June 6, 2013

Random Stuff. Reconnected.

Yay - I have put in place a temporary solution to my internet dramas (which appear to be as yet a mystery to BigPond...).  As there was no immediate solution in sight I bought a little mobile broadband thingy.  Look.

My Saviour.


I am quite excited - I set it up yesterday and then put some quality time into perusing the Country Road sale.

Hopefully (especially given we have a decent sized business plan with Telstra) things will be properly fixed soon on the internet front but in the meantime I am just excited to be back on-line.  Interestingly I have had to do this once a couple of years ago, after our house was hit by lightning and the satellite dish blew up (that's a story for another day) and we had no connection for weeks. When I went to update the card in my old device this time,  I was told it was cheaper to buy a whole new little modem thing.  Technology seems to be getting very disposable.

Anyway. Moving right along. In other farm news the crop is all in, we have had lots of lovely rain and everyone is excited as things, touch wood, are going OK at present.  The rain has also meant we were able to do one of The Farmchildren's all time favourite activites.  Mushrooming!  We often find mushrooms growing in some areas on The Farm.  They look so lovely just popping up out of the ground.

Mushroom. In Its Natural Habitat.

Mushrooms. No Longer In Their Natural Habitat.


We always cook them up and have them on toast.  They are super yummy as long as you manage to not let dirt get in their gills as then they are yummy but a tad crunchy.


Mushrooms. A Really Long Way Away From Their Natural Habitat

I have also employed some new help around the house.  After lots of harping from both myself and The Farmkids, The Farmer gave in and returned from Perth the other day with this little baby.

iRobot and My Ugg Boot Clad Foot. We Are All Style Here In The Farmhouse On A Saturday Night.

It is a robotic vaccuum cleaner and it is 100% fabulous.  I love it and the novelty has yet to wear off.  The Farmchildren are also very intrigued.  Farmgirl keeps trying to smuggle it to her bedroom and talk to it like it is some sort of robot pet.  The Farmer and I were laughing about how we can remember being kids and how exciting it was when household technology stepped up.  I especially remember my Mum getting her first automatic washing machine after having a Twin Tub, our first microwave and, most exciting of all, our first video player.  I have told The Farmer that the robot vaccuum cleaner is our first trial of robotic machinery and the first step down the road to robotic tractors.  (This is not as a big a leap as it sounds - apparently they are being trialled now with an estimated market time of the next 5 years or so.)  I have decided the next step involves a robotic lawn mower....

The Shearers' Quarters reno continues.  We are at the floor sanding stage which is excited.  I was hoping to keep the jarrah floor quite rough and rustic looking.  Unfortunately I have been informed that is very impractical and hence have given in to The Farmer's request to make it tough and durable.  It is being finished in a lowish sheen gloss that is very hard wearing and helps maintain the wood (which is very old) and prevent further damage, white ants etc.  I will take some photos when things progress.

Well that is all from me now.  I am off to shampoo the carpets.  Fun.

Take care.

PS - I have decided to go with the wood background for the blog at present.  Mainly because I am too slack to try and retrieve the old template which I fear has gone forever. And also because I quite like it.

11 comments:

Heidi said...

Hooray! You're back on the net! Those mushroom pics scare me though - I've had the fear of poisoning put into me from my childhood. You clearly know what you're doing to be eating wild ones (although they do taste the best... my Dad gets pine mushrooms at his place, they are so, so good). Hooray for the robot vacuum. Think I need one of those. I've taken to photoshopping pictures on my blog that have my carpet in them to remove the debris that is generally on them when children have gaily scattered crumbs around from the semi permanent snack time! I had to tell the children the other day that when I grew up, we didn't have in car DVD players to watch (they were whinging as we were stopped at the petrol station). They literally couldn't believe it. Life was tough back in The Olden Days. Glad to hear all is well xx

A Farmer's Wife said...

Heidi - You so need a robotic vac thingy. Amazing! How did we do those long car trips? I can remember being excited when we got a car with a cassette player...

A Farmer's Wife said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joolz said...

TG for internet toggles! Yes, I like your wooden wall background too. That iRobot reminded me of a YouTube clip I saw - don't let your cat or Herby the Wonderdog near it or you may just find this happening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewdbilSWjaM

I have never liked mushrooms much and your picture reminded me why - my Dad used to fry them up in butter and have them just like this. Stunk out the whole house and the one time I tried them, yep, they were crunchy from sand stuck in them! Erk!

Glad your crops are in and the rain continues to sprinkle.


Cheers - Joolz

Unknown said...

I haven't popped in here for the looongest time. Apologies!
I'm loving the new background, AND the robot! I too have looked at them, but I just can't justify the price, especially considering I work from home and don't have children, surely I should just vacuum myself? Ha! Brilliant though. I remember when we got a TV with a remote, and a VCR, faaaaaancy. Can't wait to see how the quarters progress.
Emma x

Jenny Rose-Innes said...

Didn't we count the red cars?..... or play "I spy" ... I remember playing 'snap' with my brother on the back seat and fighting like mad - My father stopped and threatened to leave us on the road-side! When we lived on our farm, we had continual wifi problems - I wish I had bought that mini-wifi thingy - it looks very swish! As for the robotic vacuum-cleaner - now this is something I could REALLY do with!! Jenny xx

Domesblissity said...

I can remember when we got our colour TV, VCR and when Mum and Dad got a microwave. I still don't think Mum fully knew how to use it even up until she passed away. She still went into the bank each week to withdraw her money but felt quite pleased with herself paying for her groceries with EFTPOS on the odd occasion. Oh, how far we've come. Love the wood!

Anne xx

Fiona said...

Have been hearing wonderful things about irobots. In line with my aversion to house cleaning I feel I desperately need one. Of course my old Dyson won't ever die, much like our big boxy television which will live forever just to spite me!
(My kids aren't even aware there are such things as in-car DVD players).

Sydney Shop Girl said...

Good work with the Internet, AFW! Hope you did well on the CR sale.

Those mushrooms look delicious.

SSG xxx

Emma said...

I adored mushrooming as a child and they are probably my most loved food of all time but, sob sob, my children refuse to eat them, Any tips on how to get them eating mushrooms? xx

Coulda shoulda woulda said...

Ha! Dingle dongle thingamajiggies... I wonder if the Australian government will even bother with country wifi coverage now with those things? A friend lives in country NSW and she says it is still an issue. In Korea, the internet is so quick that European coverage seems antiquated so I don't know if I will be able to make the move to country Australia yet.You must know your mushrooms very well. The BBC was doing a segment the other day in fact about this. In France, you just take them to the local chemist and they tell you which is kosher or not.
Hope your seeding is going to plan!