Cold winter chill

Hi, neighbors. If you aren't tired of running around in short sleeves ,you have to be happy you're wearing a parka! Temperatures can go from 8 degrees to 58 in a couple of days time.

Since it is January, cold seems to dominate, of course. And by cold, I mean frigid!

I am so tired of being cold! The universe must have heard me being complacent about my furnace working overtime because my furnace fan went kerplunk this week. It's been six days (and nights) of no heat and I'm about ready to migrate south.

My furnace is so old, parts have to be ordered and take time to get here. The repairman tried to coax the fan back into work mode; but after five to 10 minutes, it would freeze up again and stop fanning. Confused and abandoned, the gas flames also shut down.

Happily, I had the oven to depend on for heat. It does work well, but only as it was intended to work -- not as a house heating unit.

I bought a little electric heater last fall and it heats well, for at least two feet directly in front of it. Rather like an old wood-burning stove. I have spent most of the week huddled around the oven or hiding out in the bathroom with the little electric heater.

Either place I landed, I was cold. I remembered I also have an electric blanket, but after a few minutes under that, my skin starts tingling and that drives me out from my covers ... at least long enough to turn off the electric blanket.

I have seen countless episodes of the television series "Survivorman" and should know how to cope. It's just, starting a fire in the kitchen sink didn't seem appropriate -- especially with the smoke detector only feet away.

The neighbor's house caught on fire, but it was only smoke by the time I arrived home, so I didn't catch any heat from that.

My car heater was another desperate source of heat, but something is wrong with it because it only heats while I'm driving; not when it is setting and idling.

I don't have a cell phone, so I could not leave home in case the repairman showed up to fix the heater fan. I did, however, get to work. It is always warm at work.

Maybe, the part will come in and the furnace will be repaired before you read this. Stranger things have happened. But those are stories for another time.

For now, I'm getting out that electric blanket, turning on my little electric heater and stove oven and hibernating. If you come to visit, remember to BYOB (bring your own blanket!)

Until the next time friends, remember, you never miss the water till the well runs dry and you never miss the heat untill your furnace breaks down in January!