Revive our hearts

Day Nine:
"...be swift to hear, slow to speak..." James 1:19b

If listening is a real problem for you, play a game with yourself. See if you can listen to your husband for one whole day, only speaking when asked a question. If your husband notices the difference, explain that you are learning to listen more-not only to God, but also to him.

OMG - if I stop talking he thinks he is in trouble .Even though I didn't get to do this today - it's on my to do list tomorrow. He will think it is Christmas if I tell him I will listen to him ...*snort*

Aussie Bloggers Forum and Bigpond Part I

I joined the Aussie Bloggers Forum and if you click the shiny new button in my side bar you can see what I am talking about.

I am discovering a few new Aussie Blogs, which I love, and discovering new tools and tricks. There is so much to learn about blogging , ranking , Alexa - (it tells you where your blog ranks in the world)and much more.

It is a lot of fun too so if you haven't checked it out already - what have you got to lose (except a few hours blogging). It is busting with a who's who of Aussie Bloggers and some expats and other nationalities too.

Everyone is invited ...the more the merrier.Of course you get to rub shoulders with some A'Listers and Z' listers because we all have something to say. They are all listening attentively too (see post below) and are keen to answer my questions on blogging and share opinions /plug in's and widgets.

It seems a wonderful community of experienced and inexperienced (like me) mates helping each other and connecting across the blogosphere. You can be heard and seen and the advice is free. So what are you waiting for ?

Bigpond Part 1

This morning before 8am there was a knock on the door ... I was in lounge /dining looking for clothes (see below).My eldest, I had fortunately just woken minutes before, was up to answer the door. DH was in the shower. It was my new modem /setup disc from Bigpond.

Three days ago I got a call offering me the 'Liberty bundled home/internet package' because we had been good customers since 1994. The Customer service representative lady took 2.5 hrs (I kid you not) to convince encourage me to sign up and then actually do it (2 -15mins hrs). I was ready in 5 secs to cut her off abruptly because I heard the 10 sec delay (of the telemarketer variety) but I was listening luckily.

It was a very long time but the deal was good.She said would be activated in 2 weeks. Yesterday, I get a SMS to say it would be ready today but I didn't eevn have my new modem at that stage. (The CSR said I would then have 20 days to activate it.)

Today, I thought my Internet had died ... I couldn't get it to work ... ho hum 'boys would you like a story'? So I read Horton hears a Who by Dr Seuss
They continued to trash the room at an alarming rate while I read aloud - 'LOUD' but they didn't want to sit still. Funny, I picked this one - unconsciously running with my theme on hearing and listening ... insert freaky music . I only just realised.

I digress ... they didn't want 'no' story which was actually very long for a toddler. So I sat tapping/refreshing my useless keyboard/screen - bored but with a mountain of washing to fold/hang and who cares attitude!

Then I realised that maybe Bigpond had already disconnected my other ISP ??? I rang them - 'yes they have' - was the answer ... b*gger that was quick and I didn't even want it...yet.

I madly re-installed the new modem and self installed everything - wanting to get my fix ! After a few hiccups and incorrect password ... got a new one and presto ...back online.

tomorrow I will tell you part 2.

What big ears you have ...and listen carefully

Please bear with me ... it is a bit wordy. (Dash ...In the wee hours I had a greta blog post today but now it is long past .. the morning and my bedtime, so I will have to wing it from what I remember.)

I wanted to give thanks today for this ....


a huge box of sweet corn our kindly neighbours gave us. They run a market garden nearby. They live next door but their block is long and we are the back house on a battleaxe - (A block of
land shaped like an axe, where the handle is in the approach. situated between other blocks, thus we have no apparent street frontage (bare driveway)- the road is to the left hand side and we have other properties surrounding us on all sides.


So really their shed is next door to us. (see below the greenish shed next to our house).

The advantage of a battleaxe is our lovely private front rose garden.


I digress also to add ... several neighbouring children and our eldest son's Friends love to ride their bikes , scooter and skateboard up and down our long concrete driveway ... plus the babies have decided they like to ride in the little red wagon up and down the driveway. Which means I push and pull it LOL

anyway ... Our fence is about 3ft (short in comparison to most which are 4ft-5ft) we used to be able to see over it .When Mario saw us a few times he gave us vegetables etc off the back of his truck. His truck was often packed to take to market in the wee hours. Mario and his wife, our neighbours are also very short (hope they never read this).

Since we grew the potato vine to cover the ugly green fence - we can see his truck but he can't see us nor reach over. The rose bushes have grown too.(ouch)

For months, DH heard Mario start his truck and leave (to go to the markets) right outside our bedroom window... in the wee small hours every night [till he got used to it]. I did occasionally but not much due to my hearing impairment. It bothered him a little but he is so patient and easy going he would never complain.

The other day I saw our neighbours whilst hanging washing on the line. They were at the back of their shed. I haven't seen them up close for months.They gave me 4 ears of corn on the cob ... freshly cut/picked. We chatted, small talk. I think they saw the babies close up for first time *gasp*. Then they offered me a box of corn and Mario said he would drop it around later.

OMG - I went out later and found the screen door open with that box wedged in the door. Since I was down the back of our house and our doorbell is out of action - I didn't hear him. Scary !

MY Dh tells me I should lock the door . I feel a bit of a dill and a bit embarrassed if in case he heard me talking to the babies and not answer him .I also consider, to think if the babes didn't sleep in their cot as I often put them down on my bed (near front door) ...eek they would have been off to explore as they get down off my bed no problem and they toddle down to find me (at the computer) . I just felt it was a good warning for me to take on board. Be more careful.

The sweet corn was delicious though our eldest complained * sigh* that is was too juicy - I could say a few choice words but I won't... just can't please that kid

So ... my hearing is not good and today I did something about it - finally organised to get a referral to ENT specialist and see if they do anything plus organise me a new hearing aid so I can listen more attentively and improve my hearing if possible.

I also got to thinking about the fact that I am guilty of not listening attentively even when I can hear. I often get caught up in blogging and don't listen to my husband or DS properly.

Frequently, I feel a bit socially isolated in group situations because background noise can overwhelm me and all the conversations blur. I have made a fool of myself by having misheard or worse preempting and I feel more a fool. I don't really lip read .

I also remembered this post over at Mad Goat Lady - keys to better listening.It is well worth a read.

P.S. DH has the doorbell and new door closer on his to do list, plus gates !
P.P.S. I have to write them a thank you card or maybe bake some brownies.