A common sight here: milk weed pods. I love their sculptural look. They eventually burst open and the seeds are spread on the wind. This is also the time of year that I start yanking the milkweed plants that are done for the year. I’ve had to mow around a few all season long and now I can move them to the compost pile.
I ended up mowing the entire front lawn on Monday and it took me all day yesterday to recover. It’s a beast. Don was grocery shopping and running errands for us and I didn’t want him using his injured foot too much. It’s much better now, but he had to be careful using it for a couple of weeks.
Of course, two more new books have arrived at the library. It is becoming clear to me that I won’t be able to read them all in the allotted checkout time. Some will have to be returned and requested at a later date. Fall is always the time for new releases and I’ve ordered more than I can handle. And, for the first time ever, I am holding off on the newest Louise Penny – only because I always order it right away and it ends up sitting here for 4 months before I get to it. Don’t worry – I’ll eventually buy it.
The big and horrid news is our heating oil bill. We ordered 100 gallons – we have a 250 gallon tank. Normally, that amount of oil is around $400 – $450 dollars. The cost of this 100 gallons? $647.84. Two hundred dollars more. I knew it would be higher, but this is ridiculous. All of this because of an illegal war started by Agent Orange. We only buy 100 gallons at a time because we have a very limited budget and can’t afford to fill up the tank. So we usually have about 4 deliveries a season. That adds up to $800 more. My online friend in Seattle said they just filled up their tank and the cost was $1800! She couldn’t believe it. She is retired, also. How the hell are people, especially those who are struggling already, supposed to pay to heat their homes? Medicaid is being taken away, not enough money to pay for the increases in groceries, gas, and heating oil (which is the common method of heating homes in our area.) All because of the deliberate cruelty coming out of the White House.
Between Don and me, there was a heck of a lot of cursing going on here.
So that’s been our week so far. Today I pick up the books at the library and we might start up our walks there again. We need to be more disciplined about that.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Good Morning Claudia. I am sorry your oil bill has skyrocketed. I hate to be pessimistic… but they expect people to go into debt to pay their bills these days… you may have noticed the proliferation of “easy credit” advertisements lately… just rack it up on a card! (No one explains what interest does the minute you don’t pay the balance in full….. !) It should be illegal. It is a bit like the easy mortgages advertising in the early oughts… that led to the mortgage lending bailout/crash…. guess who wins in those situations? I was lucky many years ago to be able to convert to natural gas heating… I know it is not usually an option in more rural areas… but it saved my a** back then ( oil had spiked to over $4 per gallon) and still makes heating so much more affordable. The state I live in has a fuel efficiency no interest loan program that focuses on getting houses more energy efficient which helped me to afford the transition from oil. Not every state is so helpful. And I am aware that natural gas is still a petroleum product…. and prices are rising there too.
I wish there were easy solutions within our power to choose. Speaking of power… I voted the other day and am glad I did.
And yes, I am yanking the milkweed in my yard too… it is pretty… but I only have room for so much!
I grew up with natural gas heat, but there is no access to it where we live.
Thanks, Betsy.
Hello, I just got up an hour ago. I dragged my butt out of bed, only to phone Dad and find out that he had his two shots yesterday and is sick. Oh, no! it’s always hard to know what to do about these things. So I’ll jump on my trike at about noon. I just desperately need time for outside work. My husband has projects at work and is highly stressed.
We had our referendum and I won’t go there at all on Monday. No surprise that we, the majority, want to remain in Canada. Come on! There were also some difficult questions.
My doll is arriving today or tomorrow.
Claudia, the little table you received is identical to our ‘harvest table’ we’ve had for ages. Ours was first painted dark green, but it ended up a soft green to match our kitchen.
Thank you, Irene. Hope you enjoy your doll!
Stay safe.
I’m so empathetic to the costs you are bearing. I only hope the people who were duped into voting that Horrid Excuse into office atone for their egregious error.
One can only hope, Wendy.
Stay safe.