February 10, 2018
6:39 p.m.

The irony of the last few days has not been lost on me. Fickle weather!

We have had an unseasonably warm winter, up until the last two days. Yesterday was overcast, foggy and freezing, with intermittent snow showers and some rain. Today it snowed most of the day and was again super cold. Both days included a very sharp wind.

Naturally, the nearly 40 degree drop in temperature coincided with the installation of my new water heater.

Nothing about this install was ever going to be easy. We had been unaware of the leakage going on, so the floor underneath had plenty of time to soak through and rot, and had to be replaced. Pipes had to go, because leak plus heat equals rust. You know--a big mess. Undeniably dangerous, too, I'm sure.
Anyway, there were issues to begin with, and then--the heater got dropped on the water line, which broke.

Yep. Water all over, in the freezing cold. People had to be called, water main had to be shut down, breakage repaired. Pressure build up released through the hydrant across the street sent a river down the road. Awesome.

That took some time, by golly!

In the meantime, the water was now shut off completely, and the gas had to be shut off as well so a new gas valve could be installed, so we pulled out the space heaters and got them going.

Then my son and the handyman got the new water heater put in place in its outer wall closet, but there were accessories that had to be obtained, so off we went to purchase those.

We got the gas turned back on, so heat and cooking were re-established, but there would be no water just yet.

It's winter, which means limited daylight, and as the practically non-existent sunlight waned, the temperature really dropped, and thus ended day one.

Today was miserably windy and cold, with heavy snow, and our poor hired help did as much as he could before he had to admit defeat. He was kind enough to deliver to us several gallons of water so we can wash and flush the toilet. He said he felt bad about not finishing today, but we don't blame him at all, not a bit. No one could be so heartless as to expect a man to be out in that weather working with bare hands on cold, cold metal! We are just grateful he brought all that water.

I gathered some snow to melt earlier, which my son scoffed at, and I haughtily reminded him that it was no less than the pioneers had done before we all got spoiled by modern luxuries. I'm a bit sore from all this hauling and heating water, but you have to admit, I still have it easier than a lot of people ever did.

(Hasn't stopped me from griping, though!! Hahaha!)

Anyway, it's supposed to warm up tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get this thing finished up soon.

In the meantime--Brr! It's cold out there!
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8:36 p.m.

Just wondering why it feels so late! Must be the cold. It's still snowing and blowing out there. Those who ski should be happy campers in the morning.
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I think I might crawl in bad and watch the new episodes of The X-Files on Hulu.

Oh my gosh, I'm an advertisement! You're welcome, Hulu.

Good night, all!