30 March 2017
856
R. Linda:
I have been watching our electric bill climb to astounding heights, and many a sleepless night have I encountered as a result. Add to that the tax assessor decided I had space not used over my garage (I have a finished in-law suite over my garage), and me house grew 1000 feet! I called the assessor because they already had the finished in-law suite in the assessment along with the unfinished space, which made me wonder if that was part of what they were accounting as additional footage. I rang the tax assessor up and told her the problem. She told me the unfinished was a mistake, and the new property tax amount stayed. This threw me into stuttering and asking her to come back out when I was home so I could show her me house has not changed from the last assessment. She said she'd been out, and it has changed, and that's that.
"You can't fight city hall," said the Dragon, sitting in the other room listening. Oddly, she can hear me in another room, but when you are right next to her, she is deaf as a post. Just this morning, Mam was telling the youngest boyo he had 'dirty ears,' and Dragon was chiming in, asking her what he has coming in 'thirty years.' It is stuff like that drives me up a pole very quickly.
Anyway, that aside, I received me latest electric bill and was overcome with dollar signs to the extent I called four solar companies. One wanted me to lease the panels for 25 years. The other three wanted me to buy them and see a profit in 25 years. The first one I decided against because they had a contract for just coming out and another different one for when you sign up. I think I was one of the rare persons who actually read the entire contract through and rang them to question some of the apparent discrepancies. That surprised the person I was speaking with, so I guess a lot of people just sign on the dotted line and then find when things don't quite work out the way they thought, they can't get out of the contract. Well, as it was, they could only supply me with 40% solar power, which means I'd still be paying the electric company many rubles in ADDITION to lease payments.
The next three companies could guarantee 100% solar energy. Still, the cost would be $59,000 from Company 1, $79,000 if I went with Canadian Solar for $96,000. If I went American from Company 2 and Company 3 was a whopping $100,000 if I went with them. I'd get a tax write off but I'd still be on the grid paying me electric a little less, but still paying them, and I'd be paying a loan for the solar panels as well. I'd see a big difference by year 25. So, thanks, but no thanks.
What to do, huh? Well, Tonya had said the chicken heat lamps were a huge drain, but the kiddos don't want to part with the chickens, and we do get enough eggs. They sell them, and it pays for the feed. Not being a Simon Legree, I didn't have the heart to take the kiddo's egg business away. Tonya said the kitchen appliances were drainers, and we should start there because that would be less expensive than solar. Sounds good, doesn't it? Uh-huh.
The first thing we did was get rid of the large microwave 1200 watts and replace it with a smaller 400-watt version because we don't cook in our microwave, mostly reheat so really it was not necessary to have the huge oven. Next, we got rid of the large toaster oven, not because it was old; it was stainless steel, and, well, Tonya wants black appliances. So that went for a smaller one with energy-saving attributes.
I thought we were done. No, said she that the refrigerator the former owners left us is missing the butter dish, a shelf and both chillers! They had the fridge so packed with food we didn't see all that until we moved in. The thing is, white appliances in a house full of boys don't stay so white, and food falls out because there is not enough shelving and no chiller bins. There is a crack in the casement in the back, and I think the thing is old. We should have bought ours, it was two years old, but it was too big, so we opted to leave it. Stupid us.
Tonya informed me she wanted a bottom freezer, french door, BLACK fridge, and no more of this side-by-side stuff. Well, okay, there were March Madness sales, so off we went. The idea was the black refrigerator would make the granite countertop (which is a very busy pattern) look more "refined." I didn't mind replacing it because we definitely needed to anyway, and the energy-saver we did find was so much nicer than we had. That would be delivered in mid-April. So home we went, and we stood in the kitchen picturing the new purchase, when Tonya decided we needed to replace the ovens and hoods. We have two ovens. The house was billed as a double oven house, but not the typical double oven one thinks of. No, we have two ranges. These are old too and white. And with the large black refrigerator, they were going to look like a zebra kitchen, Tonya pointed out. I knew where we were going.
"It takes forever to get those two dinosaurs to heat up so you can bake," she said. "They must be original to the house."
I think they work fine, wasteful spending here, but she is right, they both take a dog's age to heat up and I had to wonder if that isn't where a lot of the electricity is going. Sigh.
856
R. Linda:
I have been watching our electric bill climb to astounding heights, and many a sleepless night have I encountered as a result. Add to that the tax assessor decided I had space not used over my garage (I have a finished in-law suite over my garage), and me house grew 1000 feet! I called the assessor because they already had the finished in-law suite in the assessment along with the unfinished space, which made me wonder if that was part of what they were accounting as additional footage. I rang the tax assessor up and told her the problem. She told me the unfinished was a mistake, and the new property tax amount stayed. This threw me into stuttering and asking her to come back out when I was home so I could show her me house has not changed from the last assessment. She said she'd been out, and it has changed, and that's that.
"You can't fight city hall," said the Dragon, sitting in the other room listening. Oddly, she can hear me in another room, but when you are right next to her, she is deaf as a post. Just this morning, Mam was telling the youngest boyo he had 'dirty ears,' and Dragon was chiming in, asking her what he has coming in 'thirty years.' It is stuff like that drives me up a pole very quickly.
Anyway, that aside, I received me latest electric bill and was overcome with dollar signs to the extent I called four solar companies. One wanted me to lease the panels for 25 years. The other three wanted me to buy them and see a profit in 25 years. The first one I decided against because they had a contract for just coming out and another different one for when you sign up. I think I was one of the rare persons who actually read the entire contract through and rang them to question some of the apparent discrepancies. That surprised the person I was speaking with, so I guess a lot of people just sign on the dotted line and then find when things don't quite work out the way they thought, they can't get out of the contract. Well, as it was, they could only supply me with 40% solar power, which means I'd still be paying the electric company many rubles in ADDITION to lease payments.
The next three companies could guarantee 100% solar energy. Still, the cost would be $59,000 from Company 1, $79,000 if I went with Canadian Solar for $96,000. If I went American from Company 2 and Company 3 was a whopping $100,000 if I went with them. I'd get a tax write off but I'd still be on the grid paying me electric a little less, but still paying them, and I'd be paying a loan for the solar panels as well. I'd see a big difference by year 25. So, thanks, but no thanks.
What to do, huh? Well, Tonya had said the chicken heat lamps were a huge drain, but the kiddos don't want to part with the chickens, and we do get enough eggs. They sell them, and it pays for the feed. Not being a Simon Legree, I didn't have the heart to take the kiddo's egg business away. Tonya said the kitchen appliances were drainers, and we should start there because that would be less expensive than solar. Sounds good, doesn't it? Uh-huh.
The first thing we did was get rid of the large microwave 1200 watts and replace it with a smaller 400-watt version because we don't cook in our microwave, mostly reheat so really it was not necessary to have the huge oven. Next, we got rid of the large toaster oven, not because it was old; it was stainless steel, and, well, Tonya wants black appliances. So that went for a smaller one with energy-saving attributes.
I thought we were done. No, said she that the refrigerator the former owners left us is missing the butter dish, a shelf and both chillers! They had the fridge so packed with food we didn't see all that until we moved in. The thing is, white appliances in a house full of boys don't stay so white, and food falls out because there is not enough shelving and no chiller bins. There is a crack in the casement in the back, and I think the thing is old. We should have bought ours, it was two years old, but it was too big, so we opted to leave it. Stupid us.
Tonya informed me she wanted a bottom freezer, french door, BLACK fridge, and no more of this side-by-side stuff. Well, okay, there were March Madness sales, so off we went. The idea was the black refrigerator would make the granite countertop (which is a very busy pattern) look more "refined." I didn't mind replacing it because we definitely needed to anyway, and the energy-saver we did find was so much nicer than we had. That would be delivered in mid-April. So home we went, and we stood in the kitchen picturing the new purchase, when Tonya decided we needed to replace the ovens and hoods. We have two ovens. The house was billed as a double oven house, but not the typical double oven one thinks of. No, we have two ranges. These are old too and white. And with the large black refrigerator, they were going to look like a zebra kitchen, Tonya pointed out. I knew where we were going.
"It takes forever to get those two dinosaurs to heat up so you can bake," she said. "They must be original to the house."
I think they work fine, wasteful spending here, but she is right, they both take a dog's age to heat up and I had to wonder if that isn't where a lot of the electricity is going. Sigh.
I needed a break from appliances and have been following another blog that is a private book club of sorts. The blog master or in this case, mistress, puts a book title out, the followers read it and then discuss it. This month, the book is the English classic The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. I've never read it, but our Fionnula and Wolfie were reading it, and I check the back and forth between these two in particular because it makes for some very amusing reading thanks to Wolfie, who has the most astute comments -- always a bright spot in me day, a great way of phrasing things. Here's a sample:
Fiona: "I really should get myself back to going to church to see what the "preachers" are sermonising. I finished reading this philosophy last night and found this guy sorting through things the way he did was not my forte. I understand the nuances of different philosophies when I read them, but they do not stick in my head."
Wolf: "Philosophy -- such a fun subject. Um, and I would find how to become a plumber just as fun. This is not philosophy, my dear. Speaking of philosophy as you see it, reading this tome is like reading the rantings of a crazy person. I am sometimes amused, oftentimes wishing to put my hands around his neck and squeeze hard. Talk about philosophical ideas mixed with comedy and sprinkled with lots of crazy; one can liken it to too much salt on an egg. I am halfway through and determined to find something of value in the stupid book. So far, the dissertation on noses did nothing for me, but the small romance between Julia and Fernando kept my attention until it got totally weird. Going for Machiavelli next. Nothing like a little politics to get one's mind off noses."
Ha ha! These two can go at it at times, and I simply love it. It takes me mind off electricity and appliances. But back to the appliances because Tonya took it a step further, PAINT. But since we were replacing the ovens (this was news to me) we should go back and pick up the black range hoods that were on sale, this being the last day. HUH? I didn't move quick enough that she ordered them online. I was sent to go get them and put them up. I did. I don't know why I didn't argue the point.
I installed them (an easy job), and she said, "Those look wonderful. We need to replace the dishwasher."
"Oh no, we don't. It isn't that old that I can see, and it is like the one we had, only it's white."
"I looked online, and they are on sale too, I think we should go look."
I was all for a full-out argument about why not we should go look when the visiting Dragon came drifting in and said she'd go too. UGH! I told them both to go ahead and let me know what they found.
"Give me your chequebook or card, and then we'll go," Tonya said as I moved back from her outstretched hand. Really? We were doing this? We were replacing ALL the appliances in the kitchen like I was Prince Phillip with unlimited resources. I didn't think so and said as much, but the Dragon took charge, threw me jacket at me and said she'd drive, which is a no-no. She can't hear, AND she can't see.
The bottom line was I, me, found a dishwasher that was a reasonable price. The thing Dragon liked had a wine glass holder. Rarely do we drink wine, and when we do, we hand wash because the glasses are a fine crystal (a wedding present), and we don't want to take the chance of chipping in a dishwasher. But Tonya liked it, and I liked the price, so everyone was happy. That arrives in mid-April. Probably the same day as the refrigerator.
I started walking to the store exit when I realised I was by my lonesome. The ladies were on their way to the paint department. Oi! So I caught up to them just as they had picked out paint for the kitchen.
"Why paint it when you want to eventually get a new backsplash?" I asked Tonya.
"To freshen it up a bit."
She held up a sage green that I could live with. We got the paint, of course, we did. That afternoon, she painted the walls, and we realised the colour was off. It was baby blue. It wasn't mixed correctly. It was bloody awful! She decided it was more a sea foam blue, and she'd paint the laundry room with it. Okay, that's fine, not a total waste.
The next day I come home to not a sea foam blue kitchen but a cranberry kitchen. She got more paint, and well, if she had told me what she had in mind, I might have said no way, but to be honest, it looks spiffy. I rather like it, and we all (the entire family, including Dragon) agree we don't need to replace the partial backsplash. The cranberry looks great!
Here, take a look:
Fiona: "I really should get myself back to going to church to see what the "preachers" are sermonising. I finished reading this philosophy last night and found this guy sorting through things the way he did was not my forte. I understand the nuances of different philosophies when I read them, but they do not stick in my head."
Wolf: "Philosophy -- such a fun subject. Um, and I would find how to become a plumber just as fun. This is not philosophy, my dear. Speaking of philosophy as you see it, reading this tome is like reading the rantings of a crazy person. I am sometimes amused, oftentimes wishing to put my hands around his neck and squeeze hard. Talk about philosophical ideas mixed with comedy and sprinkled with lots of crazy; one can liken it to too much salt on an egg. I am halfway through and determined to find something of value in the stupid book. So far, the dissertation on noses did nothing for me, but the small romance between Julia and Fernando kept my attention until it got totally weird. Going for Machiavelli next. Nothing like a little politics to get one's mind off noses."
Ha ha! These two can go at it at times, and I simply love it. It takes me mind off electricity and appliances. But back to the appliances because Tonya took it a step further, PAINT. But since we were replacing the ovens (this was news to me) we should go back and pick up the black range hoods that were on sale, this being the last day. HUH? I didn't move quick enough that she ordered them online. I was sent to go get them and put them up. I did. I don't know why I didn't argue the point.
I installed them (an easy job), and she said, "Those look wonderful. We need to replace the dishwasher."
"Oh no, we don't. It isn't that old that I can see, and it is like the one we had, only it's white."
"I looked online, and they are on sale too, I think we should go look."
I was all for a full-out argument about why not we should go look when the visiting Dragon came drifting in and said she'd go too. UGH! I told them both to go ahead and let me know what they found.
"Give me your chequebook or card, and then we'll go," Tonya said as I moved back from her outstretched hand. Really? We were doing this? We were replacing ALL the appliances in the kitchen like I was Prince Phillip with unlimited resources. I didn't think so and said as much, but the Dragon took charge, threw me jacket at me and said she'd drive, which is a no-no. She can't hear, AND she can't see.
The bottom line was I, me, found a dishwasher that was a reasonable price. The thing Dragon liked had a wine glass holder. Rarely do we drink wine, and when we do, we hand wash because the glasses are a fine crystal (a wedding present), and we don't want to take the chance of chipping in a dishwasher. But Tonya liked it, and I liked the price, so everyone was happy. That arrives in mid-April. Probably the same day as the refrigerator.
I started walking to the store exit when I realised I was by my lonesome. The ladies were on their way to the paint department. Oi! So I caught up to them just as they had picked out paint for the kitchen.
"Why paint it when you want to eventually get a new backsplash?" I asked Tonya.
"To freshen it up a bit."
She held up a sage green that I could live with. We got the paint, of course, we did. That afternoon, she painted the walls, and we realised the colour was off. It was baby blue. It wasn't mixed correctly. It was bloody awful! She decided it was more a sea foam blue, and she'd paint the laundry room with it. Okay, that's fine, not a total waste.
The next day I come home to not a sea foam blue kitchen but a cranberry kitchen. She got more paint, and well, if she had told me what she had in mind, I might have said no way, but to be honest, it looks spiffy. I rather like it, and we all (the entire family, including Dragon) agree we don't need to replace the partial backsplash. The cranberry looks great!
Here, take a look:
 |
| Not bad, considering it saves me money, LOL |
Not only did she repaint the kitchen, she painted the mudroom, this time with sage green. Yup, she got more paint. She also got paint samples for the hallway and living room. If she wants to paint, I say go for it.
Here's the mudroom:
Here's the mudroom:
 |
| Sage green is better than white, and why anyone would paint white in a mudroom, I have no clue |
Meanwhile, back at the book club:
Fiona: "I thought this book would be more like The Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman. I thoroughly enjoyed that."
Wolf: That's a problem, you shouldn't surmise one author's work to another. Maybe you should reread that one; it was at least a fun read. A note on Tristam since that's what we should be discussing, but after reading it going off point seems to be the way of it; the author purposely left one chapter of blank pages. There are six pages of nothing. He thinks it is funny. I don't because he goes into a dissertation on what he might have written in the following chapter. What a nutcase. Further, he goes off point so much it's like talking to a mutual friend of ours and at the end of it wondering what the conversation was about in the first place."
I have to laugh; I can "surmise" the mutual friend's identity, as can you, back to the paint and appliances.
Mam discussed the miracle of a door without an ice maker in it. We had one at the old house, and clean-up was constant. She also reminded us of the non-joys of stainless steel and fingerprints. I was starting to feel better.
"Noo floods, no fingerprints, noo flyin' across the floor on a piece of errant ice. An' why would ya need a convection oven here when ya got gas dat kooks evenly? An' luck yer gettin' a grill on da stoovetop ya are, sumthin' ya had and dunt now. Wit black appliances ya dunt see da grease!"
She had a point something it seems Tristam Shandy doesn't.
"An' Gabe, by Tonya not paintin' da kitchen green, ya won't lose yer kookies."
Eeeyah, there be that. I lose it when I see a certain shade of green. It makes me violently ill. Every spring, I couldn't go out at the sight of that kelly green new grass because I'd be throwing up at the sight of it. I can tolerate hunter green and forest green, but any light green and I'm worshipping the porcelain bowl. In any light green room, I have to wear sunglasses. That be a truth about me you didn't know. If that first 'sage' had been lighter, I'd be on a perpetual diet by not being able to go into the kitchen. Anyway, I am lighter in the pockets, me electric bill stays the same for now, there is no Kelly green. Tonya is redecorating and happy, Dragon be supervising, and Mam be reminding me how I be making the new abode OURS instead of theirs. Okay then, but I be still not sleeping well. I think it is the lighting that's causing the spike in electricity. I don't dare mention that for obvious reasons.
Gabe
Copyright © 2017 All rights reserved
Fiona: "I thought this book would be more like The Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman. I thoroughly enjoyed that."
Wolf: That's a problem, you shouldn't surmise one author's work to another. Maybe you should reread that one; it was at least a fun read. A note on Tristam since that's what we should be discussing, but after reading it going off point seems to be the way of it; the author purposely left one chapter of blank pages. There are six pages of nothing. He thinks it is funny. I don't because he goes into a dissertation on what he might have written in the following chapter. What a nutcase. Further, he goes off point so much it's like talking to a mutual friend of ours and at the end of it wondering what the conversation was about in the first place."
I have to laugh; I can "surmise" the mutual friend's identity, as can you, back to the paint and appliances.
Mam discussed the miracle of a door without an ice maker in it. We had one at the old house, and clean-up was constant. She also reminded us of the non-joys of stainless steel and fingerprints. I was starting to feel better.
"Noo floods, no fingerprints, noo flyin' across the floor on a piece of errant ice. An' why would ya need a convection oven here when ya got gas dat kooks evenly? An' luck yer gettin' a grill on da stoovetop ya are, sumthin' ya had and dunt now. Wit black appliances ya dunt see da grease!"
She had a point something it seems Tristam Shandy doesn't.
"An' Gabe, by Tonya not paintin' da kitchen green, ya won't lose yer kookies."
Eeeyah, there be that. I lose it when I see a certain shade of green. It makes me violently ill. Every spring, I couldn't go out at the sight of that kelly green new grass because I'd be throwing up at the sight of it. I can tolerate hunter green and forest green, but any light green and I'm worshipping the porcelain bowl. In any light green room, I have to wear sunglasses. That be a truth about me you didn't know. If that first 'sage' had been lighter, I'd be on a perpetual diet by not being able to go into the kitchen. Anyway, I am lighter in the pockets, me electric bill stays the same for now, there is no Kelly green. Tonya is redecorating and happy, Dragon be supervising, and Mam be reminding me how I be making the new abode OURS instead of theirs. Okay then, but I be still not sleeping well. I think it is the lighting that's causing the spike in electricity. I don't dare mention that for obvious reasons.
Gabe
Copyright © 2017 All rights reserved
