My friend Lea from Ocean Of Perspectives included me in her passionate blog meme, but at this particular point in time I seem to have lost my passion. It could be from menopause and low estrogen or from the recent events, at any rate the passion just isn’t there for now so it would be very hard to search and list any.

However Lea has listed 5 wonderful things that she is passionate about and if you’ve never visited her I’m sure if your interested in self discovery and meditation you will certainly enjoy reading her blog. Lea started out with Entrecard, but no longer participates, but I still try and visit her every day because I enjoy her blog.

I am really working on rekindling the passion that I had before and I’m hoping when Spring comes I will be able to renew my spirit with all the rebirth and beauty around me, but for now I sometimes feel as bleak and cold as the sunless dreary days that we’ve been experiencing lately.

I was reading about how to save energy and cut down on the electric bill and found out by leaving all your appliances plugged in when your not using them still consume energy. Of course we always use the fridge and freezer so those are always plugged in, but I went around and unplugged everything else, like the microwave, radios, TVs, and everything else. Every little bit helps during the crisis we are now facing.

Water heaters hold about 40 gallons of water, ours is a 30 gallon, I’d love to have one of those tankless ones, but too expensive right now so it’s suggested to turn down the temperature of water heaters instead of  maintaining it at a constant temperature. 30 or 40 gallons of water that is sitting in your tank for a  long time consumes a lot of energy. If the water heater is not expected to be used for a while they suggest a lower temperature.

Of course these are things I’m sure everyone already knows, but it doesn’t hurt to give a reminder. Thank goodness we had new windows put in awhile back because the openings and leaks in doors and windows create drafts. The stronger the draft is, the longer it will take for homes to be heated or cooled and the heater or air conditioner does extra work to regulate the right temperature of the house.

Older homes are usually not as well sealed as the newer homes because builders are more thorough now. Even if the outer walls are insulated, air leaks often occur around wall outlets, switches and vents that could result in water condensation around these areas. Bill bought a can of foam insulation to fix some of our problem areas.

Also appliances need to be cleaned regularly because dirt and dust interferes with the efficiency of appliances. You should also place about four inches of distance between the wall and appliances that generate heat so your walls don’t retain the heat. Also make sure you clean your air filters at least once a month.

Also a few other tips that we know and don’t always follow are, turn off the water while brushing your teeth, always turn the lights off before leaving the room, turn the computer off after use, do not hold the refrigerator open, and use natural light when possible.

Using CFL bulbs will save you more than sixty percent of the cost of lighting compared with using incandescent light bulbs. Sure CFL lamps are a little more expensive but these are recovered easily because of its longer life and the energy saving feature it has.

In most households the monthly electric bill is as follows, 44% goes to the heating and cooling systems; 33% goes to lighting and other appliances; 14% goes to heating the water; and 9% goes to the refrigerator. Check and see where you might be able to make some changes and save money and energy.

Shadow refuses to even try and walk, at first Bill made him a wooden thing with the swivel wheels, but it was too high so we worked on a cart for him and all he wants to do is lay down. At first we had it like a regular cart, but then used wood to add 2 swivel rollers in front so he couldn’t lay down. He still refuses even when I hold out a treat so now I’m thinking it might be too narrow so we are going to move the front wheels back so he wont feel trapped and shorten it.

This is getting very frustrating because someone has to sleep downstairs with him otherwise he’d bark and whine all night. I can’t put the muzzle on him for long periods of time so we go in shifts. I go to bed and then when Bill comes up I go down and sleep in the recliner next to Shadow. We are also going through those piddle pads like crazy. We were getting all of our dog supplies at the pet store, but found a cheaper place for the piddle pads.

We now buy the dollar store brand because we can get 18 for 5 bucks and we buy them all out as soon as they come in. I tried toddler training pants at first and then I bought expensive special doggy diapers and neither work well for Shadow. I even tried diapering him up with the piddle pads and safety pins, but that didn’t work either. I was thinking about trying some of those depends on him, but I’m sure the clerk will think they’re for me. Oh, well who cares I might need them someday myself although I certainly hope not.

I keep hoping he will just get up and walk, but the longer he lays there the weaker in the backside he seems to get, although he does turn him self around with his front paws. I’m seriously wondering if it might be a mental thing after his fall because for 2 days he did walk some and even went outside to do his business, but that was it and he hasn’t tried since. I wonder if the dog whisperer would make a house call, probably not besides I wouldn’t be able to afford him.

I think next week we are going to take him to a different vet because I have no clue if the one I’ve used for years even knows anything besides how to give shots. I know I should have taken out pet insurance years ago for an emergency like this, but I certainly wasn’t anticipating something this drastic. If anyone knows of anyone that has a real dog wheelchair for a medium sized dog that isn’t in use anymore I would certainly consider buying it at a reasonable price because I can’t afford a new one.