The Weekend In Review, Jan 8-10

Friday January 8, I woke up to 30 degrees, 21 mph wind speed, wind chill 18 and no electricity! I had to drag out my old percolator to make coffee. Been a long time since I've brewed coffee on the stove! I even had to drag out that old Acer laptop! It only has a 1 hr battery but at least I could check email! It’s really rough when you have to ‘rough it’ like that! Power came back on about 10AM.

Seems I have spent a lot of time waiting for the propane truck to come. Last Tuesday they didn't show up until 7:30PM! Guess they are doing a booming business with this cold snap – last Tuesday they didn’t show up until 7:30PM and were filling cylinders in the dark.

Saturday January 9 I woke up to a ‘hard freeze.’ 25 degrees with a wind chill of 15. I I need to remember to go to the office and check for notices more frequently. They shut the water off at the main line to keep the pipes from freezing. We were to have disconnected our hoses. Of course, I didn't see the message until I went out to go WalMart. There is a big 'sandwich board' in the drive with the daily activities and new. But, someone had disconnected my hose. I must have a guardian angel here in the park somewhere; I’m always taken care of!

The previous night I had let the faucet drip to keep the water lines open, however, that only works until they shut the water off at the main line! I guess, with the water problems they had last month, replacing pipes and meters, they probably didn't want any more damage from freezing weather!

I didn't have any frozen pipes IN the RV. The hose from the faucet to the RV did freeze. Had I known to disconnect from the faucet and drain it, it would have been OK. But the filter on the end of the hose kept it from draining when my guardian angel came by to unhook it. I survived with a full holding tank.

This furnace is really good and not noisy. The only problem is the draft from the slide. When I'm setting at the desk or table I really notice it.

Li'l Bit doesn't mind going out in the cold, but she doesn't like it when it is wet out, too. We don't stay out too long 'cuz I don't like being out in it either. I just keep an extra pee paper down for her! Li'lBit and Holly both sleep under the covers when it is cold. I'm not complaining - they keep my feet warm!

I woke up to no heat - must have kicked off about 5 AM 'cuz when I got up at 6 it was still 55 degrees in here. I had the thermostat turned down to 60. I had just filled my empty propane cylinder yesterday when the guy came thru the park and couldn't understand why I didn't have heat. I had turned on both cylinders so it would auto-switch during the night if needed.....but the new tank showed no pressure. I figured I hadn't hooked it on right and it leaked, but when I went to take it out to take it into town to fill, it was heavy/full. I put it on the other side and tried it and it worked just fine. Maybe there is something wrong with the connection on that one side. That happened to me once before, thought that tank was empty and when I lifted it out, it was full. Not sure what the deal is with that connection. Will have to have it checked.

Dick, next door, came by and took it to town and had it filled. I was listening for his truck to come back so I could go out and unload it and hook it up. When I heard him, I went out and Rick from down the street had already hooked it up..so how spoiled do you think I'm getting!

How can I not love the folks here! I told them I could get really lazy and just set on my butt and let them take care of me and I was informed if I was just setting on my butt and expecting it, I probably wouldn't get much help! So, I'll try to look like I'm doing everything myself and fool 'em!!!

Warmed up to the 50s on Sunday the 10th. I finally hooked up my water; been living off the holding tank since the freeze a couple of nights ago. Didn't do a thing Sunday, all I wanted was a long hot shower! Had planned to clean out my closet and fix the clothes rod but just turned into a vegetable, fixed a pot of soup and watched some football. Ruth came by for a visit, her husband was watching the Patriots and they weren’t doing so well.

Looking forward to some warmer weather - it must be out there somewhere!