Way too cold! Winds containing gusts of 35 mph started last night and have continued to blow right up to the present time of 7 p.m. The thermometer couldn't quite make it above zero all day. We've had a wind chill factor of 40 below all day. Yep, that's too cold.
I haven't set foot out the door all day. My dear husband has done all the chores including bringing loads of wood to the window I opened on the enclosed porch where I've taken it from him while bundled up in my heavy down jacket, gloves and a hat.
This morning we had to wait to restoke the wood stove in the living room which heats that part of the house and Papa Pea's office above it. The ashes had built up to critical mass and I needed to clean them out. Both our stoves hold a fire overnight which is wonderful in this frigid weather but that means there were lots of glowing coals in the living room stove that I wanted to burn up before starting the ash clean out. If I shovel ashes with still burning coals into the small garbage can we use for ashes, lots more dust, grit and grime floats out into the room than if the ashes are cold.
I have to admit I didn't let the ashes get entirely "cold" this morning because we humans in the house were mighty eager for that stove to be fired up and putting out heat!
Lighting the gas oven in the kitchen on the other side of the living room wall helped a bit. I had planned on baking a blueberry pie today anyway, so it was made and put in to bake even earlier than I had planned.
But the ashes did get cleaned out and it wasn't too long before the house was warm enough to be comfortable. I'm so thankful, grateful and appreciative for a well-insulated home and plenty of dry and seasoned wood for our wood stoves. In weather like this I can't help but think back to our first few years living up here. We were in an old, uninsulated (or darn close to it) metal trailer trying to heat with green wood. Ugh, those were not the good old days.
I worked along all day today like the energizer bunny getting the "must-dos" for the first part of this week done. Tomorrow is laundry day for me and I'm bound and determined to spend all the time I can squeeze in around wash day chores in my quilt room. Tomorrow's weather forecast is calling for about the same as we had today so what better weather could there be for quilting?
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39 comments:
Wow -that is too cold for me. I'm bundled up in a quilt and my snuggly warm jammies and robe - and it is only 49 degrees with a bit of wind and rain. I'm a very spoiled west coast baby - and plan to stay that way. I'm embroidering on our chilly winter day. Enjoy your quilting.
I pray you stay warm and cozy while this winter continues its journey. Like you, I try to get chores done before sitting down to sew :)
Yeah, this weather makes choring the animals a real chore LOL No water bucket heaters for us so we're out there hauling water every two hours. Isn't this homesteading life just so glorious? Not! All the people that think it's like playing Little House on the Prairie ought to try a week of this weather!! Oofda! Be brave, stay warm, and quilt away.......
The wind always makes it worse, we have some strong winds heading our way this week, its going to be another cold snap, we are still building up wood stores, its a never ending job but a great feeling to see a full wood shed :-)
I suppose you'll be sending that along to me....you're always so generous-tee hee.
Stay warm!
And isn't a day spent hunkered in just about the best feeling on earth??
Man, I can feel the cold as you've described it. Visions of wind blowing snow around while your husband trudges across the yard hauling wood are very vivid in my mind. And then when he hands it off through the window kinda cracked me up. Yeah, you need to go quilt. It's too cold out and I imagine in those temps, one can never have too many. Love how you describe your days! Hope you have a great week. Stay warm, Mama Pea!
I thought -16 was cold. Golly that has to be frigid. I have frozen hot water pipes today. Oh joy....
18 tonight here in NC. I expect that would feel downright tropical to you MP.
Feel like a good sweat? Come on down....HA!
JoAnn - A day of 49 degrees with wind and rain will feel a lot colder than it should! Hope you enjoyed your snuggly day of embroidering. A good idea!
mari - If I don't have necessary chores done, they just keep calling to me as I'm trying to do more enjoyable things! Thanks for commenting.
FAF - Yep, I think the animals' water freezes before we're back in the house! It's hard not to think about them being "out in the cold." But they're not like humans and as long as they have clean, dry bedding, food and water and are sheltered from the wind they do pretty darn good.
Dawn - We always think we'll have so much more time in the winter when we aren't outside gardening, building, etc. but, darn and drat, there are just different chores that take time each day! Hope your week doesn't turn too cold.
Sue - Probably and you're welcome. We will. And FOR SURE! :o}
Laurie - Come on now . . . you loved the snow on your recent trip to Colorado. Don't you want to experience our 40 below wind chills, too? (Hee-hee.)
Kristin - Oh, no, I was hoping you wouldn't have to go through the whole frozen pipe thing this winter! Darn!!
Tami - I really appreciate your invitation, but I don't want to get anywhere closer to Florida and what they've been going through. Now THAT is bad weather!!
Wow, that IS cold. We seem to freeze up here a bit as well. Nothing compared to you thoug, 25.5 F (-3.6 C)this morning.
Yesterday we went for a walk in the dunes. It was beautiful. The sun was shining and it looked we were walking on hills of diamonds.
Wendy - Sunshine is something that has been severely lacking around here this winter. Your walk yesterday sounds lovely.
Mama Pea,
Woke to temperatures 23 degrees with a windchill making the temperatures more like 14 degrees. Stay warm, enjoy your pie, and be safe.
I should never complain about our measly cold weather! Keep those wood stoves going.
Sandy - And I'll bet that felt mighty cold to you! Bundle up if you have to go outside.
gld - I think it all comes down to what we're used to. When we lived in Illinois, when it got down to freezing (32 degrees) we considered it cold. Up here in MN the dividing line is zero degrees! We all deal with what we have to deal with. And if we complain too much, well then it's time to MOVE! :o)
I know you and PP are ready for it - it's just always a shock when it arrives, isn't it? I know that it is winter and all, but geez.
Susan - Yes! Especially when we had just about talked ourselves into thinking this winter's temps were going to remain around 30 above!
HaHa! Actually, I would. As long as you keep the fire stoked inside so I can pop in and warm up every once in awhile. Oh and can you keep some coffee on and maybe make some sort of pie from your stash?
Laurie - Truth to tell, when it's really cold, that's how we do it . . . pop in to warm up, thaw the fingers, etc. and then go back out to continue what we were doing. Don't tell my husband he could have a cup of coffee and a piece of home baked goodie on his "warm up" times though. He'd be in about four times as much as needed!
I have a friend who calls living in Minnesota "minnesnowta"
Cootie Bug - Haha, that cute! But that's sure not the case this year! Maybe a total of 6" of the white stuff so far . . .
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