Tuesday, September 24, 2013

It's An Addiction ...

I keep hearing about fall ... fall is here, it's cooler ... but not where I live in Central California.  Daytime temps are still upwards of 88 and I've been forced to turn the AC on.  One of the interesting things I didn't know about RV'ing is how conservative everyone has to be.  You conserve water, you conserve T.P., you conserve fuel ... what a shock when I come home to see how much of everything is wasted!!  It takes a full three minutes of running my water in the sink full blast before it gets hot.  I have one of those new electric heat-as-you-need-it systems instead of a hot water heater.  What a waste of energy and water!!  Instead of cooling approximately 200 sq ft, I'm cooling 3,000!!!  Pretty sobering ... and I pride myself on being one of the conservative homeowners in my area!!  Apparently my neighbors have no clue, because when PG&E sends out their little "how much electricity you use" letter, everyone in my area is at the highest scale ... I'm at the bottom.   Besides just being cheap, I credit that to being an RV owner.  Being conservative has become an addiction!!

One of the problems I encountered when I got home was the smell of a house being locked up tight for five months.  You know, that musty "old" smell?  Does anyone have any ideas how to get rid of it??  I had all the drains plugged, so it's not from the sewer.  I've left the windows open for two days, turned on all the fans and cleaned and cleaned.  Nothing! I even used up an entire bottle of Fabreeze .. the one they advertise takes care of EVERY odor??  Still nothing!  I even Fabreezed the dogs ... no help.  Maybe someone with more experience has some ideas I could try.

Today's task is to disassemble the big dog kennel and move about 50 bales of hay under the small shed so I can quit buying $100 tarps that disintegrate over the summer.  Sound like fun??  Now you know one of the reasons I need a MAN around the house.  Really, I'm getting too old for this stuff.  I visited my baby horse yesterday at the boarding facility and will pick him up tomorrow.  If you remember, I have him on some expensive meds ... and it's working really well.  He looks gorgeous, like he did in the old days ... not that I can ride him much ... but he looks good!!!  That's a horse owner for ya .. it's an addiction!!

Lastly, I hate to complain, but this BLOG thing has become an addiction too!!!  I can't even have a cup of coffee before I'm on the computer reading Gypsy Journal RV Travel Newspaper Nick and Terry and Dan Chance Travel By Chance, along with several more.  To make it worse, I go around all day looking for things to take pictures of to post on the blog.  It's ALWAYS better with pictures ... which means I take a camera with me everywhere!  I'm telling you, it's an ADDICTION!!!  So tomorrow, I'll have pictures!!!!!

4 comments:

  1. A few years ago, we were gone for six months, When we came home, same smell you are experiencing. I too opened doors and windows, I mopped the floors with pinesol and sprinkled a carpet freshener over all my carpets and let it set for awhile before vacuuming it up. Then I started baking :) Bread and cookies.... didnt take long to get that lived in smell again. Welcome home and enjoy that sunshine. It's cold and wet in Portland.

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    1. GREAT idea Betty!! Thank you soooo much! Chocolate chip cookies it is!!!

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  2. Don't have any ideas on the smell. Sorry it will go away as you live in the house again.
    Don't stop blogging,we all have the same addiction. Can't get thru the day without reading about all the fun everyone is having.

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    1. I'm on it ... maybe not EVERY day, but there's lots of adventures to come!!!

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