now that my fingers are thawed somewhat...

Betsy Update: They are looking for the replacement part (good luck buddy, it is a 1999 car!), and it will be taken care of, free of charge. I also found 2 other minor things they crunched/munched inside my car (where there was no reason to be working), so those will be repaired as well, at no charge. I also got back $50 from my bill for my hissyfit over the mileage on my car which was not authorized. Come to find out that my car was used for a parts run by one of the "lot guys" because he was too damned lazy to clear the snow and ice off one of the cars he was SUPPOSED to use (it is also believed by the mechanics AND the owner) that he is the guilty party Re: broken panel on dash. Ho Ho Ho - you're an ass and Vic says you need to GO! (yes, he is now unemployed.)



SO... life should be swell, yes? NAH - that would be too boring. Friday, it was cold here. I mean, 15 with wind chill of 3. I cranked up the furnace a couple degrees, since this house (almost 80 years old) isn't the most airtight structure on the planet.



Saturday morning, things were pretty chilly in this house. I got up and threw myself together and headed up to the car shop to deal with the Betsy Saga. I left kidlet in bed with 2 dogs and a cat. It was about 8 with a wind chill of -2 when I got back. Man, the house was COLD! I looked at the thermostat - 55 degrees?!



Without further delay, pulled out my procrastinated project of indoor window kits (plastic you use a hair dryer and 2-sided tape to seal them up but still be able to see out of them). One grumbling 12yr old and I put them up on 5 windows. I then went to my room, cranked up my space heater, and did a bunch of my online coursework.



Late Saturday night, I realized the furnace hadn't stopped running, and the air coming out of my floor vent was cold. Usually Katie likes to lay on my vent, covering it with her whole fluffy body, but now she was balled up on my bed with Lillie. I went downstairs and looked at the thermostat - 48 degrees?! Grrr.



Turned off the furnace, since it was blowing cold air only, moved the space heater downstairs, and went back upstairs and went to bed.



This morning, I got up about 5, freezing my ass off. This is putting it mildly. Cold weather stiffens my back and hips up, so I looked like a 99 yr old trying to get downstairs with the dogs, so they could go out. Even they didn't want to go outside the bedroom. Look at the thermostat (we have a digital programmable one) - 38 degrees?! What the hell?!



Spend most of the day trying to reach my ex, who I find out later was having some cell signal issues where he was at. Tell him the furnace is broke and it needs fixed like NOW. He tells me to call Dave (the heating/plumbing guy), and get him to take care of it and e-mail him the bill like last time he came out when the ex was on the road (before we moved back here - the basement flooded and the neighbors let him in).



Call Dave. I like Dave. Dave is one of those people most think is "weird", because he has a very odd sense of humor and when you get used to it, he can keep you in stitches, all while racking up an $800 bill (justifiable bill). He's done it to us before, but if you need someone at 2am on a Saturday morning of a holiday weekend, you know you can call him and he won't blow you off. He has been around with his business in these parts long enough that people know they can count on him to be fair and reliable. Dave also knows I will make him "unsual coffee" when he is here (you gotta enable the coffee addict sometimes). I have lots of rather pricey "special" flavored coffees, and he knows I will share with him. LOL.

Dave has me go look at something inside the furnace, and tell him what it is doing.


me: "Dave, it is dark in the little window, nothing is going on."

Dave: "You killed it."

me: "Thanks, now get over here and resurrect it. Say the word, and I will make the coffee."

Dave: "I am at a holiday party and it will take me a few hours to sober up - you sure you want me to work on it tonight?"

me: "who said you could have drinks at that party? (laugh)"

Dave: "I gotta have a day off sometime."

me: "Do you want dogs, cat, kid and me at your house? Your wife would like that." (she hates dogs)

Dave: "Um...crank up your burners on your stove, turn the oven on 350 and crack the door, and let it all go until you go to bed. Then turn it off and use your space heater in your room. I will be there at 7am sharp. Have the coffee ready, I think I am going to need it."

me: "I'm not going to get carbon monoxide poisoning?"

Dave: "You gotta open the door to let the dogs out sometime tonight, right? There's your fresh air source. You'll be fine."

Thanks Dave. LOL. At least he was honest about being a little sloshed.



Currently, it is 12 with a wind chill of 2 outside, and the thermostat reads (after 2 hrs of the stove going full-bore) 60 degrees indoors (up from 36 when I started the stove up). It is snowing again, and we have a winter weather watch right now - another 6-12 inches of "cloud poop" (as kidlet called it when he was younger) is due here within the next 48 hours.



Time to throw all the blankets on the bed and crank up the space heater....