Headed for 17 tonight. Not sure what we hit during the power-out, but it was 20’s-like. Thank goodness this place is insulated.
And if you have windows that are a problem during winters or summer sun, http://www.bedbathhome.com/BlackoutLiner/thermalogic-ultimate-blackout-thermal-liner–fits-grommet–pinch-pleat–tab-top–tailored-panels.html?gclid=COyXs5nauckCFY2Vfgod-PAA_A
OR from Penneys: search blackout curtain liner
http://www.jcpenney.com/ultimate-blackout-curtain-panel-liner/prod.jump?ppId=pp5005220907&searchTerm=blackout+liner&catId=SearchResults&_dyncharset=UTF-8&colorizedImg=DP0324201517023833M.tif
The blackout liners we got because of the glare-prone old telly—really made it possible to keep this living room warm. Magnetic closure means no light. WE just have these mysterious little points of light—kitty help.
You just put them on the same hook as your regular window drapes, granted you have regular window drapes. One of the best investments against overheating in summer or chilling in winter.
mysterious points of light? They’re making a planetarium display… 😀
A couple of years ago, I tore down the old 60s era metal folding curtains the previous owner had used throughout the front rooms (we used to call them ‘blast shields’) and replaced them with much more stylish bamboo slat curtains. We discovered that they were reasonably good for buffering incoming daylight, but they were not by any means opaque at night! This was complicated by our windows; we have only one big solid windowpane, the rest are jalousies.
I went to Ace Hardware and got a can of spray-on glass frosting, and hit the jalousies with enough to render them no longer transparent. The big window I didn’t want to obscure, so got a roman blind that fit inside the window frame and acts like a blackout curtain. Privacy thus maintained!
You obviously don’t live in the north! To say “jalousies leak like a sieve” does a disservice to sieves!
Thermostat Update — The th. that Joe sent is still awaiting installation. I tried calling today before and after running errands. The phone rang, no pickup. So I checked. They’re just busy, apparently. From past experience, there’s an owner, a secretary, and at least two techs, the ones out doing svc. calls. — Wish me luck tomorrow morning. I’d rather use the company I’ve been using for years, than to try random chance. Looks like I may have to sit on the phone to reach them. Heh, I guess they’ll have a good Christmas!
It shouldn’t take too long to install…..I think you’ll need a couple of AA batteries, though.
Oh, as long as the pack of AA’s I have are still good, that should be fine. I’m going to presume the wiring is similar or identical. The unit you sent is a Honeywell, and the one I have that’s konked out is also. I don’t *think* there’s any problem developed with the heater, so ideally, the tech can swap out the unit, check that it’s controlling the heater properly, and we’re good to go. Service call plus installation and checkup fees, I’d imagine. I’m expecting around $75 to $80 for that, plus whatever added time/labor is involved. Seems like I had them check my A/C compressor to give a quote on it in about April. So I might squeak by without too much added cost. Not having to buy a new thermostat is a real plus! I looked again. Costs for those seem to be from around $90 to $250; with the one I had, going for $200 to $250, new.
I’m expecting to sit on my phone tomorrow until I get them. — It’s warm enough this week that heat from sunlight during the day is mostly carrying over at night, chilly but not too bad. But we typically have our coldest winter weather in January and February and sometimes March. It’s possible here to have a last cold snap, heavy frost, up until Easter Sunday. After that, it warms up. But what our weather does each winter from day to day can vary sharply. So yes, I want a working thermostat and heater. (If it is a problem with the heater, I’m likely hosed, though. Can’t afford a major expense.)
I’ll likely have a working thermostat and heater by tomorrow night, though. Here’s hoping.
The cats make excellent foot warmers, and are quite happy for the warmth and extra attention, though.
The batteries are just for the LCD display, I believe. The thermostat gets its primary power from the furnace circuitry.
I hope it works for you. If you were close by, it would have been easy to install it for you, and would have taken about 15 minutes….
Eek. The thermostat’s wiring is different, so I had to get another one, and I’m sure they charged extra. The heater’s working, but the power outage that got the thermostat, or just age, got a pressure switch in the heater. Luckily, he was here to diagnose it, rather than it going out and a call back. But he didn’t have the part, so he’ll be coming back today or tomorrow to install it. The heater comes on and then kicks right back off. So once the pressure switch is replaced, I should be good to go. The heater dates from 2003, after Tropical Storm Allison, so of course, I’m out of warranty. Ouch, the fees, all told. Later today, or else tomorrow, I should have a working heater again, but the thermostat is in. Joe, thanks for trying to help.
🙁 But glad you’ll have some heat….
I had something like that happen here a few weeks ago. The tech found that the “vacuum/pressure hose” from the fan plenum to the switch had been plugged up by a spider web! He said spiders love the smell of the natural gas, or its odorant, so they get into furnaces. Ream it out with a “pipe-cleaner” and it’s good to go, minus $95.
Hope that all is well and that your furnace and thermostat are happily cooperating to give you a warmer house!
Thanks, Kafryn. 🙂
The repair tech was supposed to call me back later that day or Saturday to come by to put in the pressure switch once he had it. He missed that, and I got a recording from the office on Saturday. (Busy people.)
So I was going to call this morning, but aha, the secretary was on the ball and called about five minutes before I was going to call. (So she gets in earlier than I’d thought.) Yay, the guy is scheduled to come by this afternoon to get the new part installed.
The heater did try to cycle a lot at night, with the temp outside down in the 40’s. I’m not sure I’ll like my electric bill. (The heater uses an electric starter to light the gas pilot for the heat.) But, well, it sure beats NO heat. So I will be a happier camper this afternoon. My wallet won’t, but I will.
Ironically, we’re going to have unseasonably warm temps this week, even for here. A forecast high above 80 for two days? I’ll be surprised if it gets there. I don’t know if that breaks any records here. Temps in the 70’s in December are not uncommon, but neither are temps in the 30’s and 40’s uncommon here, for December.
BTW, a couple of days ago, I had leftover turnip greens and diced turnips, just enough for a serving. I got daring and used those for what was going to be an omelette, but ended up a scramble instead. I had my pan a little too hot. So, 2 eggs, a serving of greens and turnips, a single slice of cheese, and, er, I intentionally fried two pieces of bacon, used the grease, and crumbled the bacon, to go with the greens (I’m Southern, it’s a thing). I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but I love a good Western / Ranch omelette (veggies and ham/bacon and cheese omelette). This turned out really well and very satisfying. It got me through easily until a late lunch time.
Today, I have leftover brown rice. I’m going to cook catfish (broiled) at supper, then crumble that up fine, and fix a stir-fry with rice, mixed veggies (peas, carrots, corn), one egg scrambled and in bits throughout, soy sauce, and a couple of chopped green onions. I may add a little chopped celery too. A different mix of stir-fry veggies with broiled fish did great in a previous stir-fried rice, so I anticipate this will turn out nicely.
Thank goodness I am a pretty good cook. Even with a very tight budget this month, I’ll still do more than fine on food.
Stir-fries and stews are a good way to get more mileage out of whatever is looking a little sad in your fridge. Leftovers that are a day past their sell-by date, the tag ends of frozen bags of veggies, that piece of old cheese, a potato or carrot that’s really too small for anything but a snack, it all goes into the pot with the seasonings. And almost everything is better with bacon 🙂
The stir-fry turned out good in spite of itself. It was aiming for Asian, but I think it landed somewhere between Asian, Cajun, and Very Americanized! And perhaps somewhere near Southern. LOL. — The catfish was very good, seasoned very well, but didn’t brown enough. It was falling apart, it was so well done, which is ideal for a stir-fry. — A small bunch of green onions, cleaned up and diced. Two stalks large celery, medium chop. A bag of frozen mixed veggies, thawed (peas, carrots, corn, green beans). There was too much for the dish, and I just missed overflowing the wok. Heat wok to high, with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Cook down the veggies a few minutes, until the celery and green onions are wilted. One egg, into this and scrambled in a hurry, blended throughout. Two large catfish fillets, broiled and crumbled (using the blade of a spatula / egg turner), then added with the broth from cooking, which adds in the seasonings (season salt and lemmon pepper and oil). — I should not have added any water, got it too watery, nearly had a gumbo of sorts. — Then I grabbed what I thought was the soy sauce. Um, no, hey, that’s red wine vinegar. I only realized this after I’d added two or three tablespoons! But hmm, it was a happy accident. This added flavor. OK, get the soy sauce, add about two tablespoons, maybe three. This was fine, not over-seasoned. — Add in about 2 cups of leftover brown rice. — Stir it and try not to overflow the small wok. (I should’ve used my big wok. Oh well.) — Keep going, so it cooks down some of the excess water and blends it all. Stir-fry (or stir-boil was more like it. LOL.) — This turned out pretty well, though. I had a nice small bowl, but didn’t eat all of my serving. I should have about two more servings, maybe three. The seasonings: I was afraid when I first tasted it that it was actually going to be too bland. But it melded together nicely, and I think when I reheat tomorrow, it’ll be fine. I think the rice will absorb a lot of the liquid that was left, and reheating (stir-fry again) will improve it. — I love my small wok, a big improvement for everyday use for just one. — Hmm, I think I’d adjust the veggies for more of an Asian influence. Other stir-fries suggest a little garlic and ginger and soy beans, and possibly bok choi or other Chinese veggies. I can get edamame soy beans and bok choi here at my local supermarket. — So it was a strange result this time, but turned out very tasty anyway. The catfish went nearly to pieces, except for bits here and there. If I really analyzed this, I bet I’d have close to a gumbo too. Good stuff anyway. Mmmm!
The repair guy was delayed more than an hour past when he’d said he’d be by, but he got it done. The pressure switch was swapped out fast, and between that and the service call Friday to put in the thermostat (with their unit), they really made out like bandits. My wallet is not happy. But I am happy. I have a heater in good working order again for the rest of the winter. I think they got to me twice over, but, well, I will be warm. Counting it a win.
I got in a good amount of font work today. Painted myself into a corner one one, inadvertently, but I think I can extricate myself without having to restart that draft. Sure hope so. Still, last week and this week have been productive so far, so I’m happy with it overall. Just aggravated that I may have a lot of extra work on the one font.
I got in a good amount of cleaning and organizing the last couple of days and today. … But it hardly shows, still. I’m at least gaining on it in places. Sneaking up on it. I’m hoping it’ll count as what I’d call human livable by Christmas.
My budget’s whacked for this month. I think I’ll squeak by again. Not expecting to be able to pay on taxes in January unless I get fonts in and earning a lot sooner than I think I can get done, reasonably. — However, if at all possible in January, I really want my kitchen sink to get fixed. (A valve and section of pipe, at miniumum, need to be replaced. The sink’s shut off to keep from leaking below.) If I can afford to do it in January, that will be a huge livability boost.
However — I have a home, two cats, heat, groceries, utilities, and I expect to just barely squeak by on budget this month. I will have a pretty good Christmas dinner, whatever I end up fixing. (There’s frozen homemade stuffing to go with it.) So all in all, I’m counting this season a win, despite what I have been through this year.
Also — I am incredibly thankful for a few online friends, who have been very kind and supportive. Several of those are here at Wave and Sheridan, and a few are elsewhere. This had helped lift my spirits enough to get into good productivity again, close to my old self. If I can maintain it long enough to get it to stick again, that will be a huge gain, a real boon. So thanks, Wavies.
I’m glad you were able to get the pressure switch replaced, and that there’s heat in the abode. While the cats might not feel too uncomfortable without the heater, you certainly would.
I hope you’ll have enough to make it through the rest of the month, or whenever next payday comes around.
Incredible photos – Mount Etna’s Voragine crater erupts
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/03/sicily-mount-etna-voragine-crater-erupts-lightning
Wow! Those are gorgeous!
I’m glad that Etna chose to remain silent (or was it Haephestus or Vulcan?) during my visits to Taormina.
Cole and Marmalade on YouTube share “8 Signs Your Cat Is An Alien.”
https://youtu.be/-Gz8Kzi8xW4
I had a spider stop up the gas to one of the burners of my kitchen stove. Little bastard.
Traditionally spiders were culprits in plugging the venturi nozzles in gas barbeques, especially over the winter. Come first cookout of spring there could be an interesting flameout. I must say I have never bothered with the preventive spring maintenance pipecleaner thing that barbeque worriers have recommended, but apparently the spider/gas affinity is for real.
Makes one wonder about what kind of alien atmosphere they (really) evolved in!