Hi Daniel. Wishing you an early spring . Up here in PNW, it is kinda "Springy". Highs ~ 50F. And of course we have not seen any snow, high winds .. what so ever. November was our coldest month so far, temps dropping to low 20s. But then we get a looottt of drizzling rain. Off Topic a bit: On the tomatoes: I will start my seeds around late Feb. BTW. I got Brandy Boy seeds. So watch out. hehe. We'll see how it does in my garden. Seysonn

Yes, Ann, we ARE in a deep freeze. The tank heater is just keeping the water for the animals clear, just barely. the animals actually went into the barn. I keep the door open and just let them go in as they like, they seldom go inside. Cope will stand out in a blizzard and let the snow pile up on his back and seems to love it. However, it's 3 below right now, going to get down to 20 below tonight I guess. Back up to near 30 by Sunday or Monday. Annie

beaglenc, I’ve had a completely different experience with my Bosch Nexxt 500. It cleans all my clothes well with minor tangling, and exceptionally well with whites on Temp Boost or XXSanitary. I have not had issues with shaking during the spin cycles at all. I barely hear anything, as some on here have described it as the sound of jet engine. My washer is also levelled and located in the basement on concrete floor so that maybe different than your situation. Here’s why I will never go back to TL washer. it’s been awhile since I’ve had to use a TL and my recent usage only emphasizes the difference from FL washers. I used to have a mid-1980s heavy duty large capacity Kenmore TL washer, which is the same that my sister has. I’ve been here for almost 2 months helping her while she’s undergoing cancer treatments, so lots of laundry is done. I didn’t remember how little the TL actual capacity was, even though the dimensions of both type of machines are 27” wide, and listed as almost 3.8 cubic ft. The Kenmore TL is probably rated at 10.0 lbs - adding more laundry and it’s incapable of thorough cleaning and rips them up. It uses about 50 gallons of water per load (25 gal wash, 25 gal rinse) but if you’re like my sister and need to do a 2nd-rinse to ensure detergent residue is gone then it uses about 75 gallons per load of 10.0 lbs laundry, which really isn’t that much [about 8 large bath towels (30” x 60”), or 3 queen-size bed sheets (2 loose, 1 fitted) with 2 pillow cases.] For bulky items, it’s even more restricted. I could only fit a light full-sized comforter. I currently have a 2009 Bosch Nexxt 500 plus and its’ capacity is also 3.8 cu ft. It is rated at 8kg, so just under 18 lbs. It uses 13.5 gallons (4.5 gal wash, 4.5 gal 1st rinse, 4.5 gal 2nd rinse) of water per 8 kg load (about 15 large bath towels, or 3 queen-sized bed sheet sets (3 loose, 3 fitted, 6 pillow cases). I’ll do a 3rd-rinse so that brings the water total to 18 gallons per load of 18 lbs of laundry. WATER USED (for 18lbs of laundry): TL - 150 gallons = 75 gallons per load x 2 FL - 18 gallons DETERGENT USED: TL - 250 ml for 18 lbs of laundry (125 mL per 10 lbs load) FL - 22.5 ml per 18 lbs load WASH TIME USED: TL - 220+ minutes to do same 18 lb load (110+ minutes for each 9-10 lbs load full wash cycle and additional 2nd rinse that requires user to be there to reset machine for the added rinse x 2 FL - 110 minutes for full wash cycle and additional 3rd rinse that can be programmed at start of wash DRYING TIME USED: TL - 2 hours as each 10 lb load typically takes 1 hour to dry because clothes are spun out at lower ~600 rpm resulting in more dampness FL - 30 minutes for 18 lbs load as clothes are spun out at higher 1000+ rpm In this instance, my FL washer will use 1/8 water; 1/11 detergent; 1/2 time

Another Record-Breaker! Warmest Christmas Day Ever for New York City > Christmas Day saw record-breaking temperatures for the tri-state area, as the mercury crept to a balmy 66 degrees shortly after midnight Friday, eclipsing the 33-year-old record by two degrees. > Revelers flocked to the Rockefeller Center tree as the sun rose Friday, donning nothing more than light jackets, if any. It was the second day of record-breaking temperatures; the mercury hit 72 on Christmas Eve, shattering the previous record of 63 degrees set in 1996. New York City Sees Warmest Christmas On Record