Happy Luau

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

More Household News

So I have just been taking care of interesting household tasks lately, while also trying in vain to fit in book reviews. The household tasks have been many.

As an aside, I chose this beautiful vase on the left as a prize in Suzie the Foodie's drawing last month. I won a $100 gift certificate in her giveaway and I decided that instead of choosing something to cook with that may not get much use (sorry, Suzie..I know you understand) I'd instead get a pitcher/vase. We have gorgeous roses in our rose garden and this would be a lovely more formal type vase to hold them. Throughout the summer I have fragrant roses in my house! The vase was out of stock so I've been waiting for it, and it finally came in! Thank you, Suzie and CSN Stores. I eagerly await it.

I finally finished the initial application for my Brazil trip visa this fall, thanks to my hard-working assistant Sylvia, plus some help from LoveHubbie, as well as our relatives in Brazil. We all worked together this week to finish things up. This was great.

Also our refrigerator broke and so, with the assistance of the appliance repairman, we had to haul it outside for several days to defrost so that he could fix it. We now have the refrigerator back in place again, and hopefully it will work long term. It will be nice to have ice for the hot days again.

Monday night LoveHubbie decided we'd get heating and air conditioning installed in our house. We have been thinking about this for a few years, but suddenly and unexpectedly decided to take the plunge. We've had no central air conditioning (just a little window a/c in our bedroom) all along here, and in the winter we've just used a wood stove for heat--no furnace. When the power goes out, as it often does, we have a small gasoline powered generator that LoveHubbie fires up and keeps pouring gas. Summers feel pretty hot here and winters are not just cold, but involve lots of hauling of wood, plus sooty residue, soot-stained walls and ceilings, poor air quality, and power outages at unpredictable times. So we're getting an entire system of furnace, air conditioning, generator, and a propane tank. I can hardly believe it! Two days hasn't been enough time to adjust to the good news and the big changes. A crew is coming tomorrow and they're going to get it done fast--in only four days! My head is spinning from how different my life will be.

Yesterday I went to LoveHubbie's office and gave the employees a presentation on their new health insurance. Our old plan was discontinued. Now we pay much more for far less benefits. We have the best plan available in our area, but even so, I think it is substandard, and much less than we had before. Health insurance is the only product I can think of that stays in business by offering less and less every year for more and more money. And the insurance companies continue to show large profits even in this economy.

I'd love to have some profound thoughts to share with you, or something exciting to write about. Instead, it's just pretty mundane household stuff. I will plan for some more interesting posts :) Although, honestly, I'm really, really excited to live independently of the weather. It's something I used to take for granted, but not anymore.

~The photo of the building is actually our barn, not our house, taken by LoveHubbie. I thought I'd post the more rustic looking barn to be...funny :)

10 comments:

Suzie Ridler said...

It's beautiful! I think that is a very wise choice my friend and yes, I understand completely. No heating???!!! I can't imagine! Although I live in the pit of darkness. This is a completely unknown concept to me. I hope it brings you much comfort and I can not believe your fridge broke down. House stuff does take up a lot of time and energy, it's so true. Let's hope it's smooth sailing from now on, at least for a little while.

Scott said...

Oh boy, I'm positive you're looking forward to the A/C and furnace install being over and enjoying the benefits it'll bring you both. It sure seems like there is always some house expense looming on the horizon...I've got some concrete work on my bucket list for the year.

patti said...

You chose well O, it's beautiful & versatile too.

Lucky you - A/Con! We don't have any at all and although our house is a lovely airy 'summer house' we struggle in our Jan/Feb - the hottest months for us. We seem to manage during the winter since our temps are not too low as a rule, and natural gas heating suffices. Enjoy the comfort!

Olivia said...

Suzie, well we do have the wood stove. And it has a fan. So it's something. We have some space heaters. And we have some Cadette heaters in the wall that cost a fortune to use (they are electric) so we use them only in an emergency. But no, no central heating source.

It's true that house stuff is time consuming. Is it worth it? At certain stages of life it might be. As for me, I'm looking forward to a Tiny House stage, soon! Thanks for commenting, Suzie, xoO

Scott, you know more than anyone what we deal with here. It will make such a difference, I'm sure I don't know how much! The question to you is, who is going to do the concrete work--you? or will you hire it out? I'm thinking that you still are enjoying being a new homeowner and whatever you decide will be fun for you, right? (Good to see you here!)

Patti, I know what you mean. We have "managed" and "struggled" and it really hasn't been too bad. The worst for me has not been the summer (as there is always ice unless your refrigerator is broken) but the winter. I don't like the power outages as we lose water too (we have a well) and toilet facilities.

Most people around here take that in stride. Some have encouraged us to break through the icy ground, dig under the snow and go to the bathroom outside in the woods, but that is not for me.

Once our power was out for 10 days. After several days with no water or toilet, I went to a hotel in a town a bit down the interstate from us. LoveHubbie stayed with me but came back each night and morning to run the fire at a low level and the generator, just to preserve essential things (like our deep freezer filled with meat). This is just a way of life. It is hard to imagine leaving it behind!

Thank you too, Patti, and enjoy your springtime :)

Blessings, love, and comfort, O

Kim Mailhot said...

Glad the Brazil plans are smoothing out slowly. Congrats on the heating/airconditioning changes. I can't imagine how you did without them for so long but I am also allways amazed with how we as humans can adjust to all kinds of challenges ! ;)
Details of life may not be profound or sexy but they are what keeps us moving forward everyday. There is no getting away from them, is there ?
Big love and hugs, Lovely Olivia !

Rick Hamrick said...

Your tale of deciding to get central heat and AC is hardly boring, O! It is interesting to learn more about how you have been getting along, what with the combination of smaller heating devices and such.

Is it really humid in the summer? That's what gets to me the most, and I know it will be a challenge when we move to NC. I went to a baseball game yesterday afternoon, and it got muggy and still. I soaked my shirt with perspiration! it took me an hour once I got home of sitting in front of the fan before I felt normal.

Good for you guys, taking the big step to greater ease and comfort!

kate i said...

I'm with Rick here...your life seems pretty exciting right now...winning a beautiful vase, getting ready for a trip to Brazil and installing heating and air con! I'd say you have some very thrilling events happening Olivia!

In fact Brazil sounds VERY exciting and I'll be eagerly waiting to hear all about it!!

Olivia said...

Kim, thanks, yes we have adjusted to the point that it feels normal...we will have a big adjustment back! Thanks for leaving some of your Big Love as always, Kim!

Rick, I'm glad I'm not putting you to sleep :) No, it isn't very humid here in the summer, 100% humidity in the fall/winter/spring most of the time. I didn't know that Denver was so hot...Thanks, Rick.

Kate i, I will definitely blog about my Brazil adventure. I'm glad that you are interested in all...

Love to all three of you, my good friends,

O

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you decided to post even though you thought that what you had to say wasn't very interesting or was too mundane. I would rather come here and read something you think is boring than nothing. It wasn't boring at all! Life is life. Don't you appreciate writers who include a bit of everything? The ups, the downs, the in-betweens? It's the same for your readers.

Olivia said...

You have a good point, Kelly. I AM interested in all kinds of mundane things about other people. All kinds of things! I always think I'm weird though. Yes, I do include writers who include a bit of everything; I feel as though I know them better, which is fun.

Thanks a bunch, xoO