Sunday, February 7, 2016

The transformation continues


We're slowly but steadily making inroads into the bags and boxes that we brought down from Tennessee.  In the process, we're transforming our new residence from a house into a home.  It's a good feeling.

Miss D. has got the kitchen and pantry area set up to her satisfaction.  (Even though I'll share the cooking with her, I know better than to intrude on the organization of that space!)  I've been hard at work unpacking my books and putting them in order in the shelves.  I'm about two-thirds of the way through that task now.  My 'man cave' and writing office is taking a back seat while I concentrate on getting the living-room, dining area and guest room organized, because next week Phlegmmy is holding her annual Phlegmfest blog gathering, and we'll be sharing in the hosting activities.  We want the place to look clean, neat and welcoming.  My office can wait until that's over.

Some 'progress' has been less welcome.  It looks as if our geothermal system's compressor has packed up, and possibly its control board as well.  We had to call in a technician after hours on Friday to get the emergency heating system working.  Next week we'll have to navigate the tortuous requirements of the short-term major appliance insurance policy provided by the previous owners, to see whether repairs and/or replacement parts are covered.  (It's been my experience, and that of friends, that such insurance is often not worth the paper it's printed on.)  If the insurance will pay, all well and good.  If not . . . well, we may just have to live with space heaters and window coolers for a few months until we can replenish our savings and afford to pay for the work.  That's the sort of thing that goes with home ownership.  No sense in fretting about it.

We and our friends here are settling into a three-meals-a-week routine.  Miss D. and I will cook for the group on Tuesday evenings;  Old NFO will entertain us on Thursdays;  and Phlegmmy and Lawdog will host us on Saturday night.  It's a joy to be part of the group.  The conversation covers everything under the sun (and a few things besides), the food has so far been excellent (and so has the wine), and generally it's an enriching experience for all of us.  Since two out of the five of us are already writers, and two more plan to join our ranks soon, our sessions together are great incubators for ideas and discussions about the field.

We installed our new-to-us washer and dryer yesterday, with muscular help from Old NFO and Lawdog.  (The law enforcement profession seems to add as much to one's vocabulary as military service, if profane remarks during the installation are anything to go by.)  Since my fused spine and damaged nerve make such heavy-duty heaving and hauling almost impossible, I was very grateful for their help.  Miss D. plans to wash almost every item of our clothing and bedding, to remove travel dust and Tennessee allergens.  I guess we'll be giving our new appliances a real workout for a week or two.

(On the subject of Tennessee, I hadn't realized how the damper cold of Nashville in winter had affected us, or how the local allergens were taking a growing toll of our everyday health.  Both of us have found the dry cold of northern Texas to be much easier to handle, and much less painful to our respective long-term injuries;  and we're less congested, with much less coughing and sneezing, than we used to be in our former home.  We didn't move here specifically for our health, but to our surprise it looks as if that will be one of the hidden benefits of relocating.  We probably couldn't handle the humidity nearer to the Gulf of Mexico, but up here we're far enough away from that to be comfortable.)

Now it's off to unpack more boxes of books and fill another bookshelf.  By Tuesday night we want our living-room and dining area to be fully sorted out and ready for guests.  There's a lot to do before then.

Peter

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like great progress and wonderful company.

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  2. It's turning into quite a set up... And thanks for all the wine you're providing. I need to pick up the slack on my end! :-)

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  3. Gimme a "T" for Texas, a "T" for Tennessee.

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  4. RE: space heaters

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pelonis-Fan-Forced-Heater-with-Thermostat/21804031

    Cannot recommend highly enough for smaller rooms (bedroom/bathroom/etc.) Three power settings *AND* thermostat control. The only drawback is a bit of fan-noise but it's not obnoxious (becomes 'white-noise' after a bit). Also, it's not a heavy air mover, so the heat tends to stratify in the room if you don't move around too much. I have a small 8" fan that I use to keep the air circulating top-to-bottom if I'm parked at my desk too long.

    For larger spaces I'd go with one of those portable oil radiators.

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  5. Re: oil filled heaters

    I would be inclined to avoid them. Unless the tech has changed dramatically, they are very inefficient heaters. One of the inherent problems is a very slow response to control inputs. This is due to two factors.

    One, you have to wait for the oil to heat, before it reaches the room's air.
    Two, oil has very poor heat transfer capability.

    This is why Suzuki motorcycles gave up on using oil coolers with a large total oil system capacity, and finally joined the rest of the field using water-cooling. As power levels rose, the poor transfer of heat to the cooling system, and then to air, became a limit they could not get around.

    When they first came out in the 80's, people thought they were great, until they compared their electric bills. The difference was astounding. Most early users threw them away in disgust.

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