[quote="Bella_Figura;c-46567654"So, electricity aside, heating and hot water is £700 + about £200 of logs for the woodburner...so total cost of £900/year. Not sure how that compares to heating prices in Canada...this would be the equivalent of $1,540 in canadian dollars or $1,220 in US dollars. [/quote]

Hot Water and Furnace (heating) = Gas for 2021 was billed at $2008. and if you look at it on a 12 month basis, it is increasing. Viewing the past 12 months instead of the 2021 calendar year shows a 7.5% increase which doesn't bode well for 2022.

And since you've got me on a roll and I might as well get started on this stuff...

Electricity 2021 = lights, computers, tv's, supplementary heating and cooling was 2,217.91 up 3% from 2020

Water Sewer Garbage 2021: 2,912.42 up 8% from 2020. And property taxes (council tax I guess would be the closest in the UK) added just about another 4.5K...

With shared internet and TV and insurance, the house is running at just about 1400 a month, before gardens/snow, normal repairs, (perennially deferred) up-keep, or, err, the minor bank line-item called "interest"

How much do your vices cost you?

Thankfully I don't smoke, because a pack of 20 smokes would set you back £10 for the budget ones, and £14 a pack for a premium brand like Marlboro.

A bottle of blended whisky such as Bells would set you back £15, and a 70cl bottle of single malt is about £30 upwards.

In a provincial pub a pint of lager is about £5, and a glass of wine is about £7. You'd pay double that in London.

Talking of London, a second class return train ticket from Norwich to London (90 minute journey time) costs £120; a first class return ticket is £200. Ouch!

PAV8888 wrote: »

I thought train travel was supposed to be inexpensive in Britain. This definitely does NOT sound inexpensive.

Nope, most expensive public transport in the whole of Europe...by a long margin.

PAV8888 wrote: »

Detached house (crappy NOT updated mid 60's construction) on a 55*100 lot is counted by the assessment office as 1415 sq ft main floor (I was counting 1250) and 1333 for finished basement (I was counting 1100).

It is officially 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom (one up one down). plus carport. 90% of the assessed value is land which is "interesting" to say the least. But, over time, the declared non-conforming secondary suite has two rooms that have become "bedrooms" and the "great" room that has been split into a third "bedroom" with a fireplace, and a living room without!

Ouch, those are high property taxes for your house!

The one high point of living in Hamilton, Canada is living close to the native reserve where one can purchase a "carton" (10 small packages, 20 cigarettes, or 8 large packs, 25 cigarettes) for $15-20 or a plastic ziploc bag of 200 cigarettes for ??? $12 ??? (or so).

Affectionately known as "natives"

No way. No way. Seriously? Pop is less expensive in Canada than the US? Holy kittens!

I actually don't even buy my pop at either Costco or superstore. I buy it at Shoppers for 4.99 a12 pack... on the various promo days when I get 30% back in points

And that's in CAD too

Oh they are so cute! It is a thing here. No aliens that I've seen yet though.

PAV - how are your clothes? All clean and fresh???

The what a what? You "villagers" are slightly cuckoo, right? 😹

lauriekallis wrote: »

On the other hand, our trees get a bit chilly here

Is there a reason or movement for the trunk covers? Just a fun thing? I saw them all over town several years ago but wasn’t sure if it was an art display or what.

Did my therapy exercises. Tomorrow have another in-person session. She adds more draconian moves each time! But it seems to have made the pain much better. Only four more weeks. Also another doctor appointment later in the day.

lauriekallis wrote: »

Just a guerilla art thing, Yooly. Big yarn flowers on fences, parking meter sweaters etc. A unexpected splash of colour.

Oh yes, I remember they were called tree sweaters ❣️

so I managed to be somewhat busy today! Got my dishes washed up, my Christmas decorations taken to the shed and put away (in their proper containers!), the new tires put on my wagon so I can pull the pellets around to the front door instead of having to carry them one bag at a time....

The birds were fed (and the deer from where I spilled the bag), and I built 2 snow gnomes! The hubby came out to look and decided they needed a snow kitty to join them, so while he made the kitty, I made a snow puppy

I was out there grinning like a loon the entire hour I was out there working on them And I realized that building a snowman is exercise! Especially when the first snowball is so big - it takes a good amount of muscle to move that thing, not to mention picking up the other balls to put on top, and all the bending and scooping and patting and shaping.....

Then I came in and made dinner, then finally put up trim in my bedroom! I used beadboard wainscotting style look for my ceiling in my bedroom, but the guys who put it up last spring did not do it correctly - they just slapped the sheets up and didn't fit them on a stud, so one set was meeting in between two studs, which, to my irritation, one began to sag by the end of summer. Since there was nothing there I could afix it to, I couldn't pull it back up to meet the other sheet, so I bought some trip, glue, and 1" screws and glued and screwed the trim along the joint to pull them back together and hold them. It looks fairly good, all things considered, though I'm short 1 piece of trim work - to make it look right, I put up 2 more strips across the ceiling, but the last piece was a bit short, so i'll have to make a trip to the hardware store soon and get another stirp to finish it.

I also have white Christmas style lights strung across my bedroom ceiling, and they needed tightened up. I put them into the beadboard with cable clips that are nailed to the ceiling, though they are a PAIN to get in because it bounces when you try to hammer them in. But I got it done! Its really pretty with the battery candles twinkling in the headboard shelves and the lights on, giving plenty of light to the bedroom but diffused so its comforting and not glaring.

Still, even though I pre-drilled and pre-started all the screws, it was still a good bit of work holding that up and working above my head like that, and my back is letting me know about it! lol

Beautiful family you have there!!!!

Wow! Doggie seems happy but I didn’t think it snowed that much in Greece. Hope all are safe and warm. 🥶

Snowmaggedon 2022! People stranded for 8 to 12 hours on a 70km stretch of freeway around Athens with the army showing up to dig them out 🙀🤷🏻‍♂️ and that's with everyone expecting and being prepared!!!

Should melt by Wednesday!

oh how that beautiful white fluffy stuff can bring all our machines to a halt!

How is the recumbent bike as far as exercise goes, Yooly? I'm picking up mine on Sunday (a kinda of simple, compact, used on) - hoping it will at least be some exercise, if not exactly invigorating...lol.

I'm off to physio now...the first time in a few weeks because of covid....hoping to pick up a few core exercises today too.