I have about 3300sf, lots of windows with no coverings and very inefficient electric heat pumps. I have two ac units and a 2 story greatroom and relatively open plan which is tough to cool and heat efficiently. The highest bill I've had yet was $290 in the winter but I average around $170-$200 a month for power. This is also with leaving a lot of lights on and a couple of computers running 24/7 with monitors on most of the time. I do have gas oven/stove though so that tacks on another $25-$50 a mo. My last house was half the size and the power bills were about the same thing except in winter it was cheaper. I'm curious to know what others are paying who have set their thermostats to near 80 and 65 in the winter. I'm sure there must be some savings but can't imagine it being a huge savings. The worst weather in my opinion is when it's in the low 50's out and rainy/humid. It gets like this a lot in the spring. This stinks because it's too cool for the AC to come on and too hot for the heat so the air inside the house is very humid and there's no circulation. It gets so stuffy that I have to set the heat to come on. That's when I am the most miserable. I'll take the freezing temps and I'll take the hot temps but it's that "in the middle" zone that I don't like. I don't know how the people in the pacific northwest deal with that weather.

Thanks for thinking of us, Anne! I hope you have a good day. Sue

These are so good you won't even miss the meat. Grilling time may differ depending on the size of your mushrooms. We have these several times in the summer. Makes for a nice light meal. GRILLED STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS 2/3 c. chopped plum tomatoes 1/4 c. (1 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 1 tsp. olive oil, divided 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh or 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper 1 clove garlic, crushed 4 (5" each) portobello mushroom caps 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 tsp. low-sodium soy suce Cooking spray 2 tsp. minced fresh parsley (optional) Combine tomato, cheese, 1/2 tsp. oil, rosemary, pepper and garlic in a small bowl. Remove brown gills from the underside of the mushroom caps using a spoon. Remove stems. Combine 1/2 tsp. oil, juice and soy sauce in a small bowl. Brush over both sides of the mushrooms. Place the mushrooms, stem side down on the grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill 5 minutes on each side or until soft. Spoon 1/4 c. tomato mixture into each cap. Cover and grill 3 more minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4. (83 cals, 3.5g fat, 4 mg. chol., 123g sodium)

I had planned to do as little as possible, but now I have a fallen tree in the backyard that I need to finish cutting up. I was using my Jeep to haul tree trash to the local compost yard. however, on my last trip, I noted the engine temperature was out of control - It would approach normal and then fall back to cool. Indications are the thermostat has failed. I got all the supplies to service the coolant system and that has to be done tomorrow if I am to use the Jeep on saturday. (The compost yard is open only Monday evenings and part of Saturdays,) So tomorrrow, I'll be changing the thermostat and while I am at it, I will also change the radiator hoses. The hoses are at least 10 yrs old. There went my plans to do as little as possible. We will finish making plans to see our granddaughter on her birthday at the end of July. She is 800 miles away and we will be driving the distance. We will include side trips to sight see and I might stop in Northern Indiana to say hello to my cousin I discovered while researching the family tree. We'll finalize plans for a second trip in September when I will attend my 60th high school class reunion. It was thought that after the last reunion, there would be no more, but a few classmates who still live in the area managed to arrange for yet one more reunion. Its a little sad because half of us have passed away.