electric car | organised castle

We all have our routines and in many instances they serve us well for a variety of reasons. However, nothing is ever set in stone and it is worth being flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Retirement certainly brings changes in routine – for instance, we no longer set the alarm and get up at 5am to get ready for work. Those days are long gone.

A few weeks ago we changed our electricity plan to take advantage of the ‘Free Three’. That is, the 3 hours of free electricity being offered between 11am and 2 pm each day. The rationale behind this is, where possible, to encourage people to use electricity in the middle of the day instead of during the peak hours of demand between 3pm-8pm.

Our decision was primarily to facilitate charging our new EV using 3 hours of free electricity. However, we have also made a conscious effort to run the washing machine and dishwasher in the middle of the day, too. Both appliances have a delayed start option which I had never used but it is invaluable if you are not home between 11am and 2pm.

Finally, we have decided to make a habit of having our main meal for lunch rather than in the evening or if this is not convenient to consider preparing and cooking the meal ahead of time. As well as saving power, I believe it is better for our health and I am more inclined to spend time cooking in the middle of the day rather than late in the afternoon/evening when I am tired or otherwise engaged.

This was our lunch today. A baked potato topped with refried beans and cheese. Sides of coleslaw, avocado and fried onion, mushroom and capsicum.

For those of you in Australia. Have you changed your electricity plan to take advantage of the free electricity between 11am and 2pm? Are you at home during the day? Don’t forget that it applies on weekends as well as weekdays. Do you have appliances that have a delayed start option? I am interested in how you can make it work for you.

It is almost a month since my last post and whilst I would not necessarily say I have been busy, I have not felt ready to share many of the things that have been going on as they all seem to have ‘work in progress’ status.

Cars – this has been a real juggling act. After our jaunt to the Melbourne Motor Show which I wrote about here we went to Ballarat and test drove a Geely X5. This confirmed our thoughts and we ordered one which we should have within the next week or so. GMan agreed to sell the Hilux ute so that has now gone to a new home. Meanwhile, the Subaru Forester which was damaged in a traffic accident in late February has finally been repaired and the hire car which we have been driving for nearly 3 months has been returned. The next step is to sell the Forester which coincidentally had a ‘spa day’ after the repairs were completed so it is looking bright and shiny and hopefully will be sold soon.

In other news, I spent a week in Brisbane recently. My visit was specifically so that I could attend several reunion events planned for the group who began our student nursing training at Princess Alexandra Hospital in March 1976. It was amazing to reconnect with women, most of whom I had not seen for 47 years since we finishing our general training. There were many hours of laughter, memories and friendships rekindled. Preliminary plans are already afoot for another in 3 years to celebrate 50 years since our graduation! I was also able to spend some time with several family members which was a lovely bonus.

The minutae of life continue and I will continue to share the regular stuff as I have been doing on this blog for over 15 years. That milestone slipped by in March without me noticing. As a matter of interest, I would love to know how you found this blog and how long you have been reading.