The Wave

Usually by now our heat has been on for a week, and has spent most of that time making up for the previous couple of weeks, trying to warm up the walls of the house so that it can, finally, start keeping us warm.

But we've been fortunate this past week, and New England has experienced a warm spell that's allowed us to delay the heating bills, and left us with a house that's no so cold.

Now, I should explain to my California friends and family that a warm spell in New England in November means overnight lows above freezing and daytime highs above 50, so don't think we're sweltering here. Although one day got up to nearly 70.

So it was really more of a heat wave.

Well, the wave has crested, crashed on the shore, and withdrawn to sea, just to abuse that metaphor completely, and it's now decidedly chilly, so I'll be bringing up the heat between today and tomorrow.

But this year, we won't be sitting around shivering, waiting for the house to warm up. It's already reasonably comfortable, and the heater only needs to maintain that temperature to keep our teeth from chattering.

For the time being. After all, it's not winter yet.

Trailer's Last Ride

Our trailer is done for the season. It's first long voyage took it 150 miles to southern Massachusetts and 150 miles back. Karen and I slept in it, cozy though a little cramped, and it hauled all of our soft goods, plus the canopy that protects it from the rain while at camp.

And it almost made it without incident. The ride back was through Boston, and in Boston there are some very bumpy roads. And when we stopped at the New Hampshire Welcome Center along I-95, we noticed that the tongue extension that I had built just a little more than a month ago was, in fact, bent. Yes, Barry, if you are reading this, you were right.

It didn't keep us off the road, and the trailer came home just fine, but it will have to be replaced with something stronger before next Spring, when camping season starts again. Oh well. It was my design, and I'm amazed that it worked at all.

The camping, on the other hand, was worth the trip and the bent tongue. Lots of great conversation, lots of singing around the very big campfire, terrific food, and even a fun side trip to a working cranberry farm, where the boys actually got to put on waders and walk down into the bog.

Now it's back to real life: house projects (before the snow comes), creative projects, work, and school.

And just trying to stay warm. Good luck with that.