kids etc

Like a lot of folk, we are trying to conserve resources wherever possible. We've kept up with the habit we developed while living in the camper of having a small tub of water available in our kitchen for rinsing sticky hands, wetting a cloth to wipe down a bench or whatever else. It sure saves turning the tap on and off many times. That water is then scattered onto the lawn or the garden.
Taking that a step further, we've decided to do the same with the bath water - the kids and sometimes Cary &/or I, usually use the same water. We then use a large cup or jug and pour the water from the bath into a watering can and take it outside. We got the blue bucket above to put in the shower to catch extra water that also gets put outside. Nicholas decided it would be fun to have a bath in it after having a shower.

In another area of conservation, I've been looking for a bike trailer for my push bike to make it easier to go to the beach / library / shops and cut down our fuel consumption. I wasn't totally happy with the prices I've seen, though there are some ok deals here on ebay. I wanted to make something and knew I could figure something out. I found a golf buggy at a garage sale for $3 after some negotiation. I used some zip ties to attach it to the rack that Nicholas' seat sits on and also wound a small combination lock around the handle of the buggy and the rack on my bike for extra security. A few bungy cords to attach our bag of stuff and we were ready for a trial run to the playground 1.5km away. The verdict - excellent!

The photo above of my 'patent-pending el cheapo bike trailer' was taken outside of our new place. Shoosh - sorry I haven't put more photos of our place on here Hon, I keep forgetting. But you can look through the front window, out the back window and see the clothes flapping on the line! (if you click on the actual photo, it should come up a lot larger) What you can't see are the passionfruits, the mulberrys, the herbs, the stray zucchini plant suddenly arising from our resting compost heap, the tomatos and the pretty flowers that smell soooo good. Must remember to get more pics for you!

My budding photographer, AJ, took this photo of Nicholas at the playground. It's especially for y'all in the northern hemisphere as we are in the land 'down under'! (oh dear..I think I need some adult conversation soon or my brain is going to turn gooey).

Cary LOVES lights - police lights, flashers, railway lights etc etc. I reluctantly went to a car boot sale two days before Cary went back to the USA. He insisted that I get out for a while and he'd stay home with AJ and his chickenpox. Wandering around the sale, I saw this traffic light. When I asked how much it was and was told $2!!!!!!!!!! , I casually said that I would buy it. One very happy hubby when I got home. The lady that had owned it had it at her home daycare. She said it had worked but due to some regulation, they had to disconnect the electrical which Cary said he can easily reconnect.

And finally, just because I probably haven't put a pic of AJ in recently (and I know I haven't of Summer either), here he is, chickenpox and all:

Actually, his chickenpox don't look bad - they weren't bad. I put chickweed gel on them the first day and that helped a lot. I think he's a pretty fast healer too.