Winter’s coming.
I know. Leave it to me to be the bearer of bad news.
Just this weekend, it snowed here in Idaho Falls. Sunday morning we had about an inch on the ground and it’s currently 29 degrees Fahrenheit. I still have nightmares about last winter. The ice dams, the frozen pipes, the icicle tears.
So I decided to better prepare this year. And so far I’ve insulated the pipes and practiced building fires. I went to girls’ camp; you would think that last one would come more easily.
I have decided that all my 2007 winter woes were the direct result of my inability to build a fire. The ice dams on the backside of my house? The fireplace is on the backside of my house. The pipe that runs under the stairs by the backside of my house? The fireplace – still on the backside of my house. There’s a definite pattern that you would think an educated women would have deduced before the third or fourth snowfall. But no, I had already abandoned my efforts of trying to make a spark with some steel wool and a 6-volt battery (kidding).
Firebuilding 101. There’s a fundamental college requirement for you.
More than the physical chill, I’m bracing myself for those heating bills. You think the feds might spring for those after they bail out Wall Street? I won’t get my hopes up; I’m buying a couple cords of wood and will continue to practice my fire-building skills. Yesterday I actually started one without having to use an entire newspaper (sports section and all). In fact, I’m moving through the newspapers so quickly I’ll have to use last year’s heating bills to fuel this winter’s fires.
So I’m bracing myself for what this winter will hold. Some people around here are hoping that, due to our mild August weather, we’ll be having an even milder winter. Being the eternal optimist I am, I think mean ole Mother Nature was just shutting down the sun early so that by Halloween the only kids who could survive trick or treating will be dressed like Sasquatch or Satan.
You better watch it, Mother Nature. It’s an election year and I just might vote for the Devil if you keep this up (still kidding!).
6 comments:
You may be still kidding, but I'm still chuckling.
I am not looking forward to Winter! Of course I never do!
Shawna,
I still have nightmares about you balancing on a sloped, ice covered roof. There is no way this winter could be as bad as last. Things like that just can't happen twice!
I am glad your getting prepared. All the things you are doing make a lot of sense and should help. Don't forget to put your Christmas lights up, before the ice and snow come. Like, do it the day after Halloween, lol. Don't forget to keep extra keys hidden all over too.
XXXXX
At least you have last year to learn from. I have hoping I don't have any of those problems as a first time home owner with her very first winter...yikes!! I'm a little nervous. I'm hoping for the milder winter myself.
Here is hoping that there are no frozen pipes this year - and stay off the roof!
i am sooo not looking foward to winter. yuck, yuck, yuck.
i do like having the fireplace on and hot chocolate though.
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