The Cold She Comes

A few days ago I woke and looked outside my window to find the lawn crusty with white. No, it wasn't snow. It was the Frost. It had come, bringing winter with it.

And overnight, literally, the house went from dusty-but-comfortable to chilled-to-the-bone.

"Steve!" I yelled down the stairs. "I'm turning on the heat!"

"Put on a sweater!" he shouted back up at me.

And he's got a point. Once you turn the heat on, there is no turning back. And heat has simply gotten more and more expensive. We're paying four dollars a gallon for oil which is delivered every few weeks in the winter, and it costs over $400 a pop. Sometimes, when it's really cold, I've paid as mich as $700.

Our electricity goes up, too, of course.

I put on a sweater. I also went around the house making sure the storm windows were down, and in rooms we use often turning the heat up to as high as 60 degrees. Which is still pretty cold, when you think about it. But we like to be responsible and thoughtful about these things, at least until we can't stand it anymore sometime in December or January.

Today it is raining. It is currently 43 degrees, and will get as warm as 46. Tonight will be a low of 29 degrees, with a forecast of rain and snow. I need to get into the garage and move the bikes aside so I can pull in my car.

Hello, Winter. We didn't miss you a bit.