I know that there are two things I do way too much on this blog - I post too many photos of our view and I write too much about our struggles with lack of water and electricity. You will have to bear with me on both counts as they constitute so much of our everyday lives. However, I might now stop talking so much about our lack of electricity as we are having solar panels installed to help with our electricity needs.
It is not a massive system we are having installed but it should make us 70-80 pct energy independent. The last 20-30 pct is impossible for us to reach as we need boosts beyond the capacity of the solar system to run things like our treadmill, Lieke's hair dryer and some kitchen appliances (the refrigerator being the most important). However, we should now be able to deal with the long power cuts during the day easier as the solar system will charge as we are using the electricity. So with this we are doing pretty well with solar heated water and solar produced electricity - next step should be a windmill.
It is not as cold as it was a week or two ago but our favorite place is still on the roof-top where we can sit in the sun most of the day doing games and reading. The kids are up there right now making small animals out of play-doug.