Heating and Cooling Report for 2019 (and 2018)

The furnace had a tune-up on Friday, so I decided to leave it on for the season.  I think I could have toughed out more days, but I decided I wanted to inhabit all of my house rather than stay in the one room where I have my little oil heater thing.  October 18th seems to be a relatively "average" day to turn on the furnace.  Last year I had to turn it on earlier because I had guests the weekend our first cold snap came through, and I thought it would be impolite to make them freeze.

Oh, and this summer I turned on my AC in the average range as well - maybe a little bit toward the early side.  Once again, I was having some guests (and it was getting real hot and muggy in the house).

In other news, I have some car suggestions from friends and family.

For a boy:

• Donald
• Clifford  (related to my car having a nose on the front)

For a girl:

• Peppa  (because my car kind of has a 'snout')
• Harriett

I still haven't decided if it's a girl or boy, but Uncle Bex is lobbying hard for Peppa, especially after I got a speeding ticket last week.  She said Peppa has too much pep!

A Big Week: Car Doings Part 2

Besides selling my old car, I also bought a new car.  Like most big decisions, this one needed to marinate for at least a year.  Last summer I vaguely thought about getting a new car, but then I paid almost $1000 to fix Herman's brakes, so I decided to keep him another year.

This summer I started getting serious.  I test drove a whole bunch of cars.  Chevy Equinox, Toyota Rav4, Hyundai Tucson, Subaru Outback, Subaru Crosstrek, Subaru Forester, Honda Civic Hatchback, Honda HRV, Honda CRV, etc.  I think you get the idea.  A decision matrix was involved.  It looked like this:

Key learnings were that a checklist of features you're interested in helps prevent surprises that features are missing.  It also helps to make sure you check to ensure all the features are present when you test drive.  The other key learning is that a test drive can make a big difference on your opinion of a car.  It can make a car be quickly struck from the list (not enough pep, seat uncomfortable) or move it quite close to the top of the list (fun to drive).  The funnest car to drive of all the ones I drove was the Honda Civic Hatchback and was very tempting.  But......"fun to drive" isn't everything, and it didn't quite overcome not having a factory roof rack option.  And, it didn't overcome a smaller cargo area compared to my existing car.

What I decided to do was to be a loyal customer and stick with the Mazda family.  I bought a Mazda CX-5.  So far I like it and it's working out.  Not too many surprises other than the salesman telling me AFTER I wrote the check that the dealer couldn't get a roof rack for almost two months. WHAT?!?!  I almost returned the car right then.  It's prime kayaking season, so a roof rack is essential.  He suggested looking into aftermarket options.  So I did that a little bit, but the I also checked Amazon and YouTube.  The installation video looked relatively uncomplicated, and Amazon could sell me the parts.  So I had the parts ordered and installed in less than a week!

Here's the car as I bought it - before the minor operation:

 And here it is post operation.

Winking in the sun

The other side.

The roof rack is right at the maximum height where I don't need a stool to put the kayak in the rack.  But maybe I'll get a small stool just to make it a little easier.  I'll see what stores have that might be convenient. 

I was assuming the car was male because my previous two cars have been male.  But my one friend thought it was female.  What do you think?  Male or female?  Like usual, name suggestions are welcome.  When I looked at the previous suggestions, a few favorites have been put on the list as a starting point:

1. Hamish
2. Rex
3. Floyd
4. Clyde

A Big Week: Car Doings Part 1

It's been a big week.  A new car was purchased.  And I sold my old car (Herman) after driving it for a little over 11 years and 212,000 miles.  Remember when I bought Herman?  A few memorable times we had were:

1. The fun naming process (and the interesting suggestions)
2. Driving to ND at least once (maybe twice)
3. Getting his first big dent from a giant cottonwood limb during a wind storm at Mom and Dad's when he was less than six months old.  I never had that one fixed - he left today with that first dent still there.
4. Driving to the Cheesy and Corny states countless times
5. Hitting a deer once (just a small flesh wound - only body work was needed)
6. Carrying 3 kayaks home from the store (not all at the same time)
7. Getting started on kayaking, including learning about roof racks and roof rack accessories
8. Trying to drive into the garage with Kermit on his roof.  That was the source of the other major roof dent that Herman left with today.
9. Getting stopped by the police in Illinois and refusing to be searched
10. Many hours of contemplation about emotions and life.  There were some good hours and some dark hours.  Like this.

Like Reggie, Herman was sold to a good home.  He's going to a single mom in her late 20's or early 30's who needs a "slightly" newer car than she has right now.  It would be cool if she could get him to 300,000 miles, but we'll see.  There were no tears for Herman's departure today.  When I cleaned him out on Sunday I did pause for a few moments to feel nostalgic.  It's easier when you know he's going to someone who needs him.  And, having a new car helps numb the pain.

Here's Herman a few hours before leaving today.  He aged fairly well, although as I gave him a car wash today I noticed how many paint chips he had and even *gasp* a couple small rusty spots.  Given how old he is, he still doesn't look too outdated.  I chose well if I do say so myself.

I was paid in cash.  I think this is the most cash I've ever held in my hand at one time.  All of this cash was less than half an inch thick.  Imagine how much money is in those bags full of money that you see in the movies!

Tomorrow or Friday I'll post a picture of my new ride once I remember to take a picture out in the sunlight and not in my cramped garage.