Snow Days

The cold weather seems to be dominating my latest posts. The fact that it has been so cold is why I have the time to write this at the moment. I had to take a 'snow day' from work. I even got up with the full intention of working outside today. By the time I got to my parents to get the equipment, the rain/sleet had become quite persistent. I hoped I could wait it out to no avail. With this cold and the amount of precipitation that had fallen, yard work would not happen. So I went back to the house to help Rebecca with photo stuff.

Monday I also did not work outside because of the cold and wind. When leaves are the main culprit being cleaned, any amount of wind can make the job quite frustrating. Thinking I would have plenty of time the rest of the week I decided to stay home. So Monday was also a photo day.

Sunday I did work outside on the coldest day of the year so far. However it was not with Longscape, but with Rebecca. A family needed pictures for a Christmas card and adoption process, so we had to go ahead with it. I bundled up like Randy in A Christmas Story. I had 6 layers on my torso, 2 pairs of pants, boots, gloves, and toboggin. I was nice and toasty. However the poor little girls in the family did not have the luxury of so many layers since they had to look good for the pictures. They were quite the troopers and managed to smile through their chattering teeth.

Its suppose to warm up tomorrow, so hopefully I can get back outside.

Angry Cold

Our first major problem with the condo arose yesterday. The heat stopped working. This is the second time this year this has happened to me. The first was back in January, on the coldest night of the year. We had gotten out of school for the minor threat of ice. The ice didn't happen, but the cold did. I decided to install my new digital thermostat during my free time that afternoon. After consulting my dad about the wiring, we decided we had it right. It worked for about 2 seconds until whatever function tripped the two wire we had misconnected. My uncle, who works on these things for a living, told me I had blown the compressor (I think that is what he said). Anyways, the whole system wouldn't work and we were without heat for the night. Fortunately the landlord got it fixed the next day and didn't charge me for it. Yesterday, Rebecca noticed a funny smell coming from the furnace. She turned it off until I got home. I turned it back on that night. The thermostat seems to be working as I can hear the furnace trying to turn on, however no air is coming out of the vents. Dad is coming over this afternoon to diagnose the problem. Hopefully it won't be too expensive. Our condo did come with a one year warranty on all appliances paying up to $550, so hopefully that will cover most of the repair if needed.

Meanwhile we have sectioned off the condo and basically staying in the bedroom as much as possible with our space heater. I had to work outside today and even though there's no heat in here, its still much warmer than outside. Our thermometer in the living room says 55 degrees as of right now. Having spent a heat-free winter in the Sycamore House I feel adequately prepared for these situations, however Rebecca is not so use to it. She refers to it as "angry cold."