Baby, it's cold inside.

Our furnace was last serviced in April of 2008. Furnaces are supposed to be serviced each year, right? So in April of 2009, Doug and I started to say to each other, "We should call for service on the furnace. Don't want to wait until the fall... that's when everyone will be calling." Well, I didn't call for service until this past Tuesday (the fact that it was getting unseasonably cold outside triggered that action), and now we have to wait until October 30th to have someone come out and do the annual maintenance! By October 30th we'll probably be back to 70 degree weather. In the meantime, we are really trying not to turn the heat on. It's probably an irrational thought, but I don't want that warm air blowing through the house until I know that the furnace is in fine working order and we aren't going to get gassed with carbon monoxide. These last few nights, though, have been cold. During the work week we don't mind the no-heat thing so much, since we spend so few hours here at the house. But now that it's the weekend and because the temperature outside is 37... well, we're feeling a little cold. Or at least I am. Doug is still sleeping, sleeping under four blankets with three warm cats around him, but I am awake and trying to find other ways to keep myself warm.Taking pictures of myself layered up is a start, I guess, but I have since added more layers (a scarf and warm slippers) and have water on for some hot tea. It's 53 degrees in this room! That's a little chilly.

So, in honor of this cold spell, I am going to do the summer-to-winter clothes swap. As you can see, all the bins are out, all the summer clothes are in a pile to be washed, and I'm armed with the ironing board to iron out all the months of wrinkles that have settled into the winter clothes that I put away clean. Why aren't I steaming them, you might ask? Well, I am not allowed to steam anywhere except in the laundry room, and I have so many things with wrinkles in them that I would be steaming for half the day. I need to do this somewhere with a TV, or else I'll be bored to tears. Enter the ironing board, which I can use in my bedroom or in the living room and watch all kinds of bad weekend cable programming while doing this god-awful chore. But I admit to looking forward to ironing today. Might actually keep me warm.

What else might I do to keep me warm today? Well, I'm thinking of going for a short jog. I've mapped this great route around the block here. It's got everything - up-hills, down-hills, flat terrain, corners, and it's got sidewalks the whole way. The good thing, too, is that it takes me twenty minutes door to door (if I don't stop to wheeze and press on my side to alleviate the cramp I usually get under my crazy left rib). I try to do this route once a week, but if I go today I'll have done it three times! Whoa! Maybe this cold weather is a good thing. I'll be forced to exercise in order to get warm. My too-many-Hershey-Kisses butt should be thanking Mother Nature right now!