Up at 4AM to hit the loo, and put some wood on the fire to keep the house warm. That old woodstove is the heart of the house, I swear. Everyone genuinely gathers around it. I have come to understand how the hearth truly once was the heart of the home, historically. Perhaps that is why the words hearth and heart are so close a match to one another. If our house was better arranged and appointed, there would be two two-seaters in front of it with space for the whole family to sit comfortably. But doing that would put a little settee right in front of the door to the kitchen and the front door of the house. Who wants to come in the main entry and be blocked out by a big chair with its back to you?
To be fair, it was an alarm that woke me up this morning. I have one that goes off when the temperature outside drops to 20F. Below that temperature the pipe to the kitchen sink will freeze. If that happens, well, it’s anybody’s guess when it thaws again. It usually has to get above 45F in the day for that to happen. In a typical winter setting that can be anywhere from three or four days to a few weeks till that happens. And it could come with devastating consequences. I one had to pay a plumber $219 to come out and install $6 worth of PEX piping and two couplers. It was embarrassing because that was after talking the price down with him. But, if I obey my temperature alarms and get up and put a very slight trickle of hot and cold water on at that sink, it will not freeze, and I can sleep soundly. The trick is to put it on before I go to sleep, but that alarm will still wake me, because who knows when that temperature will be reached, and who wants to risk it? There is no way to turn it off easily, and I wouldn’t because it would have to be manually put back on, and who knows if I would remember to before the next freeze? All chances I would not want to take. So, I wake up once in the night once in a while! Better than not being able to wash the dishes in the kitchen sink easily. Better than replacing pipes. All these things in consideration and easily avoided by having an alarm connected to the thermometer outside.
I feel a little rough right now. Nothing on the joints, but on the tummy, for having eaten corn chips last night at bedtime. Yes, I had chips y salsa. I was craving the stuff after having not had it for some six months now. A staple of my former pallet, chips and salsa was a defining part of me, and I could normally eat nearly a whole bag of chips at one sitting. I finished a bit more than half of one last night before I could not. So my capacity is still shrunk, but I needed this. I just needed it. I am satisfied now, and satiated for hopefully the next six months so I can continue on with losing weight. It has been good to lose some, and I do feel better for it. I wonder how much better I could feel if I lose more. I mean, I think I am a lot healthier now, but I could be doing better, I am sure! It is a worthy goal!
Perhaps I can get some more sleep now before waking up to take the kids to school. I need to get out in the slightly warmer weather today to cut and spilt some firewood. I assumed by the warmer forecast that the sun will be shining a bit today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Sunshine makes a big difference in warming a fellow while he works in the winter days. Anyway. I have a bit of wood out there still, but the temperatures are forecast to drop in the next week or so and look more like a normal winter around here, finally. It seems we are on shortened winters now. That is not all that bad for this place. I think we could use more snowfall for the sake of the water supply. I also think the summers are getting a bit on the hot side, and I will have to adapt to working outside in the heat. Maybe that is something the diet will help me accomplish! Does a thinner man work better in hot weather? Does he tolerate it better? I have no idea! I have always been suseptable to heat stroke.
Oh, one last thought. That woodshed I stopped working on really could use finishing. That thing would have been sure handy to put the firewood into! I do not like working with the tarps, and it is not even snowy out! It is much worse with snow on them.