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This has to be a day of a lot of mixed emotion for you all. I hope your dad settles in quickly. It sounds like you will be really busy with your mom. Be sure to look for respite care so you can take care of yourself, too.
Thank you, newenglandgirl! It was a day of mixed emotions for us all. He did seem to be calm and content during our visit last night. Mom is in a bit of denial but she has a lot of caring friends and family. My sister and niece are good about giving me some time when needed. They are able to sit with her, or we can take her to my sister's house if needed and she can stay with them some.
I'm rather flummoxed that where you are is so bad this winter. Has it been so since you've moved there? We toured your area and also NC/northern SC several years ago with an eye to relocating around there, thinking the winters would be so much milder. For ex, temps in Landrum, SC this week are decidedly not warm. As I said in a post, just above, it looks like Southern GA, FL, or the West Coast are the only places to go for consistently nice winters. Are you going to stay where you are?
Winters are a bit harder than I had expected them to be here but not as bad as further north for the most part. Average overnight low temps do drop below freezing for about 6 months of the year. According to Dave's Garden website our growing season is 153 days. Drop south just a little bit - down off the Blue Ridge Plateau and on to the Piedmont in NC - say around Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Chapel Hill, etc and winters are generally much warmer. But so are summers high temps. I'm at 2,800' elevation. Summer highs are a tolerable 70 to 80. Anything much warmer and I completely wilt and am useless so I'll take the cold over the heat.
I will be staying here because I retired here from Oakland, CA for a variety of reasons, mostly that I wanted out of the big city life and I'd promised the dogs they would have a place in the country with their own pond or creek to swim in and they have both here on 28 acres. That's slightly bigger than their favorite dog park back in the Bay Area and we don't have to drive 30 to 45 minutes in stop and go city traffic to enjoy it. I supose that if I won big money in the lottery I'd consider heading back to CA, probably to the San Diego area but since I only buy a single ticket a few times a year it's not likely to happen.
CCcGirl - thank you for your concern re the kero heaters. I've been using them since the winter of 08/09 when my heat pump died and it was more than 3 weeks until the replacement was installed. Many people around here use them as supplemental heating when the have a heat pump but no propane back up or just a fireplace or wood burning stove as primary heat.
I did put in a call to a plumber this morning but have not even heard back from him yet. I imagine that there are lots of folks with problem pipes, especially those in mobile homes. My friend suggested that I keep a line open in the half bath with a trickle running so that if the iced up area does increase there is somewhere for the water to go.
Time to get some food in to the tummy's of the starving dogs before they pass out from hunger . Once they are fed I can eat some dinner without them giving me dirty looks.
I wish I could remember in what thread here I just read about "snow birding" between Asheville, North Carolina and Florida. If that isn't the height of absurdity! I'm not saying Asheville never gets any snow, but for heaven's sake how much snow a year can they possibly average there?
I have no quarrel with anyone who wants to live in Asheville during the summer and in Florida during the winter. But using the term "snow birding" in connection with it seemed to me such a stretch.
I wish I could remember in what thread here I just read about "snow birding" between Asheville, North Carolina and Florida. If that isn't the height of absurdity! I'm not saying Asheville never gets any snow, but for heaven's sake how much snow a year can they possibly average there?
I have no quarrel with anyone who wants to live in Asheville during the summer and in Florida during the winter. But using the term "snow birding" in connection with it seemed to me such a stretch.
I agree. Except I'll take quarrel with the idea of Asheville in the summer.
Been there, done that, it's not all that. In fact it was near the worst August I ever spent, and that's saying something considering I live in Texas.
We had to transfer my dad from the hospital to a Nursing Home today, so it has been a long day. And we'll all be taking my mom to see him tonight and make sure he is getting settled in ok.
Mom will still be at home and I'll be taking care of her full time.
Hoping things are falling in place for all concerned.
I know this has to be a difficult transition for all of you but it sounds like it was the right move to make.
I agree. Except I'll take quarrel with the idea of Asheville in the summer.
Been there, done that, it's not all that. In fact it was near the worst August I ever spent, and that's saying something considering I live in Texas.
I agree. Summer in Asheville itself is no better with temps and humidity than (generally speaking) the piedmont of NC.
You have to get above 3500 or so feet, in my opinion, to take advantage of cooler mountain temps.
Even then, here in the Boone/Blowing Rock area (and at 3500 plus feet) we have had so many summers for the last 20 years with temps well into the 80s and sometimes, the high 80s.
You can look at temps in Asheville and compare them to other cities/towns in piedmont NC in the summer and you won't see that much difference.
As far as being "snow birds" - there is a long history going back to the 19th Century with snowbirds and the Asheville-Florida connection. This is nothing new. However, folks are typically not actually in Asheville itself but in the mountains surrounding the town or in towns within 30 or so miles of Asheville.
I grew up in piedmont NC and it was quite common that folks had a second home somewhere in the mountains, usually within about an hour's driving time. It was not unusual for folks to have several homes, or share homes with family members, at both the beach and in the mountains.
The Florida connection in western NC is a big deal and for over a century, the "summer people" (those with second homes or renting a home for the summer) and the tourists have fueled much of the economy in the mountains of NC.
Wealthy folks take advantage of Florida's laws that protect retirement income and no state income tax (and homestead laws), so they stay in Florida over 1/2 of the year and claim residency there.
As far as winters here in western NC . . . they are not for most older folks who can choose to live elsewhere during the winter. Even when main roads are cleared, back roads and driveways at higher elevations can be quite dangerous, and dealing with snow and ice on decks, steps, and managing subzero temps with water pipes can be a physical challenge most folks are going to find too much to handle at some point. My parents are 85 now and they simply can no longer get their groceries in the house from the car after snow storms. Too many stairs, for one thing. Power outages are not uncommon, either, as winds blow trees over power lines. Accessing emergency services become a real challenge, too, as ambulances are often dealing with narrow, unscraped/salted secondary roads to get to locations which are actually only a few miles off the main road but take 10 minutes or so to navigate in good weather.
For example, my parent's live 1.8 miles from a major 4 lane highway, but in the best of weather, it takes nearly 13 minutes to reach their home.
Winters are a bit harder than I had expected them to be here but not as bad as further north for the most part. .
Thanks for your reply. There are degrees of "difficult" in regard to winter, and those looking to get out of the worst have to ask themselves if they will make a permanent move to gain "somewhat better" or if they will require "best," with the backside that goes along with best. I tend to agree with those here who say climate/weather shouldn't be the only factor in a permanent move. You obviously have gained much in your new location.
Speaking of things seen in other posts . . . I noted that someone stated that we can't learn from tutorials, videos, "how to" type books, etc.
I learn new things all the time from videos, articles on whatever subject.
Maybe SOME folks don't learn well this way, but I think most of us have no problem with it at all.
I also learned coding through both instruction manuals online and with the help of videos.
I learned how to use programs such as PhotoShop, Illustrator, Quark, etc through books and videos.
So I disagree that people can't learn things online or by reading or watching videos.
There is a video for nearly everything under the sun. My Keurig quit working and I even found out a quick solution for fixing it by watching a video someone had uploaded to YouTube, lol.
Thanks for your reply. There are degrees of "difficult" in regard to winter, and those looking to get out of the worst have to ask themselves if they will make a permanent move to gain "somewhat better" or if they will require "best," with the backside that goes along with best. I tend to agree with those here who say climate/weather shouldn't be the only factor in a permanent move. You obviously have gained much in your new location.
I agree - weather should not be THE factor for a move.
I have seen a lot of folks over my lifetime make decisions based on weather and end up regretting it.
Social structure, family and healthcare are probably more important factors than weather -- and of course, that is going to vary from person to person.
Our house all of a sudden becoming unmanageable is a big factor for us here. The weather just compounded it.
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. Once they are fed I can eat some dinner without them giving me dirty looks.
Snowbirding from Asheville to Florida?????
