November 26, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Hello to all my loyal readers. Before I tell you all about my brand new and what will be my very first John Deere, allow me to provide some background. As many of you will know, my grandfather (my dad’s dad) was a farmer. Unfortunately, I never really got to know my grandfather as he passed away when I was about 18 months old. But I’ve heard enough stories through the years and before he retired in the early 60’s he was a firm believer in the John Deere brand. He even used many of the horse/mule drawn implements and all were John Deere.
When I was a kid in my pre-teens all the way through my late teens I mowed yards to earn extra money. It started out with just my own yard and then around the time I turned 13-14, I picked up several extra yards. During the summer months I would typically have 3-5 yards which I mowed on an almost weekly basis. Of course, I was using an old style push mower at first and then around the time I was 15-16 I bought a nice self-propelled mower which certainly helped a lot as some of the yards had a bit of elevation.
Once I graduated from high school and moved off to college, my grass cutting days were over as I mostly lived in apartments where needing to mow wasn’t required. At this time of my life and after having mowed yards for many years, I really didn’t miss it much.
When my wife and I bought our home in Denver in 2004, we didn’t need to do any mowing as our HOA or Home Owners Association did this for us. Plus our yard is relatively small. However, with our new home in Texas, while we’re still living in an HOA environment…we the homeowner is fully responsible for our own yard maintenance.
Decisions, Decisions…
Our house in Texas is on a fairly descent sized corner lot which measures about 12,000 sq ft which is about a quarter of an acre. Not huge….but also not like the postage stamp size lot of our Denver home. Of course, we have many options. First, we could hire a yard maintenance company which would mow our grass or we could hire a teenager looking to earn a few extra dollars to do it. In the 1980’s I typically charged $10 – $15 per yard and depending on the size of the yard and the complexity of the yard, it would only take me about an hour for each. Earning $10-15 per hour in the 1980’s was pretty darn good money. However, in today’s world and for our new house in Texas this equates to about $60 per hour.
It’s Not About The Money
No, it really isn’t. I really have no issue in paying someone $60 dollars an hour to perform a job that I either don’t have the time to do or physically can’t do. But in this case, I’m still a young 58 and believe I can still maintain my yard for at least another 10 years, perhaps even longer with the right tools. So I’ve decided to purchase a mower and will do the work myself. But what should I buy? What do I really need?
If I were younger, the size of yard we have at the new house in Texas could easily be done with a regular motorized push mower and probably wouldn’t take more than two hours to mow, trim and blow. But as it’s been 40 years since I’ve mowed grass (or there abouts) I’ve decided to treat myself to a riding mower. But not just any riding mower….
My First John Deere
Yes, as the subject line teases, I’ve purchased a very nice John Deere Zero-Turn riding mower. I did spend several weeks researching options between all the top brands of mowers, but chose John Deere for many reasons.
First, if you drive 10 minutes into the country away from the city where I live you’ll find on both sides of the road and as far as you can see huge fields of corn, wheat and cotton. The farmers working these fields are all running John Deere equipment. Within 20 minutes of me there are two huge John Deere dealerships selling everything from combines, tractors and every sort of green implement you can imagine. The fact that I have two large Deere dealerships near me means that getting parts for my new mower shouldn’t be an issue.
Second, my grandfather. My grandfather was a small time farmer in comparison to the farming taking place around this part of Texas. But if John Deere was good enough for him, then it will be exactly what I need.
Third, American Made. I believe in buying American made products. While there are certainly lower cost options in the zero-turn mower market, I want something that when taken care of will last me for as long as I’m wanting to mow my own grass.
What John Deere Did I Buy?
Again, I researched this carefully. But I decided on the John Deere Z320R model along with a bagger kit. I purchased directly from the Deere dealership as the options available from either of the two “Big Box” store options didn’t fully suit my needs. Plus the John Deere dealership delivered my new mower, fully inspected it and spent a few minutes going over some of the operational details.
My new John Deere Z320R is kitted out with a 21.5 HP Kawasaki V-Twin engine, 42 inch mower deck with a 20 inch high-back custom-tailored seat with arm rests. While I may not plan to do any late evening mowing, the Z320R comes standard with two forward facing and two side facing bright LED lights. And the most important feature is the built-in cup holder which will come in handy in the Texas summer heat.
All-in-all I’m very satisfied with my brand new John Deere. As the mowing season is all but over for 2024, I will need to bag up leaves a few times and the new bagger kit makes super light work of this back breaking task. And yes, I’m actually looking forward to late spring when it will be time once again to mow my lawn. It’s true….nothing runs like a Deere!
Until next time…
Happy Mowing!!!
Jerry
November 15, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
That’s Right! Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of all ages…..the time has finally come. We are 100% packed and ready to roll. The gaming machine and all my peripherals including everything in the house with exception to the kitchen sink has been meticulously packed and loaded onto a large semi which is already headed to Texas. OMG! It’s been a heck of a few weeks reaching this point. All the hard work, including recovering from COVID has finally reached the point to where we say our farewells to our neighbors and to the house that has kept my wife and I safe and secure for more than 20 years.
Back on 24 October, I celebrated my 26th year of living and calling Colorado my home. I moved here in 1998 to begin a brand new career. During the last 26 years I’ve experienced highs and lows, but have truly enjoyed my time in the Mile High City. I met my wife in 2001 and she relocated to Colorado from London in 2002. We purchased our home in the spring of 2004. Of course, it’s a bittersweet moment to sell our house and move. After all, we were married in our courtyard back in 2007. This home and our neighborhood (along with many dear friends) will be forever cemented into our memories. But my wife and I are very much looking forward to beginning the next chapter of our life in the Lone Star State.
Living in a house for the past 20 years, well we’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. I think in an earlier update I mentioned that our Colorado house was almost 4,000 sq. ft. and our new Texas house is about 2,100 sq. ft. So how does one fit a square peg into a round hole? With a big hammer right? Well in our case it’s been more like a bunch of trash bags and also a lot of trips to the second hand shops where we’ve donated a whole lot of stuff. We’re really tried to sort through and made decisions as to what to move and what to part with. Some things we’ve packed will get a second review once we begin unpacking in Texas. But we’ve done a great job in our downsizing efforts on the Colorado end.
As for the Colorado home, we met with our Colorado Realtor a few weeks ago and discussed all our options for selling our Denver home. As I’ve mentioned in previous update posts, our goal for selling our Denver home is to get the very best price, in the shortest amount of time possible and with very little stress to my wife and I. I’m sure this is what everyone wants at the end of the day, but we have some flexibility in the fact that 1, we have a new house to move into and B, we could be out of our house within two weeks if necessary.
So what is the current status of our Denver home? Drum roll please….Well we’re officially under contract pending all the necessary things that must come together between now and closing and we hope to close. Our realtor found an investor who is very interested in our Denver house and plans to make the necessary renovations and most likely put it on the market in the new year. If all goes as planned, we will close on 25 November and will do that electronically as we do not need to return to Denver to make this happen.
We’re taking our time driving home to Texas. There’s no huge rush as our contents won’t arrive until sometime next week. Our first leg was a short one. The movers didn’t get the semi packed until almost 5 PM, so we drove down to Pueblo for the first night. As we’re both tired from essentially doing nothing all day. Today (Saturday) we will drive to Sweetwater, Texas. Then on Sunday we will drive the remaining 230 miles or approx. 4 hours to Georgetown, our new home.
Of course, we will be residing in a hotel for a few days as we await the delivery of our furniture and household contents. But while we wait, I have a busy first week with the Fiber Internet install on Monday and hopefully getting some of the “Must Do” items off the check-list such as vehicle registration, drivers license etc. I figured I would do these tasks while we wait for the truck to arrive.
Finally, as Thanksgiving is quickly approaching I plan to have one somewhat fun blog posting for the 26th which discusses a fun new toy in my garage in Texas. But I would suspect that the frequency of blog postings might slow down for a few weeks. Yes, I’m missing out on the release of both MSFS 2024 and also Farming Simulator 25. But there’s just no avoiding it as my priorities must be to get the new house setup.
Thank you for allowing me to share my Texas Move Adventures with you all. There will be more updates as we get settled and of course my thoughts on MSFS 2024 and Farming Simulator 25 in due time.
Until next time…
Happy Unpacking!
Jerry
November 12, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
As we’re officially one week away from the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, I though this reader question was somewhat timely and fitting for all. Connor emailed me back in early October and I answered his question and told him to keep an eye out on the website for his question to be made available to all just before the release of MSFS 2024, so let’s dive in.
Jerry, long time reader, first time emailing you. I would like your advice with regards to how best to purchase add-ons for MSFS 2024. When MSFS 2020 launched, I was busy with work and other family commitments and I stayed on P3D v5. But I built a new PC and I’m wanting to move to MSFS 2024 on release but I am curious how best to purchase add-ons. I’ve heard some say it’s best to purchase everything (if available) from the MSFS Marketplace and I’ve heard people state the opposite. Can you tell me what your best practice is for purchasing add-ons? Thank you and best of luck on the move and the next chapter of your life. Connor
This is a very good question, but before I discuss my own process for purchasing/installing add-ons, allow me to go back in history just a bit. As we were nearing the release date for MSFS 2020 and more and more information was made available about the Microsoft in-game Marketplace, I was really excited about it. I thought gone are the days where we need to have multiple installers, from multiple developers….everything we purchased would be right in the MS Marketplace for ever. No longer would I need to keep a spreadsheet of all my purchases. I thought this would be the best thing since a pocket on a shirt. But boy, was I wrong.
Keep in mind that I didn’t make the move to MSFS 2020 until the release of the Fenix A320 in mid 2022. So almost two years went by before I really became serious about MSFS. Yes, it was a day one purchase for me, but without high-fidelity, study-level aircraft….it just wasn’t my cup of tea considering the majority of my sim time is flying airliners. So with almost two years having gone by, I had heard enough horror stories about the in-game Marketplace to steer clear away from it.
On paper, the Microsoft in-game Marketplace should be a no-brainer. But as I previously mentioned, there are issues which in my opinion are enough to stay clear from it. Users have reported their purchases disappearing after a period of time and when they seek out support via Microsoft they are told there’s nothing that can be done. Another key reason to avoid purchases via the in-game Marketplace is the length of time it takes Microsoft to approve a 3rd party update. For example, PMDG might release an update to one of their aircraft types, but that update won’t be available to those who purchased it via the Marketplace for several weeks. Same with new add-ons.
Of course, those who are on a console platform have no other choice but to purchase via the in-game Microsoft Marketplace, but then again….that’s not my target audience for this blog space.
In closing, I avoid and will continue to avoid the Microsoft in-game Marketplace. I have a pretty solid process for how I track my add-on purchases and with the addition of sites like iniBuilds and Contrail, it’s super easy to install and update the vast majority of 3rd party add-ons. As these add-ons are made ready to install on MSFS 2024, it should also be very easy to install them.
That’s my two cents on the matter. I hope everyone has a wonderful MSFS 2024 launch day in one week.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
November 5, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Well here we are in early November and the past couple of months have flown by. One might think that having an exciting life changing moment would cause time to drag by (sort of like being a kid and counting down the days before Christmas), but time seems to have accelerated on by despite our excitement in beginning this new chapter in our lives.
Looking back to late August when my wife and I completed our journey to Texas, found our new home, then returning back to Colorado to spend almost a month recovering from COVID. This time especially went by quickly. I think because in the back of my mind I was constantly thinking about all the work that needed to be done to ready our Colorado home for market, but just too darn tired and sick to really do anything about it. But since the last update in mid October, we’ve made great progress on both our healing as well as the chores needed to get the house listed.
I’m very happy to report that we managed to meet with our realtor two weeks ago and we’ve officially listed the Denver house. Unfortunately, two months ago when we visited Texas there was only one house on the market in our neighborhood. Today there are nine. But competition can be a good thing and hopefully it will sell fast. But we just don’t know. In addition, I’ve safely packed up the gaming PC and all peripherals. I hated to do this as at the time it was still mid October, but the realtor suggested that we stage my office area to look more like an office versus a game room. So everything has been safely packed and I’ll see it again once we get settled in Texas.
So what does all this mean with regards of our physical move date? Well…first, in all honesty I’m somewhat glad for the delay as it meant I was able to perform my civic duty and cast my vote in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Had we moved any earlier, I don’t believe I would have had time to get re-registered in Texas. So that’s done!
From way back in late August/early September, it’s been our plan/goal to be moved before the US Thanksgiving holiday. With Thanksgiving falling late in November, this does give us a bit of extra time. At this time I’m not sure if we would consider moving before the Denver house sells. But either way, we still have a house we own that we’re not living in. But we’re fully insured on both fronts and we’ll reach a decision with regards to what happens next in time.
Hopefully the next time I provide an update regarding our move, it will be to announce that everything is packed, loaded in the moving truck and we (my wife and I) are headed down I-25 towards New Mexico and then on across to Texas. But time will tell….
I know my move updates have had nothing to do with simulation gaming. But I wanted to share this journey with someone and well….you who are reading this is that someone. So thank you for reading and thank you for living vicariously through these updates. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far. Certainly more to come…
Until next time….
Happy Packing!!!
Jerry
