Text 4138, 163 rader
Skriven 2006-08-07 18:22:18 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
   Kommentar till text 4126 av RUTH HANSCHKA (1:123/140)
Ärende: Re: Home Againi 879
===========================
*** Quoting RUTH HANSCHKA from a message to CAROL SHENKENBERGER ***

-> 
-> Oh!  Bite me!  Naw, my car goes inthe garage but it's a biggish one. 

RH> We have a two car garage, but that's all that fits in besides the garb
RH> cans.  It was designed for late 50s cars, but the space the car isn't
RH> need to walk through to get into the house!

Same here on the house side of it.  The dimensions of the garage are hard to
recall in detail but it's bigger inside than the door by a bit and quite roomy
for a single Ford Escort.  I think you could also fit 2 VW Beetles 'end to
end' in it with no trouble and easily accomodate a van.  I'm not sure it would
hold 2 50's style cars though.  It's the whole lenght of the house 'front to
back' plus the back porch area.  40ft or a bit more?

-> room at both sides for other things.  One side has a table that was
RH> built to 
-> the wall which predates us, and we built one at the other side.  Plenty 

RH> Somebody's ersatz potting shed, tool bench, outdoor kitchen....

;-)  Yup.  Most of the other houses along my row turned that same 'spot' (if
they had one, not all did) into a extra family room.  A few have it as an open
but covered garage.  Instead of doing that, the previous owners of my place
added a back bedroom into the back yard then a *huge* screened porch between
the back of the garage on the 'right' and the added bedroom on the 'left'
(when facing the front of the house from the front yard).

What we've done is add storage shelves all along the walls.

-> into extra living space.  Grin, we still get a little frost on the
RH> windshield 
-> and I prefer to park it inside and not have to deal with that in the
RH> morning on
-> 
-> the way to work.

RH> I was thinking more of snow.  Frost is a minor irritation....

Well, we get some fairly bad ice (can be 1/2 inch thick and take down the
trees) so it's enough I like not having to deal with it.

-> much of the 3 hours or so we were out.  AC use made such places under
RH> 90F and a
-> few were a downright chilly 80F.  My apartment is a perfect (for the
RH> season) 
-> 93F with fans stirring the air.

RH> Uck.  Anything much over 80 and I"m a worthless puddle.  

You just arent used to it.  If you lived here, you'd acclimate in time.  The
first year was a little rough, but after that, we didnt have much trouble. 
I'd hazard a guess I'd be really miserable in winter where you live for a bit
til I adapted.  Me now?  I take Charlotte shopping with a 1.5 mile walk in
103F stuff and consider it pretty normal behavior.  The idea of anything in
the 'teens' though, has me running for my heating blanket and whimpering!

What was it, summer 2004 I was in the gulf?  125F magnified by a steel deck
ship.  Came home to Sasebo for 1.5 days (school trip) when it was 84F and
huddled in a thick plushy bathrode the entire time with a long sleeve sweater
because I'd dropped 40F degrees in just days and couldnt adapt that fast.  Don
was laughing, lord bless his black little soul <g>.  It was worse in class
because I had to wear a uniform but we dug out my peacoat and sweater so I
managed the 78F classroom to the giggles of my classmates.

-> fidonet connection has hit the normal 'nominal' but they have upgraded a
RH> bit so
-> it's not as bad.  Its the base communications office.  When it gets this
RH> hot, 
-> they run 100F inside and the signal degrades so I may have to try
RH> several times
-> to get a dial to Canada at over 19,200 baud.

RH> At over 100F I'm surprised the computers haven't fried!

Dunno.  I know they upgraded the 'BCO' AC last year and it's not as bad now as
the previous 4 summers with connections.

-> RH> Campbells isn't too far off normal.
-> 
-> Maybe the same in some ways.  But your's is at least partly markup. 
RH> What do 
-> you pay for pork loin?  Here it is 11$ and up a lb. T-bone 'decent' 

RH> Depends.  The whole thing can show up on sale for under $2/pound, but
RH> have to get the whole cryovaced package.  I don't pay full price so I
RH> know what that is.

Try 11$ a pound for it and because it's so expensive, it's always frozen so
they can extend the shelf-life.  Probably normally 4$ where you are?  You can
get a feel for the prices of Sasebo, in my posts on what we cook <g>.  It's
normally 40$ total for a small pork loin here if you can find one 4lbs or so.

I see things in the meat cases that are near 100$ and would feed 6 servings.
It's a weird place where live crabs are less per lb than the better cuts of
beef.

RH> steaks are 
-> 22$ a lb (bone in) though they now and again have 'grab all you can get'
RH> beef 
-> sales at a mere 11$ for T-bone.  For *us* that is 1/2 price.

RH> Not half price here, but for some cuts that's a sale price.  I never b
RH> steak because I refuse to pay $10/pound (on sale) for a hunk of beef.
RH> eyes show up for $4.99 sometimes, but you have to purchase at least th
RH> pounds.

Same here on refuse to buy at that price.  I get the bigger cuts though of the
cheaper cuts and then slice at home and freeze them.  Having a chest freezer
really helps the food bills here.

Melissa (one of the many wives here) worked a deal locally with the apartment
folks to spread the price of a big ham, then cut down to thick steaks.  They
have a bad habit of selling some foods here, only in large sizes so it can
take a few families together to make a 'sale' really work.  We didnt partake
of that one this time, but have in the past.

-> the cart out in the rain and load it in their car and not tip.  Me?  I
RH> tip a 
-> decent amount, perhaps a bit generous but for services rendered.  If
RH> it's 
-> rainy, the folks ther who know me even break out plastic bags and help
RH> us wrap 
-> our backpacks.  I consider this fully worth 1$ to have a backpack
RH> weighting 
-> done right and wrapped for us in the rain when we have to walk 3 miles
RH> home 
-> (grin, bet you would too).
-> 
RH> Most likely.  Around here you're lucky to get regular bags packed prop

True.  I recall stateside ones. Yet another thing I'll miss from here and I do
not at all mind paying a little extra for it. I get actual quality care for
that.

-> If you had no choice, like i had, you might be suprized at what you will 
-> manage.  You'd have had to shop more often I think, but you may not have
RH> ever 
-> used a pull cart so may not know how very might lighter they feel for
RH> the 
-> bigger stuff weight.  Oh, I know it's odd, but it's something i had to 

RH> I have a hand truck that gets used regularly, so I have an idea.  It s
RH> hurts.  At this point, I pulled something in one shoulder, so pulling
RH> anyhing sounds like pain.  

Not good, but other than 2 incidents with my back, I've not had any problems
and been able to do this.  Learned even better ot get just staples though
because I had to carry it all back 3 miles.

RH> That changed quickly, I'll bet.  The kid probably promptly started lea
RH> Japanese.  

Yes and no.  See, no kids of her rough age either at that place.  Infants and
teenagers and she was 6-8 those years.  Don would take her everywhere with him
so she could get out and stop at playgrounds to let her have other kids.  He'd
take the longish way so they could stop at Nimitz Park (local park) and play
for a bit with the kids of a closer age group.
                                       xxcarol

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