Warmest Regards

Baptism by fire or should I say ice. 

Gas Company came out because my sniffer detected a leak. I was pishawed by all but the nose knows. They came in and their detector detected and I felt vindicated.....for awhile. He then went on to check this and that until he got to the meter. The meter was fairly new. Actually looks brand spanking new. The pipe leading from the meter to the house, NOT SO MUCH. He started picking at it to show me the problem and pieces started to fall away. He shook his head. He felt bad as he wrapped the meter with red tape. Yep, we got red taped! 

Now, in Southern California red taped means one thing. But here, when the peaky high in 52° and the low are in the low 40's, it's a bit of a problem for this high desert gal. I am sitting here with layers and layers that don't really seem to be helping much. Boy Scout is asleep as he had his Booster and Flu vaccines and is feeling lousy. I called around and around and around. Do you know that plumbers seem to be backed up for weeks and weeks? And HVac's are so busy with heaters that they aren't taking any of the plumbers work right now. Last year Portland had a BIG FREEZE, with many people being out of power for 5 to 10 days. This year, people aren't taking any chances and are getting prepped much to my personal dismay. 

Finally found someone that was willing to move their schedule around for about twice what they would normally charge for the job. Did I take it? You're darn right I took it. I might have hot water, heat, the ability to cook and do laundry by Saturday......MIGHT. And a hot bath!!!!!!!! But only if the city inspectors work on Saturday. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, the city will be a bit warmer tomorrow and I remain bone chillingly grateful.

Ps. just emptied a box with a heating pad. My tush is warming up right this very moment and dreaming, just a little, of home.