The HEAT is on!!! My usual cool morning coffee time has been shortened considerably. It's 75 degrees out this morning with record highs of 107 in the area of the Delta breezes. My shopping spree has definitely been cut short ... like a knife through my heart. Air conditioning is now required, which means Nancy doesn't spend a dime on anything else.
My used-to-be $99 a month PG&E bill is now $350 thanks to California making all it's customers pay for the big fires already proven to be the electric company's fault. Add to that the increase in prices because we no longer produce our OWN oil and we are on the slide down into being far from prosperous. Maybe I should just quit having coffee in the morning. Yeah ... it must be the coffee!!
So ..... look who's coming to dinner!! After many disappointing mornings, I finally caught the kids back in the yard. This just goes to show what fat cats are prowling the neighborhood. Three different kitty kitties came by and didn't even give the chicken a second look. They just walked on by like ... I don't want any stinking chicken!!! Where's the beef???
Foxy even did not one, but THREE drive-by's before finally taking a second look. I get it, they are looking for fresh meat! Maybe a little gopher, maybe a chicken egg or even grubs would be better. I laughed when he apparently stepped on something and kept shaking his feet!!!
In the end, he came back ONE MORE TIME, quickly snatched the leg and ran off. Beggars can't be choosers.
The morning passed slowly as I waited for Cyndae to drive up. I got the latest rack of ribs out of the fridge so they would warm up a tad before going in the smoker.
Oh look ..... it's cactus weather in sunny California. I began closing up the house and turning on fan after fan. I even did a check on the internet to find out which cools for less money ... the tabletop fan or the ceiling fan.
Here's my take on that. The tabletop fan is right at eye level when seated, meaning you get lots of nice breeze, keeping you cooler.
The ceilings in my house are high ... as in 13-14 feet high. All that nice heat accumulates at the top. Ceiling fans just push that hot air right down on your head. I tried both for a couple of hours, finally turning the ceiling fan off. I'm letting that hot air stay where it wants to go. Sadly, the ceiling fan is more efficient and costs less money to run, or so they say.
At 4:00 I finally had to relent and turn on the AC because Cyndae had arrived. The thermostat is set for 83 degrees, not really even cool. I'll let you now how that affects my bill because they always send me a notice .... YOU ARE EXCEEDING YOUR LIMIT ON POWER. Yes, they even send me an email saying I'm using too much electricity.
With the ribs finally cooked ... maybe even a little overcooked since I forgot how much the outside heat affects the smoker. We stole two bowls of Jonathan's Cole slaw and ate it while the biscuits baked. Yessirree those are Red Lobster cheddar biscuits from a box. Man oh man are they ever GOOD!! I really think it's the seasoning packet with the melted butter that puts them over the top.
Yes they are rather large. The box makes a lot, but I only use my small tabletop oven and had to squish them all on one small pan. I ate two ... maybe three ... okay okay!!! I ATE FOUR!!!! And look ... I even got out the good china!!
It's time to lock the house back up, keeping all the cool inside that I possibly can. The cactus has disappeared, but temps are expected to be 103 today. I'm thinking more and more about a hot tub. Not for the the heat obviously, but for a nice cool place to plop in the afternoons. Even a kiddy pool would suffice.
We're off on a morning walk before tempting the Gods and hitting Home Depot on a Saturday morning. Cyndae wants to plant several pots with flowers to make her house look nice for the upcoming Open House. The renter is gone, leaving less of a mess than thought, well except for the room they built in the garage that has to be taken down. Woohoo!!!
Always an excuse to raise your electric bill and so many others! Dinner looks awesome! Cyndae will be so much happier with that headache of a rental gone!
ReplyDeleteI rarely put out a good dinner spread, but that one was pretty tasty!!!
DeleteFunny how that Fox played with the chicken for a moment, then twitched its front leg a bit. Happy that the foxes found a hole to come and visit.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy they are still around ... they are fun to watch!
DeleteThe fox video was very entertaining. Years ago a friend was renting an old house....no AC. But it was a large property with many trees. She bought a large kiddie pool that wasn't very deep. She would sit in the water and read a book. Does your area get the delta breeze?
ReplyDeleteNo delta breezes here, that's further north. I think a kiddie pool is on the horizon!
DeleteA kiddy pool works! Just keep an old sheet handy to cover it at night. Maybe you don't have the trees we do here though.
ReplyDeleteIt would make more sense to turn your a/c on in the early morning when outside is at its coolest. Believe it or not, it would cost less in the long run because it wouldn't run steady to get to that 83. That's our opinion and it seems to shut off and on more regularly. Good luck staying cool 😎.
That's one tip I've never tried Patsy ... I'll do it today and let you know how it works. Sounds reasonable to me!!
DeletePatsy's right about starting your AC when the temp is lower.
ReplyDeleteDid you know they sell Twelve Volt Ceiling Fans to fit in Fifth Wheels. Using your Solar it would be free.
Be Safe and Enjoy visiting with Cyndae.
It's about time.
I did not know that. I will have to see where I can get one!
DeleteLove the fox video. We got our electric bill the other day. $100 and we were not even there! We have a $40 base cost so it confirmed my assumption that the hot tub costs us about $50 a month.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not home, with everything turned off, mine runs about $250. Pretty crazy, right?? That's all the pump trying to keep the front grass a lovely brownish green.
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