FA+
Shop
Cold
12 years ago
It's been wet and cold here lately. Not below freezing, but just hovering close enough that you expect everything to have flash frozen overnight. The shop's furnace has broken down twice now and it's only been through stubbornness fueled by desperation that I've been able to repair it. The older machines are usually easier to fix at least, fewer parts, simpler design. But this thing won't last much longer and I have no idea what Timothy intends to do about it.
In the meantime we have tried to take the strain off of it with space heaters and electric blankets. Timothy grumbles about not being able to have a fire in the hearth but the city has air quality laws that could get us into trouble if someone decides to investigate the plume of smoke. I'd love a roaring fire myself, to be honest, but I also don't feel like dealing with the local constabulary for several reasons.
Timothy doesn't react well to the cold, nor to winter in general. Maybe he just prefers the warmer seasons, or it's another magical annoyance he has. He's instructed me to just keep the building running as best as I can until Springtime, and then he'll 'handle it'. I don't sense any sort of finality to those words, but I'm also not too sure what he means by them.
The cold weather has also hampered deliveries and three times now our groceries never arrived. I keep the freezer and cupboards stocked in case of emergencies but I've dipped into emergency reserves far too often lately.
It makes me think back to the wilderness days, hunting was more scarce and the rivers were often frozen. I took to tracking deer trails and bringing one down. One deer could feed me for almost a month if I could make sure none of the meat spoiled. Once I stretched it to two months, but those were miserable times.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there are no deer in the city. And if there are, they probably taste of the garbage they live off of. So, I'll have to make do with canned food and store bought meats instead of battling nature and tracking my meals for days, woe is me.
For now, a missed grocery delivery means we have condensed soup or canned pasta for dinner. It's tolerable, and life goes on.
In the meantime we have tried to take the strain off of it with space heaters and electric blankets. Timothy grumbles about not being able to have a fire in the hearth but the city has air quality laws that could get us into trouble if someone decides to investigate the plume of smoke. I'd love a roaring fire myself, to be honest, but I also don't feel like dealing with the local constabulary for several reasons.
Timothy doesn't react well to the cold, nor to winter in general. Maybe he just prefers the warmer seasons, or it's another magical annoyance he has. He's instructed me to just keep the building running as best as I can until Springtime, and then he'll 'handle it'. I don't sense any sort of finality to those words, but I'm also not too sure what he means by them.
The cold weather has also hampered deliveries and three times now our groceries never arrived. I keep the freezer and cupboards stocked in case of emergencies but I've dipped into emergency reserves far too often lately.
It makes me think back to the wilderness days, hunting was more scarce and the rivers were often frozen. I took to tracking deer trails and bringing one down. One deer could feed me for almost a month if I could make sure none of the meat spoiled. Once I stretched it to two months, but those were miserable times.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there are no deer in the city. And if there are, they probably taste of the garbage they live off of. So, I'll have to make do with canned food and store bought meats instead of battling nature and tracking my meals for days, woe is me.
For now, a missed grocery delivery means we have condensed soup or canned pasta for dinner. It's tolerable, and life goes on.
I know how you feel though. Until just a few months ago I lived with my parents, who own a big house. Unfortunately its a big, old house, not very well insulated and quite old a heating system. It broke down more than once, and usually during the winter. Well, that's no surprise, really, since that's when it is getting the most use.
Anyway, I have a little tip. If you're familiar with Ella Fitzgerald's song "It's Too Darn Hot", hum or even sing that to yourself. It's not only a good tune, it makes for nice, warm thoughts that have helped me through some cold times more than once :)