It's Friday Aug 2

[Pooker]

You mean I'm first on the forum today? I don't know how to be first! We had a cool down - it was ONLY 96 yesterday when I checked my patio. Electric bills are horrible - mine is over $400 this month and the bill for my son's RV space is over $300! All the RV parks around here (and even most rents) charge extra for electric and his place also charges extra for water, sewer, and trash. When his old RV park was sold everyone who lived there was forced out and they leveled the place, put in new pads and park models that they will rent long term for almost $1,000 plus elec! I was lucky to get him into this old RV park but I didn't realize how expensive it was going to be. Probably won't be able to afford it very long.

Temps over 100 coming back today and increasing all weekend.

Stay cool, everyone.

Evie

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning Evie and all who follow. It is a cool 67 and so far only a slight haze of smoke. Supposed to be smoky the next few days tho. But it isnt smelling of smoke today. I am emancipated from my umpteen eye drops and now down to just the prednisone drops 3 times a day for L eye and 2 times for R eye. 2 and 3 more weeks but this is totally doable.

Going to make sloppy joes today, they are a quick heat up kind of meal. Also have to use up my salad fixins so an easy day in the meal dept. Emma and I are going to have scrambled eggs for breakfast. I also have a pack of bacon I will stick in the oven, always good for BLT's.

I need to vacuum out my car, I still have remnants of dirt and mulch that I had to haul for the pots and raised beds. I will try and do that this morning before it gets too hot. We have 90's predicted for quite a while. Evie good grief that electric bill is scary. I was pretty happy mine was only $122 last month. Do you have to pay for your son's too???? I also have a couple of upright fans on a stand that sure helps keep me cool enough without cooling the whole house. I keep my thermostat at 76-77 that seems to work okay unless I am doing work in the house that heats me up LOL So far this year we havent had any power outages because of the fires. Part of that I am sure is because I bought a small generator LOL Have only used it twice but I have it.

Off to fix some breakfast and get busy

[Irmi]

Good morning ladies!

Evie, I hope your son is able to pay most, if not all is bills. I remember you saying he moved from where ae ad been staying to this one. Karen, I am so happy you are able to start doing things you haven't done for a couple weeks.

Yesterday, I had an eye Dr. appointment and about 3/4s of the way through, while we were having an electrical storm, the building lost power. My appointment was 2:00 and at this point, it was 4:00. All of us there were given the option to leave and reschedule, and I did. When we got ome, our clocks were flashing & I reset those. The recessed lights in the kitchen and my music room didn't work, and that was from a tripped breaker. This morning, we went to a friend's site to check their casita, and their refrigerator/freezer wasn't working. I called her to see what she wanted me to do. We have the keys to another site and will go there and see if all is working. We have a tropical depression that is headed this way and will get lots of rain out of it. We will start feeling the effects tomorrow through the rest of the weekend. On a good note, we are both fine. Lol!

[Cudedog]

We have 90's predicted for quite a while. Evie good grief that electric bill is scary. I was pretty happy mine was only $122 last month. Do you have to pay for your son's too???? I also have a couple of upright fans on a stand that sure helps keep me cool enough without cooling the whole house. I keep my thermostat at 76-77 that seems to work okay unless I am doing work in the house that heats me up LOL So far this year we havent had any power outages because of the fires. Part of that I am sure is because I bought a small generator LOL Have only used it twice but I have it.

Off to fix some breakfast and get busy

Evie, Karen, Irmi and all who follow: Good morning!

Sure is a summer to remember out here on the West Coast. It was 106 here yesterday afternoon, it's getting to the point I can't even remember when the daytime high was below 100 any day this summer.

My electric bill (PG&E) here for the month was. . . five-hundred dollars. $500.00 - for one month of electricity. In the over ten years I have lived here, this is an all-time high electric bill.

PG&E has a mandatory "Peak Pricing" period of 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. every day. I can deal with that in the winter - mostly, by scheduling things like laundry before 4:00 or after 9:00.

But not in the summer. With everyday high temps mostly 102* - 115* (and nighttime lows 80* - 90*) so far this summer, I have to keep the A/C going 24/7. I have a relatively small-ish house - I block off the ceiling vents in the rooms I don't use every day with styrofoam blocks I cut to fit the vent hole. Those rooms then get really hot - but oh well!

I also set the A/C to 83 during the day, 80 at night (a great many nights this summer temps are still at 90 at midnight). I have a box fan sitting in my living room, underneath the ceiling vent (to catch the cool air coming out of the vent) aimed at the couch where I sit. I am almost comfortable, so long as I don't move around too much.

This summer has been. . . interesting, to say the least.

I know I talk all the time about moving - yap, yap, yap, yap - but my son and his wife are talking about maybe moving to Washington state. If they go, there is then little to keep me here.

LOL. Or so I say!! Yap-yap-yap-yap.

A couple places I have Zillow-ed show daily temps about 20* cooler than they are here. I could live with that!!

A word to the wise: If you, are anyone you know, is considering a move to California's Central Valley (aka Sacramento Valley) I would suggest they give the move a good long think.

Say cool, everyone!!

Anne

[Colliemom]

Evie, $1000 rent is pretty much the norm. Around here you are lucky to find someplace that cheap. Fortunately the high electric bills you are getting are not norm here unless somebody is in total electric. But majority have propane or natural gas. Electric just for lighting etc. Just paid mine and it was tad over $53. But furnace isn’t running and I’m not a big user of electric. Also using natural gas for heat and that will go up once colder weather arrives. Right now I pay around $100 for both elec and natural gas a month. I have my portable AC running right now, but it’s the first day since we started this hot spell, that I have needed it. Last night was also. Otherwise it’s been mid 80’s, but low humidity for the most part. It’s 82°right now, supposed to be in upper 80’s But after tomorrow it’s all downhill. AC will be heading for the closet. We do have a layer of smoke up in the atmosphere, but you can’ smell it. Helps in keeping the sun from being extremely hot.

Knee is feeling better this morning. Am putting heat on it now once in a while. Still stiff in the bending dept., but gradually loosening up. I can feel tingling, so tells me swelling is gong down. Went out and watered flowers this morning and ran vac in house. So chores for today are done. Heading for Farmers Market in a bit before it gets too hot. Then will work on DPing this afternoon. Piper is curled up in her bed, Molly is sleeping on the sidewalk by nthe garsge. When she gets too warm, she will want in.

Irmi, hope your neighbors fridge/freezer is a simple fix. Storms can do funny things. we have been lucky here so far and that we have not really have that many storms. Most of them when we have one, has been brief and gone, dumping more rain than anything. I don’t even remember where the last time was that my generator had to kick I. due to loss of power. Our power company has been doing a lot of investing and upgrading of lines and all kinds of things to keep us from losing electricity in storms. Maybe even if we do for less than 24 hours.

Guess I had better head to the market. Only a mile up the road, but in an open lot, so sun will be hot. Sellers all have their canopies.

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning gals!

It is hot and humid here and will be all weekend. Can't do much outside when it is humid as being in the shade doesn't help when it is humid. My electric bill last month was around $125 (for June) so will see what this next one is when I get it in a few days, for July. I am so glad I have the mini-splits. I would be paying a heck of a lot more if I still had the old system. I keep both mini-splits around 82*, except at night, I put the bedroom one down to 77* for sleeping. I have a fan in the living room too for when I come in from outside and am hot and then sit in front of that for a bit.

Evie, did you get any of the smoke there when the Nixon Fire first started? It wasn't all that far south of you. Every place is expensive now no matter where you live.

Anne, sounds like a good plan to move to WA with your son and his family, if they move there.

I have a haircut to do in awhile. My friends, Dave and Debbie, are back from Oregon now so that is good for me. Now I have friends here to spend some time with when I need a break. Debbie will cat-sit for me when I go to Tucson at the end of this month for my brother's surgery.

Romeow has been a real pest lately at night! Not sure what his problem is but he just tries to destroy my bedroom while I am trying to sleep! When I finally kick him out, he bangs his paws on the door forever! Before I go to bed each night, I clean the litter box and fill their bowls with fresh water and food. So I am not sure what he wants. I hope he doesn't do that when we get moved into an RV!

I better get dressed and ready to go, here. Have a good day and stay cool!

[Acadianmom]

Karen, 67 sure sounds good. Ii only got down to 81 over night and back to 94 now. My last electric bill was only $133 which was for half of June and half of July. I am so glad this house is so well insulated. The outside walls are 6 inches instead of 4 inches and the windows are double pane. I see on Facebook people complaining about how high their bills are in Lafayette with Entergy. I share an egg with Luna in the morning. The things we do for our pups.

I'm not moving too fast this morning and I need to go mail a package. I have to stop by the vet's office and see if he will have to order Inky more pills. I'm sure tired of giving that cat two pill every day. I figured out that if I put a can of cat food in the refrigerator so it was more solid I could put it around a pill and he would eat it.

Irmi, since the tropical storm will stay close to land, hopefully it won't be able to develop much. I hope we don't have an active August and September.

Barbie, if you see Romeow sleeping during the day wake him up. lol All my cats are old except CC and he spends the day outside so he sleeps at night. Of course, this is after he has teased the dog jumped up on top of the TV cabinet a few times.

Martha

[chalet05]

Good morning

We are back in Fairbanks after driving 3 nasty, potholed, muddy roads - Chena Hot Springs, Circle and toward Manley Hot Springs. Absolutely no wildlife to be found! We'll get chores and shopping done here before heading to the Northwest Territories. We've still had a fair amount of rain and clouds, but weather is looking better!

Fires keep cropping up at home, but luckily, they have been small and contained. The larger ones are further away - so far. Still quite warm there. The big storms cropping up in various parts of the country are worrisome.

Hope you all stay well and safe!

[SoCalGalcas]

Didn’t post on the first. Why? I have no idea! I continue to clean out the drawers. Closet is done. I had help for that job.
I have been concerned for the two ESP parks in fires path. One is in Agonuaga. The Nixon fir.one is in Oregon House. The Park fire.. Beth I know you belong to Escapees. Have you heard anything?
I have had a bad cough for about four months. My GP gave me some little pills, didn’t help. My lung doc told me to usrthe salt water nasal spray. That didn’t help. Had a phone message with him. Put on antibiotics. Finally he told me to see an ENT doc. Had that appointment this week. The fiber optic cable only hurt a little. Nothing serious wrong was the result. Also gave me another nose spray. So nowI get up in the morning and take my cardiac pills plus some others. Put drops in my eyes. (Dry eyes). Squirt Two meds up my nose. What fun it is getting old!
My GS is home from camp. Maybe when he sees how ackword itisforme getting in and out he will hurry the building of the ramp. I will spend Saturday night at thr trailer. I have named my trailer “Granny’s Casita”
Lyn

[Shirlv]

Lynn, wasn’t going to post but after much thought, what the heck. Oldest daughter spent a year, many appointments, cat scan, MRI for a cough. Finally found it was her blood pressure med. check side effects of your medication or ask your pharmacist. Good luck.

[JudyJB]

Very nice day on shores of Lake Huron! ABout 10 degrees cooler than Detroit. I went into Port Austin today and drove, then walked, around. A few new things, but a lot of the old things I remember from spending summers here in the 50s and 60s. Old stone hardware store which used to be a general store with groceries is still there. I remember getting new shoes on the second floor. But several of the old things are gone, and I wish I or my parents had thought to take photos way back then. I got a t-shirt for me and one for my younger son.

Anyway, place was full of tourists, but port was pretty empty and i parked in the boat parking area. A few really big yachts and one big sailboat was in town. I walked on the shorter dock, and then all the way to the end on the very long breakwall--total of at least a mile. Even with cooler temps and a nice breeze, I was pretty hot and worn out when I was done, but got some good photos. Going around the coast on my way north tomorrow, so will check out a couple of other places from my childhood.

There is a brand-new campground in town, but I thought the $65 per night was a bit steep. State park near our old cottage is closed for the season for updates. Cooked a small steak and made a steak sandwich, but enough left over for another sandwich tomorrow during my drive.

[Bethers]

I can't imagine some of your electric bills. The heat has been horrendous this summer and my current bill. For 33 days, was just under $100. I guess I'm more frugal than most, but because of having both the rv and casita, I knew I had to be very careful. I'd like to replace the ac in the casita with a mini split, but it's not in the cards this year. When I delivered electric bills I asked one neighbor in a big rv how her bills have been this summer. Haha, $60 something which she credits her mini split for. I didn't realize until talking with her that they basically sit outside with only a line to the inside unit. I've now started looking at units on Amazon for in my future lol. Many people here and in Texas have stopped using their RV ac's for window units.

Judy, enjoy your trip down memory lane. Sounds great.

Lyn, I haven't heard anything since early in the fires days about problems in or near Jojoba. I guess no news is good news.

[snowball]

I don't know what mom's electric bill was last month and I wrote out the check then she signs it... but simply don't remember we don't have A/C though... but it's also an all electric house...
Anne what part of WA is your son thinking of moving to? the eastern part from what I understands tends to be hotter than the western part DD#3 lives across the sound and it seems like it doesn't get overly hot... not up into the sustained 100+ temps that most of you encounter. We were up in the 90's today don't like it that hot... right now we are down to 89 think the fan in the bedroom will need to be on tonight... hoping we will get the rain that is predicted on Sunday and Monday... this morning I happen to look at the data on the weather our humidity was 16 %
love the name of your trailer Lyn that is just cool.... and hopefully the ramp will be made sooner than later...
Evie that is a high rent but where can he go... just wondering if he needs to stay in CA the seasonal rent in Q was reasonable last I heard who knows what it is now...
Went to the post office I've have received some text from supposedly the post office telling me that a package was not addressed correctly I've received that twice this week didn't look at the first one went on line to see what usps website said couldn't find an answer to my question so pretty much ignored it... then I received another one funny thing was I actually had a wrong address on a pkg so I went to the post office and asked nope they don't send out text ever it's a spam so if you have received the same text it's spam the clerk had even received the same text... and because the zip code was correct it will eventually make it to me... sure hope so... then in the e-mail today saying that another one had been shipped even though I had e-mailed them and they acknowledge it it also said Madison Wy... we will hope they come I had hoped to finish the hats for the grandkids with the pompom's that are coming and taking them with me as I am spending a few days with them... but guess if I don't get them they won't get done... but it will happen and these are really more cold hats and I haven't started on the memory boxes so guess it doesn't matter how long they take... just that I get them
I do need to trim the fringe on my granddaughters afghan so I can give it to her next week
she will be heading to school mid month
you all have a great day
sheila

[Cudedog]

Speaking about electric bills. . .

I ask kindly: Please don't cast shade on those of us here in Northern California who are forced to pay exorbitant electric bills, compared to your own.

I think the excessive electric bills that many of us here in Northern California are experiencing have little or nothing to do with the size of our homes, the amount of insulation our homes have, nor whether or not we are frugal with out usage - and have everything to do with the fact that PG&E is our sole electric utility.

Our electric utility here is a privately-owned company (PG&E) that publicly trades on the New York Stock Exchange:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pg%26e+dow+jones&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1121US1121&oq=pg%26e+dow+jones&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDUzMjJqMGo3qAIIsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

PG&E has been found liable for multiple breaches of safety concerns, having been found liable in multiple lawsuits having to do with at least one natural gas explosion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bruno ... _explosion

And faulty PG&E electric lines have been found to be the cause of multiple wildfires (WAY too many to list here), over the last many years - one of the most recent being the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, where more then eighty people died, and for the Dixie Fire (second largest fire in the history of California) for which PG&E has agreed to pay a forty-five million dollar settlement.

This kind of settlement all sounds well and good - and, of course, it is - but PG&E merely passes on any fines to the ratepayers (in the form of ever-increasing electric rates), because they have stockholders that need to be kept happy - and also because they are the monopoly electricity supplier in in most of Northern California.

This is why those of you who live in a hot climate like I do pay your $100/mo. and I pay my $500/mo.

Again, not because I am careless with my electric usage (I set my daytime A/C at 83 degrees, at night 80), not because my house has poor insulation (it has good insulation, including double-paned windows in the whole house), and etc.

I, and most of Northern California, pay these high electrical rates because that is what PG&E is allowed to charge - and because we have no other choice.

Anne

[monik7]

Thank you Anne. You said everything better than I could have said. It makes me mad every month I receive my PG&E bill. But seeing Sue’s post this morning (Saturday) I have to say as a native Californian, “Thanks, but I’ll take beautiful California any day.”
Sandi