Baby, It's Cold Outside (and inside, too)

Well, it's not that bad, but still pretty bad.

As I write this, I'm wrapped in an afghan. Because our heater has broken. Again.
Not quite three years ago, our heater stopped working in the middle of winter. It was the thermal coupling that needed to be replaced. And then the chimney needed to be re-lined because the collapsing chimney innards was causing the coupling to keep shorting out. We had all that done.

And now today, I realized that it was pretty damned cold in the house, and the radiators were stone cold. So the very nice heating guy came out and replaced the thermal coupling (again), and said that this shouldn't be happening so soon after replacing it, and maybe it was the gas valve that was causing the problem. And we wouldn't want that because replacing the gas valve is going to cost more.

And guess what? Even with a new thermal coupling, the heater still wouldn't kick on because......it's the gas valve that needs to be replaced!!

Tomorrow, Mike will call me and let me know when he can put in a new gas valve and how much it will cost. Can I let him know right now that it doesn't matter how much it will cost? Am I going to call around to get a second opinion while it's in the mid-30s during the day? Or am I going to say, just do it and get the (f)sucker fixed?

Thank heavens for afghans that I can wrap around me. And for handknit woolen socks that I can wear to bed tonight.

Oh, and to make everything sweeter, Chuck, our new cat, is very helpful, and got into the heater closet and helped Mike with the thermal coupling. Now Chuck's little white paws and belly are totally gray and disgusting.

Thank you, Chuck, for sharing your soot with us.