Mr T's rants and ravings

So the family went to Vermont for Thanksgiving. Mostly it went ok but there were a couple of issues with the hotel. On the counter was a sign saying the hotel was under boil water order. In short the water was ok for washing but not for drinking. Not a happy thought. They did supply bottled water for drinking and brushing of teeth.

Also the restaurant was only open for breakfast most days. It was open for Thanksgiving dinner and it was good but we had planned on eating at the hotel more than that. And did I mention that there hotel is being renovated? People moving heavy equipment and pounding on the roof (it is being re-roofed)  in the early hours of the day. Not fun when you are planning on sleeping in late.

On the plus side wi-fi was free and strong. And it was close to Killington – we made it out to snowboard two days.

Well Mrs. T was a little displeased with the hotel. The staff was nice and we’d probably stay there again once the renovation is done and the water is cleaned up. but still. So as soon as we got home she called Expedia and complained. The first person she talked to was less than helpful and then she was disconnected while waiting for a supervisor – amazing how often that happens. Not one to give up she called again and this time got someone who really wanted us to be happy customers. They were able to get us 25% off what we paid and a credit for future use of Expedia.

Frankly that was good customer service and because of that we are likely to use Expedia again. I wish more companies were that willing to make things right.

I admit that I feel the price of gas for the car at the gas pump. I’ve gone to using a credit card over paying cash which I am not really happy about. But it was taking too much cash and I’d be making trips to the ATM all the time otherwise. But that isn’t where I feel it the most.

I just ordered a delivery of heating oil. I last ordered oil back in the spring sometimes. That last spring fill up lasts me for months. But the cold weather is here and I’ll be ordering oil about once every 4-6 weeks (depending on the weather) for a while now. As painful as filling up the car is that is nothing compared to getting 250-275 gallons at a time. It wasn’t that long ago when I was paying about 90 cents a gallon. The oil coming tomorrow is $2.899 a gallon. Do the math – I did once and don’t want to do it again.

I’ll be writing out a big check tomorrow (I save money by paying cash) and that will continue through the winter. How do people who lousy jobs do it? Scary really.

During the gas crunch of the 70s when the price went up over a dollar (which was big money back then) for a while we did some things to make the house more energy efficient. This past spring we finely replaced the last of the old windows and they all have double panes. I’m not sure there is much more we can do to keep the heat in. I think it is time I started looking at alternative energy for heating. Wind? I’m not sure we have enough wind even with a really big tower. Wood stoves are our because of allergies and breathing problems they would make worse – we know this from experience. Solar panels? Perhaps as we have a south facing roof. Maybe I need to look into that one. Things are getting easier to justify on costs.

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So I thought I would see if this works now that the blog software and Windows Live Writer have both been upgraded recently.