Company coming!

I'm ready!

Would love to have a fire in the fireplace, but the thermostat is close to the room with the fireplace and cuts off, Thus the rest of the place in the back is very cold.

It will be in the 70's again today in So Cal~~so just the same ole stuff going on here;)

My home? My son is at home, off from school, but finishing his math work given before the Winter Break. I'm sure he'll be watching videos, playing games, and panicking right around the time I pull into the drive and he realizes the house is a wreck. I'm yanking the tablet tonight for two weeks if it's not cleaned. At work? I'm gearing up (adding them to the calendar, cancelling/moving anything that interferes, making up a sheet for each, etc...) for all the meetings for all 12 months. 24 so far. So much fun!

But when I get home? Relaxing, having some baked chicken leg quarters and whatever else grabs my fancy once I get settled. And patting cats, hugging the kid, listening to how his day went... the usual.

It is crazy cold...did you know that your house makes all sorts of cracking and popping sounds when it gets below zero? I went out for a walk to let the dog out for a few minutes and my neighbor's house was "exploding"(the sound of it)...HAHAHA! It's WEIRD I tell ya!

So what is going on at my house, I'm going to take down the tree because there's not much else to do...it's too cold to go on a long walk with the dog. She's going to just have to sleep and play with the ball INSIDE!

Not a thing. Decided to take the day off. Didn't sleep very well last night so I'm a slug today. Later I need to grind up ham and make a ham loaf for the freezer.

Well, I am home after spending the night at the local Best Western. Got home from work last night and the thermostat kept getting lower and lower in the house. It was freezing cold in the livingroom and back bedrooms. We have one space heater and Lauren had warmed her room up and so put the heater in my bedroom. But it was cold out in the livingroom for the dogs. I was supposed to work today so I thought how bad it would be trying to get ready for work in a cold house and decided to start up the new kerosene heater to warm the dogs and the front of the house.

It seemed to be doing good, I know you aren't supposed to leave those things alone but I did ...for about 5 or 6 minutes and then decided to check on it. Opened my bedroom door to a smoke filled hallway. Neither smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm went off. I picked up the alarm after we put the heater out and took it outside and I had to lift the smoke detector up near the ceiling for it to go off. Scary. The smoke was thick and all the way down the hall and it didn't go off! It stopped when I set it back on the high shelf it was on in the hallway. I guess it wasn't high enough?

After airing the house out some and cracking windows and turning on ceiling fans we left for the motel. I have asthma and my lungs couldn't take it. We both had headaches all night long too. Didn't sleep too good in the motel. I bought another electric space heater for the livingroom this morning. The thermostat in the house when we came home was 54.

My house is now covered in soot. At least I can now see all the cobwebs to vacuum them now, since they are black now and don't blend into my white ceiling and pale walls.

I feel really stupid about the kerosene heater. We obviously didn't do something right. Besides leaving it to go to bed. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Had to call in at work too. Didn't get to bed till after 1 am.

Oh Kaths, you are so lucky. I won't even touch on your using the kerosene heater indoors, you already know....

Had you thought about calling your insurance company? Three years ago friends had an electrical fire in their laundry/pantry, and the soot went everywhere even though there was very little actual fire damage. A team came in and professionally cleaned or replaced everything, every room, in their house. That struck me too the day after their fire, the soot on cobwebs....she's so neat, but they are there and not noticeable until something highlights them.

Here, very quiet. It's raining and about 42F. I called a former elderly neighbor just to tell her happy new years and disturbed her in bed with a cold and sore throat, headache. She's had a flu shot but still a worry, 86 yrs old. I'm going for groceries today but she said she has all she needs, including a big supply of Kleenex....

Leftover roast chicken tonight but I need some things for a nice salad, I have the dressing, nothing to go under it ;)

As for the houses complaining with the severe cold...we had three days of cold-for-us temps in December, nights dropping to about 20F. And I do understand that's nothing compared to what many of you are dealing with. The door from attached garage into my office wouldn't stay closed unless locked, and the storm door leading out onto my patio wouldn't open, dragged and stuck on the cement there. As soon as the temps were back to normal, so were my doors.

- ((((Kathsgrdn)))) I'm sorry you're having to deal with all this mess on top of the cold temps. Is the problem with the thermostat, the furnace, or both?

- Pati43 - Would you mind sharing the ham loaf recipe? I can't eat pork, but that sounds like something Wes would love.

- Arkansas Girl - I was born and raised in northern Arkansas (Norfork dam area - Salesville, Norfork, Mtn. Home) and Mom lives in Springdale. I've been amazed at the temps you're experiencing.

- Glenda - you couldn't imagine how much I wish I could "crash" your lunch party. It know it would be so much fun.

- - Here in my corner of ND the ambient temp is -9 with a windchill of -22. Yesterday's windchill was -42 and I hardly moved. I did mange to replenish the seeds/suet in the platform feeder I keep on the front deck.

Today Harry wanted to play his created game of "Mad, Rabid Puppy" while Sam was outside for a few minutes (at Sam's insistence).

Harry will be doing nothing, or in a comatose-like nap when he suddenly jumps up and grabs a tennis ball. He shakes it and growls like a demon while charging toward me.

I, in turn, stop whatever I'm doing and hunker down. I put my arms out, bent like a wrestler's, growl, and take slow, exaggerated, stomping steps toward him. When I get too close he runs to the other side of the LR while I dash down the hallway. He slowly comes down the length of the LR until he sees me at the other end. He growls, jumps, and dashes back to the other end of the room. We repeat this until we're both gasping for air. To end the game I duck into the bathroom and stand behind the door.

He comes down the hallway, very slowly, growling, and looking for me. He looks in the kitchen; he looks in the den; he stands by the bathroom door and growls. He slowly comes in the bathroom. I jump out from behind the door and roar; he barks loudly, gets all goofy and happy, and scurries into the LR.

Wes and I have been playing this game with him since he made it up at age 6 months. After 10 1/2 years of "Mad, Rabid Puppy" and he still gets amazingly startled when we jump out from behind the bathroom door. He's such a hoot.

Sam can't catch on to MRP; but we play Chase the Beast with him. Harry won't run anywhere in the house except in the the LR anymore because he slips on the hardwood in the hallway.

Sam "runs circles" up the length of the LR, through the edge of the kitchen, down the hallway, and back into the LR at the other end where's there's an open doorway. He runs circles with one of us chasing him; then we turn and he chases me for a full circle or two. Both of us are growling and baking the entire time.

When/if I decide to put on my "I'm a responsible woman of a certain age" hat, I plan to cart some Christmas items to the basement; drill large holes in a stick of firewood which is being converted to a suet feeder for the Pecky Birds, start dinner, pay a couple of bills, and finish Tuesday's assigned laundry load.

I'd rather play Mad Rabid Puppy.

kathsgardn - Depending on your furnace it could be build-up on the sensor - you can't clean it yourself and it builds up on the newer furnaces (at least gas ones) despite annual cleanings. The problem presents as cold air coming out much like air conditioning - so not good in winter. Our furnace is 7 years old and this story has been going on since year one. And we had the electrical panel go as well. Finally a supervisor came and he showed us how to count the flashes after he replaced our electrical panel with the last unit in stock - to help determine if it is build-up on the sensor or the electrical panel - or something else. We have had 5 episodes with the build-up on the sensor - but the company wouldn't replace it, even while the furnace was still under warranty. Trane knows this is a problem and many other people in Canada have experienced it. The sensor is inside the furnace so you can't touch it. Hope your furnace is working today but I would have it looked at. We have an annual plan.

I think it is just the heat pump. They aren't made to work well in temps below 30 degrees. I read up on this after I replaced the old one in my house after I bought the house.

The thermostat is going up...last time I looked it was 65.

Dh came home from his cardiac rehab class feeling unwell in the tummy area, so he didn't start the cleaning of the pantry as promised/threatened yesterday. I was glad to put it on the back burner.

I really spent the morning with a puzzle and watching the birds. They were very active in the -11 degrees. Went to the kitchen an hour ago thinking I would bake a goodie of some kind, but somehow it turned out to be a pot of chili. It is simmering now. I have never made soup chili with canned beans before. Always cooked my own, so this is a test.

Caroline, aren't dogs just the best to lift our spirits. Love that Mad rabid puppy game. The granddog initiates little games like that. Years ago when I could run, our Snuffy Dog loved playing hide and seek in the yard. There was 9 out buildings on the 2 acre lot most of which had open doors. It was a great game. She was at an advantage with that doggy nose that could sniff me out behind closed doors.

Replaced batteries in the phone, now cannot get it plugged in again. Had to have son in law take cover off and they plug in my computer. I don't know why I can unplug something and then cannot get it plugged back in!!! I think it is the connection DH installed when setting this up. It hates me!!!!
Trying to get caught up on paper work and work for the church. Hard getting people to fill offices anymore, not so much on the local level but on a district level. School and work schedule back today, and should be ok for awhile, until another major storm comes in.
Marie from ND

kaths, I don't profess to know all about heat pumps, but the one in our former house had a back up system (electric furnace in my case) that could be run to supplement or take the place of the heat pump entirely. In my climate, it didn't come on a lot but the thermostat would show a little red check mark to indicate the 'auxiliary' heat was needed to maintain the heat setting and had turned itself on. Or I could turn off the outside unit and use the furnace alone and did that once during a rare ice storm.

Stayed home from work, again. DR. office was closed yet, so have to reschedule 2 appts. Roads clear, back to normal tomorrow. Will be a while before the plows do 'edge to edge', but they will surely block the drive with those ungodly chunks that are like concrete. Most of the day online trying to absorb new medical issue info.

Actually I'm sad to say I was a slug all day but enjoyed it!!! Just stayed
on the couch under the covers with my doggie watching tv. Dangerously
cold here today!!

As I wrote on another post, I ventured outside and to the store for the first time since last Sunday morning. We needed a couple of things--mainly ice cream--but I wasn't gone long and was happy to get back home and into our warm, cozy house. Oh, I did go into the back yard to fill the bird feeders; they're gobbling it up, pretty fast.

The TV weather guy said we can expect another dangerously cold night--it was one degree at seven a.m., this morning, and the wind chill made it feel around -20, but then a gradual warm up--to about 40- and some rain may come by Friday. In the D.C. area, the cold weather is being compounded by water main breaks. I can't imagine those folks working to try to repair them. The water turns to ice, almost as soon as it hits the street. They're heroes, IMO.

Caroline, I loved your story about Harry and his game. What fun for both of you.

The ham loaf recipe is posted on the, "I'll Share My Recipe" thread. It's pretty darned decent!