Tag Archives: cold weather

Update On All Things Sh*t

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Ok, not all things are shit. There have been some good things happening since my last post. Our new house is coming along. The house is wired, and the water lines and sewer pipes are in place and awaiting the next phase. The HVAC is nearly ready for hook-up. The insulation will be delivered on Wednesday. The next step will be the drywall. Such happiness and hope! I don’t think I can bear another cold ass winter in this old house!

Colder than a witch’s tit…

Which leads me to the shit part of this post. The weather has been colder than a witch’s tit. The last 2 nights were down in the single digits and tonight will be the 3rd. We always keep our water running to prevent the pipes from freezing. Running only the cold water always works. We have never run the hot water in the same manner and never had the hot water pipes freeze up. They say there’s a first time for everything and this was a first. The hot water pipes froze up, but hopefully not busted. It’s too cold to crawl under the house to check. Not that I could do it and Dad really doesn’t need to be doing it but he might insist if it were warmer. Anyway, maybe our contractor will check for us tomorrow when he comes. He wasn’t here today for his own reasons. 

Withdrawals suck…

Last week was a bad one for me. If you follow this blog you may remember me posting about my meds not coming when they should have which led to me having withdrawals. Now, don’t give me that “omg, she’s an addict” crap because I am not an addict. There’s a difference between being addicted and being dependent. I am dependent on my meds so that I can function. I had gone 3 days without my gabapentin, which has terrible withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it abruptly. It was not a good 3 days as I had insomnia, massive sweating (in a 40-degree house, mind you), and heart palpitations. I had headaches off and on, and I was moody as hell. Wouldn’t you be moody on zero hours of sleep in 3 days?  I finally got my script in the mail but not before I got an emergency 10-day supply filled by a different pharmacy. Needless to say, I saved the 10-day supply in my “extras” stash. 

I think they need more training!

I blame the pharmacy for not filling the gabapentin automatically as they do the other meds I take. I had forgotten to order them myself because it was right before Christmas. I also blame the USPS. Even though I expected a delay due to the snow we got that week, I did expect my delivery when Informed Delivery told me it was out for delivery! But instead, it was 4 days later before it was actually delivered. The roads had been perfectly fine. If the mail carriers can’t do the job correctly, then they need to be replaced. Still the fault of the USPS. They have a lot of nerve raising the rates for every damn thing and then reducing the quality of service! 

Not much else going on…just trying to get through this cold spell. I’m wearing my Sherpa blanket hoodie, which I found on Amazon a few years ago. It’s been a lifesaver in this cold ass weather! I hope you’re staying warm…or cool, depending on where you are!

Have a great week, my friends!

 

 

Brrr….

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What a cold, miserable weekend! On Friday, Dad and I were nearly killed on our way to town to pick up a curbside order. Some idiot came around a curve on the wrong side of the road, on OUR side of the road, and coming right at us! He finally correct his path and we were all saved from sure death.

It seems that everyone gets in panic mode when a snow/ice storm is coming. I understand that people need what they need so they go to the store to get it. They get into a rush, trying to get done before the roads get bad or before it starts to snow. I get it. But slow down! Your toilet paper, milk, and bread won’t do anyone any good if you get killed in a car crash. I try to keep my cupboards and freezer stocked somewhat so I know that if I get snowed in and can’t get the car out of the driveway, we won’t starve or run out of toilet paper. We have extra toilet paper (cheap stuff) saved in a cabinet for emergencies only. We don’t use a lot of bread or milk but even if we did, we still have other things to eat and drink.

It was so terribly cold last night! The low was 18 degrees. I was on well house duty. We have a heater in the well house on an extension cord that runs into the house. I let the well house warm up and then unplug it for a bit. It helps to keep the water from freezing, along with letting the water run a little in the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Been there, done that. If the water freezes, the pipes bust and then we’re screwed until everything thaws out. So, I didn’t get much sleep last night. It’s rough sleeping for an hour or so and then checking the temp… I’m so tired that it wouldn’t surprise me if this entire post is a disaster!

Anyway, an update on the new house! The house has been wired, although no fixtures or outlets as of yet. Today the roads were a bit icy in my area and worse north of us where our contractor lives. He wasn’t able to come today. Better safe than sorry, right?

Right now it’s still cold as hell. I’m wearing fingerless gloves while typing this. Headed to the kitchen now to fix some lunch. Here’s the current temp:

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Now, stay warm, y’all. 

aunt-debbie

Brrr….

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I won’t be writing much this morning. My fingers are frozen and I keep making typos. The last 2 nights have been colder than a “well-digger’s ass” or “a witch’s tit” as some folks say. At 2 degrees this morning, I’m lucky to be able to move, let alone walk.

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I’m bundled up like an Eskimo: thick socks, fingerless gloves, a hoody, a wooly sweater, a beanie, and sweatpants. Plus I have a small thin throw wrapped around my left leg because the cold makes it burn like hell. I’ve been sleeping with the same garb, an electric throw, a soft warm throw over that, and a heating pad.

Every morning I wake up with 2 cats on me because…um…electric throw! I have 3 cats but there’s always one who doesn’t want to be near the others. BobCat especially enjoys laying on the heating pad, as you can see!

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We turn the heat off at night because we don’t have central heat, just a propane heater and a couple of electric ones. It stays cold in this old house at these frigid temps, even with the heat on, but we like to conserve the propane as much as we can. We have never left the heat on at night but we may have to!

It’s been a real hassle trying to keep the pipes from freezing. The pipes in the kitchen are frozen; hopefully, they don’t bust because it’ll really be a pain in the ass to fix! We would have had the water running in the kitchen sink but the drain has been clogged and we haven’t been able to use the sink at all. We’re keeping the water running in the bathroom sink and in the tub. We’ve had the water stop flowing a few times but thankfully we got it running again. We have a heater in the well-house to help keep the pipes from freezing but what a pain that is! Every 45 minutes – 1 hour we have to go check that the water is still running, even during the night. It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep as it is, but add the constant watch and the freezing cold and it’s even harder.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Stay warm, friends! Or cool, depending on where you are!

aunt-debbie

Still Kickin’

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Happy Monday!

What’s that? Yes, I’m still kickin’…and sometimes screaming. I’m trying to get back on track but this past couple of months have sucked and quite frankly, my desire to do anything has diminished.

We finally got propane, which is our primary source of heat. It took an entire month to get that no-good, mofo company out here to fill our tank! We went through that zero degree weather with 2 little space heaters in the living room, which didn’t even begin to keep us warm. I ended up buying a couple of electric shawls that were a Godsend, holy crap. They really helped – but now it’s warming up and I have packed them away for next winter.

We thought we were in the home stretch when our water pipes froze. We always take precautions and this time was no different but it was so much colder than it normally is that what we did wasn’t good enough. When it started to warm up and the pipes started to thaw, we realized we had busted pipes and we had to shut the water completely off. My son came and replaced pipes and repaired leaks and we thought we had it made but then for some reason we only had hot water in the bathtub and cold water in the toilet but no water anywhere else! My son checked and double-checked but could find nothing wrong! Nearly 2 weeks later, we finally found a plumber and $500+ later, we had water everywhere we were supposed to have water! The faucets were clogged; the kitchen faucet even had to be replaced. Boy, was it nice to be able to take a shower and wash dishes like “normal folk”.

I’ve been having health issues again. You may recall I was in the ER in December with swollen legs and numbness. I’ve been taking meds for that but last week I was in the doctor’s office with “leakage” in my legs. Technically, it’s lymphedema and I need a specific treatment which my insurance won’t pay for. That doesn’t surprise me at all, as it’s not the first time I’ve not been able to have the treatment/procedure/medication that I need to improve and protect my health. Anyway, the medical center has sent me forms to apply to a local charity that sometimes pays for things that folks can’t afford. I won’t get my hopes up because if I do, the rug will get pulled out from under me as it always does.

On the bright side, my daughter has given birth to a bouncing baby girl! My baby girl now has her own baby girl and that makes me so happy! On that note, I will leave you with a photo of Miss Angelina Rose!

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