Anders Celsius

When I rolled out of bed this morning at 4:45 am in order to feed the fire, a 20 minute process by the time you empty the ashes and get the fire re-started, it was a balmy 5.9 F! Unfortunately, I had been lax in restocking the firewood bin last night so I had to actually go out in that temperature, in my pj's, to get some wood off the porch. It made the 56 F temperature in the house seem almost tropical when I came back in. We've been having a bit of a cold spell here the last seven days and until today the thermometer couldn't get past the 25 F mark. And, if there is such a thing as liquid ice, it has been flowing from my kitchen faucet for a week now. Thus, I have been enlightened and realize that Anders Celsius had it right when he devised the temperature scale he did as it much more accurately describes cold than Daniel Fahrenheit ever did. In other words, being outside in my pj's this morning when it was -14.5 C means that it was COLD! Fortunately, the wind wasn't blowing for once.

The wind was howling yesterday, however, when the boys were sawing and chopping all the trees that have fallen down recently. While Paul did most of the sawing and chopping and Garrick did most of the transporting, Garrick dressed the part of the Northwood's lumberjack. I'm not sure if he'll be able to work the chainsaw when the trees come down again, but as you can see from the picture, he'll have one heck of a Halloween costume for next year. Luckily, I took on the job of fire tender for the day. It is pretty tough work but somebody has to do it!

Actually, it is not a bad job to have if the weather is a bit mild. The tough part comes with the colder temperatures when the stove just can't keep up and you have to get up twice during the night to feed the thing in order to keep the temperature in the house above the hypothermia level. No need to set the alarm either ... when you wake up because the tip of your nose is starting to get numb, you know it is time to feed the fire again. Hoping it is warm enough now that I get to sleep through the night for the first time in a week. Also hoping that the warmer weather doesn't bring that snow storm they are predicting ... we have yet to purchase that snowmobile and I can't imagine the four of us trying to get out of here on Garrick's bike for the Thanksgiving Weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving -
Karyn