After the Cold

A wonderful sight: two huge ravens spotted on Thursday before the bad weather.

I've been so tired since the arctic air left here. Friday night was awful. Even though I raised the thermostat, the temperatures in the house simply fell and got me very nervous. How far would it fall? Despite setting the thermostat at 70°F, the house finally bottomed out at 60°F. That is what happens with terrific winds.

We could not sleep upstairs Friday night because the wind had lowered the room temperature to about 40°F. I pulled the cushions off of the couch downstairs and made a bed wide enough for me, Lucy, and the cats. Then I fell on both arthritic knees and my walker flipped over. But I righted myself and got settled in. Lucy, though, was extremely tense because of the fall and because we were not in bed and she didn't think she could be touching my body all night as she does.

I made extra room for her, she then settled in, and heaved a tremendous sigh of doggie relief and finally relaxed. Feeling her body relax like that almost made me cry. We actually slept late. The cold air eased all day on Saturday despite some huge wind chills, and finally by nightfall it was all over.

The arctic air, in only 2 days, took 1/4 of my fuel.

Amy managed to get to the house Saturday afternoon. It was safe to travel then. I needed her help because my knees were so swollen from the fall. It was wonderful to have her and her puppy Dori here. The weather had made me feel cut off from the world and living like a squatter. I immediately began making bread.

Salt-encrusted car

Because of the new furnace though, I survived the weather well. Back at school on Monday, I heard of frozen and exploded pipes, colder houses, no sleeping, and a dog who collapsed outside because she insisted on going outside to the bathroom and not have an accident in the house. But the owner got her dog in and sat with her the rest of the day with blankets, so it ended well. She never anticipated that the dog would collapse. I never would have, either. Lucy held it in all day Friday and Saturday and did her business within three minutes the two times she demanded to go. She is also older than the unfortunate dog, and therefore, wiser.

Tuesday morning we returned to very cold air.
But the temperature rose all day to just above freezing.

This week is recovery week. Plumbers and heating technicians are busy. I hope that -50°F wind chills never happen again. The sap will begin rising in the maples in March. The chickadees will begin to sing soon, the owls will begin to hoot, and the crows will return from the villages. Those are my signs of spring coming.

_/\_/\_