The other night I made a big pot of ground beef veggie soup. It was fast, easy, cheap, nutritious, and delicious. I opened a one pint jar of home-canned ground beef and browned it in its own fat. I added 2 15 oz cans of chopped tomatoes with the juice. I added 3 cans of water. I also added about 1/3 cup of freeze dried chopped onions, about 1/4 of a pack of frozen O'Brian style potatoes, a 2 pound bag of mixed vegetables. I added a heaping teaspoon of beef-flavored Better than Bouillon, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I I left it on the stove long enough to cook the frozen mixed vegetables and frozen potatoes. I have eaten 3 servings of the soup after making it and frozen 6 hefty servings for future use. I put pencil to paper and came up with a total cost per serving of somewhere around $1.10. I didn't get creative with spices, but one could certainly add Italian seasonings or Mexican seasonings or Greek to change the flavor profile. One could also use chicken or pork or sausage in lieu of beef. It could also be garnished with sour cream or various grated cheeses to alter the flavor profile. All in all, I'm no Martha Stewart, but it was "a good thing". I know I don't eat enough vegetables and this soup was chock full of 'em. Good for me!
In November I had solar panels installed on the roof. The array is supposed to be big enough to cover more than 100% of my usage. I did it on a lease contract wherein I pay a monthly fee and the company that installed them gets the tax credits. (My income has been so low for years that I've paid no tax against which to claim a credit.) When all this started, i didn't have a good understanding of how solar worked. It was winter with many days of overcast skies. So, when I didn't see credits arising on my power bill, I didn't think too much of it. However, over May and June, it has heated up substantially with unremitting sunshine. In June I got a power bill of $66 dollars, and I am due to pay $150 in a couple of days. On May 31, I began trying to get someone to come out and figure out why my system is barely performing. I was supposed to be generating more than 100% of the power I use, yet I've only seen anything being given back to the power company on 2 of over 200 days. I've called customer service several times as well as e-mailed the "customer service case manager" 3 times. Apparently my last e-mail got her attention. It was the e-mail wherein I explained that I could not afford to continue to pay for a flawed system and negligence on their part with regard to service. I explained that the system performing somewhere near what It should be (as specified in the contract) on 1% of the 200+ days it's been in existence meant I had already paid for the 1% benefit I've received for a cost of $1470. I now have a company scheduled to come out and see what's up tomorrow somewhere between 7:30 and 9:30 AM.
It's 110 degrees outside today. And we're under an "excessive heat warning" from now through 11PM next Wednesday. I can't imagine what size bill the local power company will present me with payable the first week of August..........I have learned that the normal bill for someone with my system should be somewhere around $19.00. I have also learned that if it is light outside, overcast or not, solar energy should be being generated and captured by this system. I am very careful with my usage. I have LED bulbs throughout. I am careful with when lights are turned on. I have most things either unplugged or plugged into power strips that can be turned off to minimize phantom usage. I do not use the clothes dryer. I wash dishes only when the dishwasher is full to the gills. I limit myself to 1-2 loads of laundry a week. Two of the rooms in my house are closed off. I have solar screens and/or solar film on all the west-facing windows and blackout curtains or blinds elsewhere. These days, my thermostat is set at 79 during the day and 77 at night. I generally have a fan blowing on me to help me stay cool and I'm not above wrapping myself in a damp towel if necessary. I cook with gas. I avoid using the hot water unless I need it to cut down on the cost of running the pump to the gas hot water heater. What more can I do?
Well, anyway with my crazy insomnia, I'll probably have to stay up all night to be ready to receive the guys who will show up at my door tomorrow morning, but I will be looking forward to their appearance. And I promise, I will be monitoring the system via the internet daily.
I receive mailers from T-Mobile about once a month, announcing the availability of prices lower than what I am paying AT&T. I went to a T-Mobile facility the other night and it was all bad news. I don't use a cell phone like most folks do. Part of the reason for that is that I have an old 4G flip phone. I can go a week at a time with neither an incoming nor an outgoing call. This is especially true since I learned how to block telemarketers' numbers from making incoming calls. I don't have texting on my plan. If I want to watch a movie, I watch it here at my desk on my desktop computer. So, there is very little usage on my phone. But, T-Mobile would actually cost me more than I'm paying AT&T. Apparently, since my phone is so antiquated, I have some sort of low cost program grandfathered in from AT&T. Oh well, I tried. Praise God for the grandfathered rate.
