Random Observations

We’ve lived in our ‘new’ digs in Eastford for two years already, but I’m still making interesting observations about the place. For instance, when we contemplating buying the house, Karlo went on and on about the quality of the house construction. He made a big deal over the great insulation. Well, this doesn’t really mean much to me. After all, insulation is not something that I can see and I didn’t really have a good handle on what the numbers meant. I got the notion that this house would be warmer than our previous house and perhaps my hair wouldn’t blow in the wind – indoors. Then this past weekend I learned a little more about insulation. We went to buy some for the Love Shack. We got some R13 pink stuff, mostly because it was the cheapest and came in the smallest bundle. That is when Karlo gave me a lesson on what the different numbers meant and he explained that R13 was pathetic and most houses have insulation in the 20s or 30s. It wasn’t until later in the week when the temps finally hit the balmy upper 80s or even 90. We heard coworkers complaining about not having AC at home and I just assume that I was not affected by the heat because I just plain like the heat. But the next day I made a point to check our digital thermostat at home and after the second day near 90, the house was a bit warmer than the day before, but was still only 78 degrees (likely the number that our AC would be set at if we had it). Suddenly I started to feel the appreciation for our R48 insulation. Now I get it!

Another observation came last night as I was driving to go to my first Salsa Fit class. Well actually, I had two observations. The first one being that it was fun to get out at night. As much as I always say that I hate leaving the house and usually dread it when I have to, I really had fun going out . . . driving my own car and cranking the tunes. I know this sounds very simple, but I almost never get to drive (Karlo likes being in control), I LOVE driving my car, and Karlo and I almost always drive in silence. For some reason he has an aversion to music in the car. So just going out for a drive was a big event for me.

The second observation while on the road was a bit depressing. Last night I headed East of Eastford and you know what it’s like when you’re driving say up in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine . . . when you can’t find any stations that come in without static . . . and then when you do they are either playing country music or oldies? Do you know how annoying that is? Well, that’s exactly what it’s like when you head East of Eastford. My 60 minutes of glory behind the wheel of my MINI all alone and I couldn’t get one song (from this decade) to play through without losing reception. Where was my iPod when I needed it?