him potter along with me from room to room. It takes patience and slows things down sometimes, but it's more fun than trying to race around, hoping his show will last long enough for me to get through my list.

Watching TV can be funny though - today he danced very enthusiastically to the Home Icecream jingle! Catchy tune that it is...

Update on Ruby

Ruby is home from the vet now - seems to be better but tired. The vet wasn't sure in the end what the problem was, but painkillers and rest fixed her up.

He was leaning towards her having received a blow to the side - not sure how that would have happened unless Saffy landed on her or something, which, let's face it - isn't exactly beyond the realms of possibility!

Media Watch

I've been watching Media Watch since the old Stuart Littlemore days, and I think the current host, Jonathan Holmes, is my favourite. He is entertaining, and fair in his analyses. It's always worth a watch.

Sick Ruby

Ruby the dog is at the vet's tonight. We had to rush her there at lunch time - I heard her throw up a few times, and called her in to see if she was ok - she was shaking a lot and couldn't walk properly.

So I called Adam home from work and we rushed around to the vets. They thought it could be a tick, or some sort of blow to the side that was causing trembling etc because of the level of pain. They weren't really sure, but have given her pain relief and valium, and will monitor her overnight.

She looked terrible, it was very upsetting to see her in so much distress. I'm glad I was home and able to notice it straight away - it seemed to hit her quite suddenly.

I hope she improves overnight.

Rip-off

We've ordered pizza for dinner, from Pizza Hut. Two pizzas are costing us $29!

Of course, if we went and picked them up instead of waiting for delivery, it would be half that amount. We don't have any valid coupons either so no savings there.

They'd better taste nice.

AND - when I rang up to order, I had to listen to a recorded message about their pasta dishes, and then actually say 'yes' or 'no' to a recorded question asking whether I wanted to order one! Talk about pushy.

Product Review #2

Again, this is something I would never have bought myself - the Brainy Baby products promote turning your child into a genius, which I think is an unhelpful and silly philosophy.

But we were given this DVD, and another similar one, and they are fantastic - made for toddlers, they keep Hamish's interest for the full 45 minute running time. There's no story - just a whole lot of little scenes of kids playing with toys and shapes, all on a theme (like the peek-a-boo game). It's strangely relaxing.

I'm so grateful that we received this - it has come in handy so often, when we need to keep Hamish occupied or when he needs to rest and sit quietly. Works every time!

Product Review #1

This is my standout, favourite cleaning product at the moment.

I'm not usually into using many products like this, they seem like a mega waste of money, but Adam got a sample for free from work, and lately it has come into it's own around here. It's extremely useful for, let me see, some totally random examples: Cleaning up cat spew from your kitchen floor; cat pee from the bathroom floor (and your shoes! Gross!); cat POO from the bath (twice); and the pièce de résistance - toddler poo from the loungeroom floor.

These are all situations where you want to grab something quickly - no mucking around! I've been keeping the chux wipes on standby as it seems most days, there's something that they are perfect for.

Chocolate maths!

Give this a go - DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!

It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read.

Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate (more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator :)

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759. If you haven't, add 1758.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born. You should have a three digit number.

The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).

The next two numbers are...






YOUR AGE!

Grime

Gah - made an error in judgement today - tidied up the bathroom, getting rid of most of the clutter around the bath - and now can see all the grime in its place!

Will now have to clean it up...which needed doing anyway, but was easier to ignore before.

Albums

I've been buying a few albums on iTunes these last few weeks - here are my most recent purchases:

It's always a bit of a risk buying an album - you never know if it will turn out that the songs you liked on the radio (and on the basis of which, you bought the album) are the only ones you like!

But with these three, I haven't had that problem - they are all good albums. They are growing on me each time I listen to them, and all have catchy tunes that stick in my head.

What have you been listening to lately?

Bees

The bees are busy this morning, the garden is full of them collecting pollen. Spring is in the air!