Some Images

I've not been well. I have been going to bed early the last few weeks, exhausted by the combination of our busy life and me coughing, sneezing, having fever, etc. So no big stories on the blog. But here are some pictures that allow you a glimpse of what we've been up to.

We took the kids to the circus again (we seem to go regularly, the kids absolutely love circuses) and as has become habit, the kids promptly put on their own act. Boo Boo likes the floor gymnastics, Beaver's act of course involved dancing, and Possum is carving out his position of Clown in the family, as you can see...

Our new roof not only looks good, it's working hard. Sure is. There are now 24 solar panels on our roof, generating about 5 kW of electricity a day. The panels are connected to an inverter so we can use the energy we generate in the house, and are also connected to the national electricity grid. Our government pays us the electricity we generate (whether we use it ourselves or not) and the system should pay itself back in about 4 years time. The evacuated tubes for the hot water are back on the roof too. They have heated the pool the last few years, but now they will also be connected to the hot water system in the house - thereby providing hot water for showers and the dishwasher, etc. We also aim to connect a heat exchanger to this system, which will generate hot air in winter and cold air in summer, which will be connected to our air conditioning system. The sun will then heat or cool our house without the use of electricity. On top of that, we now have a 5,000 litre rainwater tank on the side of the house. It's been connected to two of the three toilets in the house (and it is my dream to turn the third toilet in to a compost one, but that's a whole other story), the washing machine and the dishwasher.

And here are some pictures of the kids with Jenna. She has walked into our house (and lives) as if she has always been here. She's a lovely girl, and the kids adore here. As you can see, even Possum is in love!

She is the sweetest, most loving dog. She walks up to everyone ready for a pat and a play. She's great with the animals (the wild ones, I mean the non-human ones) and pretty much just ignores them. She even ignores Monty the snake! The chooks don't like her - and we don't let her into the chook run, but only because Jenna keeps stealing the poor hen's food. Charlie the bird is not too impressed with Jenna, but Jenna couldn't care less about the bird, and Charlie is slowly getting used to having this big black monster about...

Jenna is very well trained. She goes to the toilet on demand, sits and lies down when told, only eats when told (and doesn't really beg - although it's hard for us the keep the kids from spoiling her) and generally behaves impeccably. The only time she barks is at night, when there is some dastardly intruder (like people visiting the neighbours or a passing possum) outside and we need her total protection. I am currently talking to some doggie trainers to start her "re-training" as an assistance dog for Boo Boo.