REMEMBERING WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO CHANGE SEASONS - JUST NOT IN TIME

 Changing seasons -

Well fall came in – and rather quickly around here, though we are to have a burst of warm weather to come this week, before it leaves again.

Of course every year for the two big seasonal changes – to cold weather and to warm weather, of course – we plan to be ready to make the change, but never do.  

Our house has a hot air furnace, something neither of us grew up.  We both grew up in houses that had hot water heater – furnace heated water which then ran through thin pipes throughout the house and the  hot water doing so would heat the air in the rooms, finally returning back to the furnace to be heated again and return to heating the air in the room again…  With the furnace we have in our house hot air is blown through vents to the various rooms in the house and then after it cooled it is sucked back down to the furnace to be reheated…  Seems the same, but it is not.  

Both kinds of furnaces need to be cleaned for the heating season.  When husband was still working I would remember to call the company which delivers our fuel oil (same as diesel) to run the furnace to come and do the annual cleaning of the system.  In the most recent years (even before the pandemic) I seem to keep putting it off until when I call they are all booked and we get it cleaned late.  So, it has not yet been cleaned this heating season and by the time it is – April – the heating season will be either mostly or completely over – unless they have a cancellation (or actually enough cancellations) as we are on the wait list.  I put a reminder in my computer calendar to remember to call them in June starting next year (though if they don't service it until April, I will just skip next year's cleaning.  

Husband has some tall sticks (made for this purpose) which he sticks in the ground around our two driveway entrances to mark where they are so he can see where the ramps are when there is snow and it has to be cleared.  Last year – a terrible year for snow with many storms of deep snows – he had forgotten to put them in the ground – before it froze.  They never did go in deep enough to stand up properly.  So for this year I made a notation in my calendar in early September to remind him to put them in the ground.  I have put back the date by 2 weeks 4 times now as the weather is far from cold enough for the stakes not to go into the ground or to have snow (at least no snow of any sizable amount).  

And now the big problem that causes me to post about my lack of preparing for winter.  Our humidifier.  Since the house is heated by hot air the air in the house gets extremely dry which is not good for me (nose bleeds from dry nose) and not good for the house or furniture.  In the past we had a humidifier in our furnace, well at least in it's outgoing vent, to deal with this.  But several years ago we changed oil companies and the new one told us that a humidifier in the furnace system is NOT a good thing as it helps rust it.  I should mention that our furnace is original to our house which was built in 1949 so, depending on when the former owners (there were several of them) had the furnace humidifier put in – it has worked well and not, apparently rusted.  

So now we only have a humidifier in our bedroom as nighttime while sleeping is the major problem – at other times we can just put out some water if we find the air too dry.  This humidifier only runs while we are going to sleep, sleeping, and waking up.  It needs to be refilled from the kitchen sink about once, maybe twice a week.  We had the sink spout setup with a piece on the end of it that allowed us to snap a hose on it to fill the tank of the humidifier.  It is not a huge tank, but it is not small either – I can lift it when full much easier than husband so it tended to be my job to do so.  At the end of last winter the end of the sink spout cracked – so, due to the pandemic – the sink has tape around the spout, which means we can no longer snap the hose on it.  

In addition there comes the problem which I am in the midst of dealing with and caused me to write about it.  Gunk builds up in the tank, the filter and the plastic holder of the filter from minerals in the water.  It is suppose to be cleaned on a regular basis during the heating season as well as at the end of the season.  Not something we do.  Normally I clean it once a year as the heating season starts and I remember it needs to be done.  To clean it a mixture of water and vinegar has to be put in the tank and swirled around – then it sits in same.  Then the tank is rinsed out several times and hopefully both the gunk and the smell of vinegar are gone.  The base also needs to soaked in the same manner (without the swirling).  The filter – a web of very easily breakable thin metal – also needs to be soaked in the same manner.  As I started to write this post I was going to tell you that I know we bought vinegar for this and something else (in another season) which needs to be similarly cleaned – but I have searched my kitchen pantry closet, as well as my work table in our studio which is being used during the pandemic to hold cans, bottles, cleaning supplies, and paper goods in excess of what we normally have so it does not all fit where it should.  I looked through everything several times – I then gave up and just put in water in hopes that it would it at least loosen the “gunk” I can see.

We are looking for a replacement unit that will be easier to deal with and clean since we can not refill it from the bathroom sink until we can replace the sink spout.  Of course this process of finding a new humidifier has just started – a bit late in the season.  Husband is looking online on his computer (upstairs in our office) and came down to ask what model our unit is – perhaps he can at least find a new filter for it.  I mentioned to him that I am just soaking it all in plain water and have put vinegar on the list to buy tomorrow (shopping run – especially for Thanksgiving items).  He reminded me (that is the polite to say what he did) that we had bought a half gallon of it.  OH!  That means it is on the floor of the pantry closet – did not think to look there as looking for a quart or so bottle!  There is was.  So I paused mid writing this post to redo the soaking of all the parts in a proper mixture of 1 gallon water to 1 cup of vinegar.  Hopefully this will get rid of the gunk – though I doubt it.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Try to remember to get needed seasonal things done on time.  Holiday decorating we remember to do, but this sort of grunge stuff we don't want to do and forget it has to be done until the last minute.

Most thing such as this I have a reminder in my computer calendar – set to repeat for 5 or 10 years at time – so I don't forget, but as everyone else I tend to use the “snooze” on the reminder – and not for minutes or hours.

A WEEKEND IN THE 18 CENTURY, A LUNCHEON, AND OTHER TIME CONSUMERS

Another week already?

Friday we spent the afternoon with our reenactment unit setting up for a relatively large scale event.  It is one that we started last year.  We invite other units to join us.  We have the use of the restoration village I have spoken about before.  We set up near the building that we interpret at Christmas time a “British army camp - with officers in the building.  In the same general area the “American civilians” (us) are located.  At another restored house that happens to be behind this house on top of a rise, is the “American army”.  To visitors this other house is a quite a distance away on the road, but for our convenience it can be reached by walking through the woods between the two, while not being seen from where we are.  While we are not setting up at the other house, it still takes quite awhile to set up.

Saturday and Sunday was the event - so the entire day - both days - was taken up with the event.  Saturday night we got home and I threw the cups we used during the day (period looking cups are used and we each have/bring our own - ditto dishes, and tablewear, but we had not brought anything other than cups with us Saturday as we were not staying for dinner at night) into the sink and went upstairs to change in modern clothes.  When I got back downstairs the kitchen sink and the counter on either side of it was covered in ants!  I managed to get rid of the ones I saw and washed the cups - as husband’s cup was also covered.  After we had dinner we found more ants.  I had just put the kitchen back together from a prior attack of ants!  So, again, I checked and washed off each item around the sink - such as the dishrack - and stored them on the one small section of counter that is on the other side of the kitchen.  Husband went looking online for what is food safe to get rid of ants.  He found out that one can spray a 3/1 vinegar/water mixtures, let it dry for 30 minutes, blot puddles, and let the rest air dry.  Seems to be working so far.  I have moved items back to the counter top, but still am not using the space.  When I wash dishes I wash and rinse an item, dry it and put it away immediately and then on to the next piece.  It is exhausting.  Oh, and I am using paper towels for washing instead of a sponge or steel wool pad, as I can toss them out after each session of washing.  Sunday not only did we have the event - everything had to be packed afterwards.

I was looking forward to tomorrow, Thursday, when I had nothing to do and could breathe - ha ha!

Monday afternoon, husband decided that we had to get gas for our car, as we had not done so on Sunday as we normally would, and also had to check the oil in the car.  So we drove out to where we go for both, which took most of the afternoon.  When we got home we went through the stuff we brought back from the reenactment and I had put in closed plastic bags and checked it for ants - only found one. 

Tuesday we ran some home errands - shopping and such and also bought some deli turkey for me to make light sandwiches to bring today to my embroidery chapter for our annual luncheon meeting.  Everyone makes some sort of salad, I can’t eat salad unless I know that I am going home right after, so I bring the sandwiches so I have something to eat.  We discuss what we want to do next year (September to June) at our meetings and any regular business.  I had planned to run a lot errands as I won’t have a day out alone again until September.  I realized on my way back from the meeting today, Wednesday, I had forgotten to bring the soda bottles to put in for recycling - 5 months worth!  Oh, well.  I did our banking and the banking for the embroidery chapter. 

Oh, I also had forgotten that I did have to send a list of members to our region and had planned to do it Thursday (tomorrow) when I would have a chance to breathe - but....  my sister contacted me and needs me to go to my mom on Thursday as she cannot go then.  She has been visiting mom just about every day even when the rest of us are going also, so I could not say no.  I managed to get the list out by email yesterday. 

Monday night after husband fell asleep I heard a chirping - I presumed it was the downstairs smoke detector (upstairs is a 10 year detector) and figured they usually chirp for a couple of days so we would take care of it Tuesday.  I heard it again Tuesday morning, but then it stopped.  Husband went crazy trying to figure out which device was beeping as they all tested fine.  He decided it was a telephone in the office and we bought a new one - but that one still works fine.  (New one will be returned.)  This morning I heard the chirping again and Robert heard it also.  While I was out today he figured out that it was the smoke detector downstairs and replaced the battery. 

Oh, and Friday he is planning a trip to Pennsylvania - if it finally does not rain on a Friday this week.  (Well, last Friday it did not rain, but we did have the event to set up.)

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
                   
Again, one must take life a day at a time.  I know that at some point this craziness will stop and I will be able to catch up - okay, in the back of my head I realize life may remain this crazy for ever, but I sure hope not!

My thoughts and prayers go out to those who continue to get this horrible weather and are in much worse a situation that we are.