Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Cold and Snow ~ Surprise Mail

We are all entitled to vent at some point, so grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage) and come sit a spell with me.  To be honest, it's not really that bad of a vent.  It's just life as we know it here at the homestead.



In the early afternoon yesterday, I noticed there wasn't any flame in my pellet stove.  I investigated - filled, knobs were still set and nothing jamming the lid.  Nothing.  The auger stopped feeding the stove the pellets.  

With the temperatures dipping to the low -15° I was not a happy gal.  I turned off the blower later, and tried again.  Nothing.  I even dug the pellets out to check for anything jamming it.  Nothing.

I ran around the house turning on the wall electric heaters to keep things warm, but it was still cold.  Did I mention it was cold

Then I'm told snow, up to a possible 15 inches of it, is on our way this weekend.  I'm ready to buy the next plane ticket to Florida.  Anyone else ready to sip drinks by the poolside right now?

The temperature this morning was 10°F with a wind chill of -5°F.  Not low enough to close school, but cold enough to freeze water pipes (thankfully they did not).

When Hubby got home from work, a few expletives came out of his mouth. He had worked overtime, and got home almost around 11:00pm at night.  He took a look-see at the pellet stove.  With no time to really take it apart, he left it as is.  We have no idea why it quit working, other than things don't last forever.

The bad part about this is, that our electric bill will sky rocket if we don't fix the pellet stove.   Time is a huge factor in self-sufficient repairs.

On a positive note, and with having to stay home with a sick kiddo, I spent the morning hours clearing off the kitchen desk/computer area - filing, tossing, dusting, and then enjoying it.   I even came across some old short stories I wrote, one that was a completely detailed re-cap of a very bad day I had years ago.  It made the day feel not so bad after all.

Writing will be much more peaceful, now that the clutter is gone.  Speaking of clutter, I am buying my 20 year-old daughter a plastic tote for each article she edits for me.  She is busy packing up her apartment, to get ready to head out for military training (in a few months).

The training has been very rough on the older two kids.  I'm hearing stories that either make my jaw drop or cause me to laugh out loud.  Either way, it's tough.  My son is required to do 20 pull-ups for a perfect score.  He's currently up to 13.  And of course every mother feels her kid's anxiety. I do anyway.


My Aunt is in need of some cheering up, so I spent time last night crocheting her a key fob, or simply something pretty to attach to anything.  I hope she likes her "surprise" mail.  

 

 

 



6 comments:

Willow said...

I'm hearing ya ! I have been pretty good about the cold until just yesterday. Hope your pellet stove gets fixed.Love the quote you added. It's really so true and I usually try to be grateful.

Mama Pea said...

Fingers crossed that the pellet stove can be fixed without too much time delay and no (big) expense! It's nice to see that you folks are joining us here in northern MN in having a very cold winter. (Meant to be funny, but there are times it's hard to laugh, isn't it?) We're close to being out of dry, seasoned wood for our heat. What's Plan B? Haven't figured that out yet. Hope for an early spring? A REALLY early spring?

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, you did make me laugh out loud! Ha, we are running out of wood too, and have nothing left but a tiny bit for today. Hubby just called from work and is throwing up, and son is at work. He won't let me chainsaw by myself, so I have to wait and cut whatever we can for tonight and tomorrow.

Michelle said...

You have a great attitude about everything.Hope Hubby is feeling better and that your pellet stove is a easy fix. Will be saying a prayer for you.

Candy C. said...

I hope the stove can be fixed and soon! That was very nice of you to think of your aunt and send her a little something to cheer her up! :)

Liz said...

Hope you got your stove fixed!! This has been the winter of no end!
Remind me not to complain when it is hot this summer! lol..