"all i know is if there is one installed in every bedroom there is a better chance to get out." My concern is they create a false sense of security. I just don't see a kid or an older person getting down one of those. My niece is a very adventurous 9 year old and I don't see her stepping out a window in the dark and going down a ladder that isn't rigid. I would be terrified to do it but could. Most people are nervous on an 8' step ladder. Being diligent about maintaining your smoke alarms will do a lot more to get you out in time. Smoke alarms are triggered pretty easily, in my experience. Make sure you have them not just where code requires but where it makes sense. Our house more than required by code. For example, we have one in the laundry room. Many fires start there and could smolder for quite awhile before the smoke reaches the detector in the kitchen 20+ feet (and through a closed door) away. You should have heat and/or smoke detectors in the basement, attic, garage, laundry room, kitchen, each floor, every bedroom and outside every bedroom in the hallway. Don't allow smoking in your house. Don't allow guests or children to have candles in their bedrooms. Make sure all candles used (in kitchen, dining room, etc.) are extinguished before you go to bed, before you leave the house or before you take a nap. Maintain your chimney flues. If you have the ladders what will the children be taught? If the smoke alarm goes off open the window, drop the ladder and go out? Without knowing if there is a fire or any danger? Without knowing if the parent will just walk down the hall and help them? In the middle of winter? Can the child even reach the window lock and remove the screen? I think it makes more sense to teach them to close their bedroom door (but not lock it) and then open the window and wait at the window. If you live in a place where the fire department is very slow, keep a ladder somewhere on your property and climb the ladder yourself and bring them down if you can't get to them from inside the house. Stash an ax somewhere as well in case they don't open the window. This is one reason I don't like houses with first floor masters. Our bedrooms are all on the second level, there is little chance a fire would be between us and anyone in the other bedrooms. If necessary we can go to a bedroom with the porch below. DH can drop down and then help anyone else. I might break an ankle, but I could drop down as well if necessary.

I have had Aussies in the past and one thing you mentioned is that the brothers look nothing alike, I can testify to the fact that even their coats can look different - my friends gave me an Aussie years ago and they kept one of the dogs, my dog and their dog looked nothing like each other and their tempraments were completely different as well. Escaping could be due to a couple of things, one the dog is bored. So trying more basic training, sit stay, down, heel, leave it should start right away. Next do the dogs get walked? Ranch dogs are often left to their own devises for hours at a time and can become bored. Try long walks with a pack on the dogs back. I realize right now with the weather being so harsh, taking a dog for a long walk can be ext to impossible, which is why training can work better right now. Also, it sounds like the dog has not bonded well yet. You might want to have your parents try a technique I have used to help dogs bond. Do you think the dog is bonded to your parents? Many times puppies who get adopted with littermates have a harder time bonding with humans and prefer to stay bonded with the other pup. Next I suggest you find a flyball or agility competition place where your parents can take the offending pup to get some of that extra energy out. Aussie are descendant of a Dalmation, and were bred specifically for working and herding, you might want to find a local place to help teach the dog to work a herd. There are a couple of ideas - I dont think you need to go with an invisible fence just yet. Training should be the first step. Good luck, please let me knkow how it goes and if things are working to help or not, I have other suggestions.

My thought would be different pull strategies for different kitchens. In a small kitchen I would strive for as much uniformity as possible, because one doesn't have as many repeating elements to work with, like banks of drawers or doors, as a larger kitchen does. Also, in a small kitchen one is likely to have less detailing like elaborate moldings, etc. If your kitchen was my kitchen I would probably do all one size pull, or all the same on the base cabinets and smaller on the upper cabinets. Also, I would really pay attention to how the pulls feel to your hand. If possible, mount some on scrap wood and grab them? I am liking the trend towards larger pulls for that reason. Thinking of my vintage dresser that has too-small pulls right now. Badgergal - I really like the scale of the pulls that you picked, and how they mimic the fridge pulls. Jellytoast - I like the pulls that you picked. If you wanted to nudge towards mimicking the look of your fridge pulls, however, you could look for bar pull-style handles without the clothing-catching ends.

Ooh, the last pic in kswl2's post at 3.55pm on Thursday is of Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset - five minutes drive from our last house on the Wiltshire side of the Wilts/Dorset border - see attached pic. For those that are familiar with the English tv ad for Hovis bread a few years back, Gold Hill was the location used.....although most English viewers apparently believed the street was much further north in Yorkshire ;) Loving all these quintessentially English village views ladies! We are fans of Escape to the Country and Jules is our favourite presenter too, btw.......