New game for the family...

Another game to play :)

Russell found a new game for us to all play. :) It is called Battle Frontier... It is awesome and can get a little hairy :)

Another game to use when we have No Technology Monday or Low Electricity Wednesday :) :) :)

Cheers Damaris

Wednesday Chill out Days...

Dogs are snoozing, boys are reading. :)

Love Low Electricity Wednesdays... Just love them...

Boys go outside more and when the mozzies start to come out they crash in my room on the bed with the dogs. They always have to join us off course. :)

Love it :) Don't even want to stop doing it :)

Cheers Damaris

She's on Fire :)

Go Mum :)

Joshua challenged Russell's Mum Erica to a couple of games of pool the other morning... Low Electricity Wednesday can bring out all sorts of game playing in him... He thought he would have an easy time with her...

Well he was in for a shock and she nearly flogged him both times... She sunk those balls... You should have seen her. She was Amazing :)

Go Mum :)

Cheers Damaris

This morning...

Both beds were made first thing this morning. :)

Joshua and Nick playing 'Stock Market'

Bailey was invited to also play. lol

Nova watching carefully, from the couch. lol

For the last four nights I have not slept well. Don't know what is going on... Might be the frogs keeping me up. Hope tonight is better...

Joshua had a little friend over for a sleepover last night and in the morning they got up really quietly so that I could keep snoozing... I heard them but left them to it. :)

Today is Wednesday, I know I shouldn't be on here but as Joshua is just with me I made an exception to the normal rule... That is that today we don't practice Low Electricity Wednesday. He didn't know that first thing in the morning though...

So they got up and make both their beds :) And then they proceeded and played a really old game of Russell's - Stock Market... It is from the early 70's. Russell taught Joshua during the holidays while cooped up with all the rain and now Joshua has taught Nick as well. :) Was so lovely to come out and see them playing so nicely together.

I got them their breakfast and then they continued playing. Joshua was so gracious and let Nick win... What a wonderful morning it was. :)

Cheers Damaris

Away from the computer...

Timothy blew bubbles through his hand onto the water...

Joshua having a go as well :)

Love my Mondays and Wednesdays... No Technology Mondays and Low Electricity Wednesdays... Yep, Love them.

Yesterday had the kids out there doing stuff on the trampoline and the wind picked up just a little. Joshua decided to get some bubble mixture that I had gotten the week before and try out some things on it. Then Timothy got into it as well. :)

They ended up not only trying to make the biggest bubbles in the air but onto the water trough with water in it as well... I must say they are fantastic bubble blowers. :)

Enjoy the picture journey... I certainly had a ball watching them.

Cheers Damaris

What a treasure...

A creation from my darling Joshua...

Joshua was playing with his Mighty Beanz collection yesterday morning and look what he came up with all by himself... Can you make it out???

It says: D and R = Love, meaning "Damaris and Russell = Love"...

How cute is my boy??? Yes, very :)

We have been having a really relaxing time just the two of us... Timothy should be off to Tempin' Bowling in Toowoomba with Bluecare today so again he will have an awesome day. This is really good as he had such a hard time going there and getting used to it all in the first place. As he is verbal it was very hard for him to connect with others that are not. Now he loves it and Bluecare try their very best to ensure that he is teamed up with another person that fits more to him. They try hard with all their clients and I can't thank them enough for our little break... Four nights... It has been bliss...

Russell is home tonight to enjoy the last night with us and we will make sure it is a lovely one. Tomorrow Joshua and I are off to Ipswich Hospital to see the ENT one last time and hopefully get the all clear. Though there have been some dodgy nose incidents of late... Still hoping and praying that this is the one that closes his file after 9 long years...

So all in all this holiday with just Joshua has really brought out his warm side... He has had a great time spending most of it with me and including me really well in his little world. I think that having No Technology Day on Mondays and Low Electricity Day on a Wednesday has really helped that. One game he insisted on each night too has been the game we play where we both think of someone we know and have to take turns saying nice things about them... He loves that game and so do I...

Cheers Damaris

It has come back to life...

Joshua's candle for me for Mother's Day...

Joshua had made this lovely candle for me for Mother's Day this year and I had only used it once. I tried again and again to light it after that but it just wouldn't. Couldn't throw it out though so just kept with my other candles...

Well last Wednesday, for our Low Electricity Day, he tried desperately to light it and you know what it did... yay I am sooo thrilled as it is a non dripping one as well... He made this one at school and did such a great job. I am so happy that it is in working order again. :)

Cheers Damaris

Baking time...

Muffins for Russell's lunches...

Pear jam. Should last a while. :)

On the weekend we mostly cook and bake. That is how it has been for the last two weekends anyway. That was not really sitting too well with Russell and I. He comes home and all we are is in the kitchen. The kitchen is large enough for each of us to be working on different little projects which is just as well and we do work together very well. We always have. As nice as it is... I wanna spend time with him and the boys.

So changes have been made and now we no longer have a Low Electricity Wednesday. We have turned it into a No Technology Wednesday and am wanting the same for Friday's as well. Will keep you posted how the boys respond to that one. hehe We will still have our candles at night and cook as little as possible but basically I am baking allot more now that all is made from scratch. Made a huge batch of Pear Jam on the weekend and that should last a little while. Goes really well in the muffins that we make. Yummy...

Must say the Thermomix is getting one heck of a work out and glad too. Saving us allot of time and it has been really easy to adjust the recipes from other books to the Thermie... This has been a blessing as there are allot of recipes in the Thermie cookbook that are off limits at the moment. So the Failsafe Cookbook by Sue Dengate is coming in very handy. Loving all the recipes... We are also finding that Carob is very easily exchanged for chocolate. Russell made the best Carob pudding and from scratch-made custard on the weekend. Yummmmmy. I know I go on and will for some time though as it has been hard to adjust to us not eating Anything while out. Makes it very hard...

Russell and I are sick at the moment and have been since about Sunday. This is also diet related and to be expected apparently. Wish it was not so. This afternoon I am starting to feel normal again. All stuffy in the head really but that is when I feel my worst. Am so glad that we are eating this new way as it is coming out of our system slowly but surely...

Cheers Damaris

Reading time...

Timothy, reading...

Kids playing on Wednesday...

When we have No Technology Day, I must say I am always pleased when it also happens in the Holidays. This week has been no exception. On Monday as usual no technology was used so the boys had to amuse themselves another way.

We had allot of bike riding done that day. Three lots of trips into the village and one big lot of jumping their jump out the front of the house yard. Was good to see them also be aware that if they got on their bikes, helmets must be worn. I didn't even have to remind them. :)

Another thing that Timothy loves to do is read. He takes a book from our little library and takes off into my room, loves to sit on the big bed and cross-legged there he will sit for hours and read books from front to back. I love watching him and even take a little siesta next to him as I know he will not move. He does tell me sometimes what he is reading if he is really excited or shocked by the information but usually is really quiet. Last Monday was no exception.

Then last Wednesday we had some unexpected little friends over. This day is our Low Electricity Day which meant that they couldn't again have any electronic toys on at all. They didn't know what to do with themselves at first but with a little encouragement from Joshua they soon got the hang of it. :) They ended up playing a board game for about two hours as well as a whole heap of painting. Ended up being finger painting as well which ended up a huge mess but they had fun. As I say, Water will just about clean anything up, including paint or mud...

So a good couple of days was had by all. :)

Cheers Damaris

Reaching 100.0KwH and counting...

Just to show you that we really have reached 100KwH. :)

Two days ago we reached it... Woohoo 100KwH from our solar electricity panels. I am very happy, I must say. :)

I watched it click over from 99.9 to the magic 100.0. Was fantastic to watch. Joshua was there with me to celebrate. Happened on Wednesday, our Low Electricity Day. That day we also used... wait for it... -.07KwH. Yep in the minus. Love it, love it, love it.

This stuff really excites me and it is wonderful to see Russell and the boys loving it too. I love bragging about it to locals. Even the Librarian from our Mobile Library is excited about it. I am investigating her options for her at the moment till next time I see her. She wants to know all the ins and outs so that she can also get it done. Now a friend within this community also wants it done. So am investigating for both of them. :)

Can't get better than this. Well I could if I get my meter soon. Then I won't just get back what I put in I will be paid for it more than twice as much. Cool hey?

Cheers Damaris

Entertaining themselves...

Boardgames are a favourite...

Timothy with Bailey lounging on my bed.

Timothy reading to me...

Magnets are always a hit. :)

Joshua showing off his blowing skills...

My boys sometimes have a hard time finding things to do when we have No Technology Monday's or Low Electricity Wednesday's... They cope though see what they were up to this week. :)

Cheers Damaris

Happy Birthday, Bailey...

My beautiful boy, Bailey...

On Wednesday was not just Low Electricity Day, which was a huge success considering I had Russell home and the kids were on Holidays but it was also Bailey's 6th Birthday... We certainly hope that we have many more years with him...

He has grown up so much over the last year. He was a little bit of the underdog when Nova and Poppy first came to stay with us, nearly two years ago but he seems to have settled with Nova really nicely. RIP Poppy. We miss you alot. We think of you all the time.

He had a haircut yesterday. I always give the dogs one when I do the humans in this house as well. Have always done the boys' hair and Russell has only ever been to the hairdresser once in his life, on our Wedding Day. lol

Yes, I certainly overdid it with my hand yesterday. Did Russell's and Timothy's hair first, then Nova and then Bailey. Joshua will be done today as he was at a friend's place for some respite (that is what I call it anyway...)

The photo above was taken on his Birthday and while he has no idea why we are so excited that he has turned another year older, he was very happy to pose for a few photos. This was the best one in the end. Sorry for the red eyes... He is not really evil. lol

Cheers Damaris

We are Champions, in my humble opinion anyway...

My beautiful electricty meter...

On Wednesday I watched as the meter man came and took our reading and have been waiting very, very patiently for my electricity bill. I have been itching to find out what we have used. I know as I do daily readings what kWh amount we have been using but I wanted to know what the amount was as I didn't know how much electricity had gone up by. All I knew was that it was up as of 1 July 2009.

Well, yesterday I eagerly checked my mail and there it was. That wonderful, precious envelope that would tell me how we had done for the last three months...

Our last quarter we used 1156kWh and it cost us $233.10. Just after our last bill was when I got an electrician out from Warwick and Marty was able to change my solar hot water to actually be solar hot water. What had happened was that during the building process the electrician at the time just wired the pump and solar booster in as one. Not separately. This means that as we are on tank water we needed the pump on all the time. But that also meant that the solar booster was on all the time. Lovely great hot water but the solar was not being used at all. Such a pity. I argued with the builders for ages and they would not come to the party and get it done for me, even though I had asked for them separately before signing the contract. Unfortunately for me I didn't check to see that it was in the contract. It was not. So I got it done myself in the end and was the best $210 I ever spent. Our water most days is actually hotter than with the booster, and no it doesn't need turning on anymore. Just the way I like it...

OK, so to my brag... We have had our No Technology Monday's and Low Electricity Wednesday's for the whole time as well and our usage was down to..... wait for it.... 896kWh and the total of the bill is $210.75.

I can't believe it... I am sooo proud of my boys and I. Russell is really proud of us as well. He was not here for any of the Monday's or Wednesday's except a couple of them so he knew we had put in a huge effort to reduce our usage. The boys are also allot more aware just what goes into saving now and it is a habit.

Our electricity went up 15.67% as at 1 July 2009, which I think is terrible. I just can't wait for my solar electricity to come now. I am checking on the process of my application with the Government Department during this week and will post as to where we are up to. Can't happen soon enough but I also realise that I will probably have to wait for another six months or so.

I am thinking now of other ways to try and save kWh's now. Not only are we saving money and then some as well as building a better knit family unit but we are also doing our little bit at this end in helping the environment and that is what it is mainly all about. Any of your hints would be greatly appreciated...

Cheers Damaris

Operation time...

Went to Ipswich Hospital yesterday to see what the results were from my MRI on my hand from three weeks ago. The result was that I don't have Keinboeck Disease, which is great. Would mean allot of more difficult surgery than just getting rid of the ganglion in my wrist.

The doctor I saw was so nice and straight away booked me in to have the surgery done. I am so glad that they have come to the decision that they will operate after me driving to and from hospital a total of 12 hours, an ultrasound, a X-ray and MRI and initial interview. I should have the day surgery within a couple of months. We will see about that one but am glad that it is coming out all the same.

On other things, used only 0.6kWh yesterday which I am really happy about for one of our best Low Electricity Wednesday's. Proud of the boys' effort in helping make it as low as possible. Love the candle light dinners and getting around the house with candles. Milked with a torch last night. It is always funny watching Lorray trying to find her bucket of grain and cotton seeds... lol

Lavender is also now only 3.5 weeks away from dropping her first calf. I am rather excited and don't really care whether it is a male or female. Either way it will go in the freezer anyway. Sausage has also grown allot. Amazing what all that Lucerne hay is doing to him. lol

I also got 4 new point of lay chooks this week. They are not the black ones that I really wanted. They are still coming in a few more weeks. These ones are just the brown and white ones and they are settling in nicely. I also have a little bantam laying in one of the nesting boxes. Can't figure out which one it is though. The baby chicks that I got a while back from the Pig and Calf are also growing. Have only got six left in the doggy house as the others were ready to be introduced to the rest of the flock. Have had one of my guinea fowl run up to our neighbour's block and hope it comes back. That was three days ago so am thinking it might not happen but I am an optimist.

Our guinea pigs are still 8 in total. Hope they have some babies soon. I am getting tired of waiting. lol

Well that is a quick update of what has been happening around here. Am glad that Russell is coming home tonight... Missing him. Been one long week.

Cheers Damaris

Audit Update...

Time for reflection...

I thought I would take this opportunity to just let everyone know how our family went in last week's audit...

It started on the Saturday with the Family Plan being created just for us. This has given us great focus for the next 12 months at least. We have done everything that we set out in our plan to do during this week. This included:

We collected chicken and cow manure for the compost.

I reduced the amount of milk that I take from Lorray so that we don't have any go off anymore.

The boys started to regularly collect kindling from a kind neighbour and we are giving her milk in return.

I have asked another neighbour about fixing our tractor and that hopefully will be done within a month.

I have asked another person from our village about helping plant our seedling trees when we get them in spring.

Other things that we continued this week were:

Monitoring our electricity usage and putting the information into a spreadsheet.

Wednesday we only used 0.3kWh for our Low Electricity Day.

We spent no money this week at all as per Rhonda's blog. We are rather proud of that one and ended up saving over $140 for the week on groceries alone.

Made a monthly menu plan.

Yesterday I had a day to myself. It was lovely and I went to the Beaudesert Dexter Breed Show. Yes it started two hours later than originally scheduled but I had a ball. It was lovely to see our breeders and show them pictures of our three. I nearly sold my single milking machine. Shame, could have done with the room in the shed... I will actually get a little more serious about it soon as I would rather see someone else using it than it just sitting there.

Really this week has been very productive. I am still working on things as we go but today is a stay-at-home day, which I love and am really looking forward to. I will milk, cook, bake and do some cleaning probably. Washing will also be done. More firewood needs splitting as well for the coming week. I like Russell to do a whole heap so that the boys and I don't have to worry about it as much during the week when he is not here.

One thing that I am really excited about and can't believe that I have not done it years earlier is my monthly Menu Plan. Wow, how easy is that. All I did was sit down last Sunday night, think of all the dinners that my family likes and then fit them into our days accordingly. I have picked up some lovely quick but nutritious ones in the last two weeks as well so have incorporated them in as well. I must say, I am loving my Menu Plan. Why did I wait so long? I will never know but realise now that the time spent one evening collating it all and putting it all down on paper is sooooo worth the effort. I don't stress anymore about what is for dinner. I already know I have the ingredients and just make sure meat is out in time to defrost. Time management wise it is brilliant. Until I did this plan, I didn't realise just how much I stressed about dinners. I implore anyone and everyone to try this. If you want a copy of mine just let me know and I will email it to you. You can then customise it to your own needs.

My biggest hurdle this week, being holidays has been to limit the boys on the computer or with the DVD's. I usually allow two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon but this has not worked at all this week and shows with my electricity usage. I must admit I have not stuck to it either. Bad, bad, bad. This will improve I am sure as we go back to school and I can implement it starting this school term. Wish me luck...

So this is what happened for us during the last week. Has been very busy but very productive.

Cheers Damaris