Caryl

Don't forget the basic electricity rates have gone up too. You can be using exactly the same amount of power as last year but if electricity went up 20% then so will your bill - with no further useage from you

Not that I have ever experienced.

If $5000 is your budget you are not going to find anything with low ks. :-? We have had Isuzu Bighorn and Wizard, Dihatsu Rocky, Nissan Terrano and Kia Sorento. All diesel except the Rocky and all had low ratio box which is essential for Grant's use. Have to be short wheel based too as he has tight corners to get around! All similar cost to run but a lot depends on what you are doing with it. As Grant does large distances diesel is the best option for him. If you aren't doing a lot of running consider petrol versions as they are often cheaper to buy, which will more than make up for the slightly dearer running costs. Don't forget a diesel is going to cost you more than 4c/km just for road user charges alone. This means a small efficient diesel can cost more that the petrol equivalent, especially when you take in the more expensive maintenance. The Suzuki Vitaras are very good vehicles and there's lots around at all different price levels. Toyotas tend to cost a lot more just because they are Toyotas (and that is why we haven't owned one). Don't write-off automatics. Grant's 4WDs are all auto (medical reasons) now and, if he had a choice, he would still go for an auto. Although the earlier ones don't have such good engine braking through the auto gearbox the newer ones are excellent. He likes his Kia but is finding the vehicle is a little low. Another popular choice could be a Mitsubishi Challenger. Grant doesn't like utes as they don't suit what he does. He needs a closed, secure vehicle with the option of folding the seats for a longer load bay. A surprising number of 4WD vehicles do not allow chains to be fitted on the front wheels so if you need to use chains, check that first! eg. the latest Toyota and Mazda/Ford utes can't have chains fitted on the front wheels!!

No but I did find some pages (notes I think they were called) that I didn't know I had. Can't remember where they were now either :roll: Is the wall my home page?

Thank you Sunbird73. I have a friend who sews and she made it for me. She found the yellow material in a 2nd hand shop for $2.99 and made an extra long skivvy and elasticised the bottom then made the matching cap. I then added yellow tights ($9.95 from memory) and the white ruff was cut from an old sheet I had in the rag bag. Black pipecleaners ($2 Shop) threaded through holes in the cap and taped on the inside to heavy cardboard (had to or they just fell over). The belly was a cushion shaped bit of material which had a strap going around my neck to hold it up. It was filled with polystyrene bean bag balls. The green star was a bit of reflective contact paper I had lying about (like you peel and stick onto school book covers) cut out in a star shape and stuck on. Yellow face paint, $2, from some shop called "1, 2, 3 or more Gifts 2 U" or something like that. Dearest bit would have been the tights (Farmers - got the last yellow pair they had), followed by the balls but they can be given to my daughter to add to her beanbag. I used half a 25L bag from The Warehouse ($9.95 for the whole bag I think)

One of our, now deceased, members made hers using the plastic coated mesh from The Warehouse of garden centres.

Ours varies from month to month as they read then estimate on alternate accounts. Our last account for May was an estimate and $297 but the previous read one was $228. Compare to summer and January's estimate was $251 but December's read was $227 There is a $46 monthly discrepency in the estimates but only $1 difference in the actual read accounts. We run the aircon in summer but in winter have the aircon on warm and use a heatpump in one bedroom plus a bathroom heater as well (only when we are in there of course). As someone said, showers are longer and hotter in winter. We also pay for gas heating in the lounge which is way more expensive than heatpumps :-?

We just passed the winter solstice on June 21st so should be getting warmer from now on

Ooh thanks for that mcrudd, I will check it out :bounce:

A lot can depend on how well insulated your house is. If the tanks are in a warm room then there should be little difference.

Our next meeting is this Sunday, 27th, at 8a Faulkland Drive. ALL WELCOME. As delegates, Grant and I will be reporting back from conference and have quite a bit of information to impart and submisisons to prepare. We will also have pics taken over the conference weekend (and no I haven't forgotten you bdspider) to show on the big screen and you can admire the trophies won by 2 of our members

Our hike is usually the extra appliances we run in winter (heatpumps etc) rather than the aquariums, which use little.

Welcome. Moss walls can certainly look effective

I think so Barrie. I can't remember which one had her pic taken with him :-?

Thanks all. She actually lives in Blenheim Barrie (and many happy returns) and she was here at the weekend but I forgot to ask. She can't talk to me at the moment anyway as I am home sick with Grant's cold he passed on. Have no voice and a very sore throat with blocked sinuses. Not a happy camper at the moment Also the pilot light keeps going on out on the gas fire so am waiting for the gasman to call back to arrange a visit. The fire is only about 4 years old and we bought a Masport as it is a well known brand. It appears the company was sold, or taken over, and the new company did not take over the parts department as well and you can no longer get parts ofr Masport gas fires :roll: Gas is very expensive to run but we did not want heat pumps all through the house (and like the flames), plus the lounge is unsuited to have one installed there thanks to large banks of windows and lack of wall space in the right place for maximum efficiency. Have looked at pellet fires but have been told that getting the pellets here can be a problem. Might just go back to a wood fire. We got rid of the other as it was always me chopping wood and bringing it in plus lots of greeblies tended to come in with the wood and spread through the house. :roll:

Have a look at the thread about the BN with a similar problem. Maybe the same answers apply. Could be constipated. Try feeding it a cooked pea. Pop it out of the shell first as they can't digest the skin.

I signed up to the facebook thing but rarely look at it. I keep getting facebook messages from my "granddaughter" saying she has posted something on my wall. When I click on it is says "Allowing 21 questions access will let it pull your profile information, photos, your friends' info, and other content that it requires to work. Caryl has new questions to unlock" Now, I don't know that I want such information out there, even though I don't think I added anything to my profile. Can someone tell me what this 21 questions thing is? I keep forgetting to ask the kid who keeps answering the questions. Or is she asking the questions? Is someone else asking? I assume it is another of the stupid mindless games played on facebook? Why anyone thinks I care they have a baby dinosaur that needs feeding or that they won so may points in a treasure hunt or whatever is beyond me :roll:

Fish get up to all sorts of things when you are asleep (or the lights are out)

Fries are bad for fish and humans (high fat content)

A little interspecies romance? Or perhaps they are simply plotting to take over the world :roll:

No pie in there - it was polystyrene balls

Your Ammolock is going to affect your test readings too

For those stupid enough to ask for the pics... :lol: And mum and dad went as Crocodile Dundee and the Vicar of Dibley, respectively... For those who do not know why I was dressed as a Star Bellied Sneetch, my parents' church runs an annual Mission Dinner to raise funds for various projects and I get roped in to help prepare, cook and serve the meal. Each year has a different theme and this year was "A Night With The Stars". It is good fun and the diners always appreciate the efforts. I believe they raised $950 last night and also made some money for Trade Aid.

If that is my old tank I think you will find it is 1.2m (4ft), not 2m (6ft) I hope you are going to sterilise it well!

The first suggestion would be quickest and easiest - with a hose Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry.