I spent my first night alone in the new house last night and it was terrible. I'm not kidding. I totally psyched myself out and kept hearing things. Again, my only consolation is that the dog didn't perk up when I thought I heard the noises, so I must have imagined them. And I won't take my Ambien when Mike's not home. It knocks me out and I'm just afraid that I'd lay there sleeping through anything that might happen.
Plus, we discovered that the a/c in this house has never had a filter in it. Here's a tip folks, if you haven't changed your a/c filter in a while, you might need to. It helps it run efficiently and it can be really, really bad if you go too long without doing it.
Our last house had this issue and they had to replace the entire unit, very costly and avoidable. I definitely didn't want that to happen here so I asked about the filter the day before we stayed our first night. Our landlord had no clue. She lives out of state and hasn't been to the house in a while. I knew I should be worried because apparently that last tenants ran out on her.
Well, I was right to be worried. There is a company out here that offers tune-ups on your a/c and furnace and they discovered that the ducting was filled with crap because no one had ever put in a filter. So I had no a/c last night.
We'd actually turned it off a couple of days ago, but it turned out to be cool enough that the ceiling fans were enough (we have ceiling fans! Yay!). Last night was miserable, though. Hot, unable to sleep, and hearing noises = very grumpy Becky. I need a nap, and could really use a relaxing and cooling afternoon in the pool, but it's back in Louisiana and I won't be able to head home until around October. Heading back before that just doesn't seem practical with all of the moving expenses.
Ah well. I can read about it, though. This is a highlight of an upcoming title for September (I'll do a few more of these next week because there are some super cool reads coming this fall) that should give me a little taste of home.
Nevada Barr is best known for her series featuring park ranger Anna Pigeon. If you haven't read them, they're totally fabulous. I just realized I've never posted about the series, so that's now on the agenda as well. (13 1/2 is Barr's second 2009 release, after the latest Anna Pigeon book, Borderline.)
Anywho, 13 1/2 is not Barr's first stand-alone, but it is her first stand-alone thriller and it's set in New Orleans (see, there is a method to my madness). Here's the info on the book as it appears on Barr's website:
13 1/2 by Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning Anna Pigeon novels, has written a taut and terrifying psychological thriller. It is scheduled for release in September 29th, 2009 from Vanguard Press.
Polly Deschamps suspects there might be a connection between her beau and a series of decades-old murders.
Two broken pasts collide in an uncertain present carrying the reader from the horrifying 1970's murder spree of a child--dubbed "Butcher Boy" by a shocked public--in Rochester, Minnesota, to Polly, the abused daughter of Mississippi "trailer trash," to post-Katrina New Orleans.
And though a New Orleans being stalked by a serial killer probably isn't the way most folks would like to visit The Big Easy, I'll take what I can get.
Mmmm, but I could really go for a great shrimp poboy as well! I might just have to break out the fry-daddy as celebration when the diet ends (and then put it away again since I wouldn't want to backslide, eh.).
I'll be sure to update ya'll once I've read the book, but until then, keep it on your radar!
3 comments:
Becky: {HUGS} on the night alone in the house, noises and no A/C. Trust the critters when all else fails. I'll have to tell you the story of the night I spent in our old house when DH was on a business trip....
We had our house pipes and vents cleared when we moved in as the previous owners were PIGS. Lord knows what got sucked up in the huge vacuum. Had A/C installed the day after we moved in. We change the filters on a monthly basis.
Watching Being Human....oh boy good!
Becky, I had to laugh, I always check the reaction of my dog too when I hear something. And I wish I had a pool too! :D
I have never read a Nevada Barr novel! Really. Don't know why, I will have to give one of them a try. Would 13 1/2 be a good place to start or would you recommend an older book?
I haven't read 3 1/2 yet, but I would think it would be a great place to start. The other one you should check out is Track of the Cat. It's the first Anna Pigeon book, but the second, A Superior Death, is really the one that got me hooked on the series.
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