cold, cold and more cold

Happy new year to everyone. I made it through the holidays with little stress (not an easy thing for me).

Christmas was great, with my daughter and her family. It's such fun to watch little ones open their gifts. They open one, ooh and ahh, then set it aside and rip the paper off the next one. And I get such joy from my granddaughter. I have a new granddaughter this year, as my daughter's partner brought his 8-year-old up to Fairbanks. She is a quiet child, very polite and very pretty. She and the 4-year-old get along well, and Maddie (the 4-year-old) adores her.

New Year's Day meant the traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner. The potatoes have to be mashed with no lumps. I can only remember one New Year's when I didn't have this dinner, after I was married. It's family tradition, and even the little ones eat a little sauerkraut. My friend has black-eyed peas on New Year's day, and another friend has whatever she wants.

By New Year's, the temperature was 30 below zero, and has stayed that way. My poor aging furnace will need to be replaced this summer, I think. I've had to replace two parts so far, and I don't want to keep buying new parts for an old system. One night I got home from work and it was 33 below outside and 38 degrees inside. The poor little dog was under a blanket on the chair. I was fortunate enough to catch my furnace repairman between jobs. It needed just a small (but vital) part, which he had on the truck, so he replaced it within a half-hour. That was good for me, but it took the house a LONG TIME to warm up so that I felt comfortable.

I go out to work when I must, to the grocery store only when I have to and spend the rest of the time in hibernation mode. I've watched lots of DVDs and movies and read a ton of trashy and not-so-trashy books. Barnes and Noble must love me by now. I haven't spent much time on the computer (as evidenced by the several week lag in updating this) because it's not in the warmest area of the house. I have spent lots of hours curled up with the down comforter and the dog.

They tell us this should break by tomorrow (Monday) and we might see temperatures of zero t0 15 below. It'll seem downright balmy! I figure with my luck, the weather will change about the time I head to Hawaii.

However, I've been counting my blessings. Several people here have lost their homes to fire. One woman I work with has spent lots of money to repair her vehicle after the power steering pump and other parts failed in the cold. Another woman had her pipes freeze, then burst. My house may not be as warm as I'd like, but it's intact. My car is running. And the only health issue I have with the cold is the way it affects my asthma. I simply cover my mouth and nose when I go out and spend as little time outdoors as is necessary.

Here's to warmer temps and a great 2009.