Freezing!

As many of you already know, one of the "perks" of being a homeowner is you are responsible for your home and property.  Given the current state of our furnace, I'm missing my college and rental days. 

Our very, very, VERY old furnace system (it uses OIL to pump out heat) is on the fritz.  We woke up our very first morning in our new home to a very frigid bedroom.  Steve, being the regular Renaissance man that he is, fixed it in about two hours.  Or so he thought he did.  It worked for a while, but then the temperamental thing decided to shut off after a half of day.  Ever since, it has been off and on, working and then not working.  Steve has thrown in his flag.  He doesn't know what to do to fix it, and we decided we do not want to spend any money on it since Spring is right around the corner (can't wait!).  We are toughing it out, trying to keep warm by our fireplace, with space heaters and heating pads, and hot showers.  Sandi, Steve's aunt, emailed me and said it is a character building experience, and we will look back on it one day and laugh.  I smiled when I read the email, my hands going numb from the cold. :) She is totally right!

Anywho, we woke up this morning to a house that had dipped below 40 degrees (talk about a refreshing way to wake up!).  Steve got the fire going, and left soon after to go flying.  For those of you who don't know, Steve has his pilot's license, and flying is one of his favorite hobbies.  I decided to opt out of flying with him and stay at home to work on the house.  I was determined to not let the cold stop me!  It didn't stop me... it only slowed me down a little bit. 

I've been working on the shelving for my art room. 

(me, working away)

Despite the cold, I feel like I'm getting a lot done.  I'm determined to get my art studio set up so I can start painting again.  And all of this painting has inspired me to spruce up some of my sad looking furniture.  I've painted a table of mine today, and I plan on working on my bedroom dresser, too!  I will show you the results once I'm finished with them.

My dogs are barely tolerating my indoor ways lately (especially Camper).  Since we are living in the country now, they just want to be outside, exploring.  I wish I could just let the roam, but I don't really trust their instincts.  If I don't keep tabs on them, Camper usually ends up in a distant neighbor's yard, and Pilot finds a nice, steaming pile of deer poop to roll in.  So, they've been stuck inside with me for the majority of the time.

(sad Camper dog)

(Pilot being a ham)

Well, I'm off to do more work!  I promise to post some of my recent paintings next time. 

Peacing out,

Nikki

Update!  Steve worked on the furnace (yet again) and it is working!  We woke up this morning to a nice, warm house.  Maybe he has finally defeated the 1,000 year old machine???