Saturday, January 13, 2018

It's solar day!

I'm super excited, as we're having solar panels installed on our roof today. The power company part will take place in a few weeks, and then we will be all sorted. We've done the math & with existing power prices (assumes no increase), the project will have paid for itself in about six years. We're comfortable with that investment, & feel good about generating our own power - in our minds, the tradeoff is worth the upfront investment. More on the cost savings as we get off the ground & start getting real numbers!

Other than that, it's a pretty typical Saturday. We're still in the off season for fall/spring soccer, so no soccer games today! Here's what's on the agenda:


  • Run 3 miles. I really, really need to do this. At this point, it's a mental block to start running again.
  • Make a menu
  • And, a corresponding shopping list
  • Clean the fridge & microwave
  • Find somewhere to store our patio furniture cushions, now that they are all laundered & ready to be put away for the season
  • Laundry + sheets
  • Clean the kitchen
  • Make 4 dozen muffins for the freezer
  • Go to Costco, the produce stand, & the grocery store
  • Drop off books at the library
If I get all of that done, I'll consider today a success!

Here's what's on the menu for the week. 

  • Friday - I defrosted a chicken pilaf for the adults. The kids had hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls
  • Saturday - chicken fajita rice + fresh guacamole
  • Sunday - turkey + stuffing + cranberry sauce
  • Monday - turkey soup + homemade rolls
  • Tuesday - leftover chicken fajita rice
  • Wednesday - leftover turkey + sides
  • Thursday - leftover soup + homemade rolls
  • Friday - Most likely, risotto, with any leftover fridge ingredients. If I'm feeling lazy, naan pizzas
What about you? What are you making this weekend & the week ahead?

6 comments:

  1. Good for you about creating your own power. Oh I envy your solar panels. We (TheHub and I) have differing views on them. Since we don"t plan on staying at this house substantially longer he does not want to install them. I see them as a fantastic selling point, especially since one entire side of our roof is south facing with full sun after 10 am.

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    1. We're not sure if we'll stay in our house after the kids are done with high school, but we also have the perfect roof for it, a pool (which, uses quite a bit of power) & our payoff is just under 7 years. So, perfect payback before we move. And, that assumes no rise in power costs, which seems hard to imagine.

      The panels were up & installed within 5 hours. It was crazy fast.

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  2. My son requested a tomato tortellini soup for the weekend, and We have a goal to try more homemade soups, so that’s cooking for tonight. I think I’ll pull steaks out of the freezer for Sunday and we are trying a new chili- chicken verde- for Monday (late night separate kid events so Monday’s are usually crockpot night). Grilled chicken Tuesday then I’m out of town so I’m guessing hamburger helper and other things I don’t eat but the kids like will be on the menu!

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    Replies
    1. Ooh yum - if you like the chicken verde recipe, please share!

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  3. Today's a recuperating day but also daughters birthday so special meal and cake tp make.

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  4. Great job on the solar panels! DH installed 32 panels last year, to provide enough energy for our home and businesses (we both work from home and he has a shop for his business on the property). Our energy bill now averages $15 per month, since using solar energy.

    He also uses pellets in the shop's rocket stove and that has reduced our heating costs this winter too. Since doing all this we've reduced our energy costs by $1400 from the previous year.

    Those solar panels will save you so much in the long run.

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