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Post by Bean on Nov 20, 2016 9:42:48 GMT
Great feeding station! I topped all mine up the other day - wonder if the birds got any before the squirrels?!
When we get snow, it's generally just a couple of inches. We do get more sometimes, but it's a memorable event, not just 'ah, it's snowing'!
How are things where you are Jo? I've just been hearing about the storms down your way on the news, so hope you're okay and haven't had any damage from the high winds or heavy rain.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 20, 2016 15:45:36 GMT
I like to donate too Bean love, not that I have been able to this year but it is all the happy clappy noise I cannot stand. Yes I am truly worried for the people in the US Piggles love. It is the most powerful position to be in in the world and when I think of his opinions and speeches, I wish I could do something to help.
Love the little squirrel, sometimes they become tame enough to hand feed, have you ever been able to do that piggles hun? I love hand feeding animals.
Bless you Bean sweetie, we are fine. It has been gale force winds down here though so we just closed all the hatches and felt cosy. I hear that there has been snow in the north. As usual, I would love some for Christmas, just a thin layer would be perfect.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 20, 2016 16:21:30 GMT
No, Jo, I don't try to hand feed them. I fear if they become accustomed to one good person, they'll make the mistake of thinking other people are good, and it won't have a happy ending. I love watching them be themselves, so I'm quite happy to just put the food out, and watch the antics I probably could have gotten my little chipmunk buddy to eat out of my hand at the last house, but then he'd be trying the same thing with the new people, and I wouldn't be able to protect him. I'll get a picture of the peanut feeder. So far we've had jays using that feeder, but no squirrels. It may be just as well, as the jays take the peanuts away to eat them, instead of leaving a huge peanut shell mess behind. I did tell Vic I think we need to check the gutters in the spring, as the jays may be eating the peanuts on the roof, and the shell will wash into the gutters. We don't have the huge crowd of birds and squirrels we got at the last house, but it's early. We haven't had the feeders up for very long, and it takes a while for word to get around.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 21, 2016 9:26:09 GMT
Point taken Piggles love, there are some horrid people out there. It is best just to watch them from afar and know they are going to stay safe. I am sure that once they know there is food in your garden piggles, you will have as many visitors as with the last house. Do keep us posted hun.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Nov 21, 2016 11:09:16 GMT
Glad you've not been hit too badly, Jo.
Hope your crowds arrive soon, 3piggles. Our neighbours put loads out for the birds, and get many gorgeous visitors. So even though I can be a bit erratic with my feeding, I usually get some overspill as soon as I put stuff out!
We've just had a foster rabbit swap which means I needed to disinfect the hutch and run. A pretty grim job when it's freezing, rainy and windy, but hey ho - it's done now! It was funny seeing the three girls back in the carrier they arrived in just over a month ago - they took up about a third of it before, now there's no room spare!
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 21, 2016 15:32:43 GMT
Aw, I hope the girls find great forever homes! Yuck to doing the sanitizing in that weather, but at least it's behind you know, and you're ready for the next buns. I do with I had space for foster buns, or even foster pigs, and could manage all the work involved. I'm glad none of you were hit hard by the storm. We had our first snow of the season, and it's cold enough that it's not melting. I'm not going anywhere, so I'll let Mother Nature clean off my car. She's the one who got it all snowy I turned up the heat from 62F to 65F, to take off the chill in the house. We've never had this type of house before, so we don't know what it will take to heat it. Temps aren't supposed to get above the mid 40s for the next 10 days, and the days in the 40s are the supposed to be rainy. Rain/snow mix for Thanksgiving, so travel could be a bit tricky. Glad we're not going to daughters for dinner. The Black Friday sales have already started. Many started last weekend, and will be on until Christmas Eve. I have no idea what the spending outlook is for this holiday season, with the change in presidents being such a huge hot point, the stock market is not very good. Also, weather isn't slated to be very good here, on Black Friday, or for Thanksgiving through the next week. A couple of breaks in the weather, only. Hard to stand in line for hours outside a store in the snow and freezing rain. On a happier note, we are finally getting more liquid, in one form or another, across the country. Southern California has been suffering from a terrible drought for several years, and we had drough conditions this summer, so any water in any form is greatly needed. The New England Patriots football team played the San Francisco 49er in SF, yesterday, and it was pouring so hard at times, all but the most die hard of fans took refuge. A friend told me it was pouring in LA during the Rams game, too. There are dry ponds, rivers, streams and lakes all up the west coast, so they really need this rain.
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Post by Bean on Nov 21, 2016 16:01:35 GMT
That's really good, hopefully they'll get enough to really take them out of danger. It's been pouring down all day here - given how wet it's been lately, I think we're quite likely to be in danger of flooding (not us personally, but vulnerable areas of the UK). Glad that given the snowy/ icy weather, you and hub can tuck yourself up at home and not worry about driving any distance.
Hope you get to grips with how best to heat your house soon too. Although as you and hub have different ideas of ideal temperatures, I'm sure there'll be a few bumps! We have a portable thermostat and it had been moved along from where it usually sits. Not a big problem, only it was a few inches closer to the tv, and the small amount of heat the tv emits had been giving higher readings in that spot and stopping the heating coming on as much! We've moved it now so it gives a truer reading. We don't have the house really warm, but cosy is good!
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 21, 2016 16:40:48 GMT
Wow! A portable thermostat? Is it connected to the furnace? Ours are mostly hardwired and mounted on a wall in an area that generally covers the most options. It rarely covers any option all that well, as most houses are divided into so many different rooms. It's better in this house, which is very open, but again, if I cook and heat the main open space, it turns off the heat to the other rooms. Having a portable themostat would be great, as we could move it when we knew we were going to be changing the conditions. Cool! I have thermometers all over the house, so I know the heat varies a few degrees even from the front of the house to the back of the house, in the main room.
Hubby has been adding to the holiday decorations outside. Even in the lousy weather yesterday, he was outside installing lights and timers, so we don't have to plug in the lights, then unplug them. For someone who used to balk at setting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, he's totally into the decorations, this year. I think it helps that others in our neighborhood have also installed their decorations. Living in the condo, there was only so much we could do with outdoor decorations. Here, we can do so much more.
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Post by Bean on Nov 21, 2016 19:09:32 GMT
The thermostat is wireless - you can hang it on the wall if you want, but we prefer not to. If I'm spending the evening upstairs (which tends to be a little colder than downstairs) I can take it up with me to make sure it's working to the room I'm in, and also nudge it up or down if I need to. It's ace! My friends have a more advanced one which can set temperatures in each individual room on their own time settings. It's linked to phone apps too, so switches off if they're both away from home and forgot to turn it off. Apparently their bills have gone down massively. It's this kind of thing - the bit on the left is part of the boiler, the right one is the thing you can move around. Glad hub is getting in the spirit of doing the outdoor festive decorating - must be nice not to have to even get round to twisting his arm! It's great you're not so encumbered by rules about what you can and can't put up this year too - don't forget the photos!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 22, 2016 9:44:38 GMT
Wey hey, our deckies are going up on Saturday and Paul is trying to devise a way so that our christmas tree is in front of the window instead of in a corner The previous years when we have been sitting down we haven't been able to see him and I love just looking at tree, sometimes for quite a long time. Good luck with the forever homes Bean love, we are still looking for a girlie for Merley. The thermostat sounds great, I am lucky as the heating is n in my bedroom all year round because of the animals, so it is always toastie warm. Poor Paul on the other hand sleeps in a room with a window open for kitty and no heating but he says how likes it that way. He says as long as he has a warm bed he is happy. I would love to see the front of your house Piggles hunni when it is all lit up. Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 22, 2016 17:13:20 GMT
Bean, I googled wireless thermostats, as I figured that was what it was, and there is one available at the local home store, that rates pretty well. My concern was that, if it read 65, when it was really 68, hubby would refuse to lower the temp because the thermostat said... He gets that way. He keeps saying we kept the last house at 65 degrees. We couldn't effectively heat or cool that house, so setting it any higher was a useless waste of gas. This house is totally different, all on one level, but without a foundation, so we need to find the right temp or combination of temps for this house, not for the house we no longer own. He can't get his brain around certain types of changes, and it gets really annoying to constantly have to explain it to him, only to have him say it again a little while later. One thing I have figured out about this house is that it's coldest furthest from the furnace. He's on the warm end. I'm on the cold end, which is fine with me. The a/c seems to stay cold all the way to the far end of the house, but the heat diminishes during it's travels. The thermostat is in the great room, which is in the middle of the house, so it should work well for both of us. I did increase the temp from 62-63, and that took the chill off the room. My hands aren't so cold I have to do dishes to warm them. I've also noticed the hot water temp is below burning temp. I remember Baz mentioning that one of his tenants was complaining that the hot water wasn't hot enough, although it was at regulation temp. If I ran all hot water into the bathtub at the last house (which I do to cover the bottom and remove the chill), I burned myself. Not at this house. I like this better, as I burned my toe too often at the last house. The outdoor timers are working great with the outdoor decorations. I wish we had had outdoor electrical outlets at the last house/houses, but we didn't. This house has three outdoor outlets, so we have all sorts of options.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 23, 2016 9:45:08 GMT
I must admit I miss having a bath but I liked them fairly hot and up to the rim of the bath, very expensive on the hot water. I think there is something comforting about a bath especially if you are feeling under the weather but alas we only have a wet floor shower here. I hope your temperature is fixed soon hunni.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Nov 23, 2016 10:43:28 GMT
A bath certainly keeps you warm for a good stretch of time after. My husband can wallow in a bath for hours, but even when the idea of a bath has appealed to me, I'm usually out in 15 minutes, having become bored! Now if I had a jacuzzi, you might have to work hard to get me out of that!
We've never decorated outside - I'm not sure why but I don't know how I'd get the power out anyway. We're at the end of a cul-de-sac anyway, so it wouldn't bring joy to many people if we put stuff outside, and I'd probably have to listen to my husband complaining about us paying for lights we can't even see (even if they're energy efficient ones)!
Glad hub has the warmer end of the house to you, 3piggles! But hope you can iron out the temperature discrepancies so you're both adequately cosy. Our thermostat reads pretty true, you just have to be careful of putting it near anything warm (I put it next to a cuppa by accident once so it thought the room was balmy!) or the heating goes off!
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 23, 2016 17:29:16 GMT
All thermostats are like that, Bean! We had two zones at the house in Weare, one for the first floor, and one for the second floor. The heat from the first floor went up the stairs to the upstairs hallway, where that thermostat was, and turned off the heat to the second floor. We tried moving it to the opposite wall, but the small hallway was still a gathering place for the heat, so it was never very warm upstairs. The best room was the one with the door at the top of the stairs, but it wasn't a big room, so Les wanted the other one. Heat went right past her door. I think we will get the temperature sorted here, but I think we may need a different thermostat. The one we have is programmable, but I'm not sure it's as programmable as we want it to be. Wintertime is coldest in the early hours of the morning, so if anything, we need our warmest temps when we get up in the morning, and before we start cooking or running the dishwasher. Once we start our daily lives, we do things to warm up the house, plus we're dressed to be able to go outside and not freeze. We could probably lower the temps during the bulk of the day, and even overnight. We need to learn how to use the thermostat we have, and find some temps for the different times of the day and night. The items we bought from our granddaughters fundraiser have arrived, so hubby is stopping by daughters work on his way home from work, and getting those for us. I don't know if your kids did or do fundraisers like that, but ours have always brought home catalogs of bad chocolates, wrapping paper, cards, etc. The parents do most of the fundraising, as they take the catalogs to all of their friends and family. The money helps fund activities for the school or for that particular class. In my elementary school days, we had bake sales, as most mothers didn't work. Same for our daughter until she was in about 4th grade. Of course, that meant our mothers had to bake goods and get them to school undamaged, hope to get the platter or plate back when the fundraiser was over, or even stay at the fundraiser to sell their goods. With most parents working, now, I think the availability of mothers who could bake for and run fundraisers became greatly diminished, so schools went with this fundraising catalogs. We'll have bad chocolates for Thanksgiving dessert, lol
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Post by Bean on Nov 24, 2016 9:20:40 GMT
Ha! My daughter's school have a book fair around now, so that's a nice fundraiser. They get some free books for the library for hosting and commission on anything that's sold.
Some schools do a Christmas fundraiser where slightly earlier in the year, all the kids design a Christmas card and you get to order cards, gift tags etc of their design. I get quite a few from friends at Christmas, but although I suggested it to our school, they've not gone for it. The kids get such a kick out of seeing their pictures on proper cards. We always make our own cards anyway (with the kids drawings), and this way would cost me loads more, so I'm not going to complain! But I think it' a great fundraising idea.
I think the thermostat being portable means you do have to be extra mindful of where you plonk it down as it brings in extra levels of inconsistency compared to being on the wall. But if you do get it wrong, you know about it fairly quickly, so it's no big deal!
Obama has been in the news a few times this week and just watching him speak and interact with grace and humour, we are all mourning the loss of such an intelligent, compassionate and dignified leader. One person likened it to leaving your kids with Mary Poppins, and then letting a meth addict take over their care...
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 24, 2016 9:34:50 GMT
Ha ha, that is so true Bean love. Paul told me that Trump has been doing nazi salutes, I cannot believe this man. When I was in primary school there used to be a postbox outside the staff room and all the kiddies would put cards to their friends and later on in the day, they would be distributed. It was lovely. You enjoy your choccy Piggles hun.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 24, 2016 20:07:04 GMT
I like that analogy, Bean. I, too, am mourning the loss of the Obamas. I am still really, really hoping he will appoint Meritt Garland to the Supreme Court, just to not leave that decision up to the the republicans, who would fill the post with someone who tries to put prayer back in the schools, ban abortion, restrict rights for women, anyone of any color, and LGBT. Despite T-rump being a total loser, Jo, no, he has not been doing Nazi salutes. The Nazi salutes have been TO him BY his supporters He got them all whipped into a frenzy, and they're not backing off The latest is that Melania Trump thinks it would be better if she and the kids stayed in NYC, rather than living in the White House. Less national scrutiny of their behavior in NYC. That would cost the taxpayers twice, to provide protection for the split family in two different places. Not a great way to enter the presidential arena, but I really didn't expect him to suddenly grow some humanity. Rain south of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border, snow north of it. That's what all the weather reports said. I'm about 50 miles north of that border, and we're getting rain. The forecasters are pointing to their weather maps, which show the snow going north of us, and say it's snowing north of the border. Hmmm, turkey coma making them unable to read their own maps?
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Post by Bean on Nov 25, 2016 7:00:43 GMT
Each news story that's on about Trump's transition to presidency - relating to his home, his businesses, his family - it's clear he has no idea what he's doing and didn't expect to win! And the cringey message he sent (during an interview) to the mobs who were abusing others in his name, where he looks down the camera and says 'No, stop it!' like he's chastising a child playing near the fire.
However, I think it is necessary to look at why our countries are so divided, and as hard as it is to see good in people who are narrow minded and full of hate, think what we can do to unite us all a bit more. These situations are not going to get any better the more we divide - it just makes us all easier to control by whatever power is in charge.
They still do the Christmas postboxes in schools, Jo! I used to love getting to play postman. There's also a place for people who want to just do one card/ message for everyone and make a charity donation instead of buy cards for everyone.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 25, 2016 9:29:44 GMT
Sorry Piggles love, that is just what Paul told me, I thought that was a bit far fetched even for him, to do it in public anyway. I am glad they still do it Bean love, at the time though our school seemed to be the only we but we are going back to the 1960's.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Nov 25, 2016 21:47:49 GMT
Jo, not a problem. In fact, Facebook is fighting to keep the fake news sources off Facebook, with what appears to be no success. There have been posts of the fake news sites, but there are so many of them, I can't keep up with them all. Also, the pro-Democrat sites, and the anti-Trump sites are all posting their slanted versions of the news, just as FOX News did when they were stumping for him to get elected. It's gotten really hard to know the truth from either totally fake news or totally slanted news.
Bean, I think you've hit on one of what I think is going to be his problems as president. He could say "You're fired," on his reality show, because it was scripted. Nothing is scripted for him, and if he doesn't get some decent speach writers, he's going to sink under the weight of his lack of effectiveness. He's at the stage where he doesn't want to alienate all of his hateful supporters, but he knows he can't accomplish anything without some bipartisan help, which he won't get as long as he's totally hard line on so many things.
Sadly, this campaign season was fraught with lies, innuendos, half truths, over reactions and a general nastiness that's going to be hard for him to overcome. He's surrounding himself with people who are either stronger haters than he is, which will backfire terribly, or have no idea what they're doing what they're doing. The last governor of Massachusetts gave high level posts to his major supporters, who leald him so far astray, he had to get rid of them all, get the right people in those positions, do a whole lot of trust rebuilding, and it was really, really hard on him for a while. He managed to do it, but I don't think Trump has the brains to realize when he's sinking, or when he has sunk too far to recover.
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