Good morning!!!!

[shetland sheepdog]

32 and light snow here in srn NH. Rain and snow likely before 3pm, then a chance of snow between 3pm and 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 34. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible, forecast for today.

 

[mpham]

Quick pic of the trees wrapped in winter.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 42F @ 4:30AM. Sunny. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Still no rain in the 10-day.

There's a lot more to life than money, Thomas. Especially considering your medical history. As we get older, the most precious thing we have is time. The more we waste doing things we don't really enjoy, the more regrets we'll have at the end. And don't forget: Happy wife, happy life.

I found this article on dog's eyes rather enlightening yesterday. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun...

Sorry you didn't get the diagnosis you were looking for, Ted, but hopefully the referral will lead to something better.

I had the best of intentions yesterday to get out into the garage and get some work done out there, but wasted most of the day at the computer and on the telephone tilting at windmills.

I did have a good talk with an old friend about the new generation vans, Sprinter and Transport. He has four Sprinters in his small business fleet, and is a really big fan. But like the Prius I was chasing, they're still in short supply and new ones aren't that much more than used ones. But the good news is that the supply issues seem to be easing, at least in his experience. He said he put 60,000 miles on his Sprinter last year, and lives in it while he's out on jobs. And did his own conversion, and can point me in the right direction when it comes time to do mine.

Also talked to another friend that also lives in the mountains, and who lost two shed roofs to the same winds that took off my porch. His road in involves a creek crossing, and he left before the heavy rains and winds started, and so came home to quite a mess. Not enough of a mess to consider moving someplace else, though, but then I've got a fair number of years on him, and I don't think I'm quite as stubborn.

One of the contractors bidding on the roof job hasn't heard from the insurance adjustor yet, so I left a rather stern voicemail for her yesterday and will call the claims administrator this morning. We're enjoying a patch of dry weather right now, and the contractor is available, but I don't want to start work until I get the claim settled, as the funding available will impact the scope of the work. And the second estimate isn't due in until early next week.

Finally Friday. TGIF gang!

 

[Looking4new]

I remember what a PITA just getting my short term disability to pay, when I was laying in hospital bed unable to even move my legs, let alone walk. I had to call them constantly and get into it with them. They be like, “you can go back to work in 2 days, right?” Uh, no.
So while undergoing a physical nightmare, the insurance company put me through a mental and emotional nightmare. And it was only the Short term disability. When that ran out and long term disability was involved, that was much simpler, up until work sent me a notice about coming back to work or get laid off. So I ended up going back to work probably before I was physically ready, but it worked out.

And you wonder why I call insurance companies the skum of the earth and they will try to weasel out of any claim. Now you know.

 

[LouNY]

Morning all;
Not a lot going on today, 30-32F right now and a light snow falling, a bit of ice under it and maybe 3/4" of snow so far.
Birds are quite active on the feeders this morning looks like it's almost time to refill them again.

Sitting at the kitchen table and watching the birds and listening to the scanner, lots of calls for mostly minor accidents.
They are calling for a heavy wrecker for one, a local town road that goes downhill to a County road making a T intersection,
has quite a drop over the bank down into a field. Tractor trailer didn't make the turn and went far enough out that he's not blocking any of the roads. And now a school bus that couldn't stop on a different road, and a car sitting on the side of the road that hasn't rolled but is leaning.
An inch of greasy snow and people that don't want to slow down, oh well, maybe they will learn but for some reason I doubt it.
Everyone stay safe and get well.

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, 37 going up to 46 and cloudy.

Yesterday was a weird storm, lots of rain, Then all of a sudden the whole house lit up and thunder rattled the house for almost 30 seconds, then rain got lighter and no more lightning.
Don't know what it hit yet, but must have been close, really shook the house.
Expected to see smoke somewhere, but heavy rains must have put it out??

LS - have the Dr. get involved again with the insurance company, they are more likely to listen to them, hopefully. It worked for me when Dr. prescribed some big $ medicine. Dr. should earn their pay...
And hope the 2nd Dr. can find a fix.

Today will finish clean up of sealant and prep ceiling for wire run. Hate cutting into a perfectly good ceiling, but no other way to make the turns.

When wife involved, I give her tasks that don't slow down progress. Like picking color to paint shelves, they go on after everything else is done so no delays until then

Phil - hope they can help the wife, sounds very frustrating not being able to communicate easily.

Be well,

 

[m7040]

Good morning, 38 this morning going to 43 colder but still for winter not bad.

The internet is working now. WI-Fi is on , life is good. Cell service still out except for Wi-Fi calls on the iPhone.
Daughter video called this morning and talked about getting ready for her Europe trip and her dilemma of shoes to wear etc friendly to her hip replacement. Also her London meeting has turned into a much bigger deal with many of the Members of Parliament confirming they will attend.

The dead bolt lock set is not working out with the key not inserting smoothly. So back to HD for an exchange today.

More firewood needs to be brought in to the tub.

The walk down with the State Forester went well yesterday. He said the CREP program plantings look good and no further actions needed at this time and important to me no more mowing.
THe future action he said is to thin out some of the plantings to give more space to grow for Oaks and Walnut trees. That means that we will have a steady supply of Black Locust trees for firewood. The recent Woodlands Plantings also look good. The tree shelters that blew over in the recent storms will have to be restaked and he would bring out some bundles of oak stakes for it. Also he will reimburse me for the County weed spray services in 2022. The 2 year free mowing of grass for the woodlands program is over so that is back on me now.

Ted, we also had issues with insurance coverage for one of our kids requiring psychiatric hospitalization. I was able to get the CEO of our company to lean on the insurance company and get it covered. Was a huge concern at the time and we were looking at huge cost that would have sunk us for a long time.

 

[Buppies]

Lou most people loose common sense in snow heavy rain

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I like seeing all the snow pics, and glad I’m not taking them. Lol

We got over .5” rain yesterday, 43° and sunny, windy now. No high wind warning here, but there is a little bit to the west, and the winds don’t seem to slow down at the county line.

 

[txdon]

Good Morning! 48˚F heading to the mid 50s, cloudy NE wind, gloomy day.

All the yard hedges look pretty dead after the 12˚ weather we had before Christmas. I'll cut them to the ground like I did last time and see if they come back out in the spring. If not, I'll replace them with Youpons.

The gardens e-mailed and need some tractor work - move loads of wood chips around the gardens. Each garden renter is responsible for the weeds around there own garden and we make sure the piles of chips around the garden stay supplied for the walkways between the gardens.

 

[daugen]

thunder rattled the house for almost 30 seconds

me too! Came out of nowhere, I think the trailing edge of the storm.

 

[riptides]

And you wonder why I call insurance companies the skum of the earth and they will try to weasel out of any claim. Now you know.

My insurance company had their lawyers involved with the claim.

Dispositions and what not. Quite frustrating for us.

 

[Popgadget]

Good Morning
It’s 40 degrees and staying around there all day under mostly cloudy skies.
But the rain is over.

Yesterday I got the shelf up for the center channel, and finished up the home theater set up, except for a bit of paint touch up, and fishing the speaker wire through the wall. Funny that in the picture of the wall plate I posted yesterday I noticed it wasn’t straight. So I fixed that as well.

After lunch, I got the briskets trimmed and rubbed.

It was not a nice night to load the smoker, but got a fire started and loaded it up.

A lot nicer out this morning-

Not much planned for today, the briskets should be ready after lunchtime. Have to do some grocery shopping for the rest of tonight’s meal, but other than that it should be a lazy day.

 

[LouNY]

Lou most people loose common sense in snow heavy rain

I don't think that they have any, much of the time.
Were I live we get snow and freezing rain several times a year. Often nuisance storms of an inch or two, then lots of 2-6 inch snows and depending on the year an ice storm or two, and a few storms of 8-20 inches.
In this area we have many different highway crews from State, County, Township, Village and City departments depending on where you live.
My Town(ship) has Town roads, County roads and State roads all maintained by there respective crews with some sub contracting done, such as State to County or County to Town. Our Town has 91 miles of road to maintain with a 4-5 man crew with a 1/4 of these being dirt roads. It takes quite awhile for the crew to cover all the roads one time, so snow can build up between plowings and sanding.
Myself I have always believed that you are ultimately the only person responsible for your safety and well being. In that vein I have always run snow tires almost always studded in the winter. So I can travel with moderate confidence that I will make it were I want to go and be able to get home.
But, I see so many people that will not buy snow tires or have them put on. Then they seem to think that it is someone else's responsibility to provide them with roads that are snow and ice free even while it is storming out, and that they can go anywhere at any time with there wore out so called "all season" tires.
I used to often pull people out of ditches and up hills, in the last few years I've gotten to the point of stopping to verify everyone is not hurt and they have been able to call for help, then proceeding on my way and just leaving them were they are. Unless it's someone I know.

But as to the stupidity of many drivers;
A case in point, my driveway is very steep and can be a bear in the winter. Christmas day my wifes grand daughter decided they would come up and visit. She has driven the driveway several times and had been told several times that if it's snow covered or icey to park in the turnout area at the bottom. Did she do either nope, tries driving up when it has mostly snowpack with lots of dirt patches showing, in many places the two most common wheel tracks are covered with packed snow/ice. So what does she do tries driving right up the wheel tracks that are slick not get over on the dirt patches. So 1/4 way up the longest straight looses traction spins out starts going backwards with the tire spinning, ends up running into a tree while sliding backwards. So drive down with the pickup and stop were she spunout load them in turn around and take them up to the house, get the tractor and a chain and drag the car up to the house. And here is the real kicker, the year before her grandmother (my wife) and I had bought here 4 studded snows and rims for her car. This past spring she somehow tore out the sidewall in one tire so instead of finding a used snow to mount up the 3 good studded snows are sitting in a storage shed along with the bad tire, doing absolutely nothing.
Often here snow tires are only needed 10% of the winter but so many people rely on inadequate equipment for the situation and somehow think it's not their fault for causing issues.

End of rant for a while,
Everyone have a good day.

 

[m7040]

Good Morning!!!! 42F @ 4:30AM. Sunny. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Still no rain in the 10-day.

There's a lot more to life than money, Thomas. Especially considering your medical history. As we get older, the most precious thing we have is time. The more we waste doing things we don't really enjoy, the more regrets we'll have at the end. And don't forget: Happy wife, happy life.

I found this article on dog's eyes rather enlightening yesterday. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun...

Sorry you didn't get the diagnosis you were looking for, Ted, but hopefully the referral will lead to something better.

I had the best of intentions yesterday to get out into the garage and get some work done out there, but wasted most of the day at the computer and on the telephone tilting at windmills.

I did have a good talk with an old friend about the new generation vans, Sprinter and Transport. He has four Sprinters in his small business fleet, and is a really big fan. But like the Prius I was chasing, they're still in short supply and new ones aren't that much more than used ones. But the good news is that the supply issues seem to be easing, at least in his experience. He said he put 60,000 miles on his Sprinter last year, and lives in it while he's out on jobs. And did his own conversion, and can point me in the right direction when it comes time to do mine.

Also talked to another friend that also lives in the mountains, and who lost two shed roofs to the same winds that took off my porch. His road in involves a creek crossing, and he left before the heavy rains and winds started, and so came home to quite a mess. Not enough of a mess to consider moving someplace else, though, but then I've got a fair number of years on him, and I don't think I'm quite as stubborn.

One of the contractors bidding on the roof job hasn't heard from the insurance adjustor yet, so I left a rather stern voicemail for her yesterday and will call the claims administrator this morning. We're enjoying a patch of dry weather right now, and the contractor is available, but I don't want to start work until I get the claim settled, as the funding available will impact the scope of the work. And the second estimate isn't due in until early next week.

Finally Friday. TGIF gang!

There are lots of videos on converting Sprinters into living on the road Rvs from mild conversions to full Rvs. We have not converted ours but we were considering it earlier. I have it set up as a wheel chair lift on the side door which works really well. Wife has recovered and is now walking and can get into the van with the help of a step but I keep the lift in case it is needed in the future and in the meantime it can function as a lift platform for heavy items. I took out 2 rows of seats and only left one 3 seat row seat in the back so it gives lots of space for going to HD and so on. At 190000 miles it works as good as when it was new. The V6 is a good engine. I am leary of the 4 cylinder diesels. Maybe they discontinued those. Maintenance on the factory recommend schedule is key.

 

[m7040]

Popg, do you wrap the briskets at the stall temperature and what temperature do you take it off. How long do you do let it rest?

 

[Popgadget]

Popg, do you wrap the briskets at the stall temperature and what temperature do you take it off. How long do you do let it rest?

I do not wrap them. I monitor the humidity in the smoker, often use a water pan. Pull them at just over 200, wrap them in foil and put them in a Cambro, until ready to serve, usually 2-5 hours.

 

[m7040]

I do not wrap them. I monitor the humidity in the smoker, often use a water pan. Pull them at just over 200, wrap them in foil and put them in a Cambro, until ready to serve, usually 2-5 hours.

so you load it it with charcoal and set the temperature and monitor until done. And place a pan of water in the bottom? Add wood on top of the charcoal I assume?

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low was 17°, going up to 37°. Chances of snow coming in this afternoon and tonight. Forecasted amounts vary from 1-2" to 4-6". All the remaining snow from the previous storm is gone except for some patches.

I am more level headed this morning..... this situation is just another set-back, which I should be used to by now. Insurance companies are spending more time and money fighting claims than they pay to settle claims. I am sure the algorithms used keep them on the green side of profit.

The doc has heavily restricted walking, standing, sitting to very short periods. Basically forbids carrying / lifting more than 15lbs, no kneeling, squatting, climbing any ladders, stairs limited to 4. The insurance has all these records.

There is a lawyer involved already. After the last video 'interview' I had with the insurance, the lawyer 'advised' that there would be a final decision within a short time. This 'interveiw' really didn't get into any medical issues.... basically asked a lot of questions about my jobs, positions, and salary. They made a decision 2 days later....??? I guess I made too much......

Dennis, it is strange how your short term disability gave you a hard time.... mine was the exact opposite. No problem at all getting the 'short term', the long term is giving me a hassle. Surprisingly, work comp was really easy to work with throughout the initial injury, rehab, and long recovery for 3 surgeries. But, when I reached MMI, they fell off the radar.....had to do arbitration at the end.

Waiting for a call back from the lawyer now..... I would have thought this would all be straightforward.

Not sure what I'll get into today.....
Everyone have a great day and start to the weekend!

 

[m7040]

Ted, how did you hurt yourself. Fall at work or some accident?