What did you do today? 2019 version.

[NW-Bound]

Here's how it is worthwhile for me to know how much electricity my home uses in each hour period.

I signed up for a Time-Of-Use plan. In the summer, the rate is 7.3c/kWh except for the peak period when it is 24.09c/kWh. A huge difference!

The peak period is from 2PM to 8PM. Notice that the peak period is way past sunset. Obviously, I want to save the juice in my lithium battery to use when it pays the best.

And if I cannot generate enough solar power, it would pay for me to precharge the battery in the morning, then use it when the rate is high. A 1kWh from solar panels is worth 24c, but 1kWh by arbitrage is worth 16.79c already.

Is all this work worth it? Probably not, but it keeps my mind active and lets me build some hardware and write some firmware. Rarely does a hobby pay anything, and this one does. Heh heh heh...

[Souschef]

Today we had a great lunch. DW made us BLT's made with my first giant tomato (8.3 oz). Trader Joe's sourdough perfectly toasted, Best Foods Mayo spread from crust to crust, and 5 slices of pan fried thick bacon.per sandwich, and a leaf of romaine lettuce.YUMM

[Gumby]

The first BLT of the season is the greatest thing ever! Sadly, we won't get to that point until late July or early August. The best is a BLT with a side of fresh corn on the cob picked right before we eat it.

[FreeBear]

Fired up the el cheap Oster electric smoker again and smoked chicken breast, enough for several days. Used to apply tons of dry rub, but learning just seasoning half way through give better flavor while using less spice. Less w*rk too. A little 3 buck chuck Merlot in the water pan too. Wonderful!

[ABQ2015]

I'm headed to Pagosa Springs for a weekend music festival. Have not been there in more than 30 years so sure it has grown a lot. Normally it would be hot by now and I would be escaping the city heat for the mountains but it has been a cool spring - just now starting to heat up. A good thing because I'm having problems getting my evaporative coolers running - float and metal tubing for the waterline need replacement.

[MBAustin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby The first BLT of the season is the greatest thing ever! Sadly, we won't get to that point until late July or early August.

+1 We enjoyed ours last Saturday (with farmers' market tomatoes as mine still aren't setting fruit). Also made my first tomato pie of the year this week

IMG_0736.jpg

Today dropped the dog off at the groomer on the way to the gym. I joined about two months ago (first time ever gym member) and am enjoying it a lot.

Next is more work on the documents for the volunteer gig - this will be going on until late August (at least). Then plan to enjoy the first of the Women's World Cup games!

[Gumby]

I am on day four of "The Door Project". We live in a historic house (c. 1857) and we do not have central air. We use a window A/C unit in the bedroom so we can sleep in August. It occurred to us a few years back that we could also put a window unit in the kitchen to make meal preparation tolerable, if only we had a door between the kitchen and the dining room (and hence the rest of the house). Apparently, there was a door at one time, but it disappeared sometime over the last 162 years.

We couldn't just order a new door if we wanted it to look like the other historic 4-panel doors in the house. So, for about two years we went to antique home salvage places and such, looking for a door that matched. Eventually, we found one by the side of the road a few blocks from the house. Someone had put it out for big trash day. No hardware, layers of old alligatored paint and also a little too big for the door frame. We took it anyway and it had been sitting in the garage since last fall, waiting for my retirement.

On Tuesday, I spent hours scraping all the layers of paint off. Wednesday, I filled all the holes with wood putty and sanded it. Thursday, I measured it and the door frame about a dozen times and then cut it to size with a circular saw and a ten foot piece of angle iron clamped to the door as a fence. I then fitted some vintage hardware that I've had down in the cellar for the last 27 years in case it ever proved useful. I fit the door to the frame, planed down a few spots to account for the fact that nothing in this old house is ever quite straight, final sanded and hung the door. Today, I am painting it a slightly different color on each side to match the trim in that room.

And to think people asked me what I would possibly do all day after I retired.

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABQ2015 I'm headed to Pagosa Springs for a weekend music festival. Have not been there in more than 30 years so sure it has grown a lot. Normally it would be hot by now and I would be escaping the city heat for the mountains but it has been a cool spring - just now starting to heat up. A good thing because I'm having problems getting my evaporative coolers running - float and metal tubing for the waterline need replacement.

Drove through Pagosa Springs a couple of weeks ago. Nice town. It was a little chilly and snowy there going over the pass.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I am on day four of "The Door Project". We live in a historic house (c. 1857) and we do not have central air. We use a window A/C unit in the bedroom so we can sleep in August. It occurred to us a few years back that we could also put a window unit in the kitchen to make meal preparation tolerable, if only we had a door between the kitchen and the dining room (and hence the rest of the house). Apparently, there was a door at one time, but it disappeared sometime over the last 162 years. We couldn't just order a new door if we wanted it to look like the other historic 4-panel doors in the house. So, for about two years we went to antique home salvage places and such, looking for a door that matched. Eventually, we found one by the side of the road a few blocks from the house. Someone had put it out for big trash day. No hardware, layers of old alligatored paint and also a little too big for the door frame. We took it anyway and it had been sitting in the garage since last fall, waiting for my retirement. On Tuesday, I spent hours scraping all the layers of paint off. Wednesday, I filled all the holes with wood putty and sanded it. Thursday, I measured it and the door frame about a dozen times and then cut it to size with a circular saw and a ten foot piece of angle iron clamped to the door as a fence. I then fitted some vintage hardware that I've had down in the cellar for the last 27 years in case it ever proved useful. I fit the door to the frame, planed down a few spots to account for the fact that nothing in this old house is ever quite straight, final sanded and hung the door. Today, I am painting it a slightly different color on each side to match the trim in that room. And to think people asked me what I would possibly do all day after I retired.

What a COOL project!!!! WOW! Hanging a door just right is an art, it seems to me. I'll bet that with that new paint in just the right colors, and also that vintage hardware, it looks terrific.

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I am on day four of "The Door Project". We live in a historic house (c. 1857) and we do not have central air. We use a window A/C unit in the bedroom so we can sleep in August. It occurred to us a few years back that we could also put a window unit in the kitchen to make meal preparation tolerable, if only we had a door between the kitchen and the dining room (and hence the rest of the house). Apparently, there was a door at one time, but it disappeared sometime over the last 162 years. We couldn't just order a new door if we wanted it to look like the other historic 4-panel doors in the house. So, for about two years we went to antique home salvage places and such, looking for a door that matched. Eventually, we found one by the side of the road a few blocks from the house. Someone had put it out for big trash day. No hardware, layers of old alligatored paint and also a little too big for the door frame. We took it anyway and it had been sitting in the garage since last fall, waiting for my retirement. On Tuesday, I spent hours scraping all the layers of paint off. Wednesday, I filled all the holes with wood putty and sanded it. Thursday, I measured it and the door frame about a dozen times and then cut it to size with a circular saw and a ten foot piece of angle iron clamped to the door as a fence. I then fitted some vintage hardware that I've had down in the cellar for the last 27 years in case it ever proved useful. I fit the door to the frame, planed down a few spots to account for the fact that nothing in this old house is ever quite straight, final sanded and hung the door. Today, I am painting it a slightly different color on each side to match the trim in that room. And to think people asked me what I would possibly do all day after I retired.

Very nice! Great find on the door and keeping the old hardware. But you’re just getting started. Retirement home projects never end.

[misshathaway]

You know how at dawn, birds are often flocked in the road, but when the car gets close they fly away? Not always.

She was probably just 2 weeks shy of her birdy retirement. One more nest.

[target2019]

Went in for teeth cleaning. Dentist is really hustling now, as his spouse is organizing a dental program at local college. Only one chairside assistant today. Must be hard to find good help!

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar Drove through Pagosa Springs a couple of weeks ago. Nice town. It was a little chilly and snowy there going over the pass.

A lot of that snow has melted and is flooding the San Juan. We've lived here 3 years and I've never seen the river this high. We went to the Springs today and a couple of pools were flooded. As we were there you could see the river encroaching on the next level of sand bags.

Thanks ABQ2015 I didn't know of the festival, I guess that explains all the traffic. I'm guessing it's changed a lot in 30 years. I've met a couple folks who were here back then, yeah it's changed. A fellow down the road was telling me how the elk wintered in what became the subdivision we live in.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I am on day four of "The Door Project". We live in a historic house (c. 1857) and we do not have central air. We use a window A/C unit in the bedroom so we can sleep in August. It occurred to us a few years back that we could also put a window unit in the kitchen to make meal preparation tolerable, if only we had a door between the kitchen and the dining room (and hence the rest of the house)...

You may want to consider a mini-split instead of a window A/C. A small 9000-BTU/hr mini-split will cool much better, runs quieter, and saves money in the long run.

And the beauty of it is that the installation is within the skills of an average handyman.

PS. A decent 9000-BTU/hr mini-split will provide double the cooling power of a small 5000-BTU/hr window A/C for the same electric usage. It will cool the adjacent dining room as well.

I am on the 3rd day of checking out my newly installed 18,000-BTU/hr mini-split. It can cool my entire living space consisting of the living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast area, family room, which are all connected. The above space may be about 1,400 sq.ft.

However, the late-afternoon outdoor temperature was only 104F, and the unit will not work this well when it hits 120F. Still, I am happy that the performance exceeds expectation (not counting the fact that I power it with juice from solar panels).

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misshathaway You know how at dawn, birds are often flocked in the road, but when the car gets close they fly away? Not always. She was probably just 2 weeks shy of her birdy retirement. One more nest.

We currently have, amongst a zillion others, a baby bunny that lives in the ditch at the end of our driveway. She likes playing on the end of the drive and on the concession road.

I suggested to DW we nickname her "Roadkill"

Apparently dark humor is more a male virtue...

[NW-Bound]

I forgot to mention something in my sales pitch for mini-split A/C above. The one I install is a heat pump, so it will also provide heat in the winter as my home is all electric.

I also paid extra for a better unit that can provide heat when the outside air is as low as -13F. This is a bit overkill as the winter here in the SW only drops below freezing a few nights each year. However, it also comes with a higher SEER of 21 for cooling, and that is what I need the most.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misshathaway You know how at dawn, birds are often flocked in the road, but when the car gets close they fly away? Not always. She was probably just 2 weeks shy of her birdy retirement. One more nest.

Old birds cannot fly away fast enough. I have often seen birds flailing around on the ground.

Come to think of it, most animals die an ignominious death when they are old and can no longer evade danger or defend themselves. I have seen a video of an old lion getting attacked and killed by a pack of hyenas.

Life's end is brutal. Humans and their pets are the only animals being able to die in peace.

[misshathaway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie We currently have, amongst a zillion others, a baby bunny that lives in the ditch at the end of our driveway. She likes playing on the end of the drive and on the concession road. I suggested to DW we nickname her "Roadkill" Apparently dark humor is more a male virtue...

To me it looks like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon. My neighbor reacted like your wife.

[target2019]

Watched 1 World Cup game, and just 2 to go! What a life!!

[misshathaway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Old birds cannot fly away fast enough. I have often seen birds flailing around on the ground. Come to think of it, most animals die an ignominious death when they are old and can no longer evade danger or defend themselves. I have seen a video of an old lion getting attacked and killed by a pack of hyenas. Life's end is brutal. Humans and their pets are the only animals being able to die in peace.

In this case anyway I think it was instant death on impact.