WEDNESDAY MORNING
Yesterday was the first day I took the new 150mcg thyroid prescription. Glory Hallelujah--I did not have a single full fledged hot flash all day! All by itself, that is enough to make me dance a jig, LOL. What a relief not to have to worry if my deoderant is up to the task!
Other than that, I don't notice any difference and I didn't expect to. It takes a minimum of 3 weeks for a change in dose to show up in the bloodstream. Maybe it is enough to think that there will be some improvement over the next 3 weeks. At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.
I went down to the store yesterday and caught Mrs. Owner on her way out the door, headed to the bank. I don't know if it was the fact that she was in a hurry to rush out or if there is a hidden message in here to which I should pay attention. However, she made NO indication that she has an expectation of losing an employee, yet, I picked that up from another employee who says one of the new hires is moving to Florida the end of the month. I know that place well enough to know if one employee knows that, they all do. And, if the employees know that so does she. So, was she just thinking about rushing out the door to get to the bank and get back, OR was she just not mentioning it because she's decided she doesn't want me back. I don't know. But, it seems evident to me that if I'm supposed to go back there, according to God's plan, I am going to have to pray another employee outta there.
In the meantime, I need to just keep on applying for jobs.
There is all sorts of bad news on the budget side of my life. First, Joe negotiated a loan modification shortly before his death. I've received notice that that will expire in the next couple of months, raising my mortgage payment by $256 a month. Believe me, when I tell you that I've checked all my pockets and it ain't there. God is my source and this is going to take some supernatural provision! And, one of the biggest expenses in Nevada is air conditioning. I try to be as conservative as possible with that but there's only so high I can set that thermostat and still survive this heat.
I've had weather stripping installed. I had one door that was badly installed and had no threshhold. That's been fixed. I added solar film to two west-facing windows. All this has been done in the last year. Why? Because our local power bills are estimated to go up 10% per year for the next 5 years at least. Given how I gasp when I get my summer power bills right now, I have no clue how I'm going to pay more. It's another God problem. I have made up my mind that I need to be contacting swamp cooler companies for estimates right now.
We have one more month of scorching heat. September will still be hot but a little less brutal than August. Then summer fades into fall/winter. My thinking is that about now, swamp coolers should be less expensive or about to be. Well, it always pays to research, LOL. I just looked on line and talked to some folks. Seems round about October/November is the time of year to do this. So, I'll put it on hold for now...........But it's pretty much a cinch I HAVE to get it done. I can't afford to talk about it another year........
THURSDAY MORNING
Hot flash alert. Yes, I had one. Yesterday evening around 8:45. But, that was the only one in two days. I can handle that a lot better than 6 or more a day.....
I have been doing laundry and laundry and more laundry. It was reaching a critical situation where the choice was do laundry or wander through life in various stages of undress. I thought laundry sounded better. I ordered a drying rack from Amazon. I am going to have to do what I can to cut my power bill. I didn't want to spend the money, but, at least, I spent money on something the cost of which will ultimately be recouped. For right now, though, there are clothes hanging all around my bathroom, drying..........
I am looking around, trying to find additional ways to save on energy. At this point all west-facing windows have solar film on them. There is a door, right next to my desk that HAD a solar screen on it. However, it was a "Joe job". Joe looked at me like I was speaking Greek when I told him "Measure twice, cut once". So, it doesn't fit well. But, I think I can kinda make it fit into the hole if I tap on it a bit with a hammer.......... I'm gonna try. That leaves one half of one window in the dining room with no solar screen. I had a solar screen on that one, but, it, too, was a "Joe job". It fell out so often it finally broke up. I guess I can try to get that replaced. I do have two south-facing windows, but they are in rooms where the doors are kept constantly closed. So, I don't think that is having much impact on the power bill............
In the living room, vent covers are removed. I know where the vent covers are. I'm not at all sure about where the screws might be. If I had removed the vent covers, the screws would be taped to the vent covers. However, Joe removed those vent covers, so if those screws still exist in this house, I'm gonna have to search for them. Also, I had insulating pads behind all the light switches and outlet covers. However, the outlet covers are off and only God knows where the insulating pads might be. I don't really even know where the outlet covers might be.........I sincerely doubt I can find those........ But, I can't convince myself that those account for a lot of heat gain.
Years ago, I started to make curtains for the office windows. I never finished. Of course, I still have the fabric. And the insulating lining. So, I could pick back up on that and see if I can block a bit more sun that way. That is the last of my "cheap" fix ideas.
I did have one more idea that would be more expensive and VERY physical. Have you read about "earth bags"? Folks are actually building buildings of all sorts with them. They are polypropylene bags, filled with plain old dirt, layered like huge bricks, to create walls. Around here, one thing that a few folks have done is "berm" the outside walls. I'm not thrilled with that idea, but the "earth bag" idea might be worth thinking about. I could actually build a wall of earth bags outside my current outer wall, which should act like insulation. I would either have to go dig up the desert behind my house and truck the dirt back here or have dirt delivered. I'm going to have to do a lot more research on that idea, though. Although it would cost more that I would want to spend, it is a "cheap" fix if you have a normal budget.....
Well, for today, I need to work on the kitchen, as always. Also, continue working on the desk, as always. Just caught a medical billing company in a $50 billing error.......... And, I think I'll run the vacuum cleaner again and try to bring a little more order to that linen closet area. I am soon going to have to make a run to a donation center as the van is getting pretty full.......
I am off to tackle some of this. YOU have a BLESSED day!