I made a peach cobbler today. I know. It’s hot. I shouldn’t be heating up the kitchen by using the oven.
But after a while, I have to bake. I’ve been thinking about peach cobbler for a week now, and today, I just had to make one. So our air conditioning system is currently working overtime, causing our electric meter to whir faster than the speed of light.
The electric bill for the last month, during the terrible heat wave we’ve been having, was horrendous. Even though I’m bad about turning down the AC while working around the house, I still can’t believe how high it was. We never turn the thermostat lower than 77. That bill was high enough that we started talking about selling this big old house. Dear readers, our bill for the last month, just for electricity, was $600. Six-hundred-dollars!
It’s partly because of a big attic with a metal roof and insufficient ventilation. The upstairs air conditioner has to work pretty hard to offset that hot attic.
I want someone to install whirly things up on the roof to get more heat out of the attic, but it seems like roofers don’t want to get on our steep, slick, metal roof.
A couple of years ago, we had some guys over here trimming trees, and one tried to stand on the roof and slid down. He wasn’t hurt, thank goodness. Weathering has made a powder on it, and they tell me it is seriously slick.
What to do? We just put new floors and flooring in the dining room and kitchen. We need some siding replaced on one side of the house, and it’s challenging to get anyone to do it. Has anyone else noticed how hard it is to get someone to work on a home? Carpenters seem only to want to build new houses, not work on old ones.
Houses need maintenance and repairs. What are we to do? Buy new homes like they’re disposable? That’s sure not possible in these times or at our age.
I love living in this ole monstrosity. It suits me fine with its 11-foot ceilings and spooky nooks and crannies. But it is expensive, and we’re at the age where we don’t want to invest big bucks in repair and improvements. We may be like some old couples I’ve known and just let the blame thing crumble around us. It will be fine for the rest of our lives — if we can pay the danged electric bill.
