Still here, decided to just start new thread

Seem like whatever we get its a lot of work.

We have a geothermal furnace in the new house.  You know its the one with the big loop under the ground and has antifreeze or something running through it.  There is no AC unit and its very quiet, and I like the heating and cooling.  I call it soft heat, I know
doesn't make sense but that's how it feels to me.

Ok, getting to my issue.  It has a huge filter you pull out, the thing must be 10 inches tall and 30 long.  I was looking at it and decided it needs a new one.  I get it at the furnace shop.  She says now this just fits in the frame, don't throw it away and its folded up like an accordion.  Still I'm thinking, how bad could this be!  Sigh!  First I had to get the blasted thing apart, I tried reading the instructions but might have well been in Chinese, I mean how hard can a furnace filter be to change?  I got the blankety blank thing out!

Ok now here comes the challenge putting the new one in.  It' has strings through each end and then fans out.  I have to clip both ends off the frame, pull all the finger panels out, unclip the sides.  Ok, I'm still going.  I finally figured out how to get the sides fastened but I've already got wrinkles in it and tore a piece, its also thin!  But I at least have it in the frame.  THEN, THEN I have to take 5 panels with I don't know 30 fingers in each an slip them between the pleats.  I get almost there and look and 2 are in one slot.  Sue Anne came down about then to give me something she bought me and I'm NOT in a good mood.  I wasn't mean but didn't give her the acknowledgement she was looking for I know.  Half an hour later I get the damn thing together, oh and that filter stuff was $35!! for tissue paper!  I finally get it in the slot and go to put the plastic door on, door won't stay.  I'm banging on it, I look and 3 of the ears are broke off, did I do it?  I don't know.  So the phone is ringing, I left it upstairs, I need tape, the dog wants out.  I'm running for the stairs trying to get the phone, dog is crossing his legs, got the tape and poor little Sue Anne is again looking for praise from mom.  I tell her yes, I appreciate it but gotta go.

So I get things together, dog back in, door taped shut, old filter stuff out which I find is itching me to death where I had it held in my arms.

Now I need a bath, got to call daughter and brag on her.

All this to change a damn filter.  So Monday up to buy or order a door and getting another filter as I don't think this one will last to long.

Why must everything be so difficult.  All I wanted to do do was change the furnace filter and I had to build one!

Why must everything be so difficult.

Click to expand...

Something I've also asked a more than a few times!  Don't you just wish sometimes that "they" would leave things alone and not make everything so difficult?  It does sound like you're figured it out though so just think of all the brain ganglions you created to keep your brain healthy!  ;D

ArdraF

Carolyn,

We had a filter like that in our old house. Lots of #$%^%*()(_(&*^ every time I had to change it!

Stan

Here's some pictures from where Tom is now in Angola, Africa

A couple more

It's 80 there in the daytime and 70's at night. He owes me!!

The wind is blowing like crazy and temp is going down here, going to be 14 tonight.

If Tom wasn't coming in for Christmas I would be out of here now.  We are talking about
buying a lot somewhere for the winter, I'm thinking FLORIDA and I'm out of here.  This
is for the birds, brrrrrrr.

Going to be 14 out tonight, cold, damp, and windy.  My poor motorhome has been sitting at the RV place for 3 weeks now.
I have a nice dry place to keep it out of the elements and less likely to freeze anything.  I hope we did a thorough job of winterizing cause if we didn't something is going to get ruined. 

Why do these places take so darn long?  I asked if he would be done this week.  Sounds like the windshield will be but wasn't sure about the leverlor, jeez.

Carolyn...do you have full coverage on the MH?  Does it have windshield coverage for that crack?  Part of me wanted to scream and part of me wanted to laugh with your story of the filter replacement and all that was going on around you!  KISS...have manufacturers ever heard of this...Keep It Simple Stupid...they make everything so complicated!!  Distractions don't help either...but there's always distractions!    Thanks for posting the pics...interesting to see.  Keep warm!  It's been around 15-17* here in southern Idaho the last couple of nights.  Days are clear but somewhere in the low 40's...going south sounds mighty appealing...to me, not my farmer husband that has lots of machinery to work on in the shop...so no time to go south.  I always find your posts interesting, so keep on posting!  Have a nice Thanksgiving! 

Margaret 

I do but just got the policy, I'm hesitant to turn it in.  I also have $1000 deductible so wouldn't pay all that much.
They made me take pictures of the thing inside and out.  Hubby says maybe it won't break.  I bet it does but
it needed fixed, the shop said it could fall out and I believe that, Tom did too.

You know the funny part is the dog and Sue Anne act alike, no that's not in a mean way I'm saying that, its funny.

It's like the minute I get a call or do something they HAVE to have my attention.  Sue Anne always has something
for me to see or do the minute my attention is elsewhere.  BJ, never fails that when I start to clean the garage, he
has to get to that bowl of food and eat it NOW.  It's like I'm going to take it away or something, right in the middle of
what I'm cleaning there he is eating.  I think they are both jealous or something, I do have to laugh at them sometimes.
Then there is the cat, she is a total mess.  Sits by me and yawns and meows when she wants to go to bed, like I
need to.  A lot of times I give up and go in the bedroom.  I have an adjustable bed so I get where I'm propped up
and have to scoot over, she sleeps on my left side.  I have to leave enough room or she practically clings to whatever
narrow strip over there.  Then she paws at me till I let her between my arm and body, then drapes over my arm
and goes to sleep.  She is 18 so very set in her ways, I give in to the critters and Sue Anne way to much.  They
are all spoiled. Between 6 and 7 in the morning, she touches my face with her paw till I get up and feed her, who
has whom trained?

I let BJ stay in the basement, after all he is still a Texas dog.  I let him outside, then have to tell him to pee pee, he will
on command.  But if I don't stand in the door, he won't go out in the cold, jeez, I'm freezing here.  Yep, more
training on my part, I'm learning pretty good though, I just about have it all down now.

If your hubby works on the equipment in the winter and farms in spring, summer, and fall, when  do you get to go?

Was just reading something the other day ...

"Dogs have owners ... cats have staff!"  :  ;D    ;D

Howard

Yeah, but you got to love them.  I sit and look at them and marvel what sweetness and trust there is.

My dog was a found doggie when a puppy, he was living at a barbeque restaurant in Conroe.  The owner said he came there and
was starved to death, he said he would feed them till animal control came by eventually and picked them up.  I felt so sorry for
the dog and on a whim said do you care if I take him?  He said no, that he was not streetwise and was going to get run over.  A
Mexican guy put him in the back of my truck and home he went.  To the vet, shots, good grief to much motorhome on my mind, shocks on a dog, fixed, fed and loved.  I would take him back
up there once in awhile and the owner always gave him a sandwich, he said he was one lucky dog.  That was over 10 years ago.

I found little kitty when I was looking at a house for sale, she was running after me howling her little head off.  The house was
empty and out in the country, I shooed her back but she kept coming.  It was her and a sister.  I finally picked her up, she was skin
and bones and covered with lice.  They were not weaned, something must have happened to mom.  They both fit in one hand. I took them home with me, figured they were going to die anyway so I would try to keep them alive.

The one was so mean I gave her away.  I couldn't find a bottle back then so made a gruel of cat food and milk and she would
plunge her face and paws in it and lick it off.  She finally started to learn to eat.  I think she was stunted from not having enough
nourishment, she is only 6 pounds.  They said she had bladder and kidney issues and wouldn't live a year.  Everytime I take her
to the vet they say she hasn't got long.  She drinks water by the bowl full and of course urinates a ton. Last year the vet said
the urine is almost water with no waste in it that her kidneys are not functioning well at all.  She will hit 18 sometimes this month
and still alive. That's kind of why I let her get by with all the stuff she does.  Oh and she eats as much as 3 cats and is still skinny, that may be keeping her alive too.  Last time she had even gained a little bit of weight.  The vet said both animals are in very good condition.

They are my kids too.  Even Tom who never liked cats tolerates her.  He has even been known to change her litter box when I'm sick, but likely wouldn't admit it. :

I'd say they all have you trained pretty well!!  If you're a mom or a pet owner...that's usually the way it is! 
Sometimes vehicle glass does not fall under the $1000 deductible...which is what our deductible is also...but windshields have a lesser deductible.  If you gave them pics when you took the policy out and they show no crack in the window at that time, then it should be something you can claim.  But if it's under the $1000 deduct...kind of a wash.   
Husband doesn't go with us camping...I either drive it to campground here in Idaho or oldest son and family come along.  Meet up with other sons and family members.  I use it most for when we go to the drag races....when we are there for 4-6 days.  I take it to the track and husband brings one of the cars pulled by his pickup in an enclosed trailer.  We don't get too far away...that way if he has to get back because some "emergency" comes up at the farm he's only 45 minutes away and can drive back in the pickup.  But as I get older, the thought of going south for the winter becomes more appealing...but it won't happen.  I'll just turn up the heat and sit back and read a good book!  I'm not a winter sports person...snow is not my friend.  I only want it in the mountains so we have adequate supply of water for irrigation!

Nice visiting...happy Thanksgiving!  Margaret 

Well I have a husband that doesn't seem to want to retire, so me go with DD too, kind of like you.

But this year hope to go to Quartzite, I hear so much about it would like to at least once.  Have to see what the weather does, I wouldn't head that way right now.  If we don't get there this year, likely to Houston then to Florida, have some things to do in Houston.
I'm going further south if we go to Florida this year.  I'm thinking about looking for an RV lot to maybe buy, Tom and I have talked about
it but I'm not sure.  Just have to see, some advantages in renting can move if you don't like it and also not paying all those fees all year.
But I want it to be further down where its warm all the time.  Sue Anne, of course, loves Orlando but gets durn cold there too.

I don't know what to do with myself.  I like being outside and working and I'm stuck in here. I have been reading, staying up till all hours of the night doing that.  Reading a Clive Cussler now called Sacred Stone. I ordered a bunch of books by him and Lee Child.  I like mysteries and such.  I have a Kindle but honestly I like the book in hand better, yeah I know, old school.

I got really nice material for the basement steps and material to cover the risers too and from the house to the garage steps.  I was going to put them in but the backs need cut and the ends also the treads.  Tom said maybe it would be better to have him cut them and for once I agree.  Not sure how to do it and not mess it up.  It's all commercial material so nice and heavy, going to make the stairs and these look nice. but they need a sharp, clean cut. I have vinyl baseboard and corners ordered for the basement, it will look like the almond piece. The flooring is the Modutile, has channels down the back so any moisture can disperse and the tiles are rubber and click together.  If the basement ever did flood you can pull them up, wash them and put them back.  I need to finish that.  But doors and things will have to wait for Tom.

I'm thinking about putting the Modutile in the garage also.  It would look so nice, neat, and clean.

I guess I need to go down and start exercising.  I must admit I hate the treadmill as much as Sue Anne but I force myself to use it

We will go to lunch tomorrow and maybe Terre Haute also.

Thursday MIL will be over and I'm baking a chicken, was going to do turkey but smallest is 10 pounds for 3 people!! Will make dressing, home made noodles, and corn.  Chicken is organic from the farm where I bought the half hog and beef.  Corn from the freezer.  May add a salad.  MIL is making date pudding, that's pretty much it.

This is the Modutile in the basement and how the baseboard will look. Tom is going to put Styrofoam on the outside walls, furring strips and drywall it.  We could paint the concrete that looks like brick but it will make it warmer in the winter.  The basement is heated and cooled.

Boy you can tell I am bored talking about this stuff.

Carolyn,

Becky and I are avid readers. We have read all of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books. They are pretty good stories. The movie with Tom Cruise named Jack Reacher is actually based on the book named One Shot, which is one of the best of them. Try to read them in order if you have all of them, and you will see the character develop.

We also like the Luke Davenport series and the Virgil Flowers series, both by John Sanford.

Stan

I just had bought one of them and read it then found a set of 3 or 4 and got those online.  I need to look and see the progression of them and start with
the first. I liked the one I read.

I like Clive Cussler too, but seems like the newer ones are so much alike but still worth reading.

Yesterday, I was able to lay 6 boxes of tile in my sewing room downstairs, 27 to a box, 2 left over.  It only took about 4 hours, but now the good part starts where I have to cut the outside tiles and Tom will have to move the pattern cabinets and my fabric cabinets. I might be able to scoot them over.

I usually get my measurements right but had to cut more then I anticipated this time.  Normally what you cut on one side will fit on the other but not this time.  Or not in the other room, we shall see on this one.  Think I still better order 1 or 2 more boxes as I think I want them in the understair closet too.  They are super easy to work with.  When I finish the edges and understair that's all I'm laying down there. Tom is going to partition the ends of the huge room off for storage.

Tom, is so funny.  He likes to make deep fried turkeys on the holidays overseas, mainly because most people have never had them.  One year he made noodles.  So this year he is getting brave.  He wanted the receipes for noodles, dressing, and gravy.  He has to see if he can get celery and sage over
there, he thought celery would be the most difficult.

My son on the other side of the world gets together with a large number of expats and they cook up big dinners on the holidays too.  He is a good cook also.

MIL and I decided we are just getting our dinner at the local grocery instead of cooking.  They have a really good deli and have all the fixins, we decided why go to all that work for 3 of us.  I thought she wanted it, I would have eaten out, but when she suggested it I went for it!  I might make a cobbler or pie.

If I don't get back on the next couple of days, everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Tom will be home Christmas and shouldn't be but one or
two more alone after that.
or pie, have to see.

I can't remember if I posted a picture of our house.  This is before the metal roof. And looking at the date 2012, I can't believe its been that long since we started this odyssey.  Need to post the ones of our finished garage now.  Tom will love it.  It's 48 wide and 44 long.  My nice motorhome garage and now his big enough garage.  A good Christmas coming up and they got it finished so he can enjoy it while he is home.  That made me very happy and will Tom also.
Those pics are on my other computer. We are going to see if the same company can wire it for him, we will need that.

There are so many things we both want, receptacles out there, especially for the motorhome.  Garage aprons.  Water lines ran in various places in the yard.  Some receptacles out by the road for Christmas decorations.  A side walk from the screened in porch to the garage and also out to his garage.  We need to rescreen the back porch.  Like he said if he was home it wouldn't take long.  But he can't be both places.

Then there are some maybe things, a half bath in basement, same in  attached garage.  He did get water to my sink in the garage so that is very nice.

But I guess we will always have wants, none of ours are needs, just wants at this point.

Here I am rambling again, sigh.

Nice looking house, Carolyn -- thanks for the pic.