It could have been snow. I'm not sure, really. All I know is that on Monday night the temperature plummeted to 10 degrees (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in Oslo). Rain quickly turned to ice and by dawn the windows were frosted and the doors were nearly frozen shut.
When I cautiously crept out onto the front porch the "yard" looked like this:
I always put "yard" in quotes, because it isn't really a yard. It's an unnerving force of nature.
Although it was difficult for my muddled mind to accept the fact that this is a premature onset of winter, the daytime "high" temperature of 20 degrees eventually convinced me.
Frigid temperatures usually attack Tennessee in January. Or February. I've never seen ice floes and penguins in early November. I was completely unprepared.
On Tuesday night I stayed up until way after dawn, to make sure the water pipes didn't freeze.
The first winter that I lived here, one of the frozen water pipes burst. I had to go down an icy hill to access the water meter and turn it off. I slipped on the ice, re-injured an old spinal injury, and was in agony for a year. That's why I'm still in pain and nearly crippled today.
I'm dreading to see what my next heating bill is going to be. This house is colder than a snowman's kiss, and I kept the furnace blasting so the two cats (and I) wouldn't turn into popsicles.
I usually try to be very frugal when using the furnace, but as soon as I turn it on my bill quadruples.
Inspired by the Polar temperatures, I made a big pot of quick, cheap, homemade soup. I use potatoes, onions, and vegetables (this time I used corn). And milk and butter.
And if I happen to have ham,
bacon, or clams, it's always a good addition.
Something just reminded me that we should never begin a sentence with a conjunction.
Ready and willing to photographically document anything that happens around here, I ventured onto the back porch.
There wasn't really much to document except dying leaves and frosty weeds (and icicles hanging from my ass)....
but I'll share some pictures anyway - -
even though I'm fascinating enough without visuals.
Am I smirking sarcastically? Naw.
It kinda looks like I live in an Alpine fantasy instead of a hillbilly hell, doesn't it?
Sorry - cold weather makes me say strange things.
BTW - the very first photo on this post is my autograph on the snow-covered car.
I think I finally corrected the typos.
