Good morning! Today we have 25° that feels like 18°. I am starting to acclimate after taking a long fast walk out in the 30° weather yesterday. We expect snow again today. It may only be an inch, but it is enough to cause havoc in the south.
We are told to leave the water dripping, both cold and hot, if possible to prevent frozen bursting pipes. Do people up north drip faucets all winter long? I suppose you might have heated pipes or some other invention that helps. Our water bill will be really big this month.
Ironically, it was my grandson who had pipes freeze. He lives in northern Alabama. He bought his first home, and this is surely the coldest weather he has had there. His dad was able to drive down to help him thaw things out. We learned that people have hot water heaters outside the house. I never heard of that.
We had -26 when I got up. Windchills were close to -50. Many schools were still open. Some were delayed. That is cold if a child has to stand outside to wait for a bus. Our children could see the bus coming and run out quickly. That isn’t possible if someone has a long driveway, but some parents will make little structures to keep out the wind.
I drove our children to school many days when it was in the -20’s. I am glad I no longer have to do so. My daughter will have to drive her young daughters to school this morning. Ironically, their father, who teaches in MN, the state next door to them, had his school close for the cold.
Good morning. When I went to bed last night it was thirteen so I was interested to see how cold we got with no snow to protect the trees. I was praising God to see the temps had risen to twenty!
Heater is running here, too (and my hot water heater is outside). I’m in warm sweats and sneakers. Heating bill has been very high this year but it’ll be temporary. Spring is coming.
The winds continue, I have an ocean buoy chime hanging from a post in the backyard that’s getting a workout this morning.
High of 4, low of -4 is about what is predicted here. I’m not going anywhere today except that I stepped outside long enough to get photos of frost at the creek. I was probably only outside for 15 minutes, but that was plenty long enough, especially for the few minutes I was walking into the wind.
I’ve been visiting my neighbor in the hospital every day (the one who lost her only son in a house fire last week). Each day she seems more alert and “with it,” though she doesn’t really seem aware of her present reality. For instance, she got really angry at me a few days ago (and told me she would fight me if she had to) when she was insisting on getting up out of her chair so that she could go home and be with her husband (who died in summer 2022); she said her son had died (so at that time she remembered that) but that her husband was alone at the house and she needed to get to him. A nurse and I worked to talk her down. A couple days later a doctor told me that she remembers her son died but thinks he died two years ago. Anyway, yesterday I told her it was going to be super cold today and I likely wouldn’t be by to see her today. And a niece and a couple of nephews have been added to the list of people visiting her, so I don’t seem to still be the only one (as I think I was for the first few days), although I don’t know how often they are visiting.
Just saying, it’s good to remain positive and not go negative as some of you are prone to do!
We are trying to work our way into the snow. They have kept moving it around as to where it will hit.
My 94 y/o friend and I covered the prayer line today for our ladies’ group. We talked, read Psalm 118, and prayed from 10:30-12:30. We covered a lot of ground.
We don’t drip our pipes as that can cause them to be worse if they freeze. We have a space heater in the laundry room as the pipes are on an outside wall that doesn’t have sufficient insulation.
When I was in grade school in Tucson we had a day or two off when pipes froze. Our school had breezeways outside to get from one room to another and drinking fountains outside the unheated restrooms. Eventually they put heat tape on the exposed pipes.
I’m getting good at spam calls that don’t come always with that warning — picked up as I thought it was someone I needed to reach for a story, heard the long pause, then said “Is this about home repairs” “Yes, we are calling about home improvement opportunities … ”
Cheryl, blessings to you for your concern and care for your neighbor, glad she’s improving, albeit still with some confusion. Hoping that also will clear up — and so glad to hear she has some family on the list to visit her as well.
Our pipes don’t freeze because we use sufficient insulation. We only would let a tap drip if our heat was off as well. But, we also have people check our homes if we’re away for more than 4 days in case something has happened.
The water line from the well is below 6 feet (frost line up here) and we try and run pipes on inside walls. The only water we have on an outside wall is the kitchen sink, but it’s not in the wall – it runs up through the floor from the basement. If it got cold in the house, we’d open the drawer underneath to let in as much heat as we can.
We’ve really warmed up today with a high of 27F today.
Not to say you down south do not use sufficient insulation for your weather. We just know that every year it will be -40 and so our building codes require more insulation, etc.
We had no insulation in the downstairs floors the first winter we lived here. That summer we hired some thin brothers to go underneath and the insulation, combined with a new roof (and insulation) really helped our heating bill.
And of course, I’d rather wear a sweater/vest than live with the heater running all the time.
Thanks, Kare, for suggestion of glue sticks for sealing the envelopes. I have been able to use my old water stick with the sponge so far. I will be finished by tomorrow.
Art has to stay overnight at the office since roads are icy. My dog-walking friend had almost gotten home but her neighborhood is hilly. She slid into someone and many other accidents happened on that stretch of road. She was able to walk home on the grass. We pray her vehicle will be safe overnight where it was left.
Well, insulation helps with keeping it cool in the summer as well. Though in DJ’s area, it is “comfortably warm” all of the the time, if you stay out of the dog parks. Maybe Abby has something there.
The main road our street connects into is closed due to an accident at that intersection. The snow came down too quickly for people to avoid the ice. The snow did not last for long so not as much as we had before. Thankful.
Thankfully, we haven’t had any problem with pipes freezing. I put up quite a bit of the insulation myself. Of course, if our heat went out in this cold they would freeze. I know someone who had that happen in their house. The water in a toilet was frozen, too. They were in AZ, but had someone checking on the house, which was a good thing. Many people will drain their lines if they are going for a long time. That way they don’t have to worry about it.
Wandering Views 
Good morning! Today we have 25° that feels like 18°. I am starting to acclimate after taking a long fast walk out in the 30° weather yesterday. We expect snow again today. It may only be an inch, but it is enough to cause havoc in the south.
We are told to leave the water dripping, both cold and hot, if possible to prevent frozen bursting pipes. Do people up north drip faucets all winter long? I suppose you might have heated pipes or some other invention that helps. Our water bill will be really big this month.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ironically, it was my grandson who had pipes freeze. He lives in northern Alabama. He bought his first home, and this is surely the coldest weather he has had there. His dad was able to drive down to help him thaw things out. We learned that people have hot water heaters outside the house. I never heard of that.
We had -26 when I got up. Windchills were close to -50. Many schools were still open. Some were delayed. That is cold if a child has to stand outside to wait for a bus. Our children could see the bus coming and run out quickly. That isn’t possible if someone has a long driveway, but some parents will make little structures to keep out the wind.
I drove our children to school many days when it was in the -20’s. I am glad I no longer have to do so. My daughter will have to drive her young daughters to school this morning. Ironically, their father, who teaches in MN, the state next door to them, had his school close for the cold.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It is reported we had record lows overnight…it is cold! Schools closed due to buses not able to start up!! Yay for freeze days!🥶
LikeLiked by 3 people
Son is supposed to have a snow day in Charleston. It is cold everywhere!
LikeLiked by 3 people
I was going to comment on how cold it is here but I can’t compete with Kathaleena (and probably Kare too). 🙂 Our forecast for tonight is a balmy -9.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Good morning. When I went to bed last night it was thirteen so I was interested to see how cold we got with no snow to protect the trees. I was praising God to see the temps had risen to twenty!
A beautiful day here.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people
Do you really want to know?
My husband is cold, so the heater is running.
I’m barefoot.
It’s 33 degrees outside. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heater is running here, too (and my hot water heater is outside). I’m in warm sweats and sneakers. Heating bill has been very high this year but it’ll be temporary. Spring is coming.
The winds continue, I have an ocean buoy chime hanging from a post in the backyard that’s getting a workout this morning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
High of 4, low of -4 is about what is predicted here. I’m not going anywhere today except that I stepped outside long enough to get photos of frost at the creek. I was probably only outside for 15 minutes, but that was plenty long enough, especially for the few minutes I was walking into the wind.
I’ve been visiting my neighbor in the hospital every day (the one who lost her only son in a house fire last week). Each day she seems more alert and “with it,” though she doesn’t really seem aware of her present reality. For instance, she got really angry at me a few days ago (and told me she would fight me if she had to) when she was insisting on getting up out of her chair so that she could go home and be with her husband (who died in summer 2022); she said her son had died (so at that time she remembered that) but that her husband was alone at the house and she needed to get to him. A nurse and I worked to talk her down. A couple days later a doctor told me that she remembers her son died but thinks he died two years ago. Anyway, yesterday I told her it was going to be super cold today and I likely wouldn’t be by to see her today. And a niece and a couple of nephews have been added to the list of people visiting her, so I don’t seem to still be the only one (as I think I was for the first few days), although I don’t know how often they are visiting.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We’ve made it up to 29°!
Just saying, it’s good to remain positive and not go negative as some of you are prone to do!
We are trying to work our way into the snow. They have kept moving it around as to where it will hit.
My 94 y/o friend and I covered the prayer line today for our ladies’ group. We talked, read Psalm 118, and prayed from 10:30-12:30. We covered a lot of ground.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We don’t drip our pipes as that can cause them to be worse if they freeze. We have a space heater in the laundry room as the pipes are on an outside wall that doesn’t have sufficient insulation.
When I was in grade school in Tucson we had a day or two off when pipes froze. Our school had breezeways outside to get from one room to another and drinking fountains outside the unheated restrooms. Eventually they put heat tape on the exposed pipes.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I’m getting good at spam calls that don’t come always with that warning — picked up as I thought it was someone I needed to reach for a story, heard the long pause, then said “Is this about home repairs” “Yes, we are calling about home improvement opportunities … ”
No thanks, bye.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheryl, blessings to you for your concern and care for your neighbor, glad she’s improving, albeit still with some confusion. Hoping that also will clear up — and so glad to hear she has some family on the list to visit her as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our pipes don’t freeze because we use sufficient insulation. We only would let a tap drip if our heat was off as well. But, we also have people check our homes if we’re away for more than 4 days in case something has happened.
The water line from the well is below 6 feet (frost line up here) and we try and run pipes on inside walls. The only water we have on an outside wall is the kitchen sink, but it’s not in the wall – it runs up through the floor from the basement. If it got cold in the house, we’d open the drawer underneath to let in as much heat as we can.
We’ve really warmed up today with a high of 27F today.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Not to say you down south do not use sufficient insulation for your weather. We just know that every year it will be -40 and so our building codes require more insulation, etc.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Mediterranean climate — old homes. Drafty homes. Very little insulation, very little was needed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had no insulation in the downstairs floors the first winter we lived here. That summer we hired some thin brothers to go underneath and the insulation, combined with a new roof (and insulation) really helped our heating bill.
And of course, I’d rather wear a sweater/vest than live with the heater running all the time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kare, for suggestion of glue sticks for sealing the envelopes. I have been able to use my old water stick with the sponge so far. I will be finished by tomorrow.
Art has to stay overnight at the office since roads are icy. My dog-walking friend had almost gotten home but her neighborhood is hilly. She slid into someone and many other accidents happened on that stretch of road. She was able to walk home on the grass. We pray her vehicle will be safe overnight where it was left.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, insulation helps with keeping it cool in the summer as well. Though in DJ’s area, it is “comfortably warm” all of the the time, if you stay out of the dog parks. Maybe Abby has something there.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
The main road our street connects into is closed due to an accident at that intersection. The snow came down too quickly for people to avoid the ice. The snow did not last for long so not as much as we had before. Thankful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankfully, we haven’t had any problem with pipes freezing. I put up quite a bit of the insulation myself. Of course, if our heat went out in this cold they would freeze. I know someone who had that happen in their house. The water in a toilet was frozen, too. They were in AZ, but had someone checking on the house, which was a good thing. Many people will drain their lines if they are going for a long time. That way they don’t have to worry about it.
LikeLike