polar vortex
January 07, 2014

We are currently in the grip of what meteorologists are calling a "polar vortex". The upshot of which is temperatures and wind chills so low that they can kill you relatively quickly, compounded by blowing and drifting of the snow on the ground.

I stayed home yesterday. Car trouble related to the extreme cold. We had prepared as well as possible for the situation, but there is only so much you can do. Plastic over the windows and the exhaust fan, draft excluders at the doors, running the electric heater in the back hall, keeping the cars filled and running them regularly...all that is good, but when you are talking -14 with a wind chill of -50, it is only going to help so much. We could still barely keep the house at 61 degrees and when push came to shove, the Ford let us down. And since it was parked BEHIND the PT, there wasn't the option of taking the other car. Fortunately, my company decided to give absences a "pass" for yesterday, because of the circumstances. So it won't count against me.

So we were kind of stuck, and just huddled up and stuck it out. I spent a lot of time cosied up under my electric blanket, reading and playing games on my phone. We made some soup for lunch, heated up some leftover ready-ribs from Sam's Club for dinner (with some steamed rice and a salad), and just took the day as it came.

The car was fine today, but Spouse drove me and picked me up just to be sure. I wore a Henley under my sweater, put on sweatpants on over my dress pants, and generally bundled up. Thanking my parents every day for that wonderful down jacket, I can tell you!

Had to go in today (today was NOT excused absence). I got my raise info, which was a mildly pleasant surprise. After so many years of getting the "raises are capped at 3%" excuse, I actually got 4%. Not spectacular. But better than nothing, and better than the last several years. Maybe I will finally get something to keep after the annual insurance premiums hike.

Speaking of all that insurance jazz, I managed to meet my dental premium 3 days into the year. I have to have a root canal on an upper right bicuspid, which will then require a crown. Which, in turn, will require major dosh. The root canal will be at least $250.00 out of pocket ($300 with premium), and for the crown, I don't even know yet. I got it drilled out and filled temporarily on Friday, and have to go for the root canal on the 23rd. Ugh.

So, yeah...last weekend. Well, we pretty much did what I outlined above--got ready, as best we could, for the impending weather. This is our 19th winter in this house, and the first time we ever covered the windows. I think it is helping, though.

Since he came down with a bad cold right after Christmas, and passed it to me for New Year's, we were both feeling kind of crappy. I had a lighter case, but was having my worst day of it on Saturday. He was further along, but, as I say, he had a worse bout of it. He still sounds horrible, because it really settled in his chest. I have pretty much shaken it off. It was more nasal for me, anyway.

He went with me to the dentist on Friday, and then after, we made a run to Sturtevant. We needed Farm & Fleety things (dog food, Heet, washer-solvent and window-coverings) F&F, and we stopped at Sam's and Festival after, to fill the car and do the shopping. Then I ran over for a haircut. But for the rest of the weekend, we just hung out, did some housework, the laundry, the afore-mentioned weather proofing, and watched stuff we've recorded on the DVR. Spouse made a nice burgundy-pepper spoon roast for Sunday dinner. It was delicious. Quiet times.

B is not liking this weather much--it is making him whiney and stir-crazy. Plus it hurts his paws to go outside. But I'll take whiney and stir-crazy over slowly dying, like W & T's fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Chu is doing right now (I would not let my dog suffer that way, but YMMV) or suffering from seizures, like Raji, or running away from home right before the worst cold snap in decades, like Niece & Nephews dogs did Friday. (Thank goodness they got picked up by some snowmobilers and taken to the Humane Society. They spent the weekend in "stir" for their pains, and got to go home yesterday.)

It is supposed to be back up into the thirties within a couple of days, so I guess this too shall pass, and we will survive. I kind of welcome any sort of situation that means I can lay low and semi-hibernate; I am cold, broke, depressed, and practically comatose right now, everything and every one I'm in contact with has a litany of woe, and all I want to do is just schlump around the house in about three layers of sweats, and completely veg out. Who knows�maybe I�m being sucked into the Polar Vortex.