Cold

We finally got some snow to go with the cold.

It's been really cold lately, record cold in fact, and it reminds me of the kind of cold we had back in the late 1970's. Back then, we had several days in a row below zero, pipes burst, and the old cars we drove in those days didn't start real well. I was just a teenager without responsibilities and enjoyed the brutal cold. Now, I own an old house, for which I am responsible to heat and maintain. Our old house, has been doing just fine, having endured cold winters for a 100 years, except for a poorly conceived addition, in which they built a half bath in an old porch. The plumbing for the bath runs through an unheated crawl space. Not good, especially if the temperatures fall below zero. When we moved in, the pipes were damaged from previous freezes and needed repairs. After they were repaired, I did my best to insulate the pipes and the floor. Last winter was relatively mild, and we had no problems. Over the Holidays, in anticipation of the cold, I shut off the water to the room and sure enough, the pipes froze. Of course, this was just before a big Holiday dinner we were having, and I was at work, so First Brother In Law Randy came to the rescue, and with the help of brother Ed, got the water running. No pipes had burst. If anything, it's gotten colder since and I have the water off. I hope we have no burst pipes. A summer time job will be to wedge myself into that crawl space and properly insulate those pipes and wall.

Katia enjoys the fire.

With the cold, we're close to halfway through our full cord of wood. Almost everyday, if we are home, we build a fire in the fireplace. If I leave Cindy keeps it going, including trips to the garage to stock up on wood. As inefficient as it is, it really does make a difference in keeping the downstairs warm, and it's great to look at. Katia has finally learned to lay on the rug next to the fire to warm up. Tiny little Natasha looks at the fire with interest, but generally wanders away and sleeps the day through up in our chilly bedroom.

We haven't had much snow, but much of what we've had came in two recent storms. A nasty rain, to ice, to snow storm left about half a foot and with some trepidation I went out to start the snow blower. I had started it in the fall, but figured with several below zero nights, it would be difficult. Much to my surprise, it started on the first pull. Off I went to clearing the driveway and walk, along with several of the neighbors sidewalks. One of them returned the favor as I slept off my graveyard shift and cleared mine after additional snow fell. We are lucky to be in a great neighborhood.

On the home improvement front, I installed the home security system we got from SimpliSafe. It was actually quite easy, with the hardware pretty much stick on. The package we got includes motion sensors, glass break sensors, panic button, and door and window alarms, along with two entry keypads and key fobs. I need to purchase a smoke alarm and CO detector. After you install it, the hard part begins. Thanks to living in New York, The Empire State, otherwise known as the Rules & Regulations State, the system has to registered and licensed, which means paperwork and questions. So, while the system is functional, it's turned off until I can get the blessing from the local 911 center.