So, as I do each month, I check to see how my energy use compares to the year before, always trying to reduce the amount of electricity I consume. This January I used 542 kWhr of electricity for lights and heat. I only sued the electric heat 4 full days & 4 half days, otherwise I heated with the wood stove. Last January I used 1818 kWhr of electricity, a whopping 3 times more! Anyway, I'm happy I could conserve that much, but keeping the wood stove going all the time alone is difficult.
This morning was just like all the others, I got up with the dogs and took them outside, then back in for breakfast. I had coffee and blogged a bit before going upstairs and showering. I got dressed for work, then took the pups outside in the backyard to play ball for about 15 minutes. Nothing too exciting going on. I pulled my sleeping bag out of its stuff sack, figured I would let it air out awhile before bringing it on the New Zealand trip. Next I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and got ready for work.
I got to work and continued on my daily tasks. Not a whole lot different from yesterday. At lunch I went home as the snow started falling (phase 1 of a 2 phase blockbuster snow storm). I took the pups in the backyard for some ball. We played 15 minutes, the dogs loved the fresh new snow on the ground. They had made a slick track of snow where they normally fetch the ball, so the new snow was a lot of fun for them. For me, I want it all gone... but not at once, because then there would be flooding issues. We came in and I had a PB&J sandwich and yogurt for lunch. Then I headed back to work. The rest of the afternoon was pretty much the same, nothing too exciting to write about.
After work, I went home and took the pups right outside to relish in the freshly fallen 5" of snow. At least it is light and fluffy. We played for 10 minutes, then I took them in for dinner. As they ate, I shoveled the driveway. Since this is light and fluffy, it is easier to shovel, tomorrows 14"+ is suppose to be wet and heavy... awesome! When I came in, I noticed that the wood stove temp was over 850F, (should be at 700F max). I closed the damper and waited for it to cool down before taking the pups outside again for some more ball. We played for another 15 minutes, then we came in for my dinner.
I made a tortellini and pasta sauce dish, it was actually pretty good. It was a three cheese tortellini. After dinner, I turned on the TV to get the news of how deep we were going to get hit. I was watching as the neighbor to the left of my house had a snow blower making paths on the side between our houses... of course, blowing all the snow into my yard. Not that I care, but they had the chute going so high that it wasn't just coming into my yard, he was hitting my house with the snow. At one point he hit a rock and it hit the house pretty hard, about 5' from my window. These are good neighbors, I don't know if I should say anything... I hope it was an isolated incident.
After watching some TV, I had the dogs out again for some ball and one last 'outside'. We came in and settled on the couch. Reece turned into a complete potato resting her head on my arm and leg. There was no way I would be able to get up, it was the cutest thing EVER. Once in a while she would get into a snoring dream, too cute. Finally around 10pm, we got up and went to bed.
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