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I was reading an article on the Downtown Copperhill TN website about window replacement and decided I might tackle this project myself. Although it took longer than expected I am quite pleased and I think the energy savings will be significant. Before I replaced the windows I took a primitive approach to test the old windows. While my approach may not be scientific I put my hand on the window sill and on the glass on a sunny day and it was clear that both surfaces were quite warm compared to my room temperature.

After 3 weeks I finally finished replacing all of the windows in my cabin. This was a major project because I wanted to be sure I followed the manufacturers installation directions so I could get the full benefit of these thermal windows. Now that the windows were replaced I waited until the sun was really fierce and tried “Mary’s thermal check” once again. Wow! The windows were not warm to the touch like before. I am amazed that this could be so different. I knew the aluminum frames on the old windows were an issue with humidity and they allowed hot and cold to pass but not only the vinyl casings but the glass in the new windows is preventing heat from transferring too.

I was concerned that I would be disappointed with vinyl windows but I am pleased with the look. I did spend extra on top quality windows because the ones I saw at the local home improvement store looked as cheap as they were. From a distance the windows I chose could be mistaken for wood. This was a concern because I wanted my cabin to look rustic but charming. The truth is that the the old aluminum windows were quite disgusting and even cheap vinyl windows would have been an improvement.

Overall I am very pleased and I saved enough on labor to afford top quality windows. I give 2 thumbs up to replacement windows.

The effect of the real estate bubble bursting is obvious everywhere you go in North Georgia, Ellijay, Blue Ridge, there are so many empty stores and office spaces. Real estate played such a big part in the Georgia Mountains because it was a great place to own a second home. While the housing Industry was booming the market became saturated with carpenters going out on their own and building spec houses. The amount of money being spent was way up because everyone was turning over new homes almost as fast as they were building them. As a new builder sold one spec house the bank would loan builders the money to build 2 and then 3 at a time. The cycle was like a snowball.

Once the bubble burst we had a lot of companies that were employing hundreds die an almost instant death. Many of these small contractors had multiple spec homes and cabins built and they were holding builders loans on them. Once they could no longer pay the interest they were foreclosed on and we saw many dreams shattered. We can only hope that a valuable lesson has been learned by this hardship. Greed truly ran wild in towns like Ellijay and Blue Ridge during the housing bubble.

We have now seen a few banks that contributed to this glut and failure go down with the small contractors. I read this Atlanta Journal Constitution article about an Ellijay builder Theresa Ballard and it was just heart breaking. I have also seen some interesting articles about corruption at the Gilmer County Bank, the bank that financed that builder. Yes, greed and corruption fueled the frenzy, left a saturated market of new homes, a pile of unpaid loans, failed banks, and broken dreams. Let’s hope we have learned a lesson and can rebuild this great North Ga mountain area.

Related Article: Real Estate Investment

A friend of mine just wrote a good article that explains the difference between renting a cabin and motel or hotel on vacation. The way she puts it you would think motels in mountain areas like Blue Ridge would be out of business.

When I first moved to North Georgia I lived in a rental cabin for a few months until I found the one I wanted to buy. It was a cozy little place, the only bedroom was the loft. It had a neat old wood burning stove and a beautiful mountain view.

I have never wanted to return to the suburbs and can no longer imagine enduring the traffic and hectic lifestyle I once endured in the big city. There is no amount of money that is worth giving up how peaceful I feel in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I will be touring Blue Ridge, Ellijay, and Chatsworth this weekend for the best Christmas light displays. If you know where some of the best displays are let me know so I can photograph them. I will post pictures and reviews on Monday. I really love this time of year and I hope we get a White Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All!

Here are some pictures from my trip to Dollywood. First I have to share the ducks, so cute. It was a little bit cold but still a very nice trip. The lights were amazing. I watch a couple of the shows and they were all Christmas themed like Babes in Toyland and Appalachian Christmas concert.

All of the water rides were closed for the season but the roller coasters were running as usual with plenty of folks lined up to ride them.

I passed on the high speed rides but I did take the train around the park. If you like steam locomotives they have a nice one at Dollywood. I went on the Ferris Wheel too.

At night they had a little Christmas parade and the lights were fantastic. They had lights on everything, all the trees, buildings, even the train. It was a magnificent sight. I highly recommend it.

Here are the ducks in the water. Too cold for me.

I drove through Ellijay and Chatsworth GA today on the way to Pigeon Forge to see the Christmas lights at Dollywood. I noticed the leaves that were left didn’t have any color to speak of but when I got to the Tennessee line things appeared to be a little more colorful.

I enjoyed the drive and experienced a few interesting sights. a donkey farm popped up in the middle of nowhere and that was amusing because at first glance I though how strange all of those horses looked Also saw an orange and white verticle striped house. It was very hard on the eyes, why, why?

I saw a few trains loaded with coal and pondered where they might be headed, coal fired power plants? Probably to supply the increased demand for winter.

Highway 411 was STILL under construction. It seems like it has been years.

When I got to Dollywood it was about 7pm so I arrived just in time to see a short but cute Christmas parade, have some coffee and meet some friends for dinner. The lights were fantastic. I’m going back during the day tomorrow and it should be a blast.