A whole week gone in this month already. I can tell that the garden is pretty far behind other years as by this time I had canned relish, froze tomatoes, made apple pie filling, dehydrated some apples, and was starting to make salsa and eggplant parma for the freezer. This year I am lucky to have made a couple of containers of cherry pie filling and three quarts of dills. I think I just might have a very busy September.
Our home is heated by natural gas and since we got our new energy efficient furnace a few years ago our bills have been much lower than previous years. This year however our provincial gas company is raising their rates and so I have been trying to figure out how to save even more, or at least keep our costs from increasing.
So far I have come up with turning the thermostat down a degree or two during the day, and turning it down lower when we go to bed (I can always turn it up in the morning as I get up first). Now we won't sit and freeze like we are in the ice age, but wearing layers would be okay.
I think I will get Harvey to check the seals around the furnace and air conditioner pipes to make sure they are still good. If they need it we will add some insulation around them.
Checking into the costs of an energy efficient water heater. Our old one is almost 12 years old so it is probably time to replace it. Cost could be high, but the savings could in fact pay for it over a couple of years.
Check again for leaks around windows and doors and fix if necessary. I will still use draft stoppers and plan on making some for Kris as well.
I will continue to think about other ways and hopefully keep our bills at least where they are now.... Considering what they want to raise rates to any little change will be a big help.
While we were sitting around the deck propane firepit last night Harvey mentioned that while we aren't there yet, pretty soon we will need to look into moving into a condo (he stated no way does he want to live in a nursing home). So today I have been looking at condos for sale in the city Kris lives in. Wow, the costs are pretty high right now for something with a fairly large balcony and an elevator. I will continue looking and perhaps things will go down in price.
Everybody have a wonderful evening.
God bless.
