chop wood, heat water

our water heater spazzed out on me the other day so we've been heating water until greg can get to it to check it out. the worst part is baths. no more nice, hot showers to warm us up, instead, we heat water on the stove and then fill the ice cold bath tub upstairs in the arctic zone. brrrr! hopefully today he'll get that fixed.

really though, it has put in to perspective another way to conserve energy and propane. instead of using the hot water from the tap, placing pots of water on top of the wood stove that will naturally heat and put humidity into the air, multitasking at its finest and i'm a sucker for multitasking!

temperatures here have been frigid, in the teens to twenties at best, dropping to single digits at night. i'm grateful we aren't further north as i don't think i could take the negative numbers. we've had snow! several times already which was a pleasant surprise. i like snow even though i don't like cold, go figure.

i've been logging temperatures in my garden journal and reviewed the past 4 years of logging, noting that it has been in the 40's/50's during this time for the past 4 years. my hunch of having a cold winter this year was spot-on it seems.

the cold weather keeps us all inside and the kids are going stir crazy. i've been knitting wash clothes left and right...4 large ones complete and 2 minis. the minis are great for dishes. i did one in cotton and one in wool to compare. i think i like the wool better. i found out a close friend is going to have a baby! this summer so i'm preparing to knit up some sweet elfin baby booties for her next. the pattern i have is for kids sizes so i figure if i use 100% wool i can probably shrink them down enough. if that doesn't work, i'll scale the pattern down. jaden and adelena have been knitting a lot lately too. i'm thinking of taking them to a thursday evening knitting group i think it would be good exposure for both of them! of course, seeing as it is at a yarn store could be hazardous to our budget though.

our wood pile is precariously low and greg goes on a wood run by my dad's house once a week. i really wish we were more prepared than that considering how crazy the weather has been lately. surprisingly, heating the house with only the wood stove and a kerosene heater on the coldest of days, the house is warmer than when we used the boiler. much cheaper too! paying $600 a year for kerosene (plus free wood) is a lot cheaper than $3000 a year on propane to keep the house set at 58! the kids run around naked half the time, it gets so warm in here.

i've started sorting through my seed collection, taking inventory of what i have, giving my apprentice spare seeds that are going to go to waste if someone doesn't grow them. once i've completed inventory, i'll make a list of what i want to grow this year, compare notes and order what i need.

i'm still feeling ambivalent about my life but hoping the spring will renew my energy and hopes. i'm starting a mentorship with kiva rose very soon that i'm excited about. it will be a great diversion. i really wish my old self and spirit would come back. i'm at a loss as to how to come about that. maybe this mentorship will help with that.