New Plants

Thanks to the sharp eyes of Mrs. House, we are now the proud owners of four new Hylocereus Pitaya plants, or Dragon Fruit. These plants were found via Craigslist, and were acquired for the low price of $10 for all four.   Not very large now, but in the future, they will hopefully be more sizable.  Somewhat of an experiment, since we have never even tasted the fruit...

Additionally, for Valentines day, Mrs. House received an aloe and two cacti. Our killer cactus jr. will have some more company!

Babyproofing

The time has come to get this place babyproofed. We are starting with the traditional cabinet door latches. This is a real family house now!

California American Water

As you may be aware, we have a private water company here at Panske House. We are with in the county limits, and less than a mile from the City, but some how this places us under a private company. This also means that we get well water instead of the excellent river water that most of the City gets. Well water that may or may not have exciting exotic chemicals in it. (thanks AreoJet!)

Our water company, California American Water, wants to raise rates a little bit for next year... a mere 40.3%. This is on top of last year's increase of 24.3%. (next year projected at 22.8%). If I am calculating this right, that means something like a bill of 210% of the bill the year we bought the house. Fortunately, local area customers, and the PUC's independent Division of Ratepayers Advocates, disagree with this increase.

Anyway, hopefully the rate hike is mitigated somewhat, since our new car, and young Master House are somewhat crimping on the budget. Further, it seems that utility costs should not increase in a time when raises and inflation are correspondingly non-existent.

Coming soon: a rant about water meter installation, what happens when your house has 60 year old utility maps, and what happens when your water main is in the backyard.

CrockPot Pasta Fagioli Recipe

Next week's crockpot meal:

CrockPot Pasta Fagioli Recipe