~A Bitter Swallow~

It is nice to finally have my heater turned on again. Nice to be able to sit in my chair somewhat comfortably, albeit if my toes are still a bit frosty. No matter- they always are. But the rest of me is comfortable, and that is just fine by me.

That wasn't the case over the past month. After our first electric bill here was $300- after retrieving our jaws from the ground below us and putting them back in place (making sure each had their own, and not the other's... how awkward would that be?), we decided to see just where that enormous amount had come from. While old, there was just no way we could figure how this little trailer was pulling that much energy usage.

We figured it must be the heater, and decided to try a little experiment. We turned it off for the entire month of January (well, end of December through yesterday). I spent 30 days frozen to my core. My body reflected the cold by how tense my muscles were- folding into themselves in so many ways it made my bones cramp. And it was constant. We had bought some little space heaters, but those eventually ended up in my kids rooms, since I could not bear them being as cold as I all night. So I bundled up as best as I could. I added a blanket to my bed, which was not enough. I piled on sweaters and socks and throws, gloves and hats. I bit down and bore the pain in my insides and rode that icicle all the way through that billing cycle..

Only to be snowballed by another $300 electric bill...

So, now the heater is turned back on, and we are thumbing our chins and racking our brains trying to discover what else could be drawing all that power out of my pocketbook. Our next thought is the hot water heater.... I should go take that hot shower now, while I still can!