We didn't get any snow, only timid flurries - but it's cold enough this morning to give a penguin frostbite.
All of the wash that I hung out to dry two days ago is now frozen solid. I just tried to bring it in, but the clothes pins are frozen to the clothes (my clothes dryer is still kaput, and there's no way in hell I can get a new one).
Due to the astronomical cost of heating, I use the furnace frugally. Just had it on for an hour. Turned it off, and already I can see my breath coming out in white puffs. No lie.
I'm trying to look at the bright side, but it's supposed to get much colder later today....and tonight....
Is tomorrow another holiday? I can't keep up with them. Here in the good ol' USA almost every Monday is a holiday of some kind or another.
Is it Martin Luther King Day?
Or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Day?
Or Antifa Day?
Or Androgynous Day?
Or Al-Qaeda Day?
Hell if I know.
I have the uncanny ability to be delightfully sarcastic even when I'm freezing.
This would probably be as good a time as any to expound on my previous blog post - and (indirectly) reply to some of your comments.
About grocery lists and forgetting things:
It would undoubtedly be a great idea for me to bring a list when I go grocery shopping - but I usually wind up losing it....or never bother to take it out of my pocket and look at it.
The long, perilous drive to town always shreds my nerves to the point where I'm usually a quivering heap of jelly by the time I get there.
And I always have to do so many things that my thoughts become jumbled and disjointed.
My usual routine consists of taking the trash to the trash place. I always do this first, because it's piled up in the back seat of my car (I no longer have a pickup truck like I did in Texas).
The trash place isn't a landfill. It's simply a fenced area where you have to wait in line until two hillbilly men come out and retrieve your trash.
Then I go to the filling station and put gas in the car.
Next I go to the bank (drive-thru), which sometimes takes nearly forever.
Then I go to various places around town to pay my bills: utility, water, etc. etc.
Then I go to Walmart and any other place where I might need something (like hardware store).
Last but not least, I go to the supermarket for the bulk of my groceries.
By this time my mind is so fragmented and frazzled that I can hardly remember my gender - let alone what I'm going to buy.
In the supermarket, I mentally try to plan all the meals that I'll have for the next three or four weeks (not an easy task)
Then I attempt to calculate the cost of all the things in my shopping cart and pray that I have enough money.
It's surprisingly easy for me to forget things that I wanted to buy.
Finally, I have the excitement of the long drive home, the anticipation of trying to get up the hill to my house without getting stuck in the mud,
AND
dragging all the groceries up another muddy hill to get to the back door (where the kitchen is).
By this time I'm nearly catatonic, suicidal, and ready for Intensive Care.
Change of subject
About getting a new cell phone:
I've had a Tracfone for about six years and I'll probably get another one.
It suits my minimal needs perfectly - since I generally hate cell phones and only use them to text.
Tracfone is great, except for two negatives:
1. With Tracfone it's virtually impossible to transfer your videos to a computer. I have loads of videos on my Tracfone that I can't share or use.
Perhaps this is only a problem with older phones - I'm hoping the new ones are better.
2. Tracfone customer service is nearly non-existent. If you try to get on-line help, you'll be connected with a fourteen-year-old in Zimbabwe.
And they have NO email address. Only a snail mail business address somewhere in Florida.
Also, if you don't add more airtime before it expires there's a good chance you'll lose your phone service permanently.
I was able to reactivate my phone one time a few years ago after my airtime expired.
But THIS time it was a complete impossibility - and I lost $40 buying airtime cards that didn't work
(it's a VERY LONG story that I'm not in the mood to go into).
Anyway, despite all the crap, I'm almost certain I'll get another Tracfone.
This post is long and boring, but typing it helped keep my fingers warm.
It's presently 18 degrees (Fahrenheit) and will drop much lower late tonight.
I'll be up all night making sure the water pipes don't freeze.
I can't remember, do you have a fireplace? That would be great if you did. I have electric heat myself. And burn LOADS of candles. But since Im on a second floor the heat rises from below, so I can keep my heat set low.
ReplyDeleteI had a fireplace in Texas but, unfortunately, I don't have one here in TN. I'd like to get a wood-burning stove.
DeleteMy furnace is electric and it's really costly to run.
My gosh, Jon. Your 18* makes our predicted 25* seem like a day at the beach. Thanks for the reminder; I would have forgotten to leave the faucets dripping. I wonder if you've considered buying a sleeping bag … even a double that would accommodate Scratch and Bosco? I'm not a fan of camping, but understand they can be quite toasty. Thanks for the explanation about TracFone; based on your experience I think I'll pass … perhaps check what offerings there are on eBay.
ReplyDeleteHAha - I could just picture me in a sleeping bag with Bosco and Scratch! If nothing else, it would be cozy.
DeleteLet your faucets run a little more than just a drip. If your temperature stays around 25, freezing pipes probably won't be a problem (knock wood). I always worry when it gets below 20.
Too many negatives. Wish I could think of a way for you at least to keep warm with no expense, but if I could think of a way I'd use it myself. It's times like this that I wish I knew how to make money instead of spending it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my house is very cold and drafty. I was thinking of getting a wood-burning stove. The electric furnace is very expensive to run.
DeleteIt's 18 degrees down there?! Good lord! We're having a winter storm right now through tomorrow. Wind gusts so that the sparrows can hardly get up off the ground and move forward to get back to the trees and bushes from my patio. In the next week 19 is supposed to be the highest it gets up here. By next weekend they're talking down to 25-30 below at night. Not wind chill--just temperature. But 18 degrees in Tennessee! That's crazy! No wonder you can see your breath! You poor thing! I wish you had a wood stove!!
ReplyDeleteI always feel so sorry for the birds and animals out in the cold. The low temperatures in your neck of the woods is really brutal. I wish I had a fireplace, but I actually think a wood-burning stove would be better. They're not very expensive.
DeleteYou could probably find a lot of wood right around your house. Get a scythe and mow down the weeds and burn those suckers, too--LOL! Only kidding about the scythe--imagine your back! But it might be less expensive to order cords of wood than paying for the heat, you know? Or even a pellet stove? The wood stoves may not be too much but installing one would be something you might have to have done. But once it's in...
DeleteI lived in an older house once that had a wood stove in the living room and it kept the main part of the house really warm--and the bedrooms right above the living room on second floor. Didn't take too long to heat it back up if it had gone cold during the night, either. Yes, they do leave a sootiness about some, but I LOVED the smell and the sound of the burning wood. You didn't get to watch it like you do in a fireplace, but there's something about a wood fire. I used to sleep on the couch sometimes just to be near it all night. :)
I don't even know how to take video with my phone so I've never encountered a problem downloading. Ditto with still photographs. When my old Fiji camera bit the dust my picture taking days were over. I would guess that the phone model you buy will determine how easy it is to sync with your computer.
ReplyDeleteAt least you have hillbillies help unload your trash. Ours is self-service but I do admit to a certain amount of glee at tossing trash bags as far as I can. (Do I need a hobby or what?)
As Mevely317 said, letting your faucet slowly drip is supposed to keep the pipes from freezing. Keeping the cabinet doors open under the sink is also recommended.
Yeah, another holiday today which means no mail, UPS is also closed and I can't do any business at the credit union. Well, there's always Walmart. I don't think they ever close.
Take care, Jon. I hope the cold snap ends soon.
What about buying a little infared heater from Menards or some such place. They take very little electricity and you could at least keep warm in front of it or in a closed room. We had -30 over the weekend here with no wind chill added to it. ugh. I would be in heaven with 18 degrees ha!
ReplyDeleteMINUS 30 WITH NO WIND CHILL?? MY GAWD, I GOT FROST BITE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!!!
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