Old enough to remember

[Deleted]

My building still has coal chutes in it (as do most old Paris buildings). Burning coal was forbidden starting in 1962. Fireplaces will be forbidden next year (with "exceptions").

[Deleted]

Mich, I'm sure my plants weren't killed exclusively by the gas, there were a lot of contributing factors. I'd sort of inherited this little carriage house in the 90s, passed down for years by theatre friends. The thing had been built at the turn of the century in the back of a lot by an Italian family, who then slowly built the big house at the front, common practice in Vancouver in those days. Most of these little cottages were torn down eventually, but mine survived and was sort of grandfathered in. The place was a deathtrap: two tiny bedrooms (no electric outlets, just a lightbulb in the centre of the room), living room, kitchen and bathroom (no sink, just a toilet and a huge iron bathtub). It was outrageous, really. The floors all sloped, no central heating, and the place was being slowly crushed by the ash tree growing beside it. I think the plants died from a combination of gas, cold (man, that place got cold) and the lack of light from the growing trees.

I finally had to move after a decade when the landlords passed away. My rent was $425 when I left. My kitty had the run of the yard, and I could sing as loud as I wanted and no one would complain. I loved that little shack but my, I don't think I could have tolerated it now. Spiders everywhere, raccoons lived in the crawl space, mildew growing up the walls. But I loved it!

The big house was sold, the cottage house was "renovated" (I'm sure it was completely dismantled and rebuilt, but that grandfather clause assured its survival) and the whole place went for well over a million dollars.

[mich64]

Sounds like quite a unique place to live Lizzy! You must have some wonderful memories, minus the cold, spiders and racoons!

My my Bixa! you can understand the ill feeling we were experiencing then. It was reported here in Ontario recently that in the next few years electricity rates will raise 30 to 40%, I would prefer to rely on my electric baseboards but can not afford these increases!

We will have a service man come every fall though and check for leaks after this incident.

[htmb]

Mich, do you have carbon monoxide detectors in your house that should have picked up the leak?

[htmb]

Until I was ten we lived in a wood frame house with a fuel oil furnace under the house. There was a grate in the living room floor and my parents turned on the furnace and tossed a lit match through the grate once it got too cold to do without heat. The kitchen wasn't heated, so my mother would turn on the oven and leave the door open during really cold spells when we were eating meals.

There was no heat on the second story of the house so my little brother and I would dress downstairs while standing on top of the furnace. After a few years my father had a hole cut into the ceiling over the furnace and installed a louvered cover that could be opened in the winter to allow rising heat to somewhat warm the second story. My brother and I learned it was a great spot for finding out what was going on downstairs when the grownups were hosting parties, or wrapping Christmas presents.

[Deleted]

mich, glad you okay. That is scary, it's good that you noticed it and looked for the problem. I don't have any gas at all in my house, and I'm happy not having any for that reason.

Back in England, it's still common to have gas appliances in the house. I think here in the East people were using gas appliances much longer than those in the West of the country. I remember a friend who moved from Ontario to British Columbia some years back, she bought her gas powered washer and dryer with her. She tried to sell it over in BC, but there were no takers.

Here out in the countryside most fireplaces use wood rather than coal. I actually don't know anyone who uses coal anymore around here.

Kerouac, I'm wondering now if a ban on all fireplaces will eventually take effect here too. Lagatta was saying it is that way already in Montreal, at least when it comes to the newly built structures... I've noticed that many people are 'updating' their fireplaces around here. Instead of an open fireplace they are putting in these kinds which have metal flues that go up the chimney. Much safer I think. I might convert to this kind myself:

[Deleted]

lizzy, that must have been such an interesting place to live in.

htmb, I can just imagine all the great memories you have of that home you lived in as a child.

[Deleted]

Yes, I think that high tech fireplaces are among those that will be allowed. And of course ritzy fireplaces in hotels and restaurants, which annoys me in a way, but of course since they will be under constant surveillance, I suppose that they will always be safer than a private fireplace.

[mich64]

Deyana we put one like that inside one of our fireplaces in the house (called a fireplace insert) and we burned wood for heat that way for about 15 years, this is the one we just replaced with another propane fireplace.

I love a natural fireplace for ambiance and aroma but for heating purposes it became cumbersome. Due to our living on a steep hillside, bringing wood down 50 stairs was becoming more and more difficult so we retired our yolk.

In town, probably more than 50% of people heat with gas and have a gas stove/oven because hydro is expensive here. Gas dryers are not as common though. Out where we live there is no gas line so our only option is electric, wood or propane.

When I was young we always had a gas stove/oven.

[mich64]

htmb the way my husband explained it to me was that the propane was leaking before it was being combusted which is what causes carbon monoxide so the detectors were at 0. It was pure propane we were exposed to. It smelled like we were standing beside our BBQ when you open the valve before you push the button for it to ignite. Carbon monoxide has no smell at all and we had a strong odor.

We thought the smell might be the metal of the fireplace curing as it has a glossy black paint finish. We even thought it had a faint smell of septic so we were checking that as well since my husband could not see any bubbling when he was checking the connection with the water/soap solution but the leak was before the connection. I guess we are very lucky we are not smokers and lit a match down there.

[Deleted]

mich, I agree, there is nothing like a real wood-burning fireplace, but you are right in that it can be hassle to cut and store the wood for the winter. We are lucky in that there is an abundance of it around here and we pay very little for it. But I wouldn't want to be carrying it up a steep hill. I think you made the right decision.

I have heard that gas is just as expensive as hydro now (maybe even more so). Is propane more cost effective perhaps?

Anyhow, it good that you have the leak sorted out now. That's the important thing.

[mich64]

Thank you Deyana, we are very pleased the leak was detected and repaired. Propane is the least expensive of the three and not having to deal with the mess of the wood has been nice. We are conscience of the fact that we have to adapt to remain here as we age.

I remember when homes were being retro fitted to electricity from oil, then to gas when each became more and more expensive. Now they are all just expensive. You are fortunate that you do not pay much for your wood, here we do. Even though it is abundant.

[Deleted]

I remember when people still used wooden crutches. For some reason, they looked more serious than those aluminium poles.

[bixaorellana]

I remember wooden crutches in the US very well. They were rather nicely made & varnished things, although I believe I also remember potentially uncomfortable wing nuts sticking out here and there.

You still see wooden crutches here, often very rough & ready homemade versions.

[Deleted]

I remember when people would say "meanwhile, back at the ranch" to change the subject of a conversation.

[bixaorellana]

I think "meanwhile, back at the ranch" was meant to bring a conversation back to the original subject, wasn't it?

[htmb]

Moving right along....

[Deleted]

I would imagine that it was a famous title card from silent movies to inform spectators of a sudden change to a different story line.

[bjd]

I remember the expression "meanwhile back at the ranch" being followed by a rather rude comment about Tonto and the Lone Ranger but don't remember it right now.

[bixaorellana]

Inquiring minds want to know!

Re: title cards -- I used to watch a Mexican soap opera that would use shots of the sky in late afternoon, or of the moon to indicate passage of time between scenes. The shots would always prompt me to murmur to myself, "Later, the same day".

[Deleted]

There is actually even a short Wiki about this.

[bixaorellana]

Well, I hope you're happy!

I'm uploading pictures to Flickr right now. Because it's taking some time, I'm also browsing around the web. Every time I go back to Flickr to check on the progress, you know what inevitably goes through my head.

[Deleted]

I remember lighter fluid.

[bixaorellana]

Wow! The second I read that I could smell it & feel that weird coldness from where it dripped on your hand when you were filling your Zippo.

[Deleted]

I remember generations of my family, including me, writing long letters in very small handwiriting on thin 'airmail paper' to make sure the envelope never went above 5 grammes.

[Deleted]

I still have some letters my grandmother sent my mother in Germany on that airmail paper. The whole thing folded and sealed and stuck together at the edges so no envelope was needed and invariably some of the writing at the edges was ruined and you had to guess at the meaning. Combined with my (Québecoise) grandmother's quirky grammar and spelling, it was quite amusing. Still, her mother and father couldn't read or write at all (according the census), so it was miraculous.

[bjd]

Yes, I remember those too.

It was nice getting real letters -- it doesn't happen often any more.

[Deleted]

My father doesn't count it as a real letter unless I hand write it; no typed letters for him!

[Deleted]

I switched to typing letters -- except when travelling -- as soon as I could type. I continue to avoid sending email 'letters' as much as possible. If I write anything more than a paragraph or two, I prefer to put it in an envelope.

[mich64]

At Christmas I send out about 35 - 40 greeting cards. I used to always get handwritten letters in the cards from my Grandmother and a few of my Aunts. The past few years my Aunts have been sending a typed note with their activities from the past year. I still write them each handwritten letters but I can understand that it is easier for them to type it once and then print it to be inserted into all their greeting cards. I miss the letters from my Grandmother.