How Not to Pay Through the Nose for Fuel

This is a picture we took in May. We loaded up the trunk with "vegetable oil" for our trip from Alabama to Massachusetts. We ended up returning with enough fuel for 3 more weeks of driving around home. Wow!

With the price of fuel being high, we probably saved, excuse the rough numbers,

about 58 gallons at $4/gal equaling around $232.

So, actually, in order to have $232 to spend, we would have had to earn $331 gross.

...and if we had driven a regular car that gets 25 miles to the gallon instead of 50 (our old Nissan which we sold at our garage sale) instead of the salvaged Jetta, it would have cost twice that!

Buy a fuel efficient car!
and then,
Run it on sustainable fuels.

The Shed, Slowly but Surely

Radiation barrier insulation is now blocking the view of our neighbors in the rear. We almost have a private backyard.

Passive Solar Designed Window Shading

Jason wants to set up a Solar Home Tour in our town, BUT the only thing that we have "solar" is our sun tea maker...
We do have plans for a solar hot water sytem, and are strongly considering a solar electric system (grid-linked).

It occurred to Jason not long ago (a month before the Summer Solstice) that the windows on the south side of our house were letting in alot of heat, basically acting like passive solar heaters So by adding a little roof, you could put them in the shade and "turn off" the heat.
"Brilliant! Do it!" I encouraged.
And he did... in a day!
His design provides complete shade for 2 months of Summer, when sun in highest in the sky, and provides complete sun for the 2 coldest months of Winter.
So thanks to my geeky solar husband, we are finally on the solar powered road!