OK everybody, true story time. Texas cops and sheriff's don't mess around. Over in Jonestown, a widow living with her SIL and daughter on a 20 acre tract, with a big fallow truck garden in the back of the house filled with Johnson grass. NG Blackhawk doing FLIR training missions flew over their place and WHOOPS, got a big reading on a lot of weed. Turns out that weed and Johnson grass have the same IR signature. Weekend warriors got in touch with the local smokies and they came and broke down the door in the middle of the night, shot her dogs, drug everybody out and beat hell out of them, and left them handcuffed to the bumpers of the cop cars while they ransacked the house and fruitlessly searched for the cash crop in back. The judge threw the book at the county mounties and a huge cash settlement was paid to the victims. How can you break the law, when you make the law...

complete nonsense.... we have the silicone filled hydro-sil heaters throughout our main home in southern wisc. and they without doubt have saved us money. base board heat, is base board heat, you will have some dead spots as opposed to a fan/forced air type furnace. further, has anyone actually priced running a house full of 110 plug in oil filled radiators ??? one alone will cost a small fortune to run and you are heating vertically rather than horizontally which makes absolutely no sense. I'll agree $319 for hydo-sils top of the line silicone filled heater is a big chunk to lay out on a "home-wide" basis, but your $35-40 home-cheapo baseboard heaters cycle roughly 40-45 minutes per hour and they dont retain much if any heat while off. our hydro-sil units cycle on average 18-20 minutes per hour and the silicone filled system will retain heat while they are off. do the math... if you plan to be in your home for a while,they are money well spent. I can say without hesitation that our northern wisconsin cottage/summer home will be getting a hdro-sil make over come spring as our monthly electric bills this winter so far have been astronomical for a house that we spend roughly 2 weekends a month in ,and while away keep the temp at 55 degrees. further while we are there we have an efficient LP heater as well as a wood fireplace that we run continually while we are in that home, so its not as though we crank the electric heat up . as for the amish heaters.. I have no experience with them, but cant see one LP heater being much different from the next unless they have some crazy heat retaining miracle built in or space age blower on it. it being amish alone would disqualify any of the above technologies to ever be at work anyway.

MATERIALS Entry and Kitchen on Main Level Flooring throughout main level: COREtec Pro Plus Monterey Oak. Wall paint throughout whole house: SW Accessible Beige #7036. Full strength on upper level and main level; then changes to 50% strength for the middle and lowest levels bc they get less natural light. Trim paint throughout whole house: SW Snowbound #7004. Stain on window sills and stair railings throughout house: a gel stain in a medium/dark color to compliment the floors, but I don’t know the exact color name. Kitchen Cabinets: Great Northern Cabinet Company paint grade maple in Frosty White. Door style is a basic shaker with a bead, but I can’t remember the exact name of the door style. Hardware: Jeffrey Alexander Durham 1-1/4” mushroom cabinet knobs in satin nickel; Jeffrey Alexander Bremen 1 Series cabinet pulls in 3-3/4”, 5”, and 6-3/8” sizes in satin nickel. Purchased from Build.com. Counters: Taq Mahal Quartzite, polished. Purchased from Arizona tile in Denver. Backsplash: 3”x6” Crossville, Market Collection, Ashbury tile in the color Fleece in crackle finish set in a brick pattern. Fridge, MW and Stove were existing and reinstalled Sink: Elkay Lustertone Classic Stainless Steel 30-1/2” x 18-1/2”x 10” Single Bowl with Perfect Drain and sink grid Faucet: Delta Trinsic Single-handle pull-down sprayer with magnetite docking in shiny chrome. DW: Kitchen Aid 39-Decibel Built-in DW in Stainless Steel purchased from Lowes. Ceiling lights: LED can lights Pendants: I’m not sure bc SIL found them; probably Lowes, Wayfair or Overstock Roman shades: Budget Blinds Counter stools: Not sure bc DS bought them at home and put them together at the house. Bear Clock: Purchased from a local decor shop. Dining and Living Room on Main Level Dining table: Bassett Furniture Bench Made Collection, Harvest Table, 90”x42” in Steel Finish with Standard Edge Dining Chairs: Star Furniture (Houston). Can’t remember the exact name of the chairs, but the word Largo is stamped under the seat. I’ve seen this criss-cross design many other places such as Pottery Barn and other furniture stores. Need to make some chair cushions. Chandelier: I’m not sure bc SIL found them; probably Lowes, Wayfair or Overstock Honeycomb blinds: Budget Blinds Sectional Sofa with queen pull-out bed: Bassett Furniture Area rug: Crate & Barrel Alvarez Garden Rug, 9’x12’. Coffee Table: Bassett Furniture Nesting side tables: Thrift store find, painted and refinished. Fireplace Rock: 3-D Mesh Mount Stack Scabos Split from Arizona Tile in Denver. Fireplace Mantle: Handmade by a local artisan out of Alma, CO. Fireplace was existing. Original gold metal finish was spray painted black and reinstalled. Master Bath Bathroom floor tile: Emser Tile, Hangar Sand in 12”x24”. Grout: Custom Prism #386 Oyster Gray. Shower floor tile: Emser Tile, Explorer Barcelona in 2”x 2”. Grout: Custom Prism #135 Mushroom. Shower wall tile: Arizona Tile H-Line in Cotton Glossy in 4”x16” set in a 1/3 offset pattern. Grout: Custom Prism #11 Snow White. Bath vanity: Great Northern Cabinet Company. The wood is clear Alder and the stain is called Heirloom. Hardware: Top Knobs TK 832 Eden 1-3/8” Mushroom Cabinet Knobs from Serene Series in flat black; Top Knobs TK 823 Lily Cabinet Pull from Serene Series in 5” and 6-5/16” sizes in flat black. Counters: Color Quartz (CQ) Quartz in the color Glacier. Sinks: The fabricator provided the rectangular shaped sinks. They are similar to Kohler Ladena. Faucets: Delta Ashlyn 3-hole widespread faucet in chrome. Towel ring, towel bar and TP holder: Delta Dryden in chrome. Need to add an additional towel bar and some robe hooks. Also we will put something in the empty 3’ space opposite toilet, probably a narrow cabinet. Mirror: Beveled mirror from local glass company. Vanity lighting: I thought I ordered it from Wayfair, but I can’t find my order to list the name. Toilet: American Standard Cadet 3 FloWise 2-Piece 1.28 GPF Single Flush Elongated in white. Showerhead: Delta HydroRain 5-setting showerhead in chrome. Handshower: Delta Universal Showering ActivTouch 9-setting Handshower Valve trims: Delta Ashlyn Shower corner shelf: Delta corner shelf with assist bar in polished chrome. Hall Bath on Middle Level Floor tile, vanity cabinet, hardware, countertop, towel ring, towel bar, toilet, and TP holder are all the same as Master bathroom. Faucet is Delta Ashlyn 1-hole in chrome. Mirror: 30” x 40” Marylee Rectangle Beveled Polish Frameless Wall Mirror. Ordered from Wayfair. Vanity Light: Poppy 3-light vanity light in black finish. Ordered from Wayfair. Tub/shower fixtures: Delta Ashlyn in chrome. Tub: Basic enameled over steel Shower tile: 3”x6” white Daltile flat subway tiles from Home Depot set in a brick pattern, with matching corner shelves and soap dish. Family Room on Middle Level Carpet throughout the rest of the house: Dixie Home Brilliance Stainmaster TruSoft in the color Razzle. Purchased through ProSource by GC. In this room we kept all the existing furniture except SIL bought new lamps. Both sofas have pull-out queen beds. Fireplace Rock and Mantle: Same as living room on main level. Fireplace raised hearth: Arizona Tile Honey Tumbled Lyon Travertine tile. Fireplace framing was painted black same as Living room fireplace framing. Jack and Jill Bathroom on Lowest Level Floor tile, vanity cabinet, hardware, countertop, towel rings, towel bar, toilet, and TP holder are all the same as Master bathroom. Mirror is a plain flat mirror from a local glass shop. Tub, tile and shower fixtures are the same as the Hall bath on middle level. Vanity Lights are 2 sets of Poppy 4-light vanity light in black finish. Ordered from Wayfair.

@peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada You’re correct that I deleted my post. I reread it after Sherry had read & acknowledged. But, after my reread I thought it might be too long & off topic so not of interest. Thinking about the storm & damage you’ve just experienced had sent me down memory lane remembering the horrible sound of large tree branches breaking all around from the sheer weight of ice coating everything. I thought too about other disasters & your comment about our ’Go Bag’ preparedness for fire & earthquake risks. My conclusion was that no matter where we live there are levels of chances for a natural disaster of some type so we just need to be as prepared as we can to help ourselves & then move on & enjoy our good days. You’re right about disasters following me! I was reminded of an old cartoon strip with a character who had a constant dark cloud over him - disaster followed him. I’m not quite that bad but here’s my list I came up with from early childhood memory & on. Montana - Yellowstone earthquake 1959 -7.2 on Richter scale. We lived west at other side of the state but felt this horrific quake. I said I’d slept through that one. I think 29 died - campers in Yellowstone. Anchorage, AK 1964 - 9.2 magnitude. Much of Anchorage coast is built out over sand. We learned about ’liquification factor’ from that. Everything sinking into sand. Better building codes now. My family then lived in southeastern AK in the pan handle along Canadian border. My dad worked with ACS - Alaska Communications Systems,. We felt the quake & the fear in the SE island chain was Tsunami but we only experienced very high tides & shaking. As an adult, I lived in Omaha, NE (USAF spouse) . During our first year, January 1975, we experienced a 100 year record breaking blizzard that shut down the city & I-80 freeway for days. In May 1975, we experienced a tornado which caused 94 deaths & $3.4M damage - a lot in 1975 $$! On to CA & lived in No CA Bay area. The 1989 Loma Prieta 6.9 earthquake that happened during a MLB game & caused a bay bridge collapse as well as the 2 level Nimitz freeway pancaking. Many deaths and a true horror. I was driving home from work in SF on the 101 highway with little traffic due to the baseball game. Many drivers pulling over to check tires because the highway was rolling & we all thought something wrong with cars. Our radios had cut out so no info. I will admit to having sleepless nights after that one. In 2001, we lived in Seattle when the Nisqually quake, 6.8 on scale hit. Not near as much damage as could have been but I worked in DT Seattle in an old historic building on the waterfront. It was many days before we were allowed back in for work as all those old buildings, only some of which were retrofitted for seismic safety, had to be inspected. We learned cell phones don’t help when those towers go out! So, that’s my long tale of natural disaster experience and I hope everyone isn’t totally bored! 😊 But, I had made reference to our disaster go bags which I think is a good plan for everyone. Because of the more frequent fires along West coast that are creeping ever closer to urban areas, we added items to ours. Last year fires were within 5 miles of us & we were on outside edge of evacuation recommended. Our Go Bags are in a closet by front door & include thumb drives with important house & financial docs, cash for power outages, sleeping bags, blankets. We have MRE type food, dog food & bottled water in garage. BBQ tank always full & car tanks kept at least half full too. No generator at this house in Vancouver. We had one in Seattle after a 4 day winter outage & then never needed it once! But, one of my sisters lives in St. Pete / Tampa FL area & they’ve recently had a Gentran generator installed for those hurricanes they get. For a generator, those are the way to go for lower maintenance. Laurie - I think that’s your name - my wish for you is that each day is a bit warmer and your damage clean up progresses quickly. Uncovering & seeing your gardens and how things survived will be quite the experience & hopefully one filled with many happy surprises! Kathy