It's over a week old already and getting older by the day. The long-range forecast says it's supposed to stay about as cold for at least another week. (Of course, the forecast for the month of February gave us a 50% chance of above normal temperatures ... so take the new forecast with a grain or two of salt.)
At least I noted with a little pleasure that it was warmer here than in Chicago on noon Thursday. Here, the sun was out, and it had gotten all the way up to 15 F (-9C--still colder than normal). When we went to bed Tuesday night, it was still 10 above. And when we got up Friday, it already was above zero. So we're making slow progress. At this rate, we might get above freezing by July.
But on Tuesday, it was just about as cold as it was on Monday. My car started on Monday afternoon, but at noon Tuesday I tried it, and no dice. I tried about 90 minutes later, when I had to head out to an interview, and it was the same thing: It just revved half-heartedly for a few seconds. So after rescheduling the interview, I decided to pull the plug, yield to the inevitable and invest for a new battery. $78.
I've had the car for four years (this April), and the battery I replaced is the one it came with. Odds are, it's the original one, and I was semi-expecting to replace it when the really cold weather arrived. Anyway, I don't have to worry about subzero weather starts any longer this winter. And that's good. It crosses one thing off a long list.
On Wednesday, I did the interview (a local machining firm, giving me the rare and welcome opportunity to use the term "screw machines" in a story) and then went home after work.
I was upstairs, watching something on TV, when I noticed I was feeling cool. So did my wife, who was downstairs, where it's typically cooler, anyway. It was getting cooler. What gives?
It's the igniter on our natural gas furnace, which has given out several times over the years. This last one lasted about six years, but it passed away on Wednesday.
The furnace guy made it to our place at about 7 p.m. (by which time the downstairs temperature was down to about 56F) About 45 minutes and $125 later, we had a working furnace again. The furnace guy said they don't use this kind of igniter in furnaces any longer--furnaces made today use an igniter that is much more reliable. Unlike the one we have now.
Well, what can you do? At least the igniter lasted until the worst of the cold spell was over. Bottom line is, we have a nice warm house again.
Anyway, life goes on. I had volleyball Thursday night, I've got basketball Friday night, and on Saturday we'll make the normal weekend trip to visit my mom. Plus I've got to write some friends. And try to catch up on blog entries.
And I'll also look eagerly for advance word on a wintertime weather warm-up. But I'm not going to hold my breath.
My friend S sounded down when she wrote a few days ago. I tried to cheer her up when I wrote back last night: "The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger. It's cold now, but before long the cold will be gone. Winter inevitably will end. It always has, and it always will."
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