Cool It!

Troy had been nagging me for almost two months about whether the power [electric] bill had arrived, and if I noticed "anything." He hinted that he had done something that he thought was going to make a "big difference" but wouldn't tell me what.

He was so excited when I showed him the envelope last week: the power bill was here! He ripped it open and was very jubilant. Compared to the same month last year, the usage had dropped from 1150 kwh to 212--about a sixth!!

So I asked him what had made this big difference. It's not like he was turning off all the power when we were gone (I would have noticed that when I got home) and I didn't notice any other changes.

No, he said, he had stopped using hot water in the cleaning cycle of the biodiesel process. Holy cow! that must have been a lot of water!

I've now caught him washing dishes in cold water too. (He washes them right away; I think that helps.)

He did claim, however, to still use warm water to shower.

A Little Bribery (not Flattery)...

First of all, important announcement: The Roof is Finished! The weather cooperated with the holiday and Troy managed to get the ridge vent installed on the roof on Thursday. Yes, we were thankful. We still are.

Also, Troy has rough power to the shop. The new electrical box in the basement is functional and when powered, the supply lines to the shop are live! There is nothing to receive the power yet in the shop, but all in good time.

As for bribery, that refers to Troy's [successful] tack of trying to get me to help him more. Apparently is it possible that I could park in the shop once we have accomplished certain things, including prep for installing the overhead door. This is great news after the disappointing realization that all hope of parking in the garage this winter was folly. I should say that the bribe was successful last night as I helped unload his drywall for the ceiling. It is not successful tonight as I sit in bed typing on my computer. I am exhausted. I expect a full recovery by tomorrow and I think we will be doing the first of the Tyvec.

Wish us luck and Godspeed,

christina