In which there have been many things to blog

It's not like I haven't had anything to blog; on the contrary, this has been an eventful month. My current client has been a challenge and taking up a lot of time; Christmas has been the same. I have lots of things that I want to share. I'll be adding thoughts and memories as I have time.

In which things get chilly

We got up yesterday to 52 degrees in Evan's room. I know it was 52 degrees because we'd left the space heater in Evan's room from the previous night. We hadn't turned it on, since the temps were supposed to moderate somewhat, and we didn't think it would get so cold.

I hustled Evan downstairs with the promise that it would be warmer down there. It was, but only by 5 degrees. The thermostat was flashing RECO. Now, I haven't the foggiest as to what RECO could mean, but since I couldn't get the thermostat to turn on the furnace, I figured that it wasn't good. Fortunately, Hunter puts .pdfs of their manuals on-line, and so I could look it up.

Of course, the manual isn't particularly helpful, and so I looked for the obvious. The circuit had not blown. Opening the door of the furnace showed that the pilot light was out. I put on a sweater and sweat pants and put Evan in a hot bath, and opened the blinds on the sunrise side of the house.

Chris came home shortly, ill at work. He took a look at it, and tried to follow the instructions on the outside of the furnace door. Of course, nothing in the diagram resembled anything inside the furnace, and so he too was stymied, which meant that he had to call for help. The furnace repair guy showed up at 1:30 pm.

It is the way of misbehaving computers, automobiles, cats, and furnaces that, once the person who can fix them is present, they function perfectly properly, thank you. Thus, when the furnace door was replaced by Mr. Furnace Repairman, the thing came on without prodding or protest. Mr. Repairman then spent the next hour trying to get it to fail again, without success. We did make a few minor adjustments – changed the batteries in the thermostat, turned up the fan speed, tightened screws and bolts. We had of course purchased the super heavy-duty anti-allergen filters for the furnace, which he said were too dense and could be contributing to lower circulation and thus overheating. Of course in the process of trying to get it to fail, he got the temp in the house up to the point where I had to strip down to my tank top.

So, we’ve got heat again, at least until what Mr. Repairman couldn’t find goes haywire again. Hopefully it won’t be on a 0° night. He did note that the air conditioner coil was about shot. I expect to see him again in July.

In which a discovery is shared

New favorite medicinal - Captain Morgan Private Stock; spiced rum at in a squat 750 ml bottle at $21. Dark and spicy, with a distinct vanilla note. Nice in egg nog, too.

In which the goose is getting fat at an alarming rate

December 4; only ten days until Christmas.

It's not "new math". I leave for Albuquerque in just eight days. I have to have Christmas virtually finished by then. This includes finishing decorating, shopping, and Christmas cards. I'm beginning to feel a little frantic.

I suppose it's a hell of my own making; I am the one who insists on elaborate Christmas trees, one for each downstairs room. It's not decadence; it's just that I have so many ideas about tree themes that I want to try each one. I insist upon cooking at least one holiday meal, although my mother talked me into having Christmas Eve catered last year, and it was a grand idea. We're planning on Syrian this year - hummos and kabobs, baba ghanouj and shawarma, and the best pita in Denver.

My brother and sister-in-law are coming for the holiday, but sadly have to leave on Christmas Day. Perhaps instead of Christmas dinner, we'll have brunch. Unsurprisingly, Greg is also a cook, and I really would like to spend part of the weekend in the kitchen with him. Have to balance the limited home time with the many things I want to do in it.

There are the stockings, waiting on stuffing. Next weekend is slated for the Christmas shopping, present wrapping, and card writing. And then I pack for Albuquerque. And then it's Christmas.

All too close.