Small town living had a lot of charm.
- My sister and I had inherited a small one-story building from our grandparents on the street where most of the businesses were located.
My whole life was based in the city so I left it to my sister who had always had a soft spot for the town. The best part was that it was a one-story building which meant that she could open her shop on the lower floor and live on the upper floor. There was also a country house but it was a half-hour drive to the town in good weather and that could double or triple during winter. The country house, as well as the business building, had an electric heating system but the townhouse had radiant floor heating and a central heater. The country on the other hand had an air-source electric heat pump installation. The first order of business before she set up her clothing boutique was to look for a local service provider for a heating technician to conduct a furnace/heater tune-up to make sure that the whole-home heating system was in good working condition. I was present when the heating contractor came and he reported that he had to do a furnace heater repair because the system had been neglected for a while. She also had to buy a new digital thermostat because the old one was analog and was failing at its job of temperature control. She also wanted a zone control system like the one she had in the city. This and other energy-saving tips she had learned would reduce her energy bill.