Burning Up

Apparently, in a past life I grew up an outcast in an Eskimo village suspiscious of new technologies.  I’m now being punished for whatever past transgressions I committed (a dislike of whale blubber perhaps?”).  I spent my childhood winter’s cold. I don’t just mean I disliked the winter. I mean cold, as in the arctic winds decending on southwestern missouri during ice storms whipping through the house, cold. I mean pioneer cold.

I grew up in a house without a furnace. I’m not sure many other 25 year olds can say that. I grew up warming my clothes on a gas stove each winter morning before school, teeth chattering, and feet dancing to avoid touching the cold lineloeum. I grew up sleeping with 2 sleeping bags, a variety of blankets, and one large sheltie for warmth.  Because my room was the coldest in a house of freezing rooms, I warranted an ancient space heater/radiator contraption. Unfortunately, there were no plugs in my room, so the cord to said heater had to be run through my brother’s room, down a hole in the floor, and plugged in the one outlet in the house that accepted 3 prong holes.

Too many nights with cold noses gave me a fetish for central heating. I luxuriated in wearing pj’s and walking around barefoot in my dormrooms. I sauntered through my apartments wearing as little as possible, flaunting my wealth of warm air, oblivious to cold fronts. I thought my days of space heaters and multiple layers of clothing were long past. Then I started living in houses again.

This when the Eskimo gods got really pissed at my arrogance over the last 8 years or so, and called in all their friends to make sure I suffered through my first Oregon winter. Freak and I spent the first month in our rental house, during the coldest part of the year, a blizzard no less with a broken heater. One evening of trying to move and keeping the oven open for heat was enough to drive us to Wal-mart and force us to stock up on space heaters.

The weeks went on. The oil men showed up to fill the oil tank during the blizzard, spending 45 minutes chipping ice away from the cap, only to discover that we’d been converted to gas. Our landlords swore up and down that it really was an oil furnace. They were wrong. That big tank? Purely decorative. Although that didn’t stop them from touting the “oil” furnace when they were trying to find replacement renters. Finally, gas lit, furnace chugging, I was warm enough to only need my space heaters in the cold rooms–which was, well, all of them.

This year, though, we own our house. We suffered through the inspection process, examined all the documents, negotitated a home warranty. Then the first cold days hit. We got the oil (this one really was oil), got new filters, pushed the button, and . . . nothing. The heater man came out and made it go. Which worked during the warm spell we had for a couple of weeks. Then bitter cold desended and once again no heat.

While waiting to make it on to the heater man’s schedule (it’s worse than waiting for reservations at some chic new resturaunt, and not being named Paris Hilton), it was back to the space heaters. I was typing in gloves yesterday. Gloves. I contemplated moving to Arizona.

Then something wonderful changed. My attitude. Freak came home, and we lit fires in the fireplaces, and lit a bunch of candles. We turned off the lights, and put on nice music. I made a big soup with roasted mushrooms, green beans, and chicken. We played chess. We walked the dog. We decorated his newly painted office. We made an excellent team.

We put flannel sheets on the bed, admired our two new space heaters (we’ll name them Iffy and Icky, to join their siblings Teeny, and Flat, and replace Burnt-Out), and it didn’t seem so bad. It was still freaking cold this morning, but last night was so nice that I still felt a warm glow.  Until, that is, we heard that the furnace might need a new pump shaft, line, and a bunch of other stuff that all means dollars. Then we were just steamed.

Oh well, at least Freak and I still make heat.

Comments

[tanya]

For some reason, I thought you were older than I am; I figured you were about 30, but I was surprised to see you and I are the same age.

[Garrison Steelle]

Having someONE to warm you from the inside out makes all the difference.

[Lilybleu]

Life really is about perspective, isn't it? Your evening sounds as if it was absolutely perfect. What changed your attitude on things? Do you intend to have many more of these types of evenings while saving for a new furnace (it sounds like a new one would be cheaper than replacing all those parts!).

Homeownership must be exhausting and expensive but damn if it still doesn't sound absolutely worth it. :)

[Chasmyn]

Will the home warranty cover it? I hope so, that can run some dollars. But the evening sounds like it was lovely, anyway.