They tiptoed around making any connection, positive or negative.

Here it is, in context.

1450 sq ft, $250-280 power bills. One "Mr Cool" 23k BTU heat pump on its first winter. Oil heat runs a minute every hour below freezing to keep the pipes from freezing. Also run a wood stove when it's below 15'F out, which is hardly ever this winter.

I've used about 50 gallons of #2 oil since Dec 19, my last fill up. It heats my hot water, too.

LED lights, one fridge, one full size freezer we found on the side of the road.

I think your dehumidifer is the culprit. Get a Kill-A-Watt meter, either $20 new or from your local library to see what it draws.

Make the basic recipe then put cheese and bread crumbs on top, and throw it in the oven for a little bit.

Many Maine roads are crowned too much so you hit a little bump, break traction, and slide off sideways.

They're old farm roads and don't have the proper underlayment. Maine Turnpike and a FEW state roads (202) in a FEW spots are the exception.

Look into something like educational aides at schools or medical billing. Fibromyalgia sucks but being bored sucks too... having a job will distract you from your pain, and a sense of purpose.

Work a side hustle now to make enough cash for first & last months rent when you move out on your own.

The issue with generational welfare is your mom's a role model for being disabled, and getting disability is such a hassle, it's work to get it. Look outside this world, which you're doing.

Do you own your tank though? The higher rates probably include rental fees.

Every adult on that ride has some responsibility. Speak up if something isn't safe. Driver probably felt like he could cross the lake for drinks with the Whomevers like every other new years party, weather be damned. And the riders-along just said, sure. The fact that they were lost in the fog speaks volumes about the stupidity of the situation.

This is how Maine ladies show off a little side-boob.

"I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."

Walk like a penguin, it sounds dumb but when you get the hang of it you'll know.

Wet ice, at or above freezing, is way more slippery than properly frozen ice at temps well below 32F.

Yeah there'll be "false spring" for a day in March that's absolutely gorgeous but it'll be another two months of not only dreariness, but of paying heating bills.

Get a clothes drying rack and set it up with damp laundry overnight. Saves energy too.

The best attitude to have is to "embrace the suck". Yes stuff gets less convenient but we all get through it together and bond over it.

Hair freezes, your nose runs into your facial hair or onto your upper lip. Skin dries out, cracks and bleeds. Power goes out. Cars get stuck, or, at a minimum, take extra time to defrost. Potholes and frost heaves appear. Mailboxes get run over by plows.

But you can set up a bird feeder. They attract squirrels and bears too, FWIW. Go ice skating-- some towns have outdoor rinks if you don't know how to judge a frozen lake for safety. Wander through a summer tourist spot like OOB and enjoy the solitude.

Narrow, curvy roads are what slow me down. Particularly if they have a bad/ aggressive crown trying to slide me into the ditch.

Give me a straight two lane highway, that I'm alone on, with wide shoulders, and telegraph poles set way back, and I can recover from anything.

It's a con on our people that we leave the stuff you mention needing more of to the states to implement. The current situation is a moral hazard because if a state neglects its stuff badly enough the feds jump in and save them... so you get these shitty states that don't raise enough revenue to service their people, they get free money from the rest of us, and their leaders get reelected based on how "clever" they are.

Rotate your gas cans seasonally-- the winter stuff has a better vapor pressure so it "lights off" easier. Just dump the old stuff in your fuel-injected car, it can handle it better.

I know someone who has the self-starting Generac. They like it because if they're at work, it kicks in and the food doesn't spoil.

When they get home, they switch over to a smaller portable to save gas. They manage loads. But the first 12 hours are covered automatically.

$100 furnace transfer switch

Its governor keeps it at 3600 RPM to make 60Hz power but you are saving gas by using fewer appliances. Many people over-size their generators and aren't operating in the "sweet spot" of efficiency- 50-60% of full output.

Gas itself can be hard to come by in an extended outage, so it pays to plan.

I've got a dual fuel generator, gasoline/ propane. I always "finish" by shutting off the gas and running propane through it, which absolutely completely dries out the carburetor of any gas residue whatsoever.

Anyone shopping generators should consider one, they aren't much more than gas-only models. You can also get a retrofit carb for $35 on amazon.

Great, put Elian Musk in charge of our electricity.

I always wonder when I see a pole with a cairn of rocks around its base, if they put those rocks there to be able to claim they rammed it to the required depth.

You can get a new 2-stroke one that runs a fridge for $150 on ebay. Used ones on FB marketplace start at $50. Cheaper than losing a freezer full of food.

Cable-knit sweater and (corncob) pipe. Go for the Ernest Hemingway look.