It's Hard to Type with Gloves on Your Hands

Our furnace isn't heating properly right now. It's still producing heat, enough to keep the pipes from freezing, but not enough heat to keep our rears from freezing. If you watched any of the football playoff games this weekend, then you know that the weather is a little chilly in the northern parts of the US right now. While I waited for the end of both the weekend and off-hour service rates, I tried every trick I could think of to keep our indoor temperature on the right side of 60. I tried:

- Lighting candles
- Opening shades when applicable
- Turning on every light in the house
- Unnecessary cooking
- Long, hot baths and showers with no drag out fan

Sure, most of those tricks run up our electric bill, but we're saving by not having to run the refrigerator as much.

We've kept the temperature high enough, but it's still dropping as the weekend ends. I'm keeping my body warm by bundling up. I'm keeping the kids warm by encouraging them to wear warm clothes. They don't listen, but I'm encouraging them. I put socks on the boys' feet, and they immediately removed them. I put an undershirt under Abbie's sweatshirt, and she threw a fit, insisting that she was already wearing one shirt and didn't need another one. Before I sent them to sleep tonight, I talked to them about the importance of using a blanket. I doubt they'll sleep under the blankets, but at least I tried. I'll check on them first thing in the morning to make sure they're warm enough. Actually, checking on them will be the second thing I do; calling for a furnace repair will be the first thing.