Right after Thanksgiving, our furnace stopped working.  Naturally, this happened during the coldest early-December weeks in recent memory.

Where was all that global warming when I needed it?

We waited 12 days for a part, hovering around the three space heaters we had borrowed from friends.  Any more than three, and we started blowing fuses.  This also meant that I had to stay home all the time, since the heaters had to be turned off if I left the house.  On those two days when I was substitute-teaching, we came home to a 55-degree indoor temperature.

I learned exactly how many household chores I could accomplish while wearing gloves, and how many pairs of socks I could wear with any given shoe.

Finally, someone came to install the brand-new part.  We were thrilled!  Inside 45 minutes, the house was a toasty 67 degrees, and I was ready to put away those extra socks and gloves.  And then...BANG!  We started hearing these loud noises every time the furnace started up.  We went to the basement to investigate and saw a big orange fireball inside the furnace each time the burners lit.

Back to the drawing board--and the space heaters--for several more days until someone with a little more know-how came to really fix the furnace.  We can run it now, and the house is nice and warm; but we're still waiting for yet another part.   Apparently it's not crucial--just temperamental.  So far so good.

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