Friday, December 06, 2013

‘BRRRRRRRRRR’ IN YAVAPAI COUNTY ARIZONA!!

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BUILT MYSELF A LITTLE WOOD FIRE THIS AFTERNOON

I know a lot of folks have it much colder with far worse conditions than we do here in Congress Arizona but even our milder cold still spells cold for me.  Tried out my new sleeping bag last night & it worked just fine.  Lots of room inside for my nightly wanderings & it kept me warm as toast in my room’s 52 degrees.  Kelly’s room dropped to 48 degrees. 

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<<< YEP, IT’S COLD ALRIGHT

Switched to warmer fleece lined track pants for the day instead of the usual cold denim material found in blue jeans.  I remember the locals telling us about last year’s winter being the coldest they have had in quite a few years.  Am hoping this winter is not going to be a repeat performance.  Saw a group of Sparrows this morning clustered around a Gila Woodpecker trying to convince him to chop a hole through the ice in the birdbath.  In fact it was cold enough in the house last night Kelly didn’t even have to put the Turkey in the fridge.  So cold in my bathroom first thing this morning the water to the toilet stiffened up to a point where it wouldn’t run.  Kelly’s liquid honey was too thick to spread on her toast.  When the steaming hot water from my shower hit the icy cold air of my bathroom I had a pea souper of fog going on.  That was the grooviest part of my day:))   

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Jeep has been starting every time without a problem so we have been dragging our feet on the ‘new clutch switch’.  Seems it was a loose wire like Jim had figured.  If it were not to start again I have a pretty good idea which wires to wiggle, but……………

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Kelly headed off for Wickenburg this morning to have a look at the results of her liver enzyme blood test a few days ago.  When she arrived home this afternoon she said the test looked reasonably good.  Three of the 8 or 9 markers had higher than acceptable levels but she wasn’t too concerned.  A copy of the test has been faxed to both her Bayfield Doctor & her Specialist in Stratford Ontario.

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Planted my Agave ‘Pups’ around the property this morning.  Turns out I had 19 of them.  I think they are just an absolutely beautiful Cactus but with their dagger like needle point tips one has to be very careful around them.  Puttered about in the Cactus gardens a bit  more before the overall cold & brisk wind drove me back inside the house.  

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Fed-Ex truck rolled in today & it looks like I have another Ikea Poang chair to assemble.  This will be my 4th one.  First two rode with us in the Damon for about 5 years.  One went with the Damon when it was sold, one is in our Bayfield sunroom, I’m sitting in the third one right now typing this, & the new 4th one will sit on our porch here & act as a 4th sitting chair in the living room when needed.  I will tackle that chair assembly in the morning……if I don’t wake up on the cranky side of my bed that is.

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HOPE TO ASSEMBLE THAT RED IKEA CHAIR IN THE MORNING…FED-EX ALSO BROUGHT A NEW WARMER COMFORTER FOR KELLY’S BED

Whenever it warms up I have a couple paint projects lined up.  A small upper section on our garden shed needs painting & I have my bathroom closet to do.  Just waiting on a few shelves first before starting the closet project.

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And an update from Nina at WHEELING IT.  She has just moved their successfully growing blog to a newer & larger blog site.  Stop on over & check out the new changes:))

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THANKS AGAIN ROSE:))

Gathered myself up a couple handfuls of wood this afternoon & fired up our fireplace.  Had a nice fire going for about an hour.  The fireplace isn’t really heat efficient but at least it does throw some heat.  Debating now whether to get a load of firewood or not.

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?
-Border Collie: Just one. Then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
-Rottweiler: Make me!
-Lab: Oh, me, me! Pleeease let me change the light bulb! Can I? Huh? Huh?
-Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
-Malamute: Let the Border Collie do it. You can feed me while he's busy.
-Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls.
-Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?
-Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
-Mastiff: Screw it yourself! I'm not afraid of the dark...
-Doberman: While it's out, I'll just take a nap on the couch.
-Boxer: Who needs light? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
-Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there!
-Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb?
-Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...
-Old English Sheep dog: Light bulb? That thing I just ate was a light bulb?
-Basset Hound: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
-Westie: Dogs do not change light bulbs -- people change light bulbs. I am not one of THEM so the question is, how long before I can expect my light again?
-Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.
-Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned-out bulb?

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

14 comments:

  1. Pretty sure that bird bath would not ever have thawed today on the top of the hill. And may be snow coming. Brrr

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  2. You might be better off by getting a cast iron fireplace insert. More heat will stay in the room and won't go up the chimney. Stay warm.

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  3. Drove across central Utah yesterday, from St George to Ouray, Colorado. The car's outside temp hovered between 10 below and five above zero. We stored our Lazy Daze Rv in St George...tried to winterize it as best we could (drain valve on fresh water was froze). Not sure this year was a good one to be home for the holidays :((
    Box Canyon Mark

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  4. Bloody cold here this morning too,
    I don't like it one bit either.
    So glad we have the little propane heater.

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  5. We just had our 3rd day of low 80's and am glad we are here and not there right now. Stay warm and hope you do not get any frozen pipes. I have been living in shorts and sandals, kinda like it.

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  6. Loved the groaner. Whoever wrote it sure knows dogs and their temperaments!

    The nice thing about a fire is that it's like having friendly company when you're alone.

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  7. Keep yourself warm there should get better weather soon.

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  8. I would suggest the same as Dave and Susie. Get an old one (for $50 as we did) and a bit of firewood.
    That has cut our heating costs a lot. Who cares about a little ashes around. WARM rooms are the main thing here.

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  9. For the first time in years I've switched to my LL Bean flannel lined jeans--it's that cold! Hope you figure out how to warm up your house. Our house was sitting at 54 degrees inside this morning, we are having wood burning stove issues and had to let the fire in it go out last night so the cowboy can work on it. BRRRRR at minus 18 degrees!!

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  10. One trick we used when we had an open fireplace in Wisconsin was to put a heavy piece of plywood across the opening when there was no fire going. It helped keep the warmer air in the room from going up the chiminey. Yes, you can close the flu, but that doesn"t completely stop the draw.

    I painted a picture on the room side.

    Didn't you buy a little heater for the Winnie? Do you bring it into the house?

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  11. We were down to 9 degrees F last night at the Eugene airport. Supposed to warm up to 24 degrees today. Sun is out, but not warm enough to melt the ice in the street, or the crust on the 6 inches of snow in the yard. Had a couple racoons visit the deck last night, they weren't even bothered by the fact that the outside light was on, and the curtain was wide open on the patio door. Must have been cold.

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  12. One thing about the fireplace we discovered in our one back home..When you light a fire, it's warm if you stay close, but every other part of the house gets MUCH colder! We have had our electric one running full time here..It is our main source of heat and looks very real...

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  13. And I thought our bedroom was cold at 55F! I guess it's cold pretty much all across the lower 48...except maybe for Florida. We were worried about our birds but they finally all showed up for breakfast so I guess they survived the night. Only one dove this morning and we usually have two.

    Loved that groaner- exactly right!! And the picture of Pheebs is great. It's funny how dogs always like a pillow - just like people.

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