I'm home and there were no furnace explosions, no house burnings, and best of all nothing froze, or gave out and the water is still running. Mind you every one I talked to today were positively jovial about the balmy temperatures. I mean -21.... I was walking between stores today with my jacket wide open. I felt like I was walking around in the tropics.... especially with all those tacky fake palm trees that Canadian Tire and every box store seems to want to sell.... give me a break palm trees.... a good pine or fir will beat out a palm tree any day for Christmas.... mind you with global warming, you never know... in a few years we might just have palm trees growing around here..... WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT..... THIS IS THE HOUSE WHERE HELL JUST FROZE OVER!!!!!! Global warming my ..... I won't use that word.
Anyway.... Christmas.... shopping is mostly done. Shipping however, is not.
The decorating progresses..... I'm assuming that you've noticed a total lack of pictures lately.... that's because I'm saving them till the end when all the Christmas decorating is done. Besides, I have to dig out another bunch of Christmas stuff from the shed... Tomorrow is gift wrap day.... that should be fun.... Frankie gets stuck to the gift wrap with the tape.... I'm notoriously all thumbs (erp!!!) when I handle gift wrap and tape..... You know all the pictures you see of perfect trees with perfect parcels etc.... that's not me or my house.... we figure if the paper covers it all well and good. Why stick a bow on something your only going to rip apart in a few days..... although I do have to say I'm really liking those Christmas bags. No if I could get away with wrapping stuff in garbage bags (hey! they're reusable) or newspaper (that's recycling folks) I'd do it in two shakes of a lambs tail.....
In other news.... I'm having a terrible time trying to figure out triangles into totes (I can't explain that one as too many people read this blog will know what I mean and it will spoil the surprise). The HH spinners and weavers have rescheduled their Christmas party due to lack of people for the original date. I bought a wreath hanger which was stupid since I already hung my wreath. I've already blown one Christmas gift even though it's not Christmas yet and Hubby was supposed to get that one. I'm freaking out because some of the volunteer work that I do is way behind, not to mention other commissioned things that don't really inspire me and level 3.... be still my beating, panicked, and freaking out heart.... it will all work out in the end right? When hell freezes over.... oh yeah... it already did.... well that's a relief... pressures off... thank heavens for that!!!
Don't worry I'm just having a schizophrenic conversation again..... I think I'll go visit hell for a minute and just put my brain on freeze!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I Think The Devil Lives At My House
Well after all it is hell here. Once again hell froze over as we got up this morning to a furnace issue. The furnace would cut in but would not blow out any warm air. Hubby figured out a way to get it working as he braved the chill -22 degrees having just gotten out of the shower to climb down the trap to the crawl space flick the "Reset" switch and then crawled back out... thank God we caught it before the cold froze the pump again. I do have to say that a Chinook wouldn't go astray about now.
I have to go get a shower before we head off to town for a day of Christmas shopping. I'm really looking forward to today and getting all the shopping done. I think I'm even looking forward to wrapping all those gifts. Go figure. Maybe all this cold has frozen my brain and, like the furnace I'm working on one too few valves!
Wish me luck.... I hope the water in the shower works!
I have to go get a shower before we head off to town for a day of Christmas shopping. I'm really looking forward to today and getting all the shopping done. I think I'm even looking forward to wrapping all those gifts. Go figure. Maybe all this cold has frozen my brain and, like the furnace I'm working on one too few valves!
Wish me luck.... I hope the water in the shower works!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Ahhhh Balmy Weather At Last
Yes folks there's been a break in this inferno weather (inferno being the key word). It is a balmy -27 degrees and how pleasant it is not to have to worry that my butt will drop off at any given moment. (I do have it attached rather securely with extra chocolate and knitting needles these days!) I no longer feel like grimacing when I open the door for the animals to go out to do their business. I no longer yell and kick when the cat wants to go out and I open the door only to discover that between reaching for the door knob and actually getting it open the cat has disappeared into the depths of the house. It is amazing how they can change their bloody minds when they feel that bivering draft and hold it for another two to four hours. The water even came on of it's own accord today. No hair dryer antics in the depths of frozen hell (the crawl space for you new timers). No more opening the door to let the wolf/husky dog in with white whiskers and a nasty look her face as if I'm cruel. I even felt like taking out my swimsuit and trying it on at one point..... ok so maybe that's an exaggeration.... no woman of my age and stature would ever want to don one of those things....
So with the severe cold over (for now).... Hubby and I are heading off into FSJ for an appointment and a bit of shopping tomorrow. I am actually hoping to get the bulk of my shopping done for the upcoming holiday.... Even Christmas doesn't look so bad after the last few days! With Christmas in the near future, music is in the air all over the house. The church will be having their annual pageant which used to be for the Sunday School but has become an opportunity for all the families of the church to come together and perform something for fun and amusement of all who come. With that in mind my family is presenting "The Mummer's Song" and I will be singing in a duet with another fellow from the church several Christmas Carols. I have been warbling away all over the place as I practice for the event. I will be Granny in "The Mummer's Song" so that should be fun for sure. Then Christmas Eve service will be officiated by yours truly this year. I'm actually looking forward to it.... I think.
It is supposed to get warmer over the next few days and I for one am happy about that. The upcoming events that Hubby and I face are faced more cheerfully if we don't have to go out with enough clothes to make us look like the stay puff marsh mellow man! You may have noticed that anything in the line of spinning, weaving, knitting, or crafting has come to a complete halt. See, that's what I mean.... I've just got to get the house decorated and the parcels wrapped, and in the mail so that I can actually do the things that I like.
But you know what? In all the hub bub of my life I hope you are enjoying these days and finding every reason to smile.
So with the severe cold over (for now).... Hubby and I are heading off into FSJ for an appointment and a bit of shopping tomorrow. I am actually hoping to get the bulk of my shopping done for the upcoming holiday.... Even Christmas doesn't look so bad after the last few days! With Christmas in the near future, music is in the air all over the house. The church will be having their annual pageant which used to be for the Sunday School but has become an opportunity for all the families of the church to come together and perform something for fun and amusement of all who come. With that in mind my family is presenting "The Mummer's Song" and I will be singing in a duet with another fellow from the church several Christmas Carols. I have been warbling away all over the place as I practice for the event. I will be Granny in "The Mummer's Song" so that should be fun for sure. Then Christmas Eve service will be officiated by yours truly this year. I'm actually looking forward to it.... I think.
It is supposed to get warmer over the next few days and I for one am happy about that. The upcoming events that Hubby and I face are faced more cheerfully if we don't have to go out with enough clothes to make us look like the stay puff marsh mellow man! You may have noticed that anything in the line of spinning, weaving, knitting, or crafting has come to a complete halt. See, that's what I mean.... I've just got to get the house decorated and the parcels wrapped, and in the mail so that I can actually do the things that I like.
But you know what? In all the hub bub of my life I hope you are enjoying these days and finding every reason to smile.
Tis The Season To Be Frozen Tra La La La La La La La La
-33 this morning and the heat lamp died in the crawl space sometime during the night and the pump froze. So I guess it will be the hair dryer treatment again today on the pipes. We got the truck running yesterday but the block heater died and so there is no going this morning. Hell hath no fury like a frozen woman! I think I'm becoming that woman!!!
Ah Hubby used a oil pan heater and just came in to say that the truck started but is very unhappy (the truck) about it. I have to bank the house today and put snow up around the crawl space to deal with this problem of the crawl space being so cold. I don't really understand why the crawl space is so cold this year except that there was a problem with the insulation which Hubby fixed. Hmmm..... more insulation???
The Advent decorations are continuing in a very crazy way. I have missed a few days. So today I need to get back at it again. I do have a garland wrapping the rail of the steps and I have put some lights and beads on it. I had wanted to get the Christmas village up but have had a hard time finding the shelves on which it sits. Then finally Hubby found them but they are missing the brackets that hold them up.... so... I am on the hunt now for the brackets. I will find them come hell (which I think is here) or high water. No chance of that with this kind of cold.
Ah Hubby used a oil pan heater and just came in to say that the truck started but is very unhappy (the truck) about it. I have to bank the house today and put snow up around the crawl space to deal with this problem of the crawl space being so cold. I don't really understand why the crawl space is so cold this year except that there was a problem with the insulation which Hubby fixed. Hmmm..... more insulation???
The Advent decorations are continuing in a very crazy way. I have missed a few days. So today I need to get back at it again. I do have a garland wrapping the rail of the steps and I have put some lights and beads on it. I had wanted to get the Christmas village up but have had a hard time finding the shelves on which it sits. Then finally Hubby found them but they are missing the brackets that hold them up.... so... I am on the hunt now for the brackets. I will find them come hell (which I think is here) or high water. No chance of that with this kind of cold.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hell Froze, Thawed, And Then Froze Again
-39 this morning and all is sort of well here on Nicholsville West farm. We have survived the weekend from hell.
I had church yesterday morning and our retired minister who visited after driving 2 hours made it. Wow! What a trooper. I headed out the door leaving Hubby to work on the water pipes and pump. After church there was a potluck luncheon and then a choir practice. I had to take the Eucharist out to two shut ins and so by the time I got home it was 5 p.m. Hubby had just gotten the water back on and working. Yeah! He took the truck and headed out the door to go feed the horse and go to Pops house to fix a light problem (we are his landlord). I started getting a nice pot of chowder cooked for dinner and biscuits too. Just as I was putting the fish into the pot and Daughter #1 was mixing the biscuits.... pop.... no lights... crap!
The Daughters and I bumbled around in the dark looking for matches and candles and flashlights while my chowder sat on the stove getting cold. And it wasn't very long before we realized that my chowder wasn't going to be the only thing that was getting cold. At -35 temperatures it doesn't take long for a house to cool and with the crawl space only having just warmed up that was a real worry. I called Hubby on our cells and told him what had happened and he came home to help with the kerosene lamp and for moral support. Waaaah was what I wanted to do.... stiff upper lip.... stiff upper lip!
Hubby took the pot of chowder out on the deck and started up our kerosene stove and I watched as his hands started to swell in the cold.... this just would not do! I packed up the family and headed to the nearest restaurant for dinner and to pass the time in warmth till the power came back on. When we got home a few hours later the power was still off and the house was cold.... really cold. We sat on our new sofa with sleeping bags wrapped around us and huddled together for warmth. Brrr! I had called the "Power On" number for BC Hydro and they were predicting another hour.... by this time it was 9 p.m. and the novelty of the pioneer life was pretty much sucking.... at least it was for me. The Daughters got ready for bed and we all trundled off to sleep under a copious number of blankets.
Just as we were getting settled..... pop... on go the lights. Phew! I could breath a little easier. Only it was not very long before we had another problem.... our block heater is not working. I think we blew it last night when the breaker kept tripping in the electrical box. Argh!!!!Hubby and the Daughters are waiting as I write for a ride to school since the buses aren't running and..... well, I just want to know what else is going to happen before this blasted cold breaks. Hell, it doesn't have to be hot to be in hell.....
I had church yesterday morning and our retired minister who visited after driving 2 hours made it. Wow! What a trooper. I headed out the door leaving Hubby to work on the water pipes and pump. After church there was a potluck luncheon and then a choir practice. I had to take the Eucharist out to two shut ins and so by the time I got home it was 5 p.m. Hubby had just gotten the water back on and working. Yeah! He took the truck and headed out the door to go feed the horse and go to Pops house to fix a light problem (we are his landlord). I started getting a nice pot of chowder cooked for dinner and biscuits too. Just as I was putting the fish into the pot and Daughter #1 was mixing the biscuits.... pop.... no lights... crap!
The Daughters and I bumbled around in the dark looking for matches and candles and flashlights while my chowder sat on the stove getting cold. And it wasn't very long before we realized that my chowder wasn't going to be the only thing that was getting cold. At -35 temperatures it doesn't take long for a house to cool and with the crawl space only having just warmed up that was a real worry. I called Hubby on our cells and told him what had happened and he came home to help with the kerosene lamp and for moral support. Waaaah was what I wanted to do.... stiff upper lip.... stiff upper lip!
Hubby took the pot of chowder out on the deck and started up our kerosene stove and I watched as his hands started to swell in the cold.... this just would not do! I packed up the family and headed to the nearest restaurant for dinner and to pass the time in warmth till the power came back on. When we got home a few hours later the power was still off and the house was cold.... really cold. We sat on our new sofa with sleeping bags wrapped around us and huddled together for warmth. Brrr! I had called the "Power On" number for BC Hydro and they were predicting another hour.... by this time it was 9 p.m. and the novelty of the pioneer life was pretty much sucking.... at least it was for me. The Daughters got ready for bed and we all trundled off to sleep under a copious number of blankets.
Just as we were getting settled..... pop... on go the lights. Phew! I could breath a little easier. Only it was not very long before we had another problem.... our block heater is not working. I think we blew it last night when the breaker kept tripping in the electrical box. Argh!!!!Hubby and the Daughters are waiting as I write for a ride to school since the buses aren't running and..... well, I just want to know what else is going to happen before this blasted cold breaks. Hell, it doesn't have to be hot to be in hell.....
Sunday, December 13, 2009
I Think Hell Has Finally Frozen
We're talking cold.. like real cold.... -41 degrees Celcius this morning. I dare not check the Weather Network for the forecast for wind chill.... that might scare me too much! brrrr!!!
Our big development today is that our pipes have frozen. Argh! Last night around 10 p.m. Tootsie the wonder chicken herder came in smelling like cat's pee.... this means that the ground is so frozen that the cats are now using under "My Deck" to take a whiz.... Tootsie, who is little more than a scrap cannot find a place to walk in the deep snow and has taken to using the space under "My Deck" as a bathroom too... and so he comes in smelling rather like a litter box. Since this is not pleasant it means bathing him regularly.
Me: Turn on water in shower upstairs. Slight trickle comes out. "Crap! Deaarr (calling out in a panic stricken voice) I think our pipes are frozen".
Hubby: "Crap!" (great minds think alike) "Is it frozen everywhere.....?"
Me: "Who cares about everywhere..... oh you mean in this house.... I don't know..!"
We check all other taps and there is only a slight dribble coming from the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom.
After Hubby went down into the crawl space under the house he came back quite exasperated to inform me that TC (the contractor) and TCH (the contractors helper) didn't finish insulating the addition and that the furnace vent that heated the crawl space, had been closed offduring the renovations. Argh!!! Hubby spent the next few hours crawling on his stomach in the crawl space insulating thepart of the new section of the crawl space under the addition that had not been insulated. Then he re-insulated the hatch door where the insulation had been torn off.... and then he opened the furnace vent.... and then he put in a heat lamp over the pump. With all this done we went to bed in the hopes that the pump would be thawed out in the morning since we think that the pump is the main problem.....
This Morning:
Me: Crap! Deaarrr (in a melodious voice) there's still no water.
Hubby: Crap! I'll go check the pump....
The result of which is, we are still hoping things will thaw out down there and the water will run again, now that heat is getting in there.
And so I sit here with tea in hand watching Hubby rearrange the animals once again so that the lambs can get to shelter. He is checking them all to see if they need ice removed from their nostrils too. The alpacas have suddenly gotten a whole lot friendlier as they cozy together for warmth. I am heading off to church in a little while if the truck will start. We have a visiting clergy person and I will have to be there in plenty of time to open the doors for her, warm the place up, with a smile on my face.... more than likely it will be a frozen smile....really!
Our big development today is that our pipes have frozen. Argh! Last night around 10 p.m. Tootsie the wonder chicken herder came in smelling like cat's pee.... this means that the ground is so frozen that the cats are now using under "My Deck" to take a whiz.... Tootsie, who is little more than a scrap cannot find a place to walk in the deep snow and has taken to using the space under "My Deck" as a bathroom too... and so he comes in smelling rather like a litter box. Since this is not pleasant it means bathing him regularly.
Me: Turn on water in shower upstairs. Slight trickle comes out. "Crap! Deaarr (calling out in a panic stricken voice) I think our pipes are frozen".
Hubby: "Crap!" (great minds think alike) "Is it frozen everywhere.....?"
Me: "Who cares about everywhere..... oh you mean in this house.... I don't know..!"
We check all other taps and there is only a slight dribble coming from the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom.
After Hubby went down into the crawl space under the house he came back quite exasperated to inform me that TC (the contractor) and TCH (the contractors helper) didn't finish insulating the addition and that the furnace vent that heated the crawl space, had been closed offduring the renovations. Argh!!! Hubby spent the next few hours crawling on his stomach in the crawl space insulating thepart of the new section of the crawl space under the addition that had not been insulated. Then he re-insulated the hatch door where the insulation had been torn off.... and then he opened the furnace vent.... and then he put in a heat lamp over the pump. With all this done we went to bed in the hopes that the pump would be thawed out in the morning since we think that the pump is the main problem.....
This Morning:
Me: Crap! Deaarrr (in a melodious voice) there's still no water.
Hubby: Crap! I'll go check the pump....
The result of which is, we are still hoping things will thaw out down there and the water will run again, now that heat is getting in there.
And so I sit here with tea in hand watching Hubby rearrange the animals once again so that the lambs can get to shelter. He is checking them all to see if they need ice removed from their nostrils too. The alpacas have suddenly gotten a whole lot friendlier as they cozy together for warmth. I am heading off to church in a little while if the truck will start. We have a visiting clergy person and I will have to be there in plenty of time to open the doors for her, warm the place up, with a smile on my face.... more than likely it will be a frozen smile....really!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Really Artificial... What A Way To Go!
I think I might have mentioned a few weeks ago that we had a Christmas tree dilemma. Where on earth do you put a Christmas tree and make it look nice in a construction zone? I asked this very same question one night to Hubby and the Daughters. Forth came some very creative answers of which Daughter #2 made a most irregular one. Her suggestion was that we hang it from the ceiling.... we all had a good laugh at that one but on Thursday when I was shopping for a Christmas tree we saw a very interesting display. There is a nursery in the town where we went shopping and they do a lovely job at Christmas time of making the store and green houses a winter wonderland. They have artificial and real trees galore and each one is decorated in a different theme. It was a real joy to walk through that store and see the marvelous wonders of such creativity. Anything that you might need for Christmas decor was in that place. As we proceeded to walk through the store from one theme area to the next we came across an unusual display. The theme area was crystal with every kind of crystal ornament you have ever seen. The interesting thing is that the store merchandiser had turned a Christmas tree upside down and had decorated the tree so that hundreds of crystal icicles hung above your head where the branches were widest.
Daughter #2 fell in love. Now she wants us to get a Christmas tree and hang it upside down so that our ornaments can be best displayed for all to see. Thing is I'm tempted! I talked to Hubby to see what he thought and he listened to what I had to say. I would not do this for the reasons that Daughter #2 mentioned.... I actually don't believe that the ornaments are best displayed that way. But what a gift to Daughter #2.... to be validated in a way that no other parent in their right mind would ever consider.... it would make her feel like her ideas were taken seriously and I can guarantee that we would have a one of a kind tree. We don't have to do it every year but it would be kind of neat to see the faces of the guests who come to our home.
Our children mean everything to us... just like everyone else out there who have kids.
Why not make lasting memories by doing the unusual. When we go against societal standards just because of the people we love.... well, I think it makes our love that much more real.... Besides, the original idea behind Christmas trees was to bring the symbol of greenery into the house... some people didn't even use trees... just garlands made out of holly or yew.... and think of the memories of the year we put our tree upside down... hoo hoo ha ha... what memories indeed!!!
Want to know if we actually do this??? Stay tuned... pictures will be posted on Christmas Eve.
Daughter #2 fell in love. Now she wants us to get a Christmas tree and hang it upside down so that our ornaments can be best displayed for all to see. Thing is I'm tempted! I talked to Hubby to see what he thought and he listened to what I had to say. I would not do this for the reasons that Daughter #2 mentioned.... I actually don't believe that the ornaments are best displayed that way. But what a gift to Daughter #2.... to be validated in a way that no other parent in their right mind would ever consider.... it would make her feel like her ideas were taken seriously and I can guarantee that we would have a one of a kind tree. We don't have to do it every year but it would be kind of neat to see the faces of the guests who come to our home.
Our children mean everything to us... just like everyone else out there who have kids.
Why not make lasting memories by doing the unusual. When we go against societal standards just because of the people we love.... well, I think it makes our love that much more real.... Besides, the original idea behind Christmas trees was to bring the symbol of greenery into the house... some people didn't even use trees... just garlands made out of holly or yew.... and think of the memories of the year we put our tree upside down... hoo hoo ha ha... what memories indeed!!!
Want to know if we actually do this??? Stay tuned... pictures will be posted on Christmas Eve.
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