It's cold. Not just cold, really, really cold. How cold? Cold enough that I left my car running for a good portion of the day. Because I'm missing an important piece of equipment. A block heater. Kind of dumb for any Alaskan to live without one. Especially one without a garage. But it is what it is. So, run it did. Thank goodness my lovely little Volvo is good on gas. Phew!
It's cold. Cold enough to freeze a septic system. Yep. You read that right. And since we live in the land of self-sufficiency my dear hubby has been trying to thaw it. He's done a lot of research. Learned the tricks that do and don't work here in the tundra. Until finally. He called a septic guy. This guy's words of wisdom. "Good Luck". Yep, that's it. He wasn't going to bother to come out in -40 degree temps. Nice. It's obvious he's not the one peeing in the frigid temperatures. No outhouse either. I think I might have to build one this summer. You know. Just in case.
3 days I have lived without plumbing. Plumbing, electricity and an internet connection were my only requirements for moving to Alaska. Well, two out of three ain't bad! Ha! Honestly, I'm taking it in stride. It's livable, though not ideal, but we'll survive. The rumor is that Septic Guy #2 will make an appearance some time tomorrow. Brent's not-so-secretly wants his last ditch effort to work. I'm optimistic, but realistic. I'm not canceling Septic Guy #2 just yet.
So, as of now we have no toilet or shower, and no wood stove. I am very thankful for back up heat. The rumor around town is that -40 is warmish compared to what we may get. It was -48 degrees at the Clearwater Lodge tonight. Where we ate dinner. While the car idled outside.
We're snuggled in. Waiting for normalcy to return. Praying that it's soon. And just trying to find the positive in all the discord that's found us. Someone did tell me that Mercury was in retrograde. I hope it's out soon...
Stay Warm!!
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7 comments:
Sounds like you need a bucket!
Well, you aren't the only one out here without a block heater. I'm so sleep deprived from getting up every two hours to crank the car and let it warm up that it isn't funny. My plumbing is, thankfully, an outhouse and water jugs...don't have to deal with frozen septic (we won't discuss dealing with the frozen outhouse that is getting taller and will have to be dealt with soon LOL). Hang in there, only a few more months to go ;-)
Hayley- :)
Missy- Kudos to you. I don't know how you do it. You are very strong, and I don't think anyone in the Lower 48 will ever understand just how strong. I tip my hat to you. Hoping your outhouse doesn't give you issues.
Thanks for reading, Ladies!
Oh my. I don't know how any of you do it. It was 28 degrees here in Alabama yesterday. There were sheets of ice on windshields, sidewalks, bridges and highways. As I stood freezing to death as I scraped the ice off my windsheild without gloves I thought of you all up there. God be with you all. Good luck Karla. Just wondering what you do about water Missy in a dry cabin?
Our septic froze up on us back in 2008. So did hundreds of other septic tanks in town. Fortunately we were number 10 on the list and he was out by 3pm. We only had to go one day without plumbing but that was long enough!
This too shall pass - but not fast enough!
Stay warm!
Hopefully by Tuesday! We had to put a little mineral oil down our sinks because the hoarfrost was freezing our vent pipes and causing sewer gas to enter the house because of dry p traps. Lovely. Happens every year this time when it is below zero. We're at about -10 right now in Chugiak but my sympathies to you! They say Tuesday. (praying)
Stay warm.
Lynne
Karla I hope you were able to get the septic fixed so you can relax and spend time with friends for the holiday. Merry Christmas!
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