The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[DVCPluto]

Have y'all had someone out to clean and check the flu? If not, it's a good idea to do that first, especially since y'all haven't started a fire in there in so many years.
Last winter is the first winter I can remember not having even one fire in the fireplace in a long time. It was pretty mild down here. Ours is wood burning and I still have a bunch of wood in the shed. Maybe it'll be a little colder this year. If not, we could just open the windows and burn some anyway.

Yep, the cost of living is lower down here, but, it still ain't free...!

Well... here's the thing. I said this to my DH as well. However, we have never had a fire in our fireplace and we are the original owners of the house. His thought was - what could be up there?

When he opened the flue (I didn't know how to spell that - thanks @StarWarsGirl95 ) a few dozen dead beetles and flies fell down. Pretty nasty. (Although not as nasty as it could have been, since DH was explaining what a flue is to DS and told him to stick his head in and watch as he opened. Being the over protective (aka smart) mom that I am, I vetoed that genius idea.)

So... it's be going since about 1 EST and no signs of trouble yet. Do you think I should still keep a look out for any fireplace mishaps?

 

[donaldtoo]

Well... here's the thing. I said this to my DH as well. However, we have never had a fire in our fireplace and we are the original owners of the house. His thought was - what could be up there?

When he opened the flue (I didn't know how to spell that - thanks @StarWarsGirl95 ) a few dozen dead beetles and flies fell down. Pretty nasty. (Although not as nasty as it could have been, since DH was explaining what a flue is to DS and told him to stick his head in and watch as he opened. Being the over protective (aka smart) mom that I am, I vetoed that genius idea.)

So... it's be going since about 1 EST and no signs of trouble yet. Do you think I should still keep a look out for any fireplace mishaps?

If it's been goin' for almost 3 hrs. with no issues, I wouldn't worry about it. Any more bug carcasses, cobwebs, dust etc. are long gone. And, the fact that you've never had a fire in there, there certainly is no soot, creosote, etc., buildup up there. I'd burn away with no worries, and enjoy...!

 

[MinnieM123]

I get that. I try hard not to drive in snow but I do have 4x4 so that helps me but not the other crazy peeps on the road. Last year was insane here

We got snow that stuck in the first days of December and it never stopped through April. Didn't see found until March. Way too deep to even dig out Christmas decorations. I posted photos around valentines day literally digging them out. The decorations about three feet tall were buried and my photo gage for snowfall.

To add more insult we had temps 15 degrees below zero and the entire winter was below 32. Crazy cold.

Your comment about the other crazy peeps on the road, (when there's a big snowstorm), reminded me of a funny situation some years ago. At that time, we still had our little Ford Escort, and we were driving to northern Maine for the weekend. We drove up the Maine Turnpike in heavy snow (which had turned into a much bigger storm than forecasted); and we kept the speed down, of course. The massive Pike snowplows were out doing double-time, plowing the roads.

Even in those conditions, we saw a number of people in SUVs driving too fast; and we'd just watch them all go by us. Now here's the interesting part: from Portland, straight up to Augusta, we counted 14 SUVs and 2 passenger cars that had all slid off the Pike, into the snowbanks on the side!!

We also saw many blue flashing lights along the Pike that night, because the Maine State Troopers were very busy hauling people out of ditches. Meanwhile, we (and the dog--our back seat driver--barks if any car gets too close, and he hates trucks, period . . .), just poked along at about 35 - 40 mph, tops, and drove past all these vehicles (in ditches), that were supposed to be cut out for this type of driving.

Bottom line: it doesn't matter what kind of fancy vehicle you drive; you still can't go 50-70 mph in a major snowstorm, and expect not to run your vehicle off into a ditch!!

 

[MinnieM123]

I wanna' know about the fate of Walt's plane...?

View attachment 72933

Oh good lord . . . my heart just skipped a beat, looking at his plane--and wondering what they will do with it??

 

[donaldtoo]

Watchin' the Texas A&M/Auburn game. Quite the shocker, so far. A&M is up 35-17 with 6:41 left in the 3rd, so still plenty of time for A&M to blow it.
A&M is unranked and Auburn is no. 3.
For the record, I'm a University of Texas Longhorn fan, but, they kinda' bite this year.
Regardless, I'd still love to see A&M take Auburn down.

 

[MinnieM123]

I would never miss going to Animal Kingdom.

Neither would i !!! I love animals, and I love the atmosphere there. Last May, when I was on Killimanjaro Safaris, the lion roared for us! I've been on that ride many times and never heard the lion roar. It was cool.

They also have one of my favorite roller coasters, too! (It's still awesome even with a broken Yeti . . .)

 

[MinnieM123]

In other days, having a miserable day of bad luck.
So many things went wrong today.

The most worrysome is my main debit card nip disappearing, and my "encrypted" password card for some of my credit cards, disappearing from my wallet.

I might need to change some of my passwords in the future

Oh, that sounds bad. I sincerely hope that you can get it all straightened out soon. We all worry if our cards are safe anymore . . .

 

[donaldtoo]

Oh good lord . . . my heart just skipped a beat, looking at his plane--and wondering what they will do with it??

Yep, it's last flight was actually to WDW to be put on display.
I really hope they do the right thing and find some other, worthy, way to keep it on display at the resort.

 

[MinnieM123]

Yea, I just don't know how y'all live in that stuff up there so many months outta' the year. Granted, last year seemed to be especially brutal by recent standards, but, either way, y'all all (except @MinnieM123, of course ) talk about how much y'all dread this time of year.
Although, severe storm/tornado warnings can sometimes make spring a bit dicey, we really have no dreaded times of the year, down here. Even when it's 108 degrees out, we can still move about freely, even if for some, that may only be from A/C to A/C.

No matter where you live, it seems like you can't avoid extremes of Mother Nature!

 

[MinnieM123]

My weather currently in Chicago is 42! Wish I was back at the happiest place on Earth!

I think 42 is very pleasant. I prefer it colder, but I'll take 42.

 

[MinnieM123]

If it's been goin' for almost 3 hrs. with no issues, I wouldn't worry about it. Any more bug carcasses, cobwebs, dust etc. are long gone. And, the fact that you've never had a fire in there, there certainly is no soot, creosote, etc., buildup up there. I'd burn away with no worries, and enjoy...!

@DVCPluto , as donaldtoo mentioned above, the worst things that you often can't see are the soot and creosote buildup. (Luckily, you haven't use the fireplace previously, so no issue there.) However, aside of those, you can get blockages from things like bird nests, etc., way up top, also out of sight. If using your fireplace will be a yearly thing for you, it really makes sense to get a chimney sweep to come in and check/clean your fireplace.

 

[donaldtoo]

they could transform it to fit Cars land, aka add a smiley face and eyes.

@DVCPluto , as donaldtoo mentioned above, the worst things that you often can't see are the soot and creosote buildup. (Luckily, you haven't use the fireplace previously, so no issue there.) However, aside of those, you can get blockages from things like bird nests, etc., way up top, also out of sight. If using your fireplace will be a yearly thing for you, it really makes sense to get a chimney sweep to come in and check/clean your fireplace.

Funny, I was gonna' mention that, but, since it's a newer home, there is probably ample screening at the chimney/flue cap.
But, yes, you never know for sure unless you, or a professional, has a look.

 

[DVCPluto]

If it's been goin' for almost 3 hrs. with no issues, I wouldn't worry about it. Any more bug carcasses, cobwebs, dust etc. are long gone. And, the fact that you've never had a fire in there, there certainly is no soot, creosote, etc., buildup up there. I'd burn away with no worries, and enjoy...!

Thanks! It really is nice to have a fire in the fireplace... who knew?

@MinnieM123 Thanks!! I'm definitely going to make yearly inspections a thing we do now... And I'm honestly not sure why we never had a fire. I, too, was concerned about bird nests, etc., but DH and DS were determined to be manly today and "make fire!" *said in caveman voice*

 

[donaldtoo]

Thanks! It really is nice to have a fire in the fireplace... who knew?

@MinnieM123 Thanks!! I'm definitely going to make yearly inspections a thing we do now... And I'm honestly not sure why we never had a fire. I, too, was concerned about bird nests, etc., but DH and DS were determined to be manly today and "make fire!" *said in caveman voice*

They are indeed nice!
My folks usually keep one burning all day long if we have a bit of an extended cold snap.
'Course, they were both raised in homes where the only heat in the house was a wood burning stove, and they did their homework by kerosene lamp.

 

[donaldtoo]

Yep, as I posted previously, very likely A&M will end up wizzin' this one away...

 

[JenniferS]

Too funny! I left out that critical "e"...!
And, I've been spelling that word on architectural sketches/drawings properly (with the "e") for over 35+ years...

As cold as it was up north last winter, I'm actually surprised no flues ended with the flu...!

Just for the record, I also noticed that "flue" was mis-spilled, but I KNOW you know how to spell it, so I just let it go. You know, being the polite Canadian and all.

 

[donaldtoo]

In other days, having a miserable day of bad luck.
So many things went wrong today.

The most worrysome is my main debit card nip disappearing, and my "encrypted" password card for some of my credit cards, disappearing from my wallet.

I might need to change some of my passwords in the future

Sympathy "like".

Sorry about your bad day.
Hope it got better, and hope ya' get everything worked out with minimal hassle.

 

[donaldtoo]

Just for the record, I also noticed that "flue" was mis-spilled, but I KNOW you know how to spell it, so I just let it go. You know, being the polite Canadian and all.

Just for grins, I think I'm gonna' just start spelling it "flew"...!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

No matter where you live, it seems like you can't avoid extremes of Mother Nature!

Oh yes you can. I lived there for 8 years...NoCal!
And, I'm plenty happy with my heat extreme...!

 

[JenniferS]

Yowza, did our plans today ever take a U-turn!
We ended up spending more time at DTD than expected, and decided to kiss off our MK plans for the day as well. Sadly, I had awesome FPP's today - 7DMT, Peter Pan ,& M & G w/Anna and Elsa.
On the plus side, by not visiting a park at all today, we can now hit a park or two on our last day here, Tuesday.

Lunch at EoS also did not happen. That place was mobbed! We walked in the front door and thought yikes! Ever the trooper, I was wiling to hop in line anyway, only to discover that the line did not start anywhere inside the building. It snaked outside the side door and at least a block down the pathway. I wouldn't get in that kind of line to meet Elvis! - let alone a sandwich!

So, after dropping more than $800 worth of purchases back to the car, we got on the boat, and headed to POFQ. We had the most entertaining and informative skipper.

For lunch, Hubby had the sausage and pepper Po' boy:

And I had the shrimp Po'boy:

I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this thing was! Y'all know I only ate half. Wish I could have eaten the whole thing! Hubby enjoyed it as much as I did.

Tammy got the baked potato and soup combo. No pics. She's fired.

For dessert, we split these beauties:

There's actually one left for the first person to call "dibs".

Nappie-poo time is over, and we are now headed out to Hoop-Dee-Doo.

Pics to follow.