Last night’s forecast summarized today as “Bitter Cold.” It said that arctic air would pour down from Canada in the night, dropping the temperature to minus thirty-six before morning. The thermometer on my deck read minus twenty-four at eight AM, the lowest so far by eight degrees. But there was no wind, so the day should feel no colder than prior days. The airport was reporting minus thirty-six, but that is two miles south of my home, and does not get as much of the moderating affect of Rainy River and Rainy Lake.I walked to Sandy’s where a new waitress said she has a wood stove in the garage. This made no sense to me and I asked her to explain. “I don’t worry about carbon monoxide and my allergies like I did when it was in the house,” she said. It only made sense when she explained that the stove heats water, which runs through a pipe to the baseboards in her house. She makes several trips to the garage every evening and night to stoke the fire.
As I write this, I see that the temperature in Pasadena is seventy degrees, eighty-seven degrees warmer than it is here.
Gail and I are sending some of our excess warmth to you tonight, Sharon.
ReplyDeleteAt my mom's house both the water and interior are heated by the furnace in the basement, which runs the water to radiators positioned beneath many of the windows, thus neutralizing the draft. We'd actually get ice forming inside our windows during the winters.
My mom uses that term - "bitter cold" - to describe temperatures that dip below ten degrees. Balmy, by your standards.
My room is heated, like your mom's, by the same hot water that I take a shower in. Well not the exact same, but you know.
ReplyDeleteRight now I am looking at white ice under the door where the seal is slightly open. My windows are double-glass and mostly clear, except for water on their lower quarters and ice at the very bottom. My baseboard has a pipe with hot water running in it, and if it stops I will use the excess warmth you have sent.
You two are great, I love your comments.
Let's hope that guage does not get used to it's fullest capacity! I know you had to search for one that went so low! I am glad you are warm inside... it makes me cold just to read and imagine the white ice in the crack of opening at the bottom of your door... well there is something exciting about it... (the "seal being slightly open") But still... I am glad you are coming home soooooon!!!! Okay cold is cold... but we don't like "bitter"...! It's amazing how you've adapted...
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm glad I did not buy one of those cheap ones that only go down to minus twenty. Cold is cold--right. Funny, I notice a big difference between zero and -15, but the difference between -15 and -29 seems insignificant.
ReplyDeleteAs you know I am into heating systems, so hearing about a wood stove that heats a hot water system is novel to me... Thanks for sharing quite an interesting concept.
ReplyDeleteAlso, impressed that its the coldest its been since you arrived, will be curious to see how much colder it can actually get.