Meter Reading Error

(Originally published at lifetimeprojects.wordpress.com on July 29, 2011)

I just found out that when I read the meter at the start of this family project, I read it wrong. Big surprise, considering as I have never in my 35 years had occasion to read the meter, despite multiple efforts at wondering where our energy was going.
Apparently DTE’s reading on the same day that I did mine, July 19th, was 53707, not 54606.
I think I know the cause, although to be truthful I’ll never be completely sure…the DTE Website tells you that when you read the meter, if the dial is between two numbers, to take the lesser of the two. Well, as I remember it, the needle was almost on top of the four, so I took the four, even though I should have taken the three. Not sure what happened with the seven vs. the six, but hey, I’ll take theirs since it happens to be lower than mine!!
We’ve been doing well this week, despite climbing temperatures. Wednesday night made for a wonderful thunderstorm night, but instead of closing the windows and turning on the A/C we kept the windows open…much to the dismay of the cat, who all but climbed under the covers shaking in his fur. Between trying to keep him calm and the flashes of lightening that came through the open windows, a restful night of sleep was anything but. However, it all evened out in the end when we made it more than 16 hours without having to turn on the A/C!
Side note: I was forced to turn on the A/C the next day, yesterday, by none other than my cat. When I went downstairs around noontime was wearing a desperate expression, and seemed to want to step out of his fur, he was so hot. If a cat could be sweating, he was. As the temperature in the house was nearing 85 degrees, I compromised and told him that I would turn on the air.
All major appliances except for stove, washer & dryer, the chest freezer in the garage and the refrigerator/freezer and dishwasher in the kitchen remain unplugged, except when in use for various hours throughout the day. The dishwasher has not been used since the start of this project, meaning that I have been washing all the dishes, including pots and pans, in the sink with hot, soapy water (with a dash of bleach added).
Thank you to everyone who has been commenting on the blog – it’s great to know that someone out there is reading!
On another happy note, I have added a poll to the blog. Please vote on the poll, as it will decide whether another section will be added to this blog. Future polls may be added to decide what family project we will take on next!