British Columbia

by

Making Myself Comfortable

Brr. Day two of our cold siege. Since I am home 24/7 and needing to concentrate, it does not make sense for me to skimp on heat. I don’t heat like a maniac, having spent so many years in drafty, unheatable, places, but I do feel that wanting to be comfortable while wearing flannel pants, wool socks, and a wool sweater is not unreasonable. I’ll even add a tuque in the evenings without feeling put upon.

I headed out and had the 30lb propane tank filled, leaving me with a quarter of my on board tank as a back up. Propane costs have been creeping up over the course of the last two and a bit years. It’s now $27 to fill a 30lber in Osoyoos compared to $23 back in ’08 and $20 in ’09 in Surrey. It’s still better than $40 in Dawson!

Since I was out, I also got some groceries to tide me over since the roads are getting slick and people out here don’t know how to drive in winter. To be fair, they are better than Vancouverites, but that’s not saying much!

Having given up on finding on outside job this winter, I’ve been crunching numbers to see how much it would cost me to go south for a couple of months vs. hunkering down here and paying for heat. The current conditions are a pain, but do not justify fleeing. If we were to face a long stretch of minus ten or less in daytime temperatures, I’ll reconsider.

by

Another Okanagan Weather Betrayal

Today starts a long stretch of subzero weather.

And I woke up to this:

I’ll be living off my fresh water tank for a few days.

As for propane, I’ve decided to try something new. Inside of fully draining the onboard tank, I’ll leave it where it is, at about a quarter full, and instead live off the auxiliary tank so that I don’t have to worry if I run out in the middle of the night.

by

Cooking Up a Storm

I invited myself over to Donna and Ken’s tonight for dinner by promising to bring the main course. I had a really nice chicken and butternut squash in cream sauce lasagna while I was in Montreal, so I decided to make that. It’s now in the oven, two hours after I started, and my kitchen looks so scary I don’t know where to start on doing the dishes. In a ‘normal’ kitchen I would have had room to start the dishes as I cook, but not in Miranda. I found myself have to stack the used dirty things on the floor! Once I can find my counter again and get the dishwasher opened, I’ll do at least one load in there. Even though all that chopping and grating was tedious, the end result is going to be worth it. I might post a picture if it looks pretty enough. 🙂

by

Painting Put on Hold

I’ve put the kibosh on the decorating until I get a dehumidifier in here! While I was in Montreal, there was enough condensation in the study to make the paint run down one of the walls. That cemented it for me; I need to wait for that paint job to cure, then start all over again. If the study was too damp for the paint to cure, then there is no hope for the loft.

Bringing in a dehumidifier is a last resort thing for me because of how big and power hungry those things are. One thing that has brightened the scenario is learning that dehumidifiers give off a bit of heat, meaning that I might be able to run it and one heater only and not go over my available amperage.

My intention is to set it up in the loft; that’s the only place where I’d have room for one and there’s a plug nearby. The next issue is going to be getting the water out of it. I don’t like the idea of making holes in my exterior walls or my floor, so I am considering simply routing the hose out of a window.

The dehumidifier purchase as soon as I see a good deal for one after my next pay day. That will give me time to find the smallest and most energy efficient model. I’ll keep using the Dri-Z-Airs in my shower and cabinets.