Okay, first things first. Many thanks to my son Jeff who has now added a music widget to my blog so that I can pick songs for you guys to listen to if you choose, like I did on my other blog last Fall. I will do the same as I did there and will pick a "current" song but will also accumulate them on another player further down the page. Can't guarantee I will pick a new song each time I write, but then again since I have been writing every week to week and a half, maybe I will! More on the first song choice later ........
So let's see .... on the home front. All things considered, there has been less activity in the "falling apart" department than previous weeks, so I am taking that as a good sign that most of the major surprises have been found. Or at least identified in some vague way that gives me a direction to head. Last we spoke, the hot water dispenser handle had come off in my hand. Well, now there is a brand new one in the kitchen and it didn't cost me a dime! You have to love the internet! Here I went online looking for a part that might be broken, and when I can't really figure it out and call them, they help me discover that it's under warranty!
The horrible, nasty, scary, disgusting non-working trash compactor? Gone! In it's place is a new one provided by the home warranty company! I have never had a trash compactor before and must admit that I'm kind of liking it! Quite literally, Brad and I had one bag of trash for an entire week once it all got smushed down! True to form for the house, when the technician pulled out the old one, inexplicably the wires had been spliced and it looked like a third grader had done it! It was horrible!
AND today, the new cook top got delivered! We opted to go with another electric one, even though I really wanted gas. With the can of worms that this house is, the thought of trying to run a gas line right now was more than I wanted to contemplate. I spent just a little bit out of pocked to go with a solid surface one rather than the coil one they were offering me. So even if we remodel and change to gas down the road, it has only cost me $268 for a brand new 45 inch Jenn Air cook top! I think it will be money well spent!
On the air conditioner front, well, that has been resolved at least for now. After two visits by a nice young man from Budget Heating & Air (who I will always request now when I have HVAC issues for home warranty work!), two new capacitors and a new fan motor, the house is cool once again. According to him, the capacitors were the wrong size and the whole unit wasn't even grounded! AND the fan was rotating the wrong way so it was just blowing warm air and over heating the compressor! $500 worth of parts and all I had to do was write a $60 check!
I am beginning to feel like I should just wear my checkbook on a chain around my neck so it's always handy and have a bunch of pre-printed checks for $60 made up!!
I got the energy audit results back and it was much like I expected. Lots of recommendations of things like adding insulation, perhaps changing out some windows, getting new A/C units and one new heater, but also some things that I didn't know that could perhaps save me money in the short term while I address the other issues that I can't address right now. It is amazing to me the report I got, the time they spent at my house and the details of their evaluation! Quite literally it was a 20 page report, complete with some graphs to show the savings I would have if I made some upgrades and some photos of things in my house that need to be addressed! In a nutshell - I have huge air infiltration issues. By doing something called a blower door test, they determined that 64% of the air in my house is being exchanged with outside air every hour!! That equates to a 25" square opening in a wall, year round!! The national target rate of air exchange is 35%. If it's a measure of how my house is breathing, I think mine is pretty much hyperventilating!!! Do they make house sized paper bags that we can breath into?! The great part was that they addressed the major areas where they thought the leaks were and many of them I can address quickly and on my own. Others .... well, we'll get there.......
What was really nice was how helpful they were during the time they were here and how they seem to be willing to spend some more time with me helping me understand it all. They have created a computer model of my house and if I have work done and send them details, they can map it out as to savings over time. What's really interesting is that the main guy is actually starting a new job with Weststar Energy today in the Energy Efficiency department and he said he is going to keep an eye on my consumption and nominate us to be one of the first in Wichita to have a Smart Meter put in when they get here. So all in all a good experience.
So with things somewhat in hand, I decided it was time for a day off! Last Friday my friend Kathy and I went out to the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, KS. It's owned and run by a friend of hers who she used to teach with when they were both teachers at a local school. That woman would be none other than Robin Macy, the woman I went to see in concert a few weeks back at Wichita State University. She was one of the original Dixie Chicks and sort of decided to leave the band at one point before they "went all Hollywood" - or at least that is my understanding. The Arboretum is 18 acres of land and was in total disrepair when Robin bought it 14 years ago. She completely rebuilt the tiny house on the property and has added a few more buildings, but it is all done with such charm and uniqueness that it just draws you in! The trees are amazing (hence "arboretum") and the flower beds and vegetation look great -especially considering we are in the midst of a drought. She has added a stage and has weddings and other events and concerts there and there are plans for a tallgrass prairie soon as well. It just has a good feel to it when you are there. It was really fun to meet Robin and she was gracious enough to invite us into her home and show us pictures and just spend time talking. She just struck me as a really down to earth woman who is doing the work she wants to be doing and does it with conviction. Quite inspirational. Here is a link to her website: http://www.bartlettarboretum.com/
So the song of the day - the first song I am posting on this blog - is one of hers. It's called "Simplify". I really liked it when I heard it at the concert and it just really resonated in me. The message of it is so true - that we all just need to simplify our lives. I get so busy sweating every little detail and get some absorbed/obsessed with the house and all the turmoil around it, that sometimes I forget to step back, take a breath and really look at the simple things that bring me joy and that are easy to overlook in the every day. Things like the people in our lives, the experiences we get to have or just a sunny day.
So thanks for taking me Kathy! And thanks for spending time with me Robin! Doubly blessed on one day!
No crazy discoveries to report this time - no more bowling balls or dog bed insulation! And that is just fine by me. I did find a new use for an unlikely tool though! Everyone has a car jack laying around, right? Well, yours truly has actually never had to use one to change a tire, but today I used it to jack up one corner of our bed at a time so that I could add new legs I made for it!!! (That sucker is heavy and I didn't want to wait for Brad to get home and make him help me!) The movers were not too careful and the bun feet that had been it's legs before were unable to be attached back to it. So I created some new legs and after two and a half months in the house, FINALLY our bed is up off the floor! Now I just hope it doesn't come crashing down tonight!
More to share but you are probably all asleep by now! Sorry this got long!
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