Friday, August 18, 2017

FMM - Shock at the Mailbox

We've been living in this house for 17 years now, and I pretty much know what my utility bill will be each month, based on how hot it is.  The bill includes water, sewer, sanitation, and electricity, but the bulk of the cost is from electricity.  In the spring I get to enjoy paying around $130, while over the summer it climbs to a high of around $350 for one month before dropping back down.  So last Friday when I went to the mailbox and opened my utility bill, I actually gasped at the amount due:  $476!  What the what?!?  The lowest setting for our A/C is 73 degrees, and Jeff was gone a good part of the month for work, which meant we weren't even running two computers.

Paying $350 hurts, but $476?  That was really going to impact the month.  After looking at the bill, I saw that it showed my electric usage had doubled from the last reading, which didn't seem right.  I called the city and requested to have my meter reread; they did that on Monday, and when they called on Tuesday to tell me that the meter had indeed been misread the first time, I was so relieved!  The adjusted bill total?  $353.  See?  I knew what it should have been!  I'm glad I called, and I'm also so glad I don't have auto pay for this bill - it might have slipped through the cracks until it was too late to have the meter reread.

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I mentioned that I went to Ikea last Saturday, but I didn't buy anything very exciting - a couple of new pillows for our bed, a 4-pack of dishtowels for a whopping $3.99, and two small trash cans which are pretty cute - here's a picture:
Well, here's part of them anyway, thanks to Paco skidding in...wat doing heer mom?  Squirrel outside??  
I bought them to hold the potting soil and perlite for my succulents - originally I was thinking I'd dump the contents of the bags into the cans, but they were so clean that I couldn't bring myself to do that just yet.  

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I've been making good progress with my shawlette - it still looks like a hot mess, and it will until I finish it and block it to open up the lace panels, but here's a picture anyway:
I get confused often enough that I needed to label in no uncertain terms the front of the piece - I had the little clips on as designation for the front, but that didn't stop me from knitting it wrong, doh!  The bigger label is doing the trick.

I have some sock yarn all wound up and ready to cast on, but so far I haven't wanted to stop knitting on the shawlette, which is unusual for me - normally I have several projects going at the same time.  This is the sock yarn:
The lavender will be for the toes and heels - this yarn is so festive that I can't wait to see what it looks like all knitted up!

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Allie will be home for the weekend to celebrate her birthday a few days early; there will be plenty of shenanigans and lazing around, I'm sure.  Of course we'll start off the weekend with a short run - this heat is making it hard to run many miles, but whatever we do will be fun.

Have a great weekend!

14 comments:

  1. Have I ever told you I've never been to Ikea? Great idea to use those trash cans for that!

    And in the this is weird/ironic category, last night I dreamt that I had a succulent that started dying and I remembered that you said to put the leaves in the dirt. So I did, except when I went to stir the dirt, there were rocks in there and I immediately knew it would never grow. I woke up thinking, "Shelley is going to be so upset with me!"

    Hahahahaha!

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    1. I would LOVE to go with you on your first trip to Ikea...it's an experience, that's for sure!

      And it's OK, succulent-killer. I forgive you. ;)

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  2. I'm so glad you took control and investigated that bill. That's one reason I don't do auto pay either. Happy early birthday to Allie! Hope you have fun celebrating!

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    1. Interestingly, I spoke to a worker where I volunteer yesterday and she had a similar, unusually high bill, yet she didn't think to call about it!

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  3. Laughing at Helen's dream :)

    Oooh, that new sock yarn is luscious! Can't wait to see the socks. And the shawlette is really pretty, even without blocking it.

    I love the little Ikea cans. I wish Ikea was a little closer, I know I'd find a use for those somewhere!

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    1. Some years they have those cans in fun colors; this year, just white and a brownish gray. They are good for so many things (dog food)!

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  4. I am so glad you called to check on the bill! That's quite a jump! Hope you have a great weekend!!

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  5. Have a wonderful weekend with Allie!

    I have a pattern I have been sitting on similar to the shawlette - I really need to start it, but am scared - the yarn was so $$$ and I have to wind it myself and I don't want to eff up.

    Those garbage cans are hella cute!!!! Good find!

    And good for you for actually investigating your bill and knowing what is up! I bet some people would have just paid that :(

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  6. Yay for getting the bill adjusted!!! Love that Paco photobomb! Have a great weekend amiga!!!

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  7. Can't wait to see the new socks!

    I can't imagine a utility bill that high. Glad you called.

    Have a great weekend.

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  8. Wow. That's expensive. We hardly ever turn on the air so summer is the time we save $$$.

    Can't wait to see the new socks. That reminds me that I need to start some. Our local yarn store closed which is a bummer.

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  9. Gosh, that's still a high electric bill, even with the adjustments! Ours never gets above $150. I guess that's life in the midwest. But we do have the highest property taxes in the nation, so there's that....

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  10. Man - I typed a whole comment and it got eaten. Grrr. I'm glad you checked that bill and didn't just pay it! Although I imagine your next one would have been surprisingly lower. Our bills are the opposite here with higher in winter and lower in summer.

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  11. It's interesting to read how electricity bills work in the US. We pay the same amount for 12 months and after a year the difference is either paid back to us or we have to pay extra. These days we can choose our electricity supplier and I switch to another one every year and because you usually get a discount as a new customer and we usually pay a little less every time we switch.

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