So it does rain...
Today has been cool and wet with some heavy rain in the afternoon. As I mentioned before, the rain is much needed with regular reports in the paper of the worst drought in 100 years and the struggling farmers in NSW, plus a high risk of bush fires this summer. There is also a hosepipe ban in place, so that gardens can only be watered in the morning and evenings on Sundays and Wednesdays, although this could become stricter as the summer wears on.

We could have done with heavy rain a few days earlier as we had our first pool maintenance visit on Thursday. A man of few words, Ben showed us how to look after the pool on a daily basis and then he chucked bags of salt, chlorine and other chemicals into the pool as it was running very low. The water level was also too low for the filter and pumps to be working properly, so we had to leave the hose running for several hours to top it up. If this process is repeated across Sydney, you can see where all the water goes!

After their first week at school the girls have been organising their social lives, so that Laura is off to the cinema this evening and Caroline (and possibly Rebecca) are seeing friends tomorrow. This means we are settling back into the routine of a weekend taxi service, although with the weather at the moment it's not disrupting any other plans!

Clive