Today is the last day of summer break for the kiddos – I guess you would say today is the last day of freedom for them, tomorrow is my first day of freedom. If you could see my face right now, I’ve got a mischievous smirk going on.
Don’t get me wrong – I love summer months of fun and sun, especially extra time with the kids, no rushed mornings and no homework to make me feel incompetent at forgetting things I learned in elementary school.
And this last part of the summer, since the hubby is also on his summer break, no alarm in the morning. Although the ‘no alarm’ mode is detrimental to my getting things done in the peaceful quiet of the morning hours, since I end up lazing them away.
At least with school in session and alarm mornings, I’ll be back on a schedule again – though the interruptus mode won’t go away until after the hubby’s break is over, which is a couple more weeks from now.
I’m already making a list in my head of all I want and need to accomplish when there’s no interruptions and having to stop then start again.
It’s the little things, right?
Speaking of little things… NOT… We got a water bill from our old (and sold) house in Pennsylvania – the date on the bill was from a few days before closing through the middle of July (we closed on July 3rd).
Apparently the new owners didn’t contact the water company to have the bill put in their name, and for the first three weeks, they used over 41,000 gallons.
Forty one THOUSAND gallons?!!
I did a calculation, and that means they, during that three week period of time, had to average approximately 1,864 gallons PER DAY. An average family of four only uses around 400 gallons a day – so their family of 5 averaged just under 400 gallons per day PER PERSON.
Either that or they got a pool and filled it up before switching the water bill over, maybe even invited the neighbor to run a hose and fill his pool, too.
I spoke with the water company and they wanted us to pay the bill, since it was still in our name on their file – but the hubby had canceled the account through their website days before closing.
Apparently the ‘cancel’ feature on their website is only for canceling automatic payments on the account, not canceling the account itself. But there is nothing saying that – it simply says “Cancel Account” followed by “Your Account Has Been Canceled” after going through the steps.
The house was vacant from August 25, 2013 until the new owners took it over on July 3, 2014, and even in the 11 years we owned the house, we never used even close to that amount of water on a monthly basis, let alone in a 3-week period of time.
Not even when Princess Nagger was offering ‘free showers’ with the garden hose:
I flat out told the woman on the phone that we are no way paying that almost $400 bill, since we have documentation proving we were no longer owners of that property as of July 3rd, and even though the new owners are claiming to not have moved in until July 15th (which is total B.S. based on Facebook postings) we are not responsible for any water usage at that address after closing.
So there.
What kind of water consumption to you have in your household? Curious minds want to know!
Speaking of curious… Princess Nagger has been on a major Pokemon kick lately – collecting as many cards as she can. She even gets together with the neighbor girl specifically to trade Pokemon cards.
She asked to borrow my camera for a minute, and this is what she wanted to take a picture of:
That’s a lot of cards. She has more, but couldn’t fit them all in. She keeps alternating between Pokemon, Minecraft, Spor and Roblox – at least the things she’s interested in give her brain a good workout, it could be worse!
That’s a wrap for this week – you know the drill, link up and join in the fun, everyone is welcome – random or not. Be sure to visit your fellow randomizers so they don’t feel so lonely.
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Keeping the random alive (barely) – feel free to snag a badge and play along – one for my wino friends:
And one for my non-wino friends:
400 gallons… I just can’t wrap my head around that number…
Hilary would like you to read ..Clothes make the man? I hope notâ¦..
I don’t pay the utility bill but I can tell you that one time, I left the back spigot open a little and it leaked for about a month, adding a mere 21 dollars to our account, which I am pretty sure only runs about 20 a month anyway. That’s five people, each taking a shower/bath a day. Hope you don’t have to pay that!
allstarme would like you to read ..Random Tuesday – Long weekend of strange and happy incidents
OMG.. we have been in that same situation only with the Electric bill! GRRRR… took us a few months to rectify it, but happy to report we were not liable.
AND that is simple an INSANE amount of water and so much surely wasted!
kisma would like you to read ..Tuesday’s the new Monday?
A few years back the city was changing out water meters–to automatic ones they just read from the street. We got our first bill after they changed ours out and it was for around 30,000 gallons. We freaked. Nick called and the first question was are you an apartment building. Um, NO! They fixed it but for just the two of us it was crazy. Our usual water usage is around 5000-6000 a month for the four of us, unless we are watering the yard, then add a couple thousand more.
VandyJ would like you to read ..What Holiday Weekend?
My first thought with the water was, “What the hell did they do – put in a pool right away?” Then it occurred to me that if they installed one above-ground, yeah – they could have used that much water that quickly. Awfully NICE of them to try and pawn the bill off on you! Not.
Tell PN I’m thinking about crocheting some Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirtles. She should get a kick out of that.
Jan’s Sushi Bar would like you to read ..Loaded Smashed Potatoes
Holy cranolie! That’s a lotta water usage! I’d be peeved too. My boys used to collect Pokemon cards. It’s not a bad hobby to have. No promises, but I’ll look around their room to see if they still have any cards. If so, I’ll mail ’em your way.
Terra Heck would like you to read ..Wordful Wednesday – And, We Have A Winner
I am a little parched…but not thousands of gallons of water thirsty!! Sheesh!!!
My son has started up with buying pokemon cards by the tin again! not just a harmless pack now and then. How did this come back?!?!?! UGH!
Andrea would like you to read ..Not Tuesday?