Oh, Drat!

If it's not one thing, it's another.  The wood stove had been cranky for days, balking at getting a good fire going, not getting a good draw up the flue...sure signs the chimney needed a good sweep.  The temperature never got up to thirty-two yesterday and finally reaching the desperation point, I called Go-To Guy.  There are some things I do for myself, but after getting stuck on the roof the last time I tried to tend the chimney, I decided I'd rather look stupid than be stupid.  Bless his heart, he and Wife were here within an hour.  He swept down nearly a half-bucket of creosote...no wonder the fire was suffocating.  I called him later to tell that we, indeed, had lift-off, and there was a cheery warmth in the house once more.

All well and good.  And then I discovered I had no water.  Like flicking a light switch again and again in disbelief when no light goes on, I turned faucets several times in several rooms.  No water.  This is serious.  The water lines are frozen.  The temperature dropped to twenty last night, and it's still at twenty this morning.  There isn't anything anyone, even multi-talented Go-To, can do until the ground thaws, and I can only hope that a ground heave doesn't break a line.  I have light, I have heat, and I have hope.  And I'm not going to ask, "What's next?"

Oh, drat!  I just found out what's next.  I took some terrific photos yesterday, including an exquisite spider web coated with hoar frost and one of the goats shrouded in the mists, and for some reason I'm getting "server rejected" messages while trying to import them.  Well, if that's the worst thing that happens today....