Furnace Replacement Coming

Our furnace in limestone basement of our house in Chaumont, NY. 

Our oil furnace bit the radish. Replacement should  happen Monday the 16th. Our wood stove is nice but it doesn't replace using the furnace. When it drops below zero it will keep the house at a tolerable temperature but it cools off quickly if you don't keep adding wood every 3 hours or so. Room further away from the stove get cold. It does nothing to keep basement and basement located plumbing heated. 

My face reflected in our weather machine. 6 below zero last night

Last night temperature went down to 6 below. I added wood every 2 n half hours. The kitchen temp dropped overnight to 56 degrees. Rooms closest to the stove were around 60 degrees. We had the faucett to a utility sink in the back shed trickling  water overnight. It surely would freeze otherwise. 

Today temp outdoors hit 30 degrees. Currently at 8:00pm it is 26 degrees. Living room and dining room are most comfortable. We can get by fine until Monday morning. 

Wood stove in action 24 hours a day since oil furnace bit the radish.

Also today I spent a couple hours tidying up the basement and making plenty of workroom for the furnace crew. The Better Half had a DR appointment at 1:30. Late lunch at Shorty's Diner, Coffeen St, Watertown. 

Burned spot on furnace, tell tale sign of damaged heat exchanger. I had no idea.
Furnace tech recently told me it was nothing, just a sign the furnace is aging! I believed him!

Burned spot on furnace, tell tale sign of damaged heat exchanger. I had no idea.
Furnace tech recently told me it was nothing, just a sign the furnace is aging! I believed him!

Stressful Stuff: Hospital, Furnace Break Down , Bat in Basement

Wouldn't you know it? Goes down to 24 below zero and furnace breaks down. 

A lot of stress lately. The Better Half has been feeling poorly lately. Visit to her kidney Dr revealed low levels of iron and hemoglobin. This was on Wednesday Feb. 4. He admitted her into hospital for blood transfusion and an iron infusion. She was there overnight, came home on Thursday. At same time our oil furnace began acting up. Blower motor wouldn't shut off. Then when it did and seemed ok it began short cycling, that is the burner would stop before reaching the set temperature. The burner and fan were not working together. Seemed to me the Fan Limiter Switch was bad. Anyhow, it acted up. By Sunday morning it was 24 below zero. Called Bartlett's heating left message. They came out Monday morning. Got things going. Blower appeared to be working properly. Technician Wade left at 12:30. Blower was on. And stayed on. By 3:00 it was still going. Something wrong. Wade came back. messed around ith wiring and switches. I left him in basement for about 10 minutes. Went back to basement n discovered he had everything buttoned up and was gone. No word to me about anything. THEN, the blower would not come on at all. The burner would light and burn until it was shut off due to overheating. 

Today another guy came out, left without a repair. Need parts. Supposed to come back tomorrow, but will be someone else he says. When he left I was able to start and stop the blower manually with a jumper wire. After a couple hours I shut it down. When I tried to use jumper wire again there was nothing but a clicking sound. Like a relay not working. So tonight once again no furnace. Warmer tonight so less worry about freezing plumbing. Wood stove n kitchen gas stove keeps first floor comfortable. Just hope tomorrow they come back with parts and get it working properly. 

On another note, yesterday I walked 6,781 steps. Today was 4,824. 

OH! Horror of horrors, as cold as it's been I went to the basement last night to check temperature as there was no furnace going. I opened the door and saw a BAT flying round. I was astonished. Called Eric Jewitt a pest control guy that deals with bats. He is supposed to be here about 9:00-10:00 tomorrow morning. I searched the basement today and could not find any signs of the flying creature. 

Old Photo of Richard L Guga, Teacher From Indian River High School

History teacher of mine, Richard L Guga August 1972

I recently came upon this Ektachrome slide from August 1972. The subject is Richard L. Guga one of my high school teachers. He taught history and social studies.  He died in September 2024. His birthday was April 14, one day after mine, making us both Aries.  I always had trouble staying awake in his classes. For some reason he didn't capture and hold my attention. I realize now as a 70+ year old man looking back, I believe I might have had a learning disorder. BUT, it's more likely I too much of a day dreamer. If I was bored in a class I became a real Walter Mitty. I would get lost in fantasies, imaging myself as a research scientist, or discover lost treasure on a shipwreck, OR being a globe trotting photographer for Life magazine. Anyhow, Guga was a colorful character. In later years he developed Parkinson's disease. In another coincidence he once owned the house that I currently own in Chaumont, NY. 

                                   

On another note yesterday was another 20 below zero day. Sunshine all day was nice. This morning when I got up it was 5 degrees following an overnight low of 4 below zero. Yesterday I walked 6,520 steps. 

Snow Photos From January 28, 2026

 

Yesterday I awoke to 10 degrees below zero and sunshine. It was very pretty but I was too lazy to bother going out early to take the wonderful winter pictures I know were out there, away from home. But the sun didn't last long. It clouded up and we got more snow. Quite a lot. I ended up shoveling a great deal again. The Better Half had a 2:00 doctor appointment in Watertown. Her original appointment was for Monday but the snow was so bad she rescheduled it for yesterday. But that didn't help. The driving was somewhat dicy. At times poor visability because of wind and heavy snowfall. But we made it. I walked 7,455 steps. Anyhow, here are some photos from around our yard in Chaumont, NY.

A Cold and Beautiful North Country Day

It was a cold and beautiful day here in the North Country. When I first got up t was 5 below zero at our house in Chaumont NY. I drove my 2011 Kia Sedona van to Cheney Tire on State St in Watertown dropping it off to have some repairs done. From there I walked to our Clay St apartment and spent next 3 hours shoveling snow. The air was crisp and cold. The work kept me warm. People find it hard to believe, but I enjoyed every bit of it. Later in afternoon Cheney Tire called and said it was doubtful my van would be finished today. Work being done started out as replacing rear shocks and springs. However on way into town a new sound erupted. A thumping, bumping kind of thing. Tuns out a front wheel was loose. I guess I never torqued down the lug nuts on the wheel after I changed the front strut assembly last week.

This resulted in damage to the wheel, the lug nuts, and lug nut studs. So... more repairs... more $$.

State St, Watertown, NY this morning.

Selfie of me during walk from Cheney Tire to Clay St.

Cold, snowy scene in Watertown, NY.

Recent snow on tenants car, Clay St, Watertown, NY

Our Clay St house after I shoveled snow for 2.5 hours