It’s 73 degrees and breezy at The Compound, which is our version of fall. I’ve opened up all the windows to enjoy it, and it feels wonderful.
Which is a good thing, because today I cried when I opened my power bill. Instead of going down, like it usually does this time of year, and in spite of the fact that all central air at The Compound was shut down for three days during the Rita scare, the bill was even higher than last month’s.
Usually the “winter months,” and I use that term loosely, provide my relief from high utility bills, but I’ve read that our natural gas bills are expected to be astronomical this season.
Sad, because while most people keep their thermostats in the low to mid seventies, in summer we keep it on 82 and in winter on 68. I don’t know how people with huge houses pay their bills.
P.S. I wonder what salaries and bonuses CEOs and upper management at utility companies are getting this year and if they are comparable to those of the oil company executives…
My mother is in the process of selling her large home in Sugar Land now; and just bought a “patio home” (like a townhome for the ‘burbs) because she can’t afford the bills. Over the summer months her power bill was consistantly over $500…OUCH! A two-story, four bedroom house with a pool will do that to you…
I wonder what the bills run for these three-story townhomes in our neighborhood. My neighbor’s bills are double what ours are. He has a pool, too.
I’ll ask my cousin and get back to you.
OUR bills haven’t been bad at all…though, since we don’t have any living things we have to keep alive while R and I are at work we can turn up the thermostat during the day. It saves a ton of $$$.
I’m sure their salaries and bonuses are high enough that they don’t care about their power bills.
We’ve stopped using our fireplace, because it runs on propane, which has gone up tremendously. I don’t even want to think about electricity bills this winter, since we have electric heat. I’ll spend a lot of time worshipping the gods of fleece.
Um…try switching energy companies…and plug up cracks. Oooh, and that attractive aluminum foil on the winders! 😉
Sorry to hear about the bill. At least the lovely cooler weather of your version of Autumn is there…..