What started out as small, innocent-looking snowflakes Saturday night, revved up and continued to fall throughout the day Sunday. By Monday morning we found ourselves with “officially” 15-1/2 inches of snow. And while that’s not much for some parts of the world, it’s a lot of snow here in the Midwest!
It didn’t seem to bother Bailey one bit…
and no, she didn’t have to run clear out to the chicken coop, she had a lovely path shoveled for her, but she chose to blaze her own trail.
I don’t know, it looks like she’s smiling to me!
This morning it was -15, brrr. At least the wind has died down and the sun is shining. I’m taking in way too many calories by drinking unreasonable amounts of hot chocolate, and while the new furnace is purring away beautifully, I’ve found that I simply want to curl up and to hibernate. I have books next to me, favorite magazines, a clean calendar for 2026, and a notebook – I’m plotting and planning, scheming and dreaming.
Speaking of that new furnace, while it’s absolutely delightful, it runs on propane. Now, at least here, propane companies will not let customers place a refill order until the tank is at 30%. So at 30% I place an order, knowing that the snows are coming and we need to be prepared.
Well, we get on the schedule, and we wait, and we call, and bless her heart, the grouchy gal says, “You and everyone else needs propane.”
OK, I get it, I’m sure she’s inundated with calls. However, as the days go by, (and truly, we keep this old farmhouse at 68 during the day, 60 at night, no extravagant temperatures,) the level drops to 20%. We call to remind them. At 12% we call and get a little more assertive. Now the tank sits at 4%. At some point, we’ll have to turn the furnace off. And here’s the thing, no other propane company will fill the tank, only the company we have a contract with. Sigh.
And so it goes…there is firewood, there is electricity for space heaters, there are quilts, blankets, and a snuggly dog. And of course, copious amounts of hot chocolate.
There will be a fire at the crack of dawn and we’ll see. Hopefully they will arrive tomorrow with the delivery.
Perhaps I will bundle up and step outside to take some pictures to share.
But for now I leave you with this,
“Be it ever so cold, humble, there’s no place like home!”
Lovely photos. Bailey is a beautiful and delightful dog 🐕 ❤️ Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada ❤️ 😊 🇨🇦
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda - she’s a sweetheart! So tell me - what’s the secret to staying warm in Montreal?!
DeleteOh my! Over 15 inches of snow! Go Bailey! We got a lot of ice, but this Saturday it is supposed to snow all day. Can't wait! I sure hope you get your propane soon. Thankful you have back up. Here's praying the power stays on! Blessings, daisy
ReplyDeleteOh ice, Daisy- I’ll take snow over that anytime. It always seems so dangerous and weighs down the power lines - which here are not buried underground :/ Enjoy that snow, I’m with you, an old-fashioned snowstorm makes me happy! Thanks for the good wishes, had to turn the furnace off last night…
DeleteI could see my breath in a couple rooms this morning!
I know how it is to be at the "mercy" of your propane provider. We "bought out" our contract with one company, bought our own tank and now we can select between a couple companies to refill when it's cheaper (in Summer). It wasn't a cheap thing to do, but a great investment 25 years ago. I should be doing more of what you're doing. Instead I'm NetFlixing.....oh, well...January is for hibernating....
ReplyDeleteYou’re absolutely right, that is such a smart idea to own the tank! Had to turn the furnace off last night because we just knew it wasn’t gonna make it through the night and the pilot light would go out. It was 45° in here this morning with one room at 20° and I could see my breath! Grrrrr.
DeleteSure hope you got your propane. How horrible not to have a furnace...especially a new one. We have been having fires to help our furnace out in the evening. Janice
ReplyDeleteIt came today, happy dance, although it was about three weeks late. it was freezing in here this morning because we had to turn the furnace off before the pilot light went out. They really need to change that 30% rule specially when they know a heavy snow is coming Glad you’re tucked in nice and warm!
DeleteAwww....Bailey looks like she's in Bailey heaven! Bless her little furry heart. It almost sounds like a taste of Nod in your world. Thankfully the massive snows missed us this go-round (it was too cold to snow I believe) and even the brutal cold has lifted and we've seen temps above 0 finally. That's horrible about your propane issue. The main heat in the house here is fuel oil and I'm on a schedule so they come routinely before I run out. The two shops that have in-ground heat, and my fireplace, run on propane and there are 3 separate tanks that get filled for each. Again, the company I've used for years have me on an auto-refill schedule so don't (often) have to worry about running out (although it was close this last time). I can't imagine having to call and beg to be refilled. (It's bad enough making sure all the heating systems are still functioning here...gah!) Glad to read you finally got refilled. How frustrating to have invested in a new furnace and have to worry about not being able to actually use it.
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