Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

I live in Southern California, Irvine, Orange County. Our house is 6 miles from the ocean and sits up on a hill so we get the ocean breeze and onshore flow keeping us much cooler than further inland. The Mediterranean climate in Orange County gives us what I believe to be the best weather in the country. Beautiful summers rarely touching high 80s and 90s and super mild winters with cool nights and warm days. Is it expensive to live here? He** yes it is, very expensive! Is it a bit crowded? Yes it is. Fortunately we have a paid off house subsidized by UC Irvine where my wife is a professor so our cost of living is less than most in So Cal. A great benefit and one of the reasons we chose to move here 32 years ago from the Midwest

I retired in 2022 and my wife retires next Spring. Our plan had always been to explore the Western US and find a smaller town, a bit of land and build our last home. Oregon, Washington, Utah and Nevada were all on the list and we would have fun with the exploration process and do a lot of camping as we went about it.

It has recently occurred to us though that the weather seems to be getting so much worse in the rest of the country with so many more severe weather events. Another consideration with land in the West is the constant threat of wildfires. So, we are reconsidering our plans and may keep this as a home base and do long term Air BnB stuff or extended camping trips when we want to travel. Not sure yet, but we are leaning that way more and more as global warming continues to impact the weather.

Randy
 
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It doesn’t get very hot here but it does get a bit humid. Outside it’s nice but the house is in the open sun so it get uncomfortable. The a/c keeps the house from getting real hot and more important it keep the humidity down.

Back in the Seattle area it was about the same. It was also very expensive living there although incomes were much higher. I sold and spent 18% of the selling price buying here in Wisconsin. Being retired I don’t have to worry about making a living as good paying jobs are scarce here.
 
Van_and_Terri said:
I use a high frequency device from Home Depot. They seem to work as I turned it on and walked in the garage sometime later and found a mouse on the ground panting and out of it. Guess they can’t stand the higher frequencies.
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This is one problem I don't have --- with more foster cats than I can shake a stick at in my house, I don't think there's a mouse crazy enough to even think about coming near our home :)

But, for the ultrasonic deterrants, I had good luck with them as well. Never saw them, they just packed up and headed for the hills. I had about 2000 pounds of popcorn in my warehouse. For 4 or 5 years, I never saw evidence of them getting near the corn.

I have been warned that mice will eat the insulation off of wires. This is especially the case in older Mercedes (newer too?) where they used a soy based insulation on the wires....Just another example of when the designer said "What could possibly go wrong!?'

There are capsaicin-based sprays that you can spritz on wire looms as non-toxic deterrents...I sprayed everything I could see in my class A back in the day.
 
Van_and_Terri said:
It has rained 10 of the last 11 days in Alaska. But that is fairly normal for them. Headed to Vancouver now in extreme fog. There’s goes that fog horn again!
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Hopefully you're still getting to see some beautiful things. I want to go up there some time. twice, once in June and again in December. I'd want to see both extremes....
 
Tour 931 said:
It’s officially known as The Belt
of Venus.
Belt of Venus - Wikipedia

It’s closely related to The Earth’s Shadow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_shadow

More related things.
Alpenglow - Wikipedia

Sorry I don’t mean to be a know-it-all. It’s just that I’ve spent close to 50 years photographing them.
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Not at all --- always find factoids interesting. Which is why no one will play trivia games with me.

Every time I see the color (most prominently in the morning, the picture was at night), I think of a marvelous woman who called this "Sky blue pink" --- She lived with her adult daughter, grand daughter, and son-in-law.

At that time, my existence was hand to mouth on a good week, some days we didn't eat because we had nothing except a pile of problems. This family fed us, befriended us, and helped us through a pretty rough patch. Every time I see this ...I think fo them.
 
I added almost 1400 miles, and 9 nights to Serenity. I got to check off an item from my bucket list (visiting Centralia Pennsylvania) and visit an iconic old-school amusement park I've wanted to visit for a couple of years.

I need to 'take a break' - from camping? Well, sort of. First, my tow vehicle is in the body shop thanks to a kind and moped (she's OK) in a stationary accident. Second, I will start a new job tomorrow, and I anticipate being mentally exhausted.

New Chapter. It's time to get back to direct customer-facing skills and start being technical again. I'm learning new skills and refocusing my Microsoft products, which is what i suspect will be the hardest part. I really do not like Microsoft, I never have. But --- this will get my tech-chops refreshed and maybe I can springboard to another position in the same company, or, save enough money that I can do what I want to do.

It's hard to believe that it has been 75 days since my former full-time employer sent me home. Since I was a work-from-home employee, it may be better to say, "stopped paying me"

It's time for a cup of rich Columbian coffee and to get ready for a trip to my attorney is trying to open the probate for my parents...Not difficult, just trying.
 
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Tour 931 said:
Enough of the rain already. We had over an inch two days ago and another half inch yesterday. All while I’m trying to get my garage built.
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It should be 95% complete now but it’s barely even framed.
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Looks like a nice size garage! My brother in law just finished one about that size, I've got to say I'm filled with jealously :) Especially if he puts in the 2 post lift he was thinking about ;)
 
Sweeney said:
I added almost 1400 miles, and 9 nights to Serenity. I got to check off an item from my bucket list (visiting Centralia Pennsylvania) and visit an iconic old-school amusement park I've wanted to visit for a couple of years.

I need to 'take a break' - from camping? Well, sort of. First, my tow vehicle is in the body shop thanks to a kind and moped (she's OK) in a stationary accident. Second, I will start a new job tomorrow, and I anticipate being mentally exhausted.

New Chapter. It's time to get back to direct customer-facing skills and start being technical again. I'm learning new skills and refocusing my Microsoft products, which is what i suspect will be the hardest part. I really do not like Microsoft, I never have. But --- this will get my tech-chops refreshed and maybe I can springboard to another position in the same company, or, save enough money that I can do what I want to do.

It's hard to believe that it has been 75 days since my former full-time employer sent me home. Since I was a work-from-home employee, it may be better to say, "stopped paying me"

It's time for a cup of rich Columbian coffee and to get ready for a trip to my attorney is trying to open the probate for my parents...Not difficult, just trying.
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When one door closes, another one opens...
Getting the paperwork over is a relief, too.
On to the next adventure, big guy!
 
Doing my best "Dr Nick" -- "Hi Everbody"! Its been an interesting week, starting my plan "C" job, I'm a bit overwhelmed. For 24 years, I had been an "old timer" who knew everybody, and could get things done becoming the "new guy" in a very diverse rural coop. Involved in Telephone, Electricity, Internet, Water, Saw, and MSP. MSP's are "IT for companies too small to have their own IT" --- yikes, lots go learn!

My boss has told me she expects at least 90 days of feeling like the chair I am sitting in just fell over backwards.


Tour 931 said:
It’s up and functional although the electricity still needs to be hooked up.
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Oh wow! If I had the space, I'd love something like that -- My brother inlaw did this at his homestead, adding a 4 post lift, spray foam and a heat pump, winter maintenance got a lot easier. I'm envious!

Kevin said:
When one door closes, another one opens...
Getting the paperwork over is a relief, too.
On to the next adventure, big guy!
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Seeing the note above is been a difficult two weeks - My only 'regret' is that there is no vacation to speak of. I get 6.67 hours of PTO per month, or 2 weeks, that is sick time, vacation, for any purpose. That is a little "stingy" but so far that is the only major bummer.

We'll see how this all works.
 
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