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[vilasy]

All is well over here. Toby is the World's Easiest Baby, II'm happy to report. He slept through the night at ten weeks old (11 hours solid!) laughs, smiles, and is generally a pleasure. He's thrilled to be left in his crib to play with his newfound hands and toys, and goes to sleep without being rocked, walked, etc. Just pop him in his crib when he

Comments

[ladycelia]

I've put out fires on burning vehicles, and man, it's hard! And no one ever tells you about the fact that the stuff in fire extinguishers is super caustic, so it tends to make anything (clothing) it gets on, rot.

Glad that they were only trying to steal cables and coming after folks with guns for a robbery. Out here, wiring and such gets stolen all the time, but usually only from empty buildings (of which there are lots). In fact, if you're buying a house out here, you really need to try to make sure you get one that people haven't left empty, or you're likely to find the walls ripped open for copper theft.

[vilasy]

Wow - I thought cable theft was a uniquely African thing? The cable thieves risk their lives stealing cables, even steal stop lights. We lost our land lines years ago, now it's cell phone only.

[ladycelia]

I'm in the deep south, and it's poor here. Not Africa poor, but still poor. Cables and house-sized A/C units are the prizes of choice. Not so much from the power companies, just from empty homes. Cable and pipe. Anything copper, really. And any other metals that can be made off with to sell as scrap.

[mapleshade]

Congratulations, you two, on the birth of your baby. It's an extra gift that he's sleeping through the night already. :)

I'm glad you're writing again. You have a gift AND you seem to have a need to write/express yourself (you already seem quite creative what with having designed/built your home and everything else you've written about that seems to take quite a bit of imagination and resourcefulness).

You get to write, we get to smile after reading what you write. Win, win.

Thanks for sharing what you write.

[vilasy]

and thanks for reading!

[hybrid_xisha]

That tale is equal parts frightening and entertaining! And I feel a bit guilty for the "entertaining" part, but at least you all made it out okay. :)

[vilasy]

hey man, I'm entertained by all of this in retrospect. That's why I write about it. :)

[summercamp]

How scary for you! Is there anything that you can put on the thatch to somehow fire protect it? And I know that sounds incredibly ignorant, but you never know...

And are you guys armed just in case?

How's Toby doing with all of the animals you guys have?!

I'm glad you posted! I love your stories!

[vilasy]

Toby looooooves the animals. He loves being schnuffed by the dogs, beams at the cats, and tries to reach for them. The siamese cat is his Protector. Dogs may not come close to this baby while he is on duty. He forehead bumps Toby and rubs his whole body up, which makes Toby laugh.

We aren't armed. Guns are dangerous to have - the criminals will eventually work out that ou have a gun, and come for it. The thatch - well, what we really want to do is install a sprinkler system. There are fireproofing methods, but they're awfully expensive for dubious merit.

[ext_1878034]

I have missed your wonderful writing. I hope it brightens your days as much as it does mine. If I can't be in Africa, at least I can see it through your eyes.

[vilasy]

Thanks! And thank you for your motivation to keep writing.