Brrr

We are experiencing the coldest weekend of the year here in NC, and our HVAC system has died. Our house was built in 1930, so it is charming but not very tight against the weather. The old HVAC system is about 15 years old, and we've been expecting it to go for several years. And this is the year. We have a new, much more efficient, unit on order and hopefully it will be installed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, we started on a project that we've been wanting to do ever since we moved into the house. There are two fireplaces in the house, and both have been bricked in. So yesterday we took a sledge hammer to the one in the living room. It only took a few hours, and now we have an open fireplace that is ready for gas logs. We went window shopping and have a set of logs picked out. Riley and Tarzan are very curious about this new big hole in the living room. And white cats and sooty old fireplaces aren't a good mix.

I have been doing some reading, curled up in bed with the electric blanket at the cats. I read and really enjoyedThe Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. I recommend this one, it's got an interesting story and wonderful characters. Now I'm reading La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith. This is a stand alone novel, and not part of any of his series of books. I've just started and anxious to see how it is.