Day 3962

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I felt cold when I got up this morning and I decided to turn up the heat. Nothing happened. The furnace wouldn't light. This seems to happen every year. I used to call the HVAC guy to come out, but I've learned over the years that I can often fix the furnace myself. It's not a fun job, but it beats sitting around freezing until the furnace repairman gets here.

Often there is nothing really wrong with the furnace. There are a few parts that tend to get dirty and can prevent the pilot light from igniting. I unplugged the furnace, took the covers off and got to work. Since the utility room where the furnace is located is small, it is hard for me to reach the parts that need to be cleaned. I'm not as agile as I used to be. When I'm down on the floor in a confined space, it can be hard to get up again. I felt really old this morning. My tools are basically sandpaper and Windex. I try to clean the parts in place, because I don't want to reassemble anything improperly. The last thing you want to do with a gas furnace is cause it to explode. Cleaning everything was tedious, but it worked. When I was finished I plugged the furnace back in, reset the thermostat, and turned it on. Thirty seconds later we had heat. 

I got a late start on breakfast because of the furnace mishap, but it didn't matter. We weren't walking early anyway. It wasn't raining today, but it was very cold. We thought if we waited to walk until after lunch it might get warmer. I guess it did get a little warmer, but it was still very cold when we left the house. Dawn wore a winter coat for the first time. She wasn't sure about the coat at first, but got used to it quickly. I'm never sure if dogs really like their coats and sweaters. I hope so. They're bound to get cold too.

I've finally had to hook up the little ceramic heater in the office. Just because I fixed the furnace doesn't mean that this room gets warm. The office is the most distant room from the furnace and I think the air in the vents cools down before it even gets here. Cold days in the office have always been a problem in the Winter. It's not a big deal now though. I'm retired. I don't even know why I spend time in this room.

It was a slow day. There were things I needed to do, but I just couldn't get motivated. I need to work on processing more of the pictures I took out at the observatory. I need to add Colt to the Dalmatian Rescue website as well. He's not ready for adoption yet, but I guess he needs to be up there anyway. Who knows. Colt might be exactly the dog someone has been looking for.

This week has really gone quickly. I was kind of surprised that it was already time to take the week's trash out to the curb. I wonder if I'll ever start going out for breakfast on Friday's again. I'm in no hurry. I've started buying a little more fruit so I can have my smoothie all week long now. If the weather is a little warmer tomorrow I need to go up on the roof and remove the standing water. I'm in no hurry to do this either, but water doesn't evaporate in the Winter.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day