Steerpike

I think a lot depends on where they are located, outside, relative to windows in general, and bedrooms in particular. Also, you are in an area where - I presume - they use solid building materials that may offer more sound insulation. Our AC condenser is far away from the bedrooms so I never hear it from the bedroom but my neighbor's unit happens to be right outside my bedroom wall and it's horribly noisy.

I have a 'flax seed' neck warmer! I'd forgotten I had it till you mentioned it. It worked quite well, but as you say you need to be careful about over-heating and damaging the cover. I'm not sure I want a bed full of flax seeds! Are they insect/rodent proof, were you to stash them away somewhere? (I have no idea where mine is!).

BristolUK

Most houses here are wood builds and then covered in vinyl siding but there are big gaps to other houses in my area. Our outside unit is right next to the deck.

It's nearest to my bedroom (ground to upper floor) and in the dead of night very occasionally I might become aware of it powering on but only for a couple of seconds. Considering it's doing that on/off continuously it's just not an issue.

The old one, however, that was louder. Didn't bother me at night but where you'd notice the difference would be sitting on the deck and then when it cuts out you notice the quiet. But then if you have the AC or heating on, you're much less likely to be sitting on the deck.


We've been using them for years. We keep them in the kitchen whether they are in use or not. No pest problem. It's easy enough to just check for a hole and you're far less likely to be taken by surprise than with water.

In the hot water bottle comparison, I forgot to mention something. There's an episode of original Star Trek where they are on a very cold planet, in a cave and they use their Phasers to heat up a rock to help keep them warm.

The magic bags are like that. You can feel the heat spreading whereas a bottle really only does the bit it's touching; if you want to warm up another bit of bed you need to move the bottle to it.

When you fill a hot water bottle and close it, wiping around the neck, do you ever still see a drop of water there and panic as to whether it's a leak or just that you didn't wipe it so well?

Finding a tiny seed or two that made it out of the tiniest hole that you missed is nothing compared to that.

Jolly Good

I just realized it has been exactly a year since I started this thread.

I have to admit as much as I wanted to leave our old house and get away from the weather disasters, the chemical plants and the small town Texas attitudes and bullcrap I was also a bit sad. It had been our life for 33 years and for sure not all of it had been bad. We had both worked our way up into fairly good jobs that had given us relatively good pensions. And even though we seemed to be constantly fix our house up after storms it was our home, the first one we had ever owned and the one with the most memories of our lives and of our kids growing up . So in someways it was hard to leave.

But we started the adventure and thankfully so far we have had a mostly bump free ride. I love being around the grandkids and watching them grow. I love the weekends when our daughter and son in law invite us for a Sunday supper cooked by one or both of them. I'm enjoying the changes we are making to our new small home and looking forward to when Spring arrives so I can finally have a garden again ( although not sure when spring will arrive...) We have found good places to go for walks and have found some quaint restaurants to eat in.

We have survived our first winter. Although our neighbors say it's been the mildest winter here for years..yikes so I guess we are hear to stay!

So a big thanks to Texas for 33years of crazy times and for helping us to be able to retire, sell our house at a time when the housing market was great and to be able to live a comfortable life now we are retired.

I'm pretty certain we made the right decision

BristolUK

I think you can safely say that. It's noticeable, too, the title you gave the thread...looking forward.

ddsrph

Glad it’s working out for you. From what I have read Pittsburg has made a great recovery from its time as a steel making town that was in decline.

Lion in Winter

You're doing great, and being able to see your family more regularly is a big plus.

Btw, Spring will be in May, about 10 minutes before Summer.

Jolly Good

Unfortunately I still don't have the back garden I want so now it's next year's project. But having the raised up deck built has meant I can go outside more now without having to go down stairs . We also had a front porch built so I can also sit out and be a nosy neighbor!


So when M had started to clear our forest there were about 8 tall skinny trees that he left standing because they looked pretty. When we had the deck built the contractor was working at eye level to the branches and he pointed out that all the branches were crawling with baby Lantern flies and we should get them removed.

After researching we found out the trees were Tree of Heaven an invasive species and a breeding ground for the lava of Lantern flies. Apparently these creatures, that look beautiful when they are full grown are a terrible pest to crops. We had to report it to the state, but we were told our area was already a quarantined area. We then had to get a tree guy to cut them down destroy them and treat any stumps. He will return and remove the stumps soon. It was a mess because all the baby Lantern flies, that don't fly but jump, covered our new deck and concrete pad. M, our daughter, sil and our contractors were swatting and killing as many as possible. Vinegar and dawn dish soap in water sprayed on them also killed them. It was freaky. So the trees were removed but there is one left that is actually on our neighbors property and so far they have done nothing about it

After leaving all the creepy crawley creatures behind in Texas this was a new one to us!
Mind you we do have a cute Ground Hog that likes to sit in our cleared forest area.

The adventure has slowed down because of my accident but we are still enjoying our new life and eventually our road trip plans will start again soon.

ddsrph

The deck and porch looks great. Does your land extend past the fench to where the deer are standing?

BristolUK

Fab deck. Best of both worlds deck-come-balcony.
For the front porch you'll need a rocking chair and a shotgun.

Is that the trees that look like ogres?
So you get a free weather forecast.
We have one that appears occasionally. I thought it was a beaver first time.

Jolly Good

I love the deck. We had the dining room window removed and a sliding door put in. It's perfect for morning coffee and evening sunset watch.

I have a nice chair on the porch, not a rocker and no gun
The Amazon guy uses the chair for all my packages.

The trees are gone in the picture. They were similar to Sumac trees. The ogre trees/ bushes are weird! Not sure what they are.
I also thought the Ground Hog was a beaver. He or she is getting fatter by the day and just lounges about. Hmm..maybe it is a she???

BristolUK

I suppose when your job is forecasting weather only once a year there's not much else to do.

Jolly Good

Yes it does.

This is what it looked like when we bought the house. You can barely even see the metal fence.

Lion in Winter

It all looks lovely, very lush, and you have room for a pony.

BristolUK

Lion in Winter

I doubt you can buy a pony for a pony these days.