Getting heat around here has been an ongoing problem now for 4 winters.   First winter, we thought our furnace was good, but it wasn’t and we ended up heating with mostly space heaters and kerosene and that was dreadfully expensive.   Second year, we got a new furnace installed, but it was not quite right and we ended up heating with space heaters and kerosene.   Third year we tried heating with the giant Big Red the wood stove and that was dreadful, hard and just unpleasant to try and keep our big rambling house warm.  Now, this year, we got propane and hoped to be able to try and swap out the furnace for a larger BTU one, but when they came out, we failed the leak test and so, no propane for you!  And when trying to trouble shoot the whole shebang, we found that the sump pump had finally failed (we knew it was going south) and there were 6 inches of water in our old crummy Michigan basement.

Well, like everything of late, one thing leads to another and then another…  first up, we had to get the sump going and drain out the water.   And that is where Jessy came in!   I swear this child is the reincarnation of a old plumber… she has the knack!  She went down in her waders, had that pump pulled and tested and deamed dead in no time.   So proud of her!  And then she began to check online and around town and she found the best deal at Harbor Freight!   $129, on sale for $69, with a 20% off coupon, brought that bad boy down to only $55.   And she went and installed it herself!!!  How wonderful!

That crisis adverted, we then began to try and check for this illusive leak.   The fellow said it was a small one…  and it was not outside, but somewhere inside, he suspected.  We tried everything, no soapy bubbles on any connections and no gas.   Now we have the Community Action folks out and their inspector has been trying to figure it out.  Just one of those days!   Still working on it…  hopefully we can get something resolved soon, we are heating the big old place with space heaters, blankets in the doorways, and wearing many layers of clothing!  Pioneer days here at the homestead.  It has to be resolved at some point, somehow…  If not I think we’re just going to put a huge plastic bag over the house and start a big bonfire in the basement!!!   Okay, maybe not.

While we patiently wait…  we decided to move around a cupboard of canned goods and clean out this slim wall cabinet in our little pet nook area.  What a great decision!   We don’t have a ton, but when we had them all in the cupboard in the kitchen, they fit, barely, but it was just impossible to see what we had and to know what we needed, that sort of thing.  It was dark and low and just not quite right.  This other cabinet, it’s a bit out of the area of the main kitchen, but still, not too far away.  But now it’s like going to the Windhaven grocery store!  So much nicer.   We were able to separate everything, and its going to be wonderful to see what we are low on and when sales pop up, we can fill that spot up!  Just so much nicer.   Kind of distracted us from our heating woes.

Hardly a priority but just one of those day dreams…  we’ve been hoping to paint a couple rooms, just try and update a bit more in the old house.  Winter is the time that we have to do inside projects and since most of our outside things are complete for the season, it’s time to start daydreaming a bit and thinking about what we might be able to accomplish.  I really would like to paint my bedroom, little as it is, and tone down the easter egg free paint color of purple in there!   I’m thinking a sort of light lavender, perhaps those middle tones in the two swatches.   Of course, when I brought my first round draft picks home, we didn’t like any in the house with it’s light and all!  haha…   I thought the middle brownish gray would look good in the dining room where we currently have this huge monotone of wood color going on, but we didn’t like it, either.  And last looser was the green, which we thought might be a nice color in the living room, since it’s already a nice light green, but the paint swatch was just toooooooo green!  Oh well, back to the drawing board.   We’ll enjoy the process and eventually get a gallon or two!

Well, Maggie has been busy in her workshop…  she has made her second prototype inkle loom and I gotta say, it’s a good one!  Just lovely in design and so nice to work with.   I’ve done two bands on it and had a lovely time doing so.  It’s smaller than the first, as we found the first one was just a tad big.   It makes a wonderful 11 foot band if you want, but if you lay it on your lap and leg as you weave, your leg goes to sleep!  Hahaha…  This is between the big one and the little mini one we bought.   It’s medium sized and just perfect!   Makes a lovely 7 foot band!  It reminds me of the runner of a sleigh! Just a nice loom.   Once she perfects her design, I believe she will be offering them in our Etsy shop!  She’s already had one request for one!  Nice looms!

Overall, we are just transitioning into cold weather projects here on the homestead.  The animals are all comfy cozy and in their barns, doing their best to stay warm.   We’ve been giving them extra rations through this cold snap…  I can hardly believe that last night the wind chill was -9 and the temperatures in the single digit.   That is really unseasonably cold for us here in northern Ohio.  We normally only experience that sort of cold in late winter, around January and February.  I sure hope this is not a bad sign that we will be having another record setting miserable winter!   It might just make a person think about moving south!