What is the difference between Whitby Ontario

and St. Augustine Florida?..................not much, no snow. Today and tonight are the coldest day in St. Augustine in 21 years. Only 28f (-1c) tonight. Except for the lack of snow we might as well have stayed at home.

Got up this morning at 5:30am to snow and 13f but clear sky. We were underway by 7:30am. Sun was coming up and it looked to be the start of a perfect morning. At least in Beckley. By the time we were 10 miles down the road we were back into blinding snow squalls. Snow lasted until North Carolina. from there on skies wee clear and bright and the temp. soared to a whopping 33f. All radio stations were reporting record lows for the day.

Got to St. Augustine around 5:00pm. Everything is pretty well booked because of Bike Week in Daytona. Seems whenever we come down there is always a bike week close by. We will spend an extra day in St. Augustine as our house will not be available until about 2:00pm Saturday.

Saturday morning will be a leisurely affair. We will probably go through Daytona just to see what is happening and then down to Sebring...the long way. We are going down 1A1 so we can hit one of our favorite restaurants on the way.

Florida, Here we come

Well, we were on our way to Florida by 4:00am Wednesday morning, and that was as good as it got. Highways outside Toronto were wet but clear, and it went downhill from there. We elected to take the mountain route down through Pennsylvania while our friends Gary and
Jackie chose to go I-75. I wonder how they made out?

When we came into Ft. Erie, it had just stopped snowing. Upper New York State through to Pennsylvania saw snow squalls and ice covered roads. We had hoped that once we turned south at Erie and got away from the lake effect snow, things would clear up. They did for about 30-40 miles then we got into some major snow.

We stopped for the night in Beckley WVA. We arrived about 2:00 in the afternoon. Snow at times reduced visibility to about 100 yards (if that) and we had about a 2 inch coating of ice and slush over the whole car. I crashed about 7:00pm and awoke around 5:30am to a thick blanket of fresh snow. Got to admit it is really pretty here, mountains, fresh snow, crisp air, nice fireplace in the lounge area. Hopefully we will be on our way by about 7:30 and by then highways will be cleared. With luck we will arrive in St. Augustine Fl. about 5:00pm. We have a day to kill so we may stay there an extra day or head down to Daytona for a day, depends on weather.

By now, Sarah and Jay should have the keys to their new home. We are very excited for them but unfortunately can't be with them to celebrate. Good luck kids. We look forward to seeing your new place when we return.

54 Hours without heat and Counting.

Cooking has become a joy, not that I love cooking, but it is nice to be near a nice warm appliance. We have two comfort zones in the house. My 'ungreen' office with it's 6 quartz halogen pot lights produce an acceptable level of warmth. That plus a small heater keep my space at a toasty 75f, warmer than I would normally stand. Our bedroom is the second refuge, not that it is terribly warm but it does provide a soft place to cover ones self with a nice heavy comforter. Sleeping is actually enjoyable with a room temperature around 55-60f. Getting up is hell. Taking a shower and stepping out into a 50f bathroom with a cold tile floor is hell.

Tuesday morning at 8:00am I fully expect to see a new furnace being dragged through our front door and into the basement. It has been promised that we will have heat by noon. Just in time too as tomorrow the temperature is to soar to a balmy 45f. Go figure.

15 DAYS, 3 HOURS, 57 MINUTES until we leave for Florida, but whose is counting

The Coldest Days of the Year

So here we are....mid February, the coldest days of the years (-18c, -1f) and we have now been without heat for about 30 hours. Wonderful, just wonderful.

Our furnace ceased to function late Saturday night, the pilot light went out. By Sunday morning the temperature in the house had dropped to 64f...not too uncomfortable. The heating man was called, immediately determined our furnace was a safety hazard and 'red tagged' it.

By noon another furnace man arrived to sell us a new furnace......$16,000.00 later, a new furnace, air-conditioner, humidifier, Hepa filter system and hot water on demand system. Now all we need is to get them installed. Tuesday is the earliest they can do it. Meanwhile, the indoor temperature continues to plummet.

One thing we have determined, unequivocably, is that gas fireplaces are for decoration only.

Although most attractive and comforting on a cold winters night, they provide absolutely no heat to keep those old cockles warm. Another thing one should note is that energy efficient light bulbs do not produce any noticeable heat either. Ovens and stove tops however, do.

The heating man left us three electric heaters of about 500 watts each, to keep a 3,400 sq. ft. house warm. One didn't work, the other barely and the third spends it's time being moved from room to room as the need requires.

The up side is, we spend so much time shivering and trying to keep warm that I am sure we are burning calories at a rapid rate and are bound to loose some weight......right.

16 DAYS, 16 HOURS, 33 MINUTES and 24 SECONDS and Florida here we come.