I'm home this morning while my new heat pump is being installed. Our old one was 17 years old and it wasn't clear that it would make it through another winter. And even if it did, I don't think I would be liking my electric bill. Fortunately the new heat pumps are more energy efficient and produce warmer air.
For anyone who is not familiar with a heat pump, it's like a big air conditioner that warms the air, unlike a gas furnace that blasts out hot air. You never get hot air coming out of your vents, only lukewarm air with an electric heat pump. I would prefer to have gas heat, but unfortunately, they never ran the gas pipes through myneighborhood. So it's not an option.
In addition to spending loads of cash for a heat pump this week, last week I had to replace the washing machine which was also 17 years old. It had started to leak, probably from the pump. I got a pretty good deal on an Kenmore Energy Star Super Capacity Washer, but the timing of having to replace it just sucked.
Now we just have a 17 year old electric stove and electric dryer to replace. Every other appliance has been replaced, luckily not all by us. :)
One of the few things accomplished this week--the painting of my kitchen. I chose what I thought was a nice green color that matched my floor mat in the kitchen, (Glidden's Secret Garden, only I had it mixed at Sears). It turned out closer to being what I refer to as "scrubs green". I feel like my kitchen is now a surgical suite. Mom says it looks good. I'm not so convinced. Luckily I decided to only paint on the two walls amidst my cabinets. I figured it would make the room too dark to do the whole thing. Maybe with a few pictures or trivets above my cabinets, it'll look fine. LOL. ;)
Saturday we bought some sticky tiles for the basement and yesterday Brian took the initiative and cut out three feet of carpet along the length of the back of the house.
We decided to get rid of this piece because in the one corner by the litter box Gee would occasionally go outside the box, unfortunately. Also the center part would get wet occasionally from water coming in over the sliding glass doors when we would get rain that beat against the back of the house. It wouldn't come in every time it rains, but even getting wet occasionally is a problem. And we can't seem to find where exactly the water gets in. Mold and cat pee is not a pleasant smelling combo.
Removing the offending piece has already improved the smell of the room. Yay! Brian swept up all the dirt and debris left behind. Now the area is ready for applying the sticky tiles. That will probably be next weekend's project.