Good morning everyone. I am just going to spend the day relaxing and watching movies. Chloe, how about a bowl of Frosted Flakes for breakfast?
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My irrigation system has been working incredibly well. I have the greenest lawn on the block. The new sod is getting well established. This has been a project that really paid off.
The thing that is the worst is how they cancelled the policies before any notice was given to homeowners.
I have an appointment with my agent on Monday. He is swamped.
Hurricane Season starts in three months. I probably wonât have my new roof installed by then.
Speaking of unfortunate news, I just had a call from the car shop and they found chewed wiring. I estimate those squirrels or mice will cost me at least a grand, we are at $500 so far. The loaner is a new Volvo XC90 with a retail of 81 grand. That is nuts.
David, glad Dawn is doing better.
Took my wife to the dentist yesterday. She needs a crown. Apptly named as it will be $1800. She really had trouble even getting there with her anxiety issues. She isnât afraid of the dentist, it is contracting covid.
Good morning, everyone. Bacon is cooking, eggs will be going into the skillet soon. Half of the coffee is gone.
Spent the morning at the tire shop getting new tires. I was amazed that I got 70,000 miles on the old tires, and they were still in such good shape that the shop gave me a rebate.
The bad news â at 125,000 miles, the Expedition needs some front suspension work, including new struts. Not cheap. But, my wife loves it, so we will be keeping it for a long time.
Kevin, thatâs not good news. I hope you can find some comparable insurance, but after all the payouts, I imagine the rates are going to be skyhigh.
In our area, most insurance companies are now written with $2500 deductible on the roof. They are switching from the normal $1000. I ask the agent, and he said that the value of existing homes has risen so much in the past several years. It has caused roof repairs to rise also.
Charley, Iâm glad to hear that your wife actually made it to the dentist. That fear can really play havoc with normal life. I hope she can eventually get past this.
For all the diner patrons, I hope you all have a great Friday.
How many bright yellow gondolas do your normally see?
Seems like policies are going up everywhere, even in areas with low disaster risk. Annual premium on my building went from $4700 in 2017 to over $9000 this year. Talked to brokers and other property management companies and itâs much of the same. Tied more to the cost of construction. But Total loss would be unusual with 16-24" masonry walls, interior steel frame, 115 year old building thatâs not going anywhere
Brent, I was given the option of having it towed to a claims centre and then be without the car for weeks while they find someone to do work on Volvo wiring. They would pay for a rental but I want the work done by someone who knows the car. I will try to file a claim afterwards.
I sprayed the garage floor with a rodent repellant and will test it on plastic before I spray any under the hood. I canât seal off the back of the garage as it is really a carport with a door on the front. A 3 sided garage. I will explore wrapping the wiring with tape and then spraying with repellant. The squirrels are red ones. Small and feisty. Smart too. If I trap and remove others will just move in. Lots of experience doing that.
CN Charlie
Just talked to the service guy and they think it is mouse damage. Have to order some parts that wonât arrive until Monday. Will have to get some traps.
Charlie, I put a couple of tablespoons of peppermint oil in an old sprayer filled with water and spray one or two squirts under the hood every couple of months in the winter when the varmints want to make a nest on top of the batteries in my truck that hardly ever gets driven. Have not seen any evidence of squatters since I started doing that. Same under the hood with the John Deere.
Our crawlspace is 2800sqft and we use to get the occasional mouse if the weather got cold. I started spraying a little peppermint down there in the fall and we have not seen a mouse in years in any of the traps since.
My sons GF bought a new car and two months later it would not start. They live in a condo and park underground. Rodents caused over $2000.00 in damage, she had to pay the $300.00 deductible. They now spray peppermint oil solution once a week on the ground under where the car is parked.
Peppermint oil is toxic to dogs and cats and larger animals so we are careful not to spray it where they might be.
Donât take her to New York, then. The police are telling people they must remove masks and gloves when inside stores, after years of saying they must wear them. It seems the thugs they donât arrest anymore are using the masks to hide their identities while committing robberies.
Charlie, we have lots of squirrels here that use our bird feeders, but all of ours are brown squirrels. Evidently they must not cause as much of a problem as your red ones.
Edit: I just looked this up and found that our squirrels are called fox squirrels. They are common all over the middle of the U.S.
On a whole different subject, since I started streaming âDeath in Paradiseâ, Iâve gotten up to series 9. I just finished watching the episode where Florence was shot, recovered, and has left the island.
I know I said it earlier, but Iâm amazed that this show keeps going with a parade of main characters leaving, murdered, replaced, etc., and the show is just as good as it was before. A fun show to watch.
Not many, and even fewer with fresh paint jobs! I love the patina, i.e. huge dents in the sides!! I would love to model gondolas with that level of usage. I have seen many attempts at replicating the damage to the sides of gondolas that were made by applying heat in various ways, but they just donât cut the mustard IMHO. I wonder if 3D prints could be made to mimic the bulges? That would be similar to rivet decals but on a bigger scale. HmmmmâŚ
Gidday Chloe, better have stiff drinks all round, please!!
Insurance companies, a necessary evil!! Hope you manage to find a solution Kevin that doesnât cost you both arms and legs!! Cold comfort but I suspect that similar might happen here for some ffolkes in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle.
Glad to read that Dawn is on the mend, David.
Not only I was pleased to find that photo but was pleasantly surprised that it could be enlarged twice, Attuvian 1 John. IMO it was certainly worth studying closer. I see that to the right of the suspended Q car body, there is an F class 0-6-0ST shunting. I donât know about you but with my upbringing as a member of the British Commonwealth, I associate bowler hats with besuited gentl
