The subzero saga continues.
We ordered more oil on Friday. But it wasn’t going to get delivered until the end of next week.
Meanwhile, I urged Don to check to see how much heating oil we had left a couple of times to no avail. I can’t really fault him; I am also perfectly capable of checking on the level and didn’t. Anyway, I was reading someone’s Instagram account and they’d run out of oil yesterday, earlier than their scheduled delivery, due to the relentless cold temps causing our oil burners to use a lot more oil than usual.
When Don came home after running some errands, he announced he was checking the oil because he had just talked to a guy who had also run out.
He came back and said we had less than an eighth of a tank left – actually, about a sixteenth. Yikes. He immediately called the emergency number and told them we needed it STAT. But STAT won’t be until sometime today. So we turned down the thermostat, bundled ourselves up in layers, and I found my fingerless gloves.
Don snuck in this photo of me in a baggy sweatshirt, wool cap, fingerless gloves, dinner tray on my lap and bundled up in a throw:
He keeps calling me Apple Annie, after that Damon Runyon character who was immortalized by Bette Davis in the movie Pocketful of Miracles. This morning, I’m in much the same attire, only the sweatshirt is over flannel pajamas.
The good news: we still have heat. We just don’t know how long it will be before the oil is delivered today. These guys are working around the clock. There have been hundreds of emergency calls as no one was prepared for this relentless onslaught of subzero temperatures with dangerous wind chills.
One more day, and it will start to gradually warm up. Last night it went down to -12 with wind chills taking it down even more. Today, it’s very sunny and we’ll hit a balmy 18 degrees! Tomorrow, even warmer.
Yikes.
The obligatory greenery. Some new growth on the schefflera.
I’ll be very happy when we don’t have to run drips all day long. I don’t mind doing it at night, but hearing them all day long, forever adjusting the stream, making sure we didn’t accidentally turn off the water? I’m over it.
Happy Sunday.
I hope the heating oil gets delivered today! Oh my, I remember running out of propane once and I had babies to keep warm…off to the Mother In Law’s house. I know you will be relieved when the temps warm up. I’ve overdone and now I’m hurting so today is mandatory rest. Will Christmas decorations still be up in February? I hope not! I really will get them down just much slower then planned. Here’s to more heat! oh and I think you look cute in your Apple Annie attire~
Unfortunately, we’ve run out of propane this year as well! Although it’s just for the stove, not for heat.
Oh I do hope you get your oil today! My worries are the power lines, as we have all electric here. I also worry the cats aren’t warm enough. Oh for a tropical island hideaway!
We got it, surprisingly early. It was delivered at noon! Huzzah!
Claudia, Brrrr…hope you have an oil delivery really quickly. Glad you still have some heat. I’ve had a cold since Jan 2, and every day it’s a new surprise….drippy nose, fever, coughing, this morning, it was packed sinuses. As you are so over the cold winter, I’m so over this cold….just wish that were really true. I think there’s another two or three days of “taking it easy” before I feel better. But so glad I have a furnace hooked up to services, and don’t depend on regular deliveries. I’m normally very thrifty about having the heater on during the day, but I’ve needed it on the last few days to stave off the chills.
I’m so sorry about your cold. The one I had in December was like that. It just seemed to last forever! Hang in there.
Out here in the northeast almost everyone has furnaces and burners that use heating oil. It’s just the way it is. I’m not sure why, but it’s the rare house that doesn’t have a furnace that runs on oil.
Oh dear, I’m crossing fingers for your oil delivery to happen soon. My “tropical hideaway”, Debbie Price, has been COLD for the last week! This is not what we signed up for! It’s supposed to warm up in the next few days…come on, warm weather.
Aren’t scheffleras beautiful? I’ve loved them since I first met them in the seventies. Was so happy to find them growing and huge around the yard at the shack. Of course, when I had them as houseplants in the frozen north, they never looked as good as yours.
This schefflera was very finicky for quite a while and I thought it might not make it. But now, it’s doing well.
Oil has been delivered!
I am your oil is delivered SOONER, rather than later, Claudia! Do you have a portable electric heater just in case? Keep us posted on Instagram.
It was delivered, Debbie. Big sigh of relief!
What a pain in the tush, to have to go out in the frigid weather, to check on the level of oil in the tank! Love that pic, though…so cute. You look like a snuggle bunny. Hope the oil comes quickly. Stay warm….and thanks for the gratuitous pic of the schefflera. Another plant to add to my ‘to buy’ list once it warms up! ;)
The annoyance of the dripping faucet? My hubby suggested you wrap a small towel, or rag around the faucet, so the water will slide down the rag, instead of dripping. That’s what we do for a sink we have in our lower level as a precaution. (And hope for an early Spring!) ;)
Thanks, Donnamae.
The oil is here – delivered by noon, no less! Very grateful. Now my next thing to look forward to is when I don’t have drip water all day long.
Yes! ;)
The important thing to do is for those of us who ‘have’ to take care of those who are going without a roof over their heads. Can you imagine what that life would be like? Almost too much to bear thinking about. Glad you have oil on the way! Stay bundled up!!
Yes, indeed. I can’t imagine having no roof over one’s head in this weather. It’s just deadly.
hope that you haven’t lost heat and by now your oil has been delivered!!
we have similar weather right now … it’s all about dressing in layers, seeking sunshine, enjoying new growth on the indoor plants and looking forward to spring, isn’t it? :)
happy sunday.
kathy in iowa
No, we’re fine. The oil was delivered around noon. I hope it gets warmer for a period of time. We’ve already had to buy oil twice!
Well bless your cotton socks! Our weather here was nothing compared to what you have sustained. That being said , we were so grateful to see it turn warmer today, to see the sun come out and the wind to die down. I wish I could send you some of it. Stay warm and we’ll hope for better days for all of you with so much snow. Your blog is always interesting though, no matter what the weather !
The wind has died down, as of this morning. That makes a tremendous difference!
Yikes! Down to 1/16th of a tank. Sounds like you’ve got a “waiting-for-the-cavalry” story happening today at the cottage. In reading everyone’s “it’s-so-bleeping-cold-when-is-this-frigid-spell-going-to-break-so-over-it stories” for the past week – from almost ALL over the country – really has me pondering today. Just WHAT were those cave people thinking when they began to migrate north into Europe & Asia from Africa & the Mideast region anyway? Maybe not the BRIGHTEST move they could have made. Of course human skulls [and consequently brains] were probably a lot smaller back then – LOL. Best of luck with the oil delivery [those poor delivery guys]. If it was me, I’d be dressed just you are but sidled up to Stella [playing the part of the fort] until the cavalry [oil] arrives. Hang in there 1 more day [38 degrees tomorrow!] Peace. ☀️
#Resist
#Protect Mueller
It was delivered earlier than I thought it would be – around noon.
The dispatcher told Don that she had been up all night long Friday night, answering emergency calls. And the guys who deliver are delivering during the early morning hours as well!
oh Claudia.
I never have good enough words when someone is hurting. and you are.
my mantra last year during a particularly bad time was “this too shall pass.”
and no! sorry Don. but she does NOT look like Apple Annie! LOL
and… ps
if the back of your neck is warm you will feel warmer. odd but true.
I wrap a long knit scarf around mine and cross it over my chest. it will help! xo
I’m okay! Just tired of the cold and all the crap we have to do to keep ahead of it. I’ve never seen it this cold, this early.
The oil was delivered around noon, so we are very grateful!
Oh Claudia….how I hope your oil delivery has been done by now…I woke up to my son saying “Mom..there’s no water in the bathroom.”….boy you should have seen how fast I hopped up out of bed…this is on top of not being able to use the kitchen sink for about a week..the water works in it but it is frozen in the pipe outside and won’t drain…Well this time the water coming into the house froze up…I called my friend who is a handyman of sorts and he got the water running again and went to get that pipe wrap insulation stuff and put on it…he traveled around town yesterday trying to find electric heat tape and everyone is sold out of it…One guy told him that he ordered extra for this Winter and it all sold…It just has to warm up this week because I said so..lol…and I’m stomping my foot as I say this!…lol….You make the cutest Apple Annie Claudia!…Take care…
Oh, I well know that situation! We used to have the pipes freeze a few times each winter, and downstairs we’d go with a hairdryer to thaw them. We have pipe wrap around some of our pipes. It’s insane out there, Nancy. So many people are without heat, with frozen pipes.
Oil was delivered at noon, Nancy!
Hope you have your oil by now! As for the drip–tie a string around the spigot and the water runs down it with no dripping sounds! Stay warm!
Thanks, Carolyn!
Wow. I think I’m cured of ever dreaming about living somewhere where it snows.
After SO long, we are set to get rain in SoCalif tomorrow (maybe even later tonight). It could be a lot…an inch per hour in certain areas for a specific period of time, like in the Monday overnight. This, after NOTHING, for months & months & months. Mother Earth sure seems to be in a fury, doesn’t she. Trying to get our attention (i.e. climate change). Anyway, we’ve been fooled before by these forecasts for rain; it often never really ever gets to where I live. But this is looking pretty sure, with 100% chance, or so they say. It would sure be a blessing because maybe it could finally put an end to the Thomas Fire which has plagued us since Dec 4 (it’s still stuck on 92% containment and not expected to be ‘out’ under normal circumstances til January 20).
If we do get this rain, though, the authorities are going to have their hands full with ‘burn-debris flow’ going into storm drains and elsewhere/flooding with a lot of bad stuff in the water (dangerous). Work crews will be busy.
I’ll be so glad on the one hand for the skies to open up and settle dust and ash and old pollens and dry leaves – just to even be able to smell the rain again and have it clean us off (everything is so dirty) – but it’s probably going to be a lot of mess and, last thing I heard, the government hasn’t come in yet to clear out all those hundreds and hundreds of burned-out lots in the hilly neighborhoods (I think homeowners have til Jan 22 to request their permits; in other words, it hasn’t had time to get off the ground yet, with homeowners still putting in their paperwork and working in conjunction, too, with their insurance companies). So, yeah, toxic crap you don’t want moving in water. I read that burned land gets hardened such that the rain doesn’t soak into the ground, so the water just travels across the surface. County/state officials had anticipated the coming ‘rainy season’ after the huge fire and have tried to do some damage control although there’s been so little/too little time. We all just want rain to be beneficial, not another killer with mudslides.
Rain will be enough for me right now. I don’t think I could handle what you’re going thru with that kind of cold. Also, it seems to me like a trapped feeling; trapped inside a house, maybe cozy at first but then, as you’re all saying, ‘done’ with it; enough with snow & ice (and let me out of the box!).
My husband’s been sick with flu (or something like it) for 3 days but will rouse enough today (although going at it easy), in advance of the rain, to secure tarps on outdoor sheds, re-check the kitties’ shelters, check downspouts, etc. It’s supposed to be really windy, too, which I wish wasn’t happening. We need a new roof, so I’m feeling edgy. I don’t like big wind and big rain as a combo (gentle, softly-falling rain would have been nicer; complain, complain…). It often means we lose the electricity but I guess it’s like that anywhere. My electricity controls the furnace, water heater; so, it’s a nuisance.
Very worrying about your heating oil; I hope you get that oil soonest. Also that you don’t lose power. I would be feeling so distracted. Could you watch those Golden Globes tonight? While drinking a slew of hot drinks? Something to keep your mind off those drips.
Strange, but with that b&w photo, I feel like I’m looking at you in someone else’s house. Your surroundings don’t look recognizable to me. Is it a part of the den we don’t normally see in your photos?
I should have read the other comments first; seeing now that you DID get your oil. Thanks be…
Yes – very grateful!
No, you’ve seen it many times!
Maybe because the photo was b&w and I’m less used to seeing the TV, but I of course ‘recognized’ it in your next-day (Monday) post.
xo
So glad your oil was delivered. It is funny that Don calls you Apple Annie. We have a doll that carries apples and we call her Apple Annie. She is named after our maternal grandmother. She sold apples on the street corner during the depression and her name was Annie. Stay warm[if possible].
Marilyn
Apple Annie was a character who sold apples on the street corner in the Depression (courtesy of Damon Runyon.) Maybe it became a collective name for those strong women?
If you are ever in a pinch and can’t get the oil company to deliver oil in time you can put diesel gasoline in your tank. Just go to the nearest gas station that has gasoline and fill up a container. This won’t do any damage to your heating system at all as long as it is diesel and not regular gasoline. I learned that tip from our heating oil company.
Thanks, Jackie!
We’ve had sub-zero temps since Christmas Eve and today woke to 33 degrees, overcast skies, & drizzle…it feels downright balmy! I would bet our weather here in Illinois will be headed your way soon! Hope you keep warm!
I think we’ll reach the thirties on Tuesday. Can’t wait! Maybe I’ll go swimming…
Ha! The arctic plunge…
…meant to say, too, that I loved your heading for the post on Sunday, “My Kingdom for Some Oil”; very catchy!
Thanks, Vicki!