chilly willy

there have been a lot of things going through my mind that i've been meaning to blog about. a dear friend from high school just got in touch with me. i hadn't heard from him since i graduated high school... which was a long time ago. when i told him that i was a pastor he responded with "it's hard to imagine anyone i went to high school with becoming a pastor. what does a pastor do?"

so i've been thinking that would be a good topic for a post. few people really get just what kind of stuff i do... but right now i am too cold to try to put together any kind of list like that.

why am i cold?

well, it all started last night when i sat down to watch pan's labyrinth (which was very good) and realized that i was freezing... so i cranked up the heat and huddled under the covers to read subtitles. by the end of the movie i decided that it had started to heat up and i turned the thermostat down to 69-70 degrees for the night.

when hubby woke up this morning it was 50 degrees in the house.

we cranked the heat back up and i checked the pilot in the basement for the 3rd time... it was lit... and we went on with our day.

it was when i got back from lunch with hubby (we had a little date at the olive garden... yummy salad, bread sticks, and soup) that i decided to call the plumber.

now here's something pastor-ish... i live in a parsonage, which means that the house belongs to the church. i pay utilities, but no rent and when something goes snafooey the church has to handle it.

well, it seems that the heater is older than the house. ok, i'm exaggerating and the house had originally been heated with coal, but this is besides the point because the plumber can't fix the problem because he doesn't have parts that old.

here's the problem: the pilot is lit, but the burner isn't lighting. so heating the house is much like trying to cook something on a gas stove by the heat of the pilot flame.

hence... i am chilly willy.

i have the heat set at 80 and it's about 60 degrees in the house. and oh, it's below freezing outside.

the good news is that the plumber called one of his other plumber friends who works more with gas than oil, which is his specialty, who thinks that he might be able to do something to fix the problem for now, but he can't come until monday morning.

i'm praying (yes, another thing i do as a pastor) that he will be able to do something to get the heat working for now because clearly the next step is to replace the heater, which is not as simple as it sounds and far more expensive than i care to think about.

all this after the kids have been sick off and on for the last week or so. that in and of itself is post worthy because of the goat rodeo that was...

... so i am off to put on two pairs of jammies, set up the electric heaters i borrowed, and watch what i hope will be a semi-entertaining movie.

stay warm and God's peace y'all