Washingtonians

[PitterPatterPalace]

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No hurt feelings. We're just trying to get settled in from coming home from the hospital and will be posting pics hopefully soon!

 

[hallerlake]

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WHAT?

 

[hallerlake]

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Did he get a license plate number?

 

[justbugged]

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I watched the movie Contagion.

I don't want any feathers from China.

I've not seen it. I'm trying not to buy from countries where we have a huge trade imbalance with (eliminates Mexico and Canada as well). Sometimes it is impossible to avoid it, but I'm hoping that by trying my best to buy American we will keep more of our dollars in our country, support our citizens and hopefully improve our economy. I had not looked at it from a health point of view. Now I'm afraid to - Olivia and her friends had rooster feathers put in their hair on Sunday and they did not come from our yard.

It is unlikely that the girls would get sick from the feathers, but it is wise to think of where stuff comes from.

 

[Mia_]

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What is your insulation like? When we took out the lowered ceiling in the living room and dining room, we found that the walls were not insulated for those two feet. Once we insulated it, our energy bill was about a quarter of what it had been.

 

[TrystInn]

justbugged,

What kind of appliances do you use? We replaced all of ours (minus the stove, given we rarely use it) since purchasing the house and it has brought down the energy bills quite a bit. Granted, we use a woodstove for heat and very rarely (3 days this year) use the AC.

We also re-caulk our windows each Fall, you'd be amazed how much warmer your house feels from just doing that one simple thing.

 

[justbugged]

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What is your insulation like? When we took out the lowered ceiling in the living room and dining room, we found that the walls were not insulated for those two feet. Once we insulated it, our energy bill was about a quarter of what it had been.

This house was built in 1991. It was supposed to be heated by gas. The builder came in and built some of these houses with Cadet electric space heaters. Because of that they had to increase the insulation in the house to meet the different code.

But it is possible to add more. It is also possible that the builder cheated with insulating the walls. I am just not sure that I want to remove sheetrock to find out. Over the years DH has had to do things in the attic spaces, and it has lightly compacted some of the insulation. So I will prioritize some more insulation. I need to replace the sky lights. There are much better options now.

 

[justbugged]

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I have a 2004 refrigerator in the kitchen, a gas range that was bought in 2000 or 2001. The dishwasher is newer and a Bosch, it doesn't have a dry cycle. I bought the washer and dryer last year, and that made a big difference on the water bill. The machine uses a lot less water, and runs with bigger loads. I use the clothes line when ever I have a chance. I have a small chest freezer that I bought in 2000 or so. The refrigerator in the garage is older. I researched the model number. I think it is about 20 years old. I think that I will replace it this spring, with a small basic model. I did unplug it for a couple of months, and I didn't notice any reductions in the energy usage. I use it enough that I am not sure I want to give it up entirely. I have a nearly new flat screen TV, that is used during the evenings. I listen to the radio during the day. So that is a list of the main appliances around here.

 

[justbugged]

So I tell myself that I need to go to bed sooner tonight. But here I am again at 3:00am.

But I am going to go crawl into the bed with the pack of dogs, right after the fishes get their dinner.

Goodnight from the night crew.

 

[ByN8ureHomstead]

Garden season is over here but so are my allergies. We had our first freeze was a hard one.