Fall Has Arrived

You always know you're boring when all you can think to write about is the weather, that's the first sign of mediocrity, and I'm falling into this category, unfortunately! Last week, as many of us know, was the first day of Autumn, but here in sunny Michigan we had a week of above-average temperatures - it was up in the 80s almost every day. This week is another story. Our temps have fallen and the nights are down in the 50s. Some of the trees are changing color and the leaves are lining the sidewalks and streets, but what was the first indicator, for me, that Fall had arrived?

The dog is sleeping on the couch again.

Most of the time Raaf the dog sleeps on the floor and he normally behaves himself at night. Some mornings I get up to find that he's had an "accident" next to the back door - I have to wonder why, as I always put him out before I go to bed. I think if they made a pill for overactive bladder syndrome for dogs that I should get him some because he can never seem to hold it for very long.

This morning, woken by a strange dream, I was up really early, like before five, and came downstairs. Usually, Raaf is there to greet me, wagging his tail, but this am there wasn't a panting dog-swishing tail to be heard. After some investigation, I found him, curled in a ball on the couch and looking as guilty as he could. I put him down and then directed him to his dog bed. You know, those padded, pillow-type things that they sell in the stores for dogs? Well we all know what those are for, but Raaf doesn't seem to remember. I told him, "Raaf, this is your bed, right here," and patted it. He climbed in obediently and is still there, snoring contentedly.

Now I know that the Fall/Winter battle has officially begun: When I have to fight with the dog over where he sleeps at night. Another indicator of Fall? I turned the furnace on yesterday, but dialed down to 60 degrees just in case it gets that cold in the house at night. The furnace didn't come on last night, but every thing's eventual!

Got Heat?

Denial is such a peaceful place, much like sticking your fingers in your ears as you singsong, "I can't hear you...La! La! La!" It's nice here. Unfortunately I had to come back to reality sooner or later...

I guess I should have wondered what was happening whenever I went into the bathroom.

You see, I have a half-bath which was one of the warmest places in the house last winter. This winter it changed. The bathroom was so cold that I preferred to "hold it" rather than go in there. Nobody wants to bare their backside when it's thirty degrees out, myself included, but because I was vacationing in Denial, I refused to think about it.

"I wonder why it's so cold in here?" I'd wonder as I'd hurry up and get the heck out of there. And, come to think of it, it wasn't just the bathroom that was cold, it was the entire house. While we have been trying to keep the heat set at an economical level, when ice started forming on the doorknobs it makes you think something else might be going on. But, La! La! La! I can't hear you!

As the days grew steadily colder inside and outside, it wasn't until Christmas Day that the house seemed colder still. And it wasn't until the next morning that we realized what had happened. The furnace had clonked out. The blower had stopped working completely. We still had heat, technically, but there was no way to distribute it throughout the house. No wonder we had been freezing!

I called the Furnace Guy and, thankfully, he was able to come over in the afternoon. The problem was indeed the blower motor and he installed a new one. Also, despite the furnace's age (40 +/-) it's in great shape and should last for several more years. Furnace Guy said that the actual furnace will die before the new blower motor does. I wondered if I was supposed to feel relief or fear? Anyway...

With the heat off for two hours during the repair it was colder in the house than it had ever been, unless you went outside, and as soon as the furnace was running again I cranked the theromostat right up there. Up to seventy, in fact. (Yes, I splurged.) The heat pored out of the vents and with new power - I had forgotten how it was supposed to feel. Denial is a real place, boys and girls, but not a place you want to stay in. Here's to the Real World!