Laudie dog, chomping away on a piece of cow-hide, is lying on her new bits of carpet acting as her bed right below the wood stove. She’s very happy to be inside. I let her stay inside for the first time last night, content, as always, below the stove.
The thermometer next to the wood stove says it’s 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) inside… next to the stove.
Outside, it’s heaps colder, and, with the windchill, about 7 below zero Fahrenheit or 22 below zero Celsius. This is a warm day in Siberia.
Of course, this is South Carolina (though up in the mountains). In Minnesota, we once got to 74 below zero Fahrenheit with 104 below zero windchill. That’s 59 and 76 below zero Celsius. Colder than Siberia. Hah! So, I should be used to it, right?
Today’s a day just to feed the stove. Brrr!!! Perhaps I’ll be able to steal some time to do up a couple hundred more emails.
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
Father, if it is that cold near the heater, how do you stay warm even a little? I would freeze! That Laudie dog doesn’t seem to be bothered by the cold though; her sabre-toothed jaw action appears to be keeping her warm.
Denise: It’s all about layers! And a quilt. When it’s so cold, I sleep in the chair, well, kind of sleep. Adding wood to the fire in my sleep. So, sleepy during the day. But adding wood to the fire. It’s warm out now, though, as it has warmed up to freezing, so, Laudie is outside enjoying the sun. I’m under a quilt in the chair. Until I add wood to the fire.
Stay warm, Father. I hope you got my little note in the mail. God bless you, Liz
Thank you, Liz. Yes, I did.
Heart warming!
Father, I have a clean,with no holes, Vintage 1945 Military Issue Wool mummy sleeping bag. If you think you can use this I will be more than happy to mail it to you. There is a picture of one like it at the link below. My mom sent this to me from the Arizona White Mountains when I was selling vintage items on ebay and I just never got around to selling it. I do not do ebay any longer.
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5020405306754780&pid=15.1
Denise: You are not alone in offering such things. Thanks! BUT!!! No need for them, as a famous reader last year sent in a down feather thing, which is all I need. And, it will be getting warmer very soon. And then it’s Summer!!!
Okay, just wanted to offer.