FREEZING

You haven't fully experienced the unmitigated excitement of winter until your furnace dies and the temperature plummets to ZERO (0) overnight. And you're stuck smack dab in the freakin' wilderness, where no one will ever find your ice-encrusted corpse when you freeze to death.

I spent an unnervingly restless night, watching the frigid hours drag by, and fervently praying that there wouldn't be a power outage (which always occur during the coldest time of the year). 

I'm keeping reasonably warm with several space heaters and an electric blanket. I kept the sink faucets running (not dripping) all night, to avoid (hopefully) frozen water pipes.
A frozen water pipe burst under the house during the first winter that I lived here, and memories of the experience still torture me.

The temperature was three (3) degrees (Fahrenheit) at dawn, and only got up to around 12 degrees for most of the day. 

Ice. Ice is the culprit. The doors were frozen shut, and it took the warmth of a hair dryer to pry the back door open. The day was bright with sunshine, but that did nothing to thwart the ice or alleviate the cold.

Of course, nothing can dissuade me from wandering outside and taking photos - even though I had to stay near the house, and nearly turned into a popsicle within three minutes.
The intense glare from the sun, ice, and snow was blinding - rendering my photographic efforts less than satisfactory.

So, what other adventures did I have today?
The roast that I made in the slow cooker turned out perfect.
BUT.....despite the delicious tenderness of the roast and vegetables, one of my teeth broke while I was eating. It completely broke apart into fragments. Go figure.....

In an attempt to alleviate my nerves and forget the hundreds (no exaggeration) of problems that are plaguing me, I watched Murder on the Orient Express, starring David Suchet. It's one of my favorite Poirot episodes (and one of Agatha Christie's best books). I've seen it numerous times.
A chilling tale that unfolds on a snowbound train - depicting the inherent evil of humanity....

In case anyone is interested, all of the Suchet/Poirot PBS episodes are available for free on YouTube. Check out the YouTube channel BritTV.

Meanwhile.....
back here in the miserable wilds of Tennessee, it's supposed to be even colder tonight than last night and I'm dreading it.

Lately, I've been dreading every aspect of my miserable existence....but I suppose that's beside the point.

I have nothing more to offer, except some of the photos that I took today.

 

My car

 

DISASTER

My furnace hasn't been working. Instead of heating, it blows gusts of air that are more frigid than a polar bear's fart.

So what could be worse?
It happened on the coldest week of the year. Tonight is supposed to get down to 12 degrees (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in Guam).

I've often said (without exaggeration) that this is the coldest house I've ever lived in. On a warm day I freeze my ass off when I'm inside. You can imagine what it's like in frigid temperatures.

This morning (Monday) it snowed lightly. There was frost inside the house and my astonished breath was coming out in white puffs. 
With nearly frozen fingers, I managed to dial the number of a local heating and cooling company.

I'm wearing four layers of clothing.

The guy showed up within a few hours (which is surprisingly quick) but he couldn't find my house (no surprise). I had to run outside to the road and flag him down. 

No happy endings here. My furnace needs two parts - one of which is extremely expensive. AND they have to be ordered - which will take weeks.

The guy is going to try to find a less expensive part and said he'll get back to me as soon as possible.
Hopefully he'll "get back" before summer.

Incidentally, a new furnace will cost thousands - which I simply don't have.
I was saving up my meager money to buy other things that I need (like a new clothes dryer) but now I'm wiped out.

My biggest immediate concern is surviving the cold - and I'm mostly worried about my cats (who are presently both sleeping under the bed covers).

It's late afternoon and I'm DREADING nightfall. Last Saturday I drove to town with the intention of buying a space heater. Walmart was all sold out and only had a few crappy, flimsy, Mickey Mouse heaters left. I (reluctantly) bought one. Tried it out last night - and it hardly heats at all. I'd do better with a candle and a pack of matches.

Tonight I think I'm going to move my mattress into a small interior room and sleep there with the cats and the crappy heater.

If I (we) survive it will be a miracle. To be brutally honest, I really don't give a shit whether I survive or not. I'm completely physically and emotionally drained from all of my (many) problems.
I plod on - always trying to keep this blog upbeat - but in reality I'm thoroughly disgusted with everything.

This post is getting long, but I want to mention one more "adventure":

When I went to town on Saturday I bought a lot of food - some of which was still piled up in the kitchen.
Everything looked sloppy, so I decided to QUICKLY clean up this morning before the repairman arrived.

I haphazardly shoved a lot of stuff into the oven: cookies, donuts,. potato chips, loaves of bread, - even a dish towel.

SO -
after the repair guy left, I decided to make an early dinner (before I froze to death). I turned on the oven to pre-heat it.

While I was peeling potatoes I started smelling a GHASTLY burning smell. Couldn't figure out what the hell it was.
The stench kept getting stronger...and stronger...

...and then I remembered the things I had shoved in the oven!!!!!!

I frantically pulled everything out and many items were burned - but some were only scorched. Most of the food is crispy but edible.

Tonight (and the rest of the frigid week) is going to be a living nightmare.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.