Thursday, November 09, 2006

Chainsaws

The boy got a fright early one evening, when he went into The Little Madam's bedroom to put her down for the night. Protuding freakishly from the ceiling was a wavy, translucent vine. He fetched a ladder and cut it off, but really this had opened up a nice big can of juicy worms. And it had also probably solved the puzzle of why, every time I tried to switch the light on in TLM's room, the lighting fuse blew, forcing me to retrieve the Civil Defence shoebox from the storage cupboard and the fuse wire from our office.

It's funny how much growth can end up on one's house over the winter, without its inhabitants noticing. I really hadn't realised that one side of my house was almost completely over-grown in thick, woody vine. I certainly hadn't an inkling that it had crept into the roof cavity, looking for bits of electrical wiring to wreck.

There's a landscaping guy out there now, with his team, despite the rain and cold. They arrived minutes before I was going to put TLM down for her nap (relatively early at 11.30), armed with chainsaws and handsaws and dressed in shorts.

Do you think that a nap-avoiding 15 month-old who almost fell asleep on the way home from her swim class, but then got second wind and proceeded to empty out all her toy boxes, would be able to nap through the noise of chainsaws, thumping boots and trestle-assemblage? The answer, it seems, is yes.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy crap. If the vines have grown into the house your roof will leak too.

Good thing it's in TLM's room and not yours I guess, ha,ha..

Michael C said...

With the twins, we've learned that postponing or starting and then abruptly stopping a nap is a great way to ensure a longer nap a little later ;-)

Lumpyheadsmom said...

Wow, sleep through chainsaws. Lucky you (and her).

Anonymous said...

Brrrrr!!!! vines from the ceiling?? freakyyyyyy

Just when I was getting over the Vodafone advert on TV last night, and you have to give me something else to have bad dreams about.

The Skirt said...

I'd believe it, because I have a brother who can sleep through fire alarms.

Violet said...

happyandblue2: well it might do now, since the holes are no longer plugged in by vines ;-)

michael c: I'd never dare tamper with TLM's naps esp. if it meant waking her up from one.

lumpyheadsmom: and yet on the days I work, she wakes as soon as I get home and open my mouth...

cathi: you're telling me! it was like a theme for a new sci-fi novel.

the skirt: well that's just plain dangerous.

LK said...

She can sleep through chainsaws but just wait until you want to watch a movie with the boy over some nice wine - that'll wake her up for sure. ;)

Violet said...

nyx: EXACTLY!

Jon said...

Wait a second.....the vine was protruding from the ceiling.... in her room? How does that even happen?

Violet said...

jon: I'm guessing that it worked itself into the roofspace via a gap between the roof and the wall of the house, and found a crack in the ceiling. Creepy, huh (pun intended)?