AZDonna

Early Saturday morning, this truck pulled up and out jumped a crew of energetic guys ready to install my solar system.

They went right to work setting and securing the mounts on the roof.

The crew leader spent a good part of the day installing the inverter. It was placed in the garage between the water heater and the refrigerator.

When they left at about 2:30, all the roof mounts were in and the inverter was ready for hookup. They promised to be back at 6:00 the next morning.

True to their word, they were all there before I had finished my first cup of coffee. I sipped while watching the “Panel Parade” go by, from the truck to the back yard.

Thirty three panels in all were stacked against the wall ready to be lifted one by one to the crew on the roof.

Up to the roof they went, and into place on the mounts. They took great care with them, leveling each one to make a completely smooth surface.

Notice the guy on the left side of the picture on the right, lying down looking across the panels while the other guy makes adjustments.

The most exciting moment of the day was when they turned the system on for a few minutes to check everything out. Power generation bounced around between 5.7-5.8 KW during the hottest part of the day. I ran outside to the electric meter and it was running backwards! That was really fun to see.

Thirty three panels in all, capable of generating 8KW of power. This should supply ~98% of my annual power needs, and save me around $30,000 over the next 20 years.

Next up is SRP’s inspection and approval to turn the system on and start saving money. That can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

 While the installation was going on, I also had workmen in my master bathroom doing some remodeling to my tub/shower. I’ll blog about that when it is complete, hopefully by next weekend. But that’s what all the mess is from on the back porch.

I got a call from Solar City this morning to schedule my panel installation. “How about this Saturday and Sunday?” the woman asked. Are you kidding me? You don’t have to ask twice! YES!!! After the installation is done, it will take the electric company approximately 4 weeks to inspect and approve flipping the switch, but this is major progress. The system should be generating power for me by early July.

I’m going solar. I signed on the dotted line today (actually, it was an electronic signature), and panels will be installed on my “PERFECT” roof sometime in July. It’s perfect because the back of my house faces directly south with no obstructions, other than an errant palm branch or two, which I can trim back.

Daryl helped me A LOT by sitting in on the consultations, going over the bids with me and helping me choose the supplier. I’m very glad he was here, because he knew all the right questions to ask. I’ve sure learned a lot over the last two weeks, and now I’m excited to get the show on the road.

I’ll post more about the system I’m having installed in upcoming weeks and months.

I haven’t blogged about my new companion yet, so thought I would write about and post some pictures of Hanna.

After Hope died last August, I decided to wait just a bit to get another dog. I wanted  to take my time getting past that loss and deciding what kind of pet to get to ensure I made a smart decision rather than an emotional one. (So much for THAT pipe dream! More on that later…) After much research and based on my past experiences, I decided I wanted a small female puppy (< 9 months) that would not shed, but still had actual “fur” (instead of flat short hair) to get my fingers into for cuddles.

Since I was going to have 13 days off at the holiday break, I thought that would be a good time to introduce a pup to her new home, and get her acclimated while I had a few days to focus on her, and possibly on potty training. (Oh YEAH, did that come into play!) I thought it would be a great idea to see if I could rescue a puppy from the pound

On the Saturday before Christmas, Nathan and I headed out to several rescue shelters and the pound to look over the orphans who needed adopting. It was one of the most disheartening experiences of my life. I discovered you can’t really go looking at places like that with a particular breed in mind (unless it’s a Pit Bull or Chihuahua) or you’re going to be terribly disappointed. They were filled with older, stinky, shivering or overly excited dogs of all sizes and shapes, but nothing like I was looking for. The pound smelled to high heaven like dog poop, and I had visions of bringing that home and going P-U every time I walked in the house. We left totally discouraged, knowing the pound experience was not for me.

So I began to look on Craig’s List for puppies, and found several listings for ShihTzu and ShihTzu mix puppies, which would meet the criteria I was looking for. They ranged anywhere from $300 to $3000 (gasp!) I started calling a few but got no answers, so kept looking each day. On the 26th, I texted one phone number from an ad and got a reply back, “Yes! We still have three 6 week old females. They are $350 each.” I drove over that afternoon and picked one out. They were so adorably cute, it was all I could do to resist taking two.

If you think the breeder’s cost of a puppy is all you need budget for, think again. I am hoping the first year is the most expensive because so far I have shelled out:

• $350 Breeder’s fee
• $ 20 Petsmart Starter kit (full of coupons for vet orientation, supplies and training)
• $330 Vet package (includes all first year shots and microchip, plus a discount on spay/neuter)
• $240 Dew claw removal (not required, but prevents curling toenails and injuries, as well as making it easier to groom
• $493 Spay
• $100+ Food, toys, new indoor gate, various supplies
• Periodic Grooming at $30-40 a pop

Luckily, I was able to borrow an outdoor pen and already have a dog door, or that would be another $210.  I’m planning to buy ($$) a set of clippers and learn to groom her myself. I remember Dad always bathed and clipped Pierre and he did a better job than a lot of grooming shops. That will save me a few hundred a year.

Anyway, I think it’s all worth it. I mean, just look at this cutie pie!

She keeps me on my toes, especially when she’s running loose on the carpet. 😉 She’s actually starting to do pretty well with pottying. As long as I let her outside on a regular basis, she doesn’t go on the kitchen floor at all anymore. However, the feel and smell of the soft carpet are just too much for her and she can’t resist stopping to squat from time to time. That always results in a scream from me and a mad chase to catch her and put her out.

She’s going to be a good companion as I near my retirement years. I think I made a good choice.

When I was a girl growing up in the 50s and 60s, only rich kids had braces. My teeth were crooked, but my bite was good, so no orthodontia for me. We couldn’t afford something purely for cosmetic reasons. I’ve always been a bit self conscious of my crooked smile, but not enough to take out a loan and pay for it myself.

Over the past few years, one of my front teeth has been turning darker and receding more and more, and lately I’ve really hated the way it looked.  Cosmetic dentistry is still expensive, but I began to give serious thought to having something done about that tooth. Then someone mentioned I should consider a veneer and that I could probably get it done fairly inexpensively in Mexico. I know Richard and Dianna go to Mexico once a year to see a dentist, and I asked if I could go with them the next time they went. They said sure, and Dianna even offered to make some inquiries of their dentist and gather some information for me. After many calls and emails, Dianna finally found a dentist who would do the workup, and make and fit a veneer all in one day.

I drove to Yuma last Friday after work, slept on a blow up bed in R&D’s 5th wheel, and we headed to Los Algodones the next morning. The dentist recommended a full crown instead of the veneer. Since my tooth was so far back, it would take a very thick veneer and wouldn’t be ideal glued to the front of my tooth. I got the workup in the morning, then we had lunch in the casino adjacent to the entrance to the town, and went back to the dentist office in the early afternoon to get the crown glued on. I was surprised that something that is even with my other teeth in the front feels like it sticks out about a half an inch. That means my lip was very used to that big gap. I’m very happy with it; I think it looks fantastic. And I saved over $1200 by going to Mexico. I recommend that to anyone who doesn’t have good dental insurance.

I’m so happy to smile now!

P.S. Many thanks to Richard and Dianna for all the help, and for accompanying me across the border and sitting in the dentist’s waiting room while I was getting the work done. Even though I recommend the Mexican dentists, I was sure glad not to have to go alone, especially my first time!

My annual review is posted here.