Great day to be retired.............

[Dawg52]

Here it is wet and cold today but I have a big ole grin on my face because I would normally be dressed in a coat and tie headed out of town for my company's annual stock holders meeting. A day that I would have to give the annual financial report in front of a bunch of people that would rather be somewhere else. What a wasted day it used to be. But instead, I'm sitting in front of the fire, in my pj's, drinking coffee and chatting with my internet friends. The simple life is good.

Thank God it's warming up tomorrow. It's been over a week since I've played golf.

 

[unclemick]

Going above forty this afternoon, will grill some steaks on the BBQ and watch the snow melt in the backyard.

After thirty years in New Orleans - watching snow melt is still kinda of cool.

May get a chain saw going and cut some downed branches left from the last ice storm - if I get ambitious.

heh heh heh - still cannot find 'crisp crust' Leidenheimer style French bread around Kansas City - so tommorow's red beans(can't wait til Monday) will be a partial meal.

 

[Rambler]

Dawg - Wasted days they are...glad I don't have to give the report, just be there. In our case, it is sometimes interesting to hear the negative comments by certain activist shareholders. Some are pretty close to the mark, but some of those guys are way off the deep end...or have been "inhaling" something...

R

 

[Arc]

Here it is wet and cold today but I have a big ole grin on my face because I would normally be dressed in a coat and tie headed out of town for my company's annual stock holders meeting. A day that I would have to give the annual financial report in front of a bunch of people that would rather be somewhere else. What a wasted day it used to be. But instead, I'm sitting in front of the fire, in my pj's, drinking coffee and chatting with my internet friends. The simple life is good.

Thank God it's warming up tomorrow. It's been over a week since I've played golf.

How cold can it be in Mississippi?

 

[Dawg52]

How cold can it be in Mississippi?

Snowed last weekend. Been in the low 40's last few days with the wind chill factor in the 30's. Too cold for golf. But suppose to be near 60 tomorrow.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/s-snowing-32654.html

 

[HFWR]

...or have been "inhaling" something...

R

I have never, ever ... been to a shareholder's meeting!

 

[Dawg52]

I have never, ever ... been to a shareholder's meeting!

You haven't missed anything.

 

[W2R]

Dawg, this morning at 5:45 I went out to my car to go to work, and there was about 1/3" of nasty, very hard ICE on my windshield and other windows. That wasn't predicted at all!

I started the car, put the defroster on "heat", got out my ice scraper and worked on it for 10 minutes. I got about half the ice off which was enough that I could probably have seen through it.

Got in the car, and the INSIDE was all cloudy. Figured it was from the hot air coming out of the defroster, so turned it on cold and A/C. Opened the windows.

BRRRR. Wiped off a little with the sleeve of my coat, used the scraper to get more of it, and set off for work with the A/C on, windows open, and colder than $#%)(*& . I was 10 minutes late, though it was still pitch black when I arrived.

Just thought you'd like to know what you missed this morning!

 

[Moemg]

It's sunny and mid 60's here .Great day for a long walk and some yard work .

 

[Dawg52]

It's sunny and mid 60's here .Great day for a long walk and some yard work .

Why spoil the day with yard work? Tee time today, 1:30pm.

 

[Dawg52]

Dawg, this morning at 5:45 I went out to my car to go to work, and there was about 1/3" of nasty, very hard ICE on my windshield and other windows. That wasn't predicted at all!

I started the car, put the defroster on "heat", got out my ice scraper and worked on it for 10 minutes. I got about half the ice off which was enough that I could probably have seen through it.

Got in the car, and the INSIDE was all cloudy. Figured it was from the hot air coming out of the defroster, so turned it on cold and A/C. Opened the windows.

BRRRR. Wiped off a little with the sleeve of my coat, used the scraper to get more of it, and set off for work with the A/C on, windows open, and colder than $#%)(*& . I was 10 minutes late, though it was still pitch black when I arrived.

Just thought you'd like to know what you missed this morning!

Your in New Orleans? Wow. We had some frost but not too bad. Suppose to get to 63 here today.

 

[W2R]

Your in New Orleans? Wow. We had some frost but not too bad. Suppose to get to 63 here today.

Yes, just a mile or two from New Orleans, just south of I-10. I made the mistake of parking my car on the side of my house. I guess it's colder over there, tucked in between the house and the fence.

I parked it there Friday afternoon, when I had to bring in a full load of groceries that I picked up after work, in the pouring ice-cold rain. I parked close to the side door so that I wouldn't get too wet. Didn't work. Didn't move the car all weekend since Frank and I hung out together, and he drove.

My ER house is definitely going to have an attached garage!!

Edited to Add: Wunderground.com says it only got down to 36 this morning in my area, and it says there wasn't much of any wind. So I guess either they are wrong, or else ice has started freezing at 40 degrees or something. This makes no sense. But the work is like living in an alternate universe anyway.

 

[Martha]

Edited to Add: Wunderground.com says it only got down to 36 this morning in my area, and it says there wasn't much of any wind. So I guess either they are wrong, or else ice has started freezing at 40 degrees or something. This makes no sense. But the work is like living in an alternate universe anyway.

Microclimates. It is always colder somewhere. And warmer. Even your own yard will have different temps in different places.

 

[Walt34]

My ER house is definitely going to have an attached garage!!

Yes, that's what we did. Few things in life are certain, but we have decided that this is one: Never again will we live in a house without a garage.

No more scraping ice. No more heat-soaked car in the summer. And that expensive car will last 5-10 years longer given good maintenance.

 

[Goonie]

Dawg, this morning at 5:45 I went out to my car to go to work, and there was about 1/3" of nasty, very hard ICE on my windshield and other windows. That wasn't predicted at all!.......
Just thought you'd like to know what you missed this morning!

This morning at 5:45.....although I wasn't awake yet.....it was 37° here in northern IL.....902 miles north of Metairie! We just had a very light frost. I'm glad I don't live in a cold, icy, nasty climate like you!

 

[ProspectiveBum]

Got in the car, and the INSIDE was all cloudy. Figured it was from the hot air coming out of the defroster, so turned it on cold and A/C. Opened the windows.

BRRRR. Wiped off a little with the sleeve of my coat, used the scraper to get more of it, and set off for work with the A/C on, windows open, and colder than $#%)(*& .

An engineer friend showed me a trick that helps in this situation: turn the A/C on, but leave the heat on. The A/C sucks all the moisture out of the heated air (and the moisture is what's fogging up your windows).

This has worked well for me, but I live in SoCal, so my definition of "cold weather" may not match many of yours.

 

[W2R]

This morning at 5:45.....although I wasn't awake yet.....it was 37° here in northern IL.....902 miles north of Metairie! We just had a very light frost. I'm glad I don't live in a cold, icy, nasty climate like you!

Right! I think I'm going to love the Midwest.

 

[W2R]

An engineer friend showed me a trick that helps in this situation: turn the A/C on, but leave the heat on. The A/C sucks all the moisture out of the heated air (and the moisture is what's fogging up your windows).

This has worked well for me, but I live in SoCal, so my definition of "cold weather" may not match many of yours.

Believe it or not, I actually did that. I'd like to say that I did it out of innate brilliance, but actually I did it because I was too sleepy to notice that the "A/C" was punched in during the 5-10 minutes when I had the defrost heat on and was scraping the ice off. It still warmed up the windshield. When I got in the car, I noticed that and turned off the A/C for a while but then turned it back on when I switched to cold air.

Maybe my worst mistake is that I didn't want to close the door with my keys in the car, so I left it ajar by several inches while scraping the windshield. I guess that sucked the cold, wet, yucky air in pretty fast, negating the drying effect of the A/C.

I don't know. Seems like the laws of physics were not functioning properly this morning! It was like being in an alternate universe or living in the Twilight Zone (and I had not even had my coffee yet). Nobody else at work had ice (I asked). At least tonight, I am parked in a more open location, not in that sheltered, cold creepy area by the side of my house.

Microclimates. It is always colder somewhere. And warmer. Even your own yard will have different temps in different places.

That's got to be it. At least I hope it is. That, or a ghost.

Like Walt34, I want, need, and deserve to have an attached garage! When I was looking for this house, I told my realtor that I HAD to have an attached garage. So, of course I ended up with a house that has no garage. Next time, I'm going to get one no matter what!!

 

[Khan]

Back when I was starting out and living in apartments (and parking outdoors in snow/ice/-20F), I swore I would one day have an attached garage. I (we back then) bought this house nearly 30 years ago and the garage was the deal maker for me. It's also a major reason I don't want to move to an apartment.

 

[megacorp-firee]

Right! I think I'm going to love the Midwest.

Danger Will Robinson ...
we in the midwest love to have company (as in 'misery loves company') ... you don't know what cold is until you get a -30 degree windshield temperature with 40 mph winds and you have to put your head in your (hopefully) down coat so that you can catch a breath.
... don't say you haven't been warned ...
but hey, we didn't have Katrina

p.s. DW DEMANDED an attached garage after our 1st townhouse (parking spot, no garage).
We've had one ever since. Absolute necessity

 

[W2R]

Danger Will Robinson ...
we in the midwest love to have company (as in 'misery loves company') ... you don't know what cold is until you get a -30 degree windshield temperature with 40 mph winds and you have to put your head in your (hopefully) down coat so that you can catch a breath.
... don't say you haven't been warned ...
but hey, we didn't have Katrina

p.s. DW DEMANDED an attached garage after our 1st townhouse (parking spot, no garage).
We've had one ever since. Absolute necessity

I'm hoping that in ER, I can stay out of the -30 degree, 40 mph situations by just not going out that day. We shall see! I do plan to spend a lot on the highest quality coats (down or whatever), and cold weather clothing.

My house was absolutely perfect for me except for its lack of a garage, and except for the landscaping which takes too much work (well, and except for Katrina). But next time I just won't look at any houses that don't have a garage. As a woman, I think an attached garage is nice to have from a personal safety point of view, as well.

 

[Goonie]

I'm hoping that in ER, I can stay out of the -30 degree, 40 mph situations by just not going out that day. We shall see! I do plan to spend a lot on the highest quality coats (down or whatever), and cold weather clothing.

That's the way I am! If I know that's it's going to be REALLY cold or REALLY nasty out.....I don't go out! I'll go the store and do and other running I have to do BEFORE the weather turns ugly. Like last week a couple of days it was single digit temps and windy.....but it was perfect weather in the house!

It's 50° out right now, and not raining or snowing. However, a little later, it's supposed to rain, the temps are supposed to take a nose-dive, with the rain turning to sleet and snow.....then the winds are supposed to kick up to 25-35mph with 45mph gusts. The low tonight is supposed to be +2°.....and windy!

I'm getting ready to head to the store for milk and a couple of other things....before I need a coat! When I get back I'll fill the bird feeders, and then hibernate for a day or 2. It's really nice to be ER'd and to not have to go out in nasty weather!

 

[megacorp-firee]

I'm hoping that in ER, I can stay out of the -30 degree, 40 mph situations by just not going out that day. We shall see! I do plan to spend a lot on the highest quality coats (down or whatever), and cold weather clothing.

My house was absolutely perfect for me except for its lack of a garage, and except for the landscaping which takes too much work (well, and except for Katrina). But next time I just won't look at any houses that don't have a garage. As a woman, I think an attached garage is nice to have from a personal safety point of view, as well.

an unsolicited recommendation: when searching for a house, you may want to ensure it has sufficient attic insulation, exterior wall insulation, insulated windows (double pane, ...etc.) ... you get the idea. Or make sure you adjust the price for these items. It will save you a bunch in heating bills. A good home inspecter can help you id inadequacies.
Happy house hunting.

 

[W2R]

an unsolicited recommendation: when searching for a house, you may want to ensure it has sufficient attic insulation, exterior wall insulation, insulated windows (double pane, ...etc.) ... you get the idea. Or make sure you adjust the price for these items. It will save you a bunch in heating bills. A good home inspecter can help you id inadequacies.
Happy house hunting.

Good idea.

In the area where I want to retire, nearly all of the homes built since about 1990 seem to be in planned communities with homeowners' association, which doesn't appeal to me. I would rather live in an older, established neighborhood with no homeowners' association or fees, and I find older homes in this region to be less expensive and more appealing. So, I have been tentatively thinking of buying a home built from 1950-1989.

I guess that homes built in that timeframe probably weren't insulated in a very energy efficient way(though I don't really know what age of home would be better than others). Anybody know? Would a home built in 1960 be less well insulated than one built in 1980, for example? What age of home in the 1950-1989 timeframe would be likely to be better insulated? I will also view added insulation positively.

I think (though I'm not sure?) that a fireplace insert might keep cold drafts from come down the chimney and into the living room. Anybody know about that? Is that what they're for?

I LOVE the ER forum. There's always somebody who knows nearly anything I ask about.

 

[HFWR]

Good idea.

In the area where I want to retire, nearly all of the homes built since about 1990 seem to be in planned communities with homeowners' association, which doesn't appeal to me. I would rather live in an older, established neighborhood with no homeowners' association or fees, and I find older homes in this region to be less expensive and more appealing. So, I have been tentatively thinking of buying a home built from 1950-1989.

I guess that homes built in that timeframe probably weren't insulated in a very energy efficient way(though I don't really know what age of home would be better than others). Anybody know? Would a home built in 1960 be less well insulated than one built in 1980, for example? What age of home in the 1950-1989 timeframe would be likely to be better insulated? I will also view added insulation positively.

I think (though I'm not sure?) that a fireplace insert might keep cold drafts from come down the chimney and into the living room. Anybody know about that? Is that what they're for?

I LOVE the ER forum. There's always somebody who knows nearly anything I ask about.

Olders homes are probably not as well insulated. For instance, my house, built in 1985, uses 6" studs for the outer wall, allowing a bit more insulative value. Also, the windows are double-pane.

Other possible disadvantages include lead-based paint, asbestos, old and under-powered electrical systems (i.e. a 60A fusebox), old and underpowered (not to mention inefficient) HVAC and appliances, etc....