Attila and I spent the day puttering about the house. The temperature will drop to -19C tonight, from a high today of over 5C. It will be quite a shock. We fired the masonry heater this morning, and again this afternoon, and will do one more firing before we turn in for the night. After the first fire the temperature in the room was over 29C, which is far too warm for comfort, as far as I am concerned. But we needed to build the heat to carry us through the bitterly cold night. When the second fire died down the indoor temperature was over 30C. It was time to take off all but the most essential layers of clothing.
As the evening has progressed the temperature outside has fallen to -11C, and the indoor temperature is falling as well, to 27C as I write. By morning it should be a comfortable 20C in the house.
This morning I experienced a shock. I have recovered myself now.
When I visited the weather network web site, and looked at the 14 day temperature trend, the predicted night time low for the fourteenth night was -44C. Jumping Jehosaphat Batman! That would keep Attila and I busy around the clock, keeping the pipes from freezing! I checked again this afternoon and the typing error was corrected, and now the fourteenth night shows a predicted low of -10C. Thank goodness for that!
One of the purchases I made on Saturday morning was curtain rods, inexpensive rods for the small windows at both houses. I also bought clip hooks, loops with hooks that attach to fabric, which I can clip to a tea towel or any piece cloth. Attila installed the rods this afternoon, and now the Christmas tea towels are hanging merrily in the kitchen window, where before they were taped to the glass.
The advantage to the clip hooks is that I can experiment with fabrics and colours until I find the one that suits us perfectly. The rejected tea towels can be used as… tea towels.
We are glad to be home.
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As I was sitting in my chair, happily preparing this entry for upload, a great roar and rumble preceded a tremendous crash. The picture hanging on the interior side of the exterior wall of the house bounced three inches off the wall, and back again. About a third of the snow load had just come down. One chunk of these huge ice sheets fell off the deck and landed where we usually park my car. The huge ice sheet would have done serious damage to the vehicle, but Attila had thought to move it this afternoon. If I hear that rumble when I am outside, I will run away from the house as fast as I can!
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Worldly Distractions
Weather
-11°C
Date: 7:39 PM EST Sunday 29 December 2013
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 100.6 kPa
Visibility: 10 km
Temperature: -10.9°C
Dewpoint: -12.0°C
Humidity: 92%
Wind: WNW 17 km/h
Wind Chill: -18
Quote
“The opportunity for brotherhood presents itself every time you meet a human being.”
Jane Wyman
1917 – 2007
Brrr! Our heater failed last night. I thought Julia slammed her drink on the table, but she was still holding it. This morning, we discovered it was the sound of the breaker going off. She put the breaker back on, but the heater didn’t come on. We’ll call the AC/heating people later this morning. (Even so, the temp is 65F (18C) by its register, and the little thermometer in the bedroom which always reads cooler is 60F (15C)). I can’t imagine what a heat-less house would be like in Canada! Stay warm there!
I like to keep the house cool, Paul would say downright “cold” but that’s my choice. Having a cold house without a choice to warm it up is not good. I’m wondering if Joan and Julia (above) looked for a “reset” button on the heater, sometimes when things go out, they just need to be reset. Just a thought.
Just saw that upper US and Canada are in the frigid zone for a while now. Brrr. We had rain all night and only a few stubborn spots of white are lingering now here.
Joan, I hope you get the heater issue resolved!
We feel lucky in that the power did not fail at our little house in the city, as a result of the ice storm. Also, we can heat with wood at the country house, so if the power fails we can survive the cold. Many people in Toronto and in Southern Ontario were without power or heat for a long period of time. This would have hit seniors and special needs citizens the hardest, stuck in frigid apartment towers without heat, light, or water, with black, cold, cavernous stairwells to navigate through, in order to escape. We certainly are much better off than many!
We are heading into a cold snap again Bex, the second one in December! The weather has been unusually severe this past month, perhaps the New Year will bring a plentitude of sunny days! How wonderful that your snow is gone, making it easier to get around out of doors, if it stays above freezing that is!
Like you, I prefer to spend time in a relatively cool environment. I love sweaters, thick socks, and cozy slippers.