Only 3 weeks from today is our targeted departure day. Time to start wrapping up the loose ends and finish all the projects we have going. It's going to be a lot bigger job this year than it has been in the past. Now we have a HOUSE to close up and vacate for 6 months. That will be a new venture for us. We are learning a lot from everyone else on how to leave stuff. We have found someone that will check out the house for us every week or so and several other people that will keep an eye on it for us and do a walk around periodically. It is our understanding that everyone leaves the Air Conditioner on, set at about 85-90. We have a large attic exhaust fan that is on an automatic thermostat which should help. The automatic watering system is set to water all the trees and shrubs every 5 days for 20 to 30 minutes. We have been told to leave several 5 gallon buckets of water around inside the house for humidity. The shades we have on all the windows are over an inch thick with special insulating and darkening features. We are trying to think of anything and everything else we need to do so if any of you have any ideas for us that we should put on our list, we would be love to hear them. We need all the help we can get.
Ms Pat and I kinda hate to leave our new Home, we like it so well. But we are also quite anxious to get up to our other favorite spot in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. No way could we forgo that. I have been watching the weather up there and it's still a little cool... like right now at 5:00am its 28* up there. It's a very comfortable 60* here. But by June 1st when we get there, it will be warmed clear up to where it will be at least 30* in the morning!! But it warms up fast during the day and we love it!!
I have told you about our new zBoost YX510 Cell Phone wireless signal amplifier and what a great job it is doing for us. It continues to perform flawlessly. However, I have added a new item to measure exactly how much amplification we are receiving and the best placement for both the indoor and the outdoor antenna's. Most everyone knows I'm a meter freak. I LOVE meters and therefore I have a meter for everything I possibly can. Now I have zBoost's latest accessory, a RF signal strength meter. You can read all about it and all their other great products at
http://www.wi-ex.com/ . This meter reads the signal level for best placement of an antenna or aiming of a directional antenna. It will also help identify the signal strength and variation inside the building to assist in the placement of your internal antenna. A neat little item. Is it necessary? NO. probably not for you, but for me a meter freak...you bet! I showed it to my friend Bill Jones, here in the Park and he was amazed with it. In fact ,I let him try it out at his house and when he brought it back he said "I got to have one of those", and he promptly ordered one...
I now have it set up so our Verizon Air Card picks up its signal from the zBoost. It is plugged into the Cradlepoint MBR1000 router, which distributes a wireless signal to both Ms Pats and my Laptops any where in the house or porch area. Plus, she can also pick up the signal out in our Teton 5th wheel and use her big desk top computer that we use for our
PressurePro and PowerTank business. Plus it has doubled the signal on all of our cell phones.
Our Verizon signal was not the best in this part of North Ranch, which is a little lower elevation than our old lot was but this set up has enhanced it to where it is at least as good, if not better!!
It is a GREAT WEEK!!!
Thanks for stopping by.
Welcome to Rod and Loyce Ivers, our latest followers.(#83) Glad to have you with us... Click on their picture to read their Blog...
Mike
This Blog is published every Wednesday and Sunday..
4 comments:
I think the best precaution to take when leaving your house for an extended period is to have your neighbours and friends do periodic checks. You've arranged for that, so you should be in good shape. I always turn our water source off coming into the house just in case a pipe should burst. For a shorter trips, I usually just make sure I turn off the breaker for the hot water tank.
I'm still planning on checking out that booster meter - it looks great!
Mike, you and Rick are a real pair --- both of you are gadget geeks, and we pick up a lot of information from both of you. Not that we expect to actually ever use it, but it's fun to find out what US technology as allowed the Asian countries to sell us!
Thank you for the welcome message! We have been lurkers for several years, but now signed up as followers. We were parked at North ranch for about a week in March, as you were contemplating your house purchase. We waited out the final Midwest storms before departing for KC. If we would have had more time there we would have come by and said Howdy! That was about the time Rollie and Gina showed up, as we had met them previously in Kerrville, Tx. Loyce had "go home" on her mind and nothing slows that process when she gets her mind set LOL!
When we were leaving our house in Colorado vacant for 3 weeks per month when I was working in Phoenix we always put a line of the peel off sticky trap boards at the base of the inside door thresholds. Mice, ants, spiders, scorpions, & crickets didn't stand a chance with them, however they also occasionally snagged house watchers and their pets also ... but they were an effective control for the ants that loved to send out scouts underneath the doors!
Sheila says I can't collect any more gadgets unless I trade them out one for one with another or buy an HDT first ... should I take that as an endorsement for an HDT? LOL!
We are in Iowa City to see our son graduate from grad school ... will be heading for Colorado in about a week. Major frost/freeze warning this A.M. in the Mississippi river valley area.
Keep up the good work!
David & Sheila Knapp
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