Jeebus, I wake up, turn on the computer...and my little Weather Channel icon is blaring an alarm!!! MINUS 10 degrees - wind chill alert. DO NOT go outside without covering head, mouth, hands and any exposed areas. This is the Ohio Valley for pete's sake....not the Antarctic!!!!! Even my hairy dog (with a coat of fur to die for) is running out - doing the necessity - and charging back in the door. I may have to call the Humane Society, if one certain neighbor doesn't get their dog inside soon! But locally, that is usually a futile effort. We have no dog warden, and then we have to call the County, and they give the same dribble..."we just don't have the manpower" to make all these calls. Grrrrr. Even animals need to be taken care of in weather such as this.
As for animals...my best friend had a dog they kept in the backyard (he was the "outside" dog) and when theson and his friend decided to upgrade that doghouse one summer - it became a Herculean feat. The end result may have cost several hundred dollars, but Odie (outside dog), had a home to be proud of. This dog house had the best shingled roof, aluminum siding, and a lighting system inside - for warmth. We, the mothers, thought this would just keep the boys busy and they would slap some wood together and voila - have a doghouse. Nope, they got out the paper and pencils, started the diagramming and I'm sure there were more than enough mathematical equations involved...and then the project began. Odie, was a big mutt, who on occasion escaped from the confines of the backyard, to roam the neighborhood. Catching him was often comical...he would perk up when his name was called, and then dart in another direction. Aha, but once you got hold of him - you couldn't wait to release him - HE SMELLED SOOOO BAD!! But what a nice dog anyway, despite a few flaws.
Again, I digress! With this sub-human temps outside, my back deck is making all kinds of noises - creepy noises!!! I'm not sure if it is the wood expanding or contracting - but definitely weird.
I have placed heaters in the bathroom and kitchen to assist the furnace in keeping me comfortable. There goes the damn electric bill again...grrr. But I do refuse to take a shower with icicles falling on my head. (That might be a slight exaggeration.) This "freeze" is supposed to last into early tomorrow afternoon - so I will be keeping my designer body in the house until the temps get to a decent and acceptable level. That's more computer time and catch up on some DVD's.
School is closed - thegrandson got in one half day this week - and with Monday's holiday and the Inauguration on Tuesday - he will be home till Wednesday! Drugs, give me drugs now!!!!
Daughter2 and SIL thePete are coming over Sunday for a mini-football party. I am going to make either chili or beef stew and some other crap and we are going to veg out to the games. I better get on with this planning of food and all.
Enough for now - I'm going to hover over the kitchen stove for warmth now!!!!
Now wouldn't you hate to use this facility at 10 below zero?
Have a great day all!
10 comments:
It's -17 here right now. My asthma doesn't like frigid air and it's acting up. I think about those privies too when the weather gets this cold - can you imagine raising children while having to use those things? My Mom said in the winter it's about 10 yards too far and in the summer about 10 yards too close.
I have used the facilities in colder than -10 weather and it is no fun. That picture is of a much fancier one than what I have used.
Re: unheated outhouse and subzero weather. Been there, done that. You learn to do your business really fast.
Addendum: back in the days when people routinely used privies, they actually kept slop buckets/thunder mugs in the house so no one had to actually head out to the outhouse when it was subzero to do their business. They used the chamber pots that then got emptied in the privy.
brrrrrrrrrrrr
It's cold here too. My laptop says 10 degrees - It was 3 this morning. We're just laying low today and trying to keep warm.
Hi TheMom, found you through Lisa's blog, am adding you to my 'roll! Stay warm!
Mnmom: You rmom was so right about the distance to the outhouse.
Kulkuri: Nothing but the finest for me.
Nan: I had a nanny growing up - and when we visited her farm...it was "outhouse" time. I was so not impressed.
Dr. Monkey: Adding layers of clothing as I type.
ETW: Yep, that's what we do on days like this. DVD's, computer games, Monopoly, etc... Oh...and food!
Mauigirl: Thank ya kindly, I shall be over to your site. Come again.
We need groceries so bad that we're down to eating virtually nothing - but I'll be darned if I'm going out today!! It was 16* this morning here.
I think Mother Nature is momentarily correcting global warming!
Kenju: Let me know if we have to send a dogsled with supplies!!!! We are down to peanut butter - I was even looking up recipes. Hmmm....peanut soup, I had that in Old Williamsburg once.
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