Text 18556, 158 rader
Skriven 2014-10-26 21:02:11 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 18482 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
Ärende: Peppers                                                  [1]
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Hi Janis,

>> That sounds incredibly painful using propane for those kinds of rooms

 JK> > The rent was affordable, as in free the second year we lived there.
 JK> We > were managers for the apartment unit that year.

 JK> Nice tradeoff, no doubt.

We thought so. The owner sold the building the next year, new owner
raised the rents so we moved.

>> still expensive since the utility company wouldn't sell "partial"
>> fills for the propane tanks.  You had to have the tank filled.

 JK> > I know, we had 50 gallon tanks and would have to fill them weekly in
 JK> a > (coastal) NC winter for several months.

 JK> The company that sold us the propane would only come to refill if the
 JK> two very large tanks were down to 1/4%.  And, they would only refill
 JK> them completely so we'd have them come every few months in winter
 JK> IIRC.  It's not something that stuck in my mind for some reason (vbg).

We'd have to get fills a lot more often. The place we moved to had a
wood stove as its only heat initially but we added a gas line and a
couple of gas heaters a few months later. Work was done on a cold winter
day (after several warm days) and I was in the morning sickness stage of
expecting our first. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper until the
conversion was finished and we had heat.


 JK> >  We ran out once, just after 5pm
 JK> > (when the gas company closed) so I called--found out they'd charge a
 JK> > whopping fee for after hours delivery. I declined, we borrowed an
 JK> > electric heater for the bedroom that night. I also tried choking
 JK> down a > cup of coffee (without success) to warm me up. No microwave
 JK> back then to > heat non coffee flavored water, could have used the
 JK> percolater for
 JK> > coffee flavored water for tea. IIRC, we used the electric fry pan to
 JK> > heat something for supper.

 JK> Yes, the electric frying pan came in handy here a few times - I've had
 JK> one since I was first married. I'm amazed it still works :)  Well,
 JK> last time I checked it did, anyway.  It has a high domed cover.. I
 JK> remember reading in the instruction booklet that you could bake a cake
 JK> in it, though I'd never tried that (g). Wonder if anyone ever has? :)

I never tried it, did try it in the crock pot once or twice. We found we
used the cast iron fry pans more often than the electric one so found a
new home for the latter. Funny, it worked that way because I grew up
using an electric fry pan.

>> utility bills.. :(  Well, given the size of the living quarters (2

 JK> > We've had some high bills here, especially last winter.

 JK> So far this fall has been decent. Very mild.. today the temperatures
 JK> hit 70 in Windsor.. we were there signing papers to get the house on
 JK> the market.  Yay, that's done.  :)

Hopefully it'll sell fast. We've had a few days in the lower 70s. It's
supposed to be up near 80 by mid week, then plummet to the upper 50s by
the week end. Possibility of frost even on Sunday morning.


>> bedroom apartment with living room/dining area, and kitchen and 1
>> bathroom) and the size of the bills.  It was nice living so close to
>> "home" but that was the only benefit (grin).  My parents owned a huge

 JK> > Sounds nice for a first place. In the converted hotel had all the
 JK> rooms > on a straight line, bedroom on one end, then living room,
 JK> kitchen and > bathroom. We had one of the few apartments with a living
 JK> room. One unit > had its bathroom across the (former lobby) entry way
 JK> to the upper floor; > good for a single guy maybe.

 JK> We've had some funny ones over the years... one was a trailer I
 JK> swear.. though it wasn't advertised as such... It was inexpensive and
 JK> fit what we needed for a few months while something opened up.. forget
 JK> now what it was... could have been the purchase of one of the houses
 JK> we bought over the years.  But it was cold, and not very inviting...

We've been in some interesting places too. Had a small double wide in
Swansboro for a few years and another trailer (single wide) for a few
months in San Angelo, TX. We think a tornado went over us while we were
in that one. The Army furnished a number of interesting places over the
years--the one in Savannah was nice but had a bit of a strange floor
plan.

>> for utilities :( I still remember crying when the builders tore down
>> the barn and play-house that had been in our backyard throughout the
>> time I grew up there... :(

 JK> > My folks owned aboout a quarter acre, surrounded by our one neighbor
 JK> who > owned several acres. We had run of the surrounding area when I
 JK> was a kid > but when I was in college, he sold some of it to the town

 JK> There must have been plenty of room to run around, that's good.

Very good for kids--hills for sledding, berry patches for picking all we
could, lots of space just to ramble and explore.

>> > My folks have oil in their house; they've had some rough winters.
>> The > natural gas heating should cut our electric bill considerably.

>> Yes, it should :)

 JK> > We'll see, this coming winter especially.

 JK> Understand.   The good thing is it's yours to modify as you need.

Yes, and I'm debating decorating ideas already.

>> Sounds really good :)  Matt's been cleaning out my jars of dill
>> pickles already haha.. I didn't do that many, maybe 5 jars.  Still
>> have two left I think.  I used a bunch of my potatoes in a dish that
>> Jamie Oliver had for Fish Pie.. like a shepard's pie, but with fish
>> filet.  That was a really nice recipe.

 JK> > I stir fried the bok choy, then pulled it out and did a chicken
 JK> breast > "marinaded" in a soy-ginger sauce (picked up on clearance at
 JK> Lowe's). It > soulnd tho, like you should have made more pickles go
 JK> get you thru the > winter. (G)

 JK> I should have started gardening on time is what it comes down to :) :)
 JK> Then I would have had cucumbers all season. :)  Next year I hope it
 JK> will be different.

You're thinking about next year already--good start. Let's hope all
works out to get an early start and things keep going all summer.


>> redid all wood floors downstairs, and installed ceramic tile floors in
>> the kitchens upstairs and in all the bathrooms.  They all look so
>> beautiful.  The main kitchen looks incredible.  I want to move back
>> there (grin).

 JK> > Sounds nice. You would want to live there only until you got the
 JK> winter > heating bills tho, then move back to your smaller house. (G)

 JK> Or.. til I have to clean that huge house (G)

Understandable.

 JK> But yes, the heating bills would defintely clip any joy (G)

Sigh! But, one nice thing about the smaller place--you're closer to the
grand kids. (G)

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... It isn't hard to meet expenses...they're everywhere!

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)