I couldn't really settle down to do anything. I washed the dishes, replied to comments on my posts, and gave more thought to my quilt. But, although I cut a few more strips of fabric for it, I didn't sew, today.
Later in the afternoon, I decided to take a shower, thinking it will help me cool off (it was another rather hot day). It was a good thing it was such a hot day, after all, because that shower was a lot colder than I would have liked! Even on the hottest of days, I like to add a little hot water to the mix to take away that initial chill of the water, although, very often, I will turn it back to only cold water at the end of the shower. Well, today, there was no hot water at all! Not even warm water! My water heater runs on gas and I guessed that the flame had gone out.
After I got dressed, I checked on the water heater and noticed there was a small pool of water, as well. I called my neighbor E across the street and he came over to check on the water heater for me. As soon as he saw it, he estimated it was about 20 years old and I realized that, yes, it was installed 20 years ago! It had a warranty of 8 years, but it has lasted much longer! He said the water heater was broken and the leak had put out the flame. He turned off the water and the gas and suggested I might want to look into a tankless water heater. Otherwise, he said he could install a new water heater for me, but not tomorrow or the next day as he'd need to make time for it, which is quite reasonable. I am blessed to have such a helpful neighbor.
My cousin P, who lives a few doors down across the street from me (E is her next-door neighbor) has a tankless water heater. So, I called her and she said she can give me the telephone number of the company who installed it for her, just as soon as she located the paperwork. Then, I looked up tankless water heaters and read up a bit about them. They do sound good, but I am thinking I'll go with a regular water heater. I like the idea of having 40 gallons of water on hand in the tank if there is an earthquake, in addition to the bottled water I store for an emergency.
My aunt C called in the late afternoon to check on me. She is the same aunt who visited on Sunday. After that, I had a cup of tea, watched the evening news, and replied to a friend's email.
I needed to go to the grocery store to buy cat food for the stray cats and to start my car, since I hadn't started it since before the weekend! Didn't want that battery to die on me, again! I called one of my friends to see if she needed anything from the grocery store, but she said she had gone earlier, today.
 |
| August 8 Groceries |
I bought:
1 loaf of bread = $.87
1 lettuce = $.99
1 package cold cuts, 7 oz. = $3.79
1 bunch of 4 bananas ($.59/lb) = $.94
Total = $6.59
 |
| August 8 Receipt |
The receipt includes the cost of the cat food - it was selling for $8.99 and had a $2 off coupon. The tax is for the cat food.
August grocery budget = $75 + $7 carried over from July = $82.00
Amount spent on groceries in August = $2.81 (on 8/1 for bread and grapes) + $6.59 = $9.40
I had just come home from grocery shopping and taken the pictures, when my aunt C called again. Her son surprised her by announcing that he will accompany her and her daughter on the trip to France! Aunt is thrilled that both her children will be with her on her birthday. It's a nice birthday present for her.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Sick time off
- The hot day which made the cold shower bearable
- Helpful neighbors
- Family and friends keeping in touch
- The car started without any problems
Do you have a regular water heater or a tankless water heater? What is your preference?
Eek! I can't stand being in a cold shower. In fact, one of my problems is that I stay too long in the shower under water that is too hot. Hope you get a resolution soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Live and Learn. I've gone without hot water on tap, before, when the previous water heater died, but, I must admit that I like all the modern conveniences! Boiling kettles of water and such tend to get old, quickly.
DeleteAs you said a couple of days ago "It's always something!", isn't it?! I hope your eye heals nicely and soon.
ReplyDeleteUgh, home repairs! It's good that you realized that you had a problem with the water heater before it leaked all over your house! I've heard of tankless water heaters but when I looked at them, they were much more expensive than a regular one and also since we still had a lot of kids at home, I figured having a regular tank was better for us too. So we have a regular water heater. Ours is electric. It's nice that your neighbor will be able to install it for you!
Yes, it is! He works as a carpenter, fitting kitchen cabinets for the most part, but he's a good handyman, as well. I need to write a list of all the odd jobs I want done around the house and give it to him and ask him for an estimate!
DeleteThe water heater is located outside the house, actually, for earthquake safety. When I bought the house, the water heater was inside the house, and, by some miracle, it stayed in place without any problems during the 1994 earthquake. But, soon after that, we were required to move the water heaters outside (and strapped to the wall) to minimize damage and risk of fire. Tankless heaters are definitely more expensive than regular heaters. But they are supposed to be cheaper to run because the water gets heated only on demand.
I hope that eye gets better soon, you are right, it wouldn't have been easy to go to work with that unless you put on a pirate's eye patch!
ReplyDeleteWe have a regular hot water tank, and I can see how you would prefer one in an earthquake zone. I hadn't even thought about the advantages of having that amount of water on hand.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe eye is better, today, thank you. I read up a bit more about the tankless water heaters, but I think I am more or less decided to go with the regular one. As long as the tank remains in place, that is a store of emergency water!
DeleteOH dear, sorry to hear about your stye. Do hope it is improved today. Wise to start using that accumulated sick time. When hubby retired he had accumulated over six months sick time which he lost. On the one hand it was great he didn't need to use it but it is an accrued benefit so if you need to use!
ReplyDeleteCold showers are a shock even when it is hot summer. We have a regular water heater but I will be interested to hear how about tankless water heaters. Happy you have a good kind neighbor man.
The eye is better, today, thank you, Sandy. Yes, I've accumulated quite a bit of sick leave and vacation time, which I need to use or lose. I believe they pay you any unused time at 50% or something like that, but, I think I prefer the time off!
DeleteThere are both pros and cons to the water heaters; basically, the tankless ones cost more up-front, but there are rebates available to offset the costs and they cost less to run because you don't have to constantly heat 40 gallons of water to have hot water on demand. The regular water heaters cost less to buy but more to run; however, it provides a store of water in an emergency.
Sorry about your water heater.. how frustrating. When we moved to this old house, it had to have a new water heater.. I opted for the regular tank versus the tankless kind. It just was ,what i was use to..[just old and set in my ways.ha]
ReplyDeleteWell, the water heater was 20 years old, so I guess it was about time to replace it. I am just grateful that my neighbor is able to do it for me. I, too, am going with the regular water heater, tank and all.
DeleteIt's wonderful that your appetite is back to normal! And so glad you're continuing to treat yourself to already prepared food items you enjoy. You deserve it!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carolyn. I do have to be careful with the already prepared food items, though, for salt, sugar, and calories. But, they are good for when I don't feel like cooking!
Delete