Winter

     Winter has arrived, all at once. It got cold this week, and we had our first snow last night. I laughed when I heard that the warning us that we could get one inch of snow. But then I drove home in the one inch and quit laughing. If there's ice under the snow, and no snowplows, that means lots of fish-tailing and accidents. I was grateful to get home without running into anyone. A new snowstorm is predicted this weekend, and they've already preemptively closed my office and the surrounding schools on Friday.
     I've been sick for the past few days. I count myself lucky, because when I get sick it usually means that I just need to sleep for two or three days. As I lay in bed all day long, I can hear the cat gently snoring next to me, and the dog snuffling in her sleep in the crate. It occurs to me that this is what these animals do, every day, all day long. What a life...
     In this downtime, I did a final tally on my plumbing expenses. The plumber had quoted me $4k to replace all the plumbing, and I received a credit for that amount when I bought the house. I spent $850 on supplies, so my father and I, splitting the excess, each made $1600 and experienced the ineffable joy that is plumbing DIY. The new plastic tubing has an added bonus - since it's less conductive than metal, and the path between the hot water heater and each device is shorter, hot water arrives almost instantaneously when I turn it on. I can't tell you what a thrill I get every time I turn on the shower. Running hot water is the gift that keeps giving.