Cozy at Home

Right. So my furnace crapped out on me, and I can't get anybody to come fix it because the bridge is closed, or their message box is full, or whatever.

But the day the furnace crapped out turned out to be my lucky day. Fortunately, before mom passed on she left a big pile of seasoned fireplace logs in the garage. She was always prepared for any eventuality. And now, any eventuality is here.

I always say, when life gives you lemons, hold breath and squeeze, and something juicy might come out of it. When there's a fire in the fireplace it's not only just as warm in here as when the electric furnace is running, it's also a hell of a lot quieter.

I like quieter. And not only that, but I'm getting tired of donating 200 bucks a month to the electric company. I noticed that the bill went down by nearly half that (about $90) last month just because the furnace was running less (it finally has started to warm up just a little here) compared to the dead of winter, when it ran full blast just about all the time. Still, the cost of running electric machines is going up all the time, and this cap-and-trade business is going to drive it up another 33 percent or so.

Time to cut that umbilical cord. Time to get off the grid to the extent that it's possible to do so. I realize that getting completely off is neither feasible nor desirable, but we can sure cut down that dependency, maybe by as much as half or even three-quarters if we put our minds to it. Most of my electric bill has gone to heating the place, and there are guys around here selling seasoned firewood very reasonably.

Plus there's something about watching and tending a fire that's relaxing and restorative.

I figured out what's wrong with the furnace. The part that's gone bad, a little black-and-silver box called (I think) a transformer, is buzzing real loudly and is hot to the touch when the unit is turned on. I guess that's a thing that transforms one kind of electricity into another kind, but then I don't understand electrical machines at all. I have a part number, which is all I really have to know about it, and now all I need is some local tech to find the part and put it in.

But I'm in no hurry, I can tell you. I'm feeling good right now, just sitting here watching the fire.