Argh that's hard! Hopefully will be ok. I allowed my daughter to go to a sleepover but asked if the child could do a RAT test beforehand (parent was a nurse and ok with that). Of course that doesn't pick up everything.

my version is 30 days has September April, June, and November. All the rest have 31 Except for February clear With 28, and 29 Each Leap Year. Which rhymes if you get the rhythm right.

Came across this: hepatitis caused by Covid. T Cell Cross-reactivity in Autoimmune-like Hepatitis Triggered by COVID-19 - ScienceDirect Remember how initially they were blaming dogs?

I think there's a mix of situations. Yes, migration, and that is a huge thing in Australia. I think I read it's around 200,000 extra people per year, which is a lot for a country of our size. In the USA apparently it's around one million or more? The other thing is that people are living longer (or were until Covid) and so holding onto houses longer, so there's not much left for the next generation Next there's the effect of Air BnB which has been huge, right around the world. Homes that were once for rent are now holiday homes. I can see the effect of that it my town, which has a population of around 1,000 and yet has 50 Air bnbs! And next there's the lack of social housing. Australia stopped building social housing and allowed people to buy the social houses they were in, which took them out of the mix. So there's only 1 social house for 20 people, whereas at least 1 in 10 need them.

Yes, I know so many people moving out west, but I had to take my daughter to the children's hospital the other day as it was literally the only place that would look at her eye. We're 1.5hrs away and that's ok, but I wouldn't want to be any further. The ordinary hospital which is 45mins away has been fine for us for basic emergencies but you never know when you need a specialist. I always think of the UK as being really poor but apparently Australia has a higher poverty rate. But then our population is smaller. So per capita more poverty but overall UK would have more people in poverty. I do think disability is a big part of poverty too. Lots of people with disabilities aren't eligible for the disability allowance, but also can't work. It is a crazy situation. But then our local fb page is full of people whinging about people being on the dole and not working. It's bizarre.

Interesting topic - I found this list, which not only includes low income but families with fewer than 10 books in the house: Child poverty statistics: how the UK compares to other countries | News | theguardian.com

I always remember a murder mystery where a girl came to breakfast to tell about this weird dream she'd had, and the mother told her repressively it was bad to share dreams. Of course, the 'dream' was actually the murder that she'd witnessed . . .

We made Vietnamese Bahn Mi this week which was good - everyone made their own variation. Banh Mi ! (Vietnamese sandwich) | RecipeTin Eats

What about epilepsy or migraines?

Yes, I don't know anyone irl who masks, and my DH thinks it's all rubbish and I 'forced' him to get vaccinated (tho he made the appointment and kept it!) Whatever. I do my best to reduce my risk, that's all. Now I'm not on twitter, I don't read all the experts and honestly it's better. There's nothing much I can do except mask myself anyway. It won't stop me getting cancer, getting hit by a bus, or the house burning down in the fires. But it might stop 2 weeks off work being sick, every couple of months, and that is a good thing.

I still mask at work and at shops etc. We did get Covid last year and it sucked majorly. We have since had a couple of colds but I think being rural we're not in the same soup as people who live in cities (I think you're rural too?) I am going to continue to mask as long as I can, simply because I hate being sick. No one else in my family masks though. I think with bushfire season coming, masks and air purifiers are going to be really important. I think I posted about this elsewhere, but the sheer number of cancer (esp breast cancer) since the fires here 4 years ago is just astounding. I really feel that it is something to be very aware of.

So the newspapers already trying to downplay the Covid being 3rd leading cause of death thing by breaking it down by age, oh, it was mostly old people who died. They then had the top 3 causes of death by age and one of them for the 15-35yr olds was 'accidental poisoning' which confused me. People were getting poisoned? Looking at it further, apparently almost all of that statistic is alcohol. And, ironically, the 3rd leading cause of death in the next group up is liver failure. I wish they'd be more open about the dangers of alcohol. It's ridiculous to hide it.

Covid 3rd leading cause of death in Australia 2022. COVID-19 the third-leading cause of death in Australia in 2022, data shows - ABC News Notably this was not the case in 2020 or 2021, due to border closure and lockdowns. The article mentions around 10,000 deaths, but with excess deaths it's more likely to be around 20,000 who died because of covid (according to the bmj). The 10,000 are just those with covid mentioned on the death certificate. I certainly know of one elderly woman close to me who had pneumonia on the death certificate as cause of death, although she had Covid at the time (the nursing home had an outbreak).

So last night it was chops and veg for everyone else, but I couldn't deal, so I made myself a quick and inauthentic Japanese okonomiyaki instead. Which was a basic flour egg water pancake with lots of cabbage and a few other veg, topped with Japanese mayo and bbq sauce (you're supposed to use okonomi sauce, bbq was fine). While I'm sure no one Japanese would recognise it, it was yum and a lot less heavy than chops and chips!

Oh that's wonderful. And I do remember the story about you covering for your fashion designer friend!

I will just link the article here: Long covid: the doctors’ lives destroyed by an illness they caught while doing their jobs | The BMJ and agree with you - it is both haunting and shameful.

I will add an Australian recipe site which is good, and I've used frequently: RecipeTin Eats - A Food Blog Serving Up Quick & Easy Dinner Recipes. She is aware of her American readership so does 'translate' certain ingredients into the American versions. I actually bought the recipe book for myself for Christmas with the goal of cooking each thing, but after the first one I haven't done any more . . . That sounds quick and easy, thank you!

I'm eating a packet of salt and vinegar chips, drinking a coke, and wishing someone would cook all these delicious things for me for dinner. The good thing about this forum is that people really do eat things that are quite different from the usual Australian meal list (which is, spaghetti bolognese, stir fry, lasagne and roast meat with veg). I've never had chicken and dumplings before, for example.

I am bored with everything. What have you eaten lately that's been really delicious?

I made an ebook years ago of my baby play ideas and put it up on Amazon and sold maybe a hundred dollars worth. I ended up taking it down as I no longer buy or support Amazon, but there are other ebook companies such as Kobo that basically help you format your document to become an ebook and host it on their site for free. Then you just have to publicise it. A lot simpler and easier than printing it out. If you got a lot of interest, then you could look at 'print on demand' - so the company only prints out a copy once someone orders it. I didn't make much money from independently publishing, but that was ok, I was just glad to help other new parents. With publishing, if you want to make money from it, you have to work really hard on promotion, basically marketing has to be a full time job. But if you're just happy to have your work out there without selling a lot, it's easy enough using existing online platforms.

I have downloaded the first game ever on my phone and it is very relaxing. It is called Unpacking. You put away items in a room (you can choose to put them wherever you like, or turn on a thing which says it's in the wrong spot), and meanwhile find out the story of the person's life. I bought it for my kids to do on the plane as a calming thing, but I am finding it calming too. Oh, and it was made by a bunch of young Australians so I was happy to pay a little bit. Unpacking: a zen puzzle game about unpacking a life (unpackinggame.com)

So sorry.

I found a dramatised version of The Silver Sword and while it was fun to listen to, it missed out on quite a bit of the plot. I think it might have been a radio play version or something, but there were some good bits that just weren't in there.

Oh, thanks for the ideas - I hadn't thought about Rosemary Sutcliffe, good idea. I second Charlotte's Web. I honestly think it is an incredible piece of literature - we listened to it say 2 years ago and I was frankly astonished at the quality of the writing and the depth of the characterisation. I'd vaguely remembered the plot as a kid, but the actual book was so much more.

I would always advise saying goodbye to a job that's stressful and is not fulfilling. Your job is what you do day after day. Definitely look at the new job, if it's a possibility. I never realised how stressed I was until I quit the job which was physically and emotionally damaging. And 42 is a good age to make a change, to really build up a different kind of life. On the other hand, I have no money sense at all - not one bit. So, ask someone who knows about finances, esp in the USA where you don't seem to have a safety net.