It's snowing! Hurray! The dogs and I were just prancing, it was so lovely. Giggling a bit at Peace and Love staying home cuz the snow is almost knee deep. That's kinda normal round here, most winters. You just dig a path and plug away.
That is rather a tiny beach, isn't it?
I had a good chuckle over that too.
This is not a pissing contest from me, snicker, piffka, but interest. I set my thermo at 58 at night when I am good and 59 when bad, and try to have my main temp at 64, which I admit is too low but I can tolerate if I am moving all around the house doing stuff. The thing is, changing temps also take much amps or therms or whatever. After all, it is fine here in summer, when all the land lies at 63.
I don't know about temps really. Back in LA, lah, I used to set the temp at around 71, and it felt the same, I think, as 67 here, that is, luxurious. Is that my thermostat or my person or what?
I have several big windows not yet draped well by me. Yes, I have the material but have not yet sewn the drapes, as you see I am busy on a2k and with the rest of life. Getting the material and planning for the drapes has been some sort of coup here.
Not to promo italy yet again, I remember the rooms in inns, with shutters outside, light curtains first, then thick velvet drapes within. Real tough on cold air. And... it all looked good. Velvet is not necessary, but thick material...
My housemate from Marin County went out in a rush to buy plastic for the windows in october (ha!). I told her to make sure she measured. She got the wrong size.....
Thermostats are a very coarse way of setting temperature. So the thermostats themselves could vary, or simply the point where it's located will make a difference as well.
ossobuco wrote:This is not a pissing contest from me, snicker, piffka, but interest. I set my thermo at 58 at night when I am good and 59 when bad, and try to have my main temp at 64, which I admit is too low but...
I think it is interesting, too. My thermostat is so automated that I needed to read a book in order to program it. It is set for 55 at 8pm. At 5am it comes up to 73; at 7am it goes down to 65 and then at 4 it comes back to 68. What that means is that the house gets quite chilly at night, but since we've got the windows open... yes, even during this storm... it doesn't bother me. The house feels nice & warm by the time I'm up at 5:30 and stays that way until about 10am. By that time I'm often out. That's the M-F routine. Saturday and Sunday each have their own programming so that we can "sleep in"! What a goofy machine. The house was over-engineered by Mr.P so it tends to hold the heat, but as it happens, whenever I'm home and cold, I just bump it up to 73 and put it on hold. The other thermostat for the furnace in the back bounces between 65 and 70 I think. I let the kids manage it. They don't seem to mind it being cold.
Mr. Stillwater... you are funny! Sadly though, that beach looks grossly overcrowded. Is it always like that?
I hear you, Beth & littlek, that a foot or so of snow doesn't sound like much, but if you had the giant trees we have, that are no more used to this weather than we are and whose branches shatter to block roads and fall on powerlines; or if you lived with the steep hills we have all over the place, then maybe our reticence to venture out would seem more reasonable. PaL lives 25 miles away from her job along miles of lonely rural roads that would be horrible places to get stuck. Dealing with snow on flat land or in a city is a lot easier... I spent a winter in Minneapolis and know it is still a big hassle to deal with winter snows, but it is not like icy conditions here.
An architect pal of ours spun out in her car on highway 299 a few months ago, that was in the first rain, which slicks up the roads. Totalled her car, braking ever so slightly, and that was that lucky part.
I'm a petunia about all this. Though I have been in a tornado in Chicago ('54? as I entered my teens) and vast rains since, with my eyes and lack of chains savvy, forget it. My own key thing is to get out of work before twilight, as that is when my eyes f/up.
When I do ride with other people at night it is
sorry to tear
a joy.
well guys - the pipes burst between my past two messages, taking a break now- I for some fricking reason - I've not felt this much anxeity and frustration in many many years. I was screaming at the Mrs to run down to turn off the water and it wasn't going off. I sent down in a very excited state and asked when she turned off - it was the natural gas to the furnace not the water<sigh>.
Got the water off and went back to deal with the mess. And just now relited the furnace - ........
Yikes. Just heard that today SeattleFriend had a branch fall into her house, breaking a window and shattering glass all over a bedroom carpet. Luckily no one was hurt. Our trees can't handle this!
Osso -- those first rains are tricky since all the oil that permeates the road surface rises and makes 'em slick. Glad your friend was OK. Rain is usually not so bad, at least, I've gotten used to it... but I am a cautious, careful driver. I have scared myself silly on ice, mostly sliding backwards down hills, though finding I can't stop at the bottom of a hill when there is a red-light is also very upsetting.
I spent my pre teens in Chicago so I am sort of used to snow as a child as the snow when we were there was Very Serious. Well, I remember iceskating at -7, no windchill mentioned. But I wasn't there as an adult and thus had no good sense on the roads when I moved here five years ago.
Luckily for others I back off of trying, and live in town.
I know well about roads being slick on first rain, that happens even in lovely LA, really anyplace where rain shuts off for months. Luckily Joan just watched as her car totalled itself, and came out ok.
Hey Wilso -- you posted in between. What do you think of the programmable thermostats? I'm liking ours... now that I know how to make it work.
Husker -- I'm really sorry to hear about the water pipes bursting. Argggh. I hope you didn't get too mad at your wife, I've done stuff like that and I always feel so awful. Give her a smooch for me, you'll feel better for it. I know what you mean about this storm being very anxiety-producing. Usually I love the snow, but I was so ready for it to go (it still hasn't). And I've taken care of animals before in it... I don't know. I think it was the days of freeze that preceded it. I know on your side of the state, you're still in the midst of really cold temps. At least here we've warmed up... now 38F. Couldn't come too soon for me!
I just watched my daughter leave in my Explorer to visit with her bf. in the next town. I didn't really want her to go, but wanted her to take that car instead of her little sedan. Even so, it took her forever to get out of the driveway... there's snow here still and it is so slick, but I'm going to try not to worry.
Osso -- Yep. That friend of yours was really lucky. I've been in accidents where there's a point that everything seems to go into slow motion... you just have to let go because all control has been lost. Let go and hope for the best.
I've done that too, in other conditions, and come out ok. But there are these advisories that people who know say are important, to turn into the skid....
I wish there was a graphic on that. The words rankle against instinct, though I have been convinced in various conversations that turning into the skid is right. For seconds after the conversation...
Gee. You know I heard a state patrol person giving advice this week and she said that don't worry about doing that business with the steering against the skid. She said just steer where you want to go. Whew. I loved that advice because it makes sense.
I think there is a lot to be said for natural instincts.
Yiyiyi, it might make a diff. On 299, off the road could be way off the road. The only time I turned in circles myself, in a regular intersection, I just sort of watched.
Oh, on the horse arena, we looked at the property today, really wonderful. We'll make an arena, rather all purpose as opposed to for jumping, etc., and probably not full sized, though I'm not sure. The footing is one thing. Right now I am keying in on the whole site drainage...
Slop, slop, slop.
Yeah, that's what the book is about, as I recall. Lot's of detail I didn't understand.
I'll dig it out and see if it has anything pithy for you.
husker wrote:well guys - the pipes burst between my past two messages, taking a break now- I for some fricking reason - I've not felt this much anxeity and frustration in many many years. I was screaming at the Mrs to run down to turn off the water and it wasn't going off. I sent down in a very excited state and asked when she turned off - it was the natural gas to the furnace not the water<sigh>.
Got the water off and went back to deal with the mess. And just now relited the furnace - ........
I'll come out there and help you track down the contractor that botched that house.
Osso -- Haven't found that book yet.
FedEx has cancelled all deliveries in Portland. Man, they are in a world of hurt. Their public lightrail train system is shut down, their airport is closed, lots of people without power. Whew. Third day in the row that they're nearly paralyzed because of the weather.
We still have lots of snow on the ground despite it being 43F. I drove earlier and had the most trouble getting out of my own driveway. At one point I wondered if I could do it... and I have a good ol' Volvo snow car.
I guess we are lucky in a way, we don't get the freezing rain and heavy wet snow seen on the west coast. It a dry cold and damm, it's just too cold for too long.
Husker that sucks, I hope the damage can be fixed relatively easy.
I finally slipped and fell this morning--on my own #$!%! driveway! Now it's melting, which is fine, because the snow has taken on the greyness that afflicts urban snow after a few days...
