Well, I've not really been here to share some exciting news with you.  A few weeks ago we had several solar panels put on our roof.  It is a 1kW system - so that should be about 1000 watts an hour.  Sometimes it has been more, mostly a bit less - largely due to the weather.

So far we have over a few weeks generated enough power for about a week's free power!!  Isn;t that great!  And what we don't use gets sold back to the energy company!  Yay!  With all the bonuses from teh government (when they reimburse us) we will have only paid about $1700 and if the gross energy tariff comes in next year we'll pay that back in no time!

Now, we have a quote on solar hot water and that will be our next venture - we just need to try and decide on how big a system we get - 250l or 315l...  mmmm.... scary to think that by the time this system needs replacing our kids will be teenagers (we hope!).

ON a smaller scale I am so excited to discover a wonderful device - it looks like a normal quadradaptor, but when you turn off the "host" device, all other devices attached turn off too.  So, now when we turn off the tv, the dvd player, set top box and x-box go off too!  A real money saver for people like us where the power points are all hidden down behind the tv cabinet.  Stops everything running on standby!  Funny how such a small clever thing gets me so excited these days...

Where did a month go since my last blog??

We've been busy - toto busy and I am getting tired and frazzled, but nothing to worry about.  I come back on Minti and find 100s of things in my watch list - and such news I have missed!!  So, sorry everyone.  I'll try and wade through them all and drop in on you all - but maybe not tonight.  I need bed!  So good night and thinking of you all in all your dramas and illnesses etc....  Praying for peace for everyone tonight!

Two things I forgot to mention - one being the great "picnic day" at DH's work.  It is hard to get family time due to DH being a casual and on call - and never being able to plan ahead.  SO it was really good for him to be able to take us out for the day - courtesy of his work.  They had a lovely BBQ lunch, a snack stall (with free food/drink vouchers), a jumping castle, dodgem cars, a merry go round and pony/cart rides.  All for free!  We had a great day - despite the weather - and it was so nice just having fun as a family without having to watch the purse strings...

The other being the lovely time we have spent in the garden, which has been much neglected lately.  WE have just harvested asparagus, artichoke, broad beans, snow peas, turnips and rocket.  It is so lovely to eat our own grown food - though not always my choice in vege, it is making me try to cook new things and learn ways of making some things tasty - some we just eat raw of course.  Got a tip though - wash your artichoke thoroughly - I was warned and thought I had, but was was just getting through the delicious petals when I discovered a visitor - an earwig right in the heart, mmmm....  not so yum (but the rest, oh, yum, must grow more!)

I was sooo looking forward to school holidays - and they have flown by again, all too brief...  And what have we done?  Not half of what we had planned...  My cleaning out & reorganising the house has gone by the wayside - too hard with kids around.  We have slept in a few times, been to the library to learn about bugs, been to three birthday partes, been down to the National Park and spent the day with some aboriginal teachers, been to playgroup, done some craft - oh, and I almost forgot, sent the kids away with their aunty for a weekend.

Royston's highlights include spending time with his cousin (and aunty) and his friend (who we took out for the day - to the movies and McDonalds).  The downlights (is there such a word?) being the fact that his sister was around all holidays (except for movie day) - and they fought - a lot!  Leading mummy to ask "what do I have to do to get you two to get along together?", with the response "sell her to the moon - then I can go visit her when I'm an adult!"  (Note, In between they have played beautifully and been lovely together).

Bella's highlights included going with her cousin and aunty on her first "adventure" away from home - and Aunty S introducing her to chocolate milkshakes (previously she has only had pink or yellow).

My highllights - for sure a weekend without the kids - sleeping in, going to an open garden, out for lunch and dinner, and a spot of winetasting.  Lovely....  But I have really enjoyed not rushing around all the time, just being with the kids (& hubby) - and loving my big six year old to whom we no longer have to read (but still do for fun), to whom we cannot spell any more ( to hide words - like ice cream) and who has not said once "I'm bored", despite not being glued to the tv all fortnight.  Yay!

IN fact we go into the final term of Kindergarten feeling quite relaxed and refreshed and positive - after a very stressful time last term, this is great news - and I hope it will continue...