It was -2 degrees when I took Ella out this morning. It's 7:37 p.m. and it's 13 degrees now (with "feels like" temperature of 0 degrees).
It's okay. Our fuel tank has fuel oil, our good old reliable furnace - thank God - is working. I think I have been more liberal with the thermostat these very cold days than I was last year. Last year I was petrified about the fuel bill. We are on a "plan" and pay $250 a month, 12 months a year. That includes a service plan AND fuel refills at market price, which is currently around $3.80 a gallon. (Our most recent refill took 99 gallons!) Last year we had service from September through May only, since we moved here in the middle of the fuel company's "year". And at the end of that "year", we owed them an extra $350. This year we are paying for 3 extra months - June, July and August - so I'm hoping we will end up even, or they'll owe us money. This house is fairly small - less than 1,100 square feet - with newer double-paned windows and fairly good insulation. I have no idea how people afford to heat bigger, old and drafty houses like many of those around here. Maybe some of them have newer and more efficient furnaces. Meanwhile even being liberal, the thermostat is never above 68 and usually 65 or 66 is the "warm" temp, while 60 or 62 is the night-time temp. And I am never not wearing a sweatshirt.
Not much else new here. But today is Thursday, which means it is Free Press publishing day. And that means an updated Calendar of Events. Once again, for a flavor of local Mid-coast Maine life, here is a random selection of a consecutive group of upcoming local events all occurring on a single day in the next week:
"Deus ex Machina," 1 p.m., Owls Head Transportation Museum's 2014 Winter Education Series. Filmmaker and inventor Jack Churchill gives the talk on innovations and advances in motorcycle technology and screens a short film of the same name. Free. FMI: 594-4418 or jl@ohtm.org.
• Feather Mask Workshop, 1-4 p.m., 3 Streams Farm, Belfast. Sliding scale fee of $10-$20, with family discounts. Materials included. Get directions to the farm when you register: 338-8980.
• "Transporation in Historical Fiction and Maine Lore," 1:30-3 p.m., Boothbay Railway Village's Spruce Point Chapel, 586 Wiscasset Road (Rte. 27). Van Reid, author of the Moosepath League series of historical novels, gives the talk. Bring questions for Reid about his writing. First in the Village's 2014 Winter Lecture Series. Free; donations appreciated.
• Free Butcher Demo at Maine Street Meats, 3 p.m., 461 Commercial St., Rockport. Sean will cut a complete hind-quarter of beef from Aldermere Farm, which raises grass-fed Belted Galloways.
• "Sexuality in Mozart," 3 p.m., Old Professor's Bookshop, 99 Main St., Belfast. UMaine Professor of Music Henry Wyatt gives this Old Professor's Shop Talk, which explores such topics as whether Don Giovanni was a jolly rake or someone waging war against women. FMI: 338-2006.
• Feather Mask Workshop, 1-4 p.m., 3 Streams Farm, Belfast. Sliding scale fee of $10-$20, with family discounts. Materials included. Get directions to the farm when you register: 338-8980.
• "Transporation in Historical Fiction and Maine Lore," 1:30-3 p.m., Boothbay Railway Village's Spruce Point Chapel, 586 Wiscasset Road (Rte. 27). Van Reid, author of the Moosepath League series of historical novels, gives the talk. Bring questions for Reid about his writing. First in the Village's 2014 Winter Lecture Series. Free; donations appreciated.
• Free Butcher Demo at Maine Street Meats, 3 p.m., 461 Commercial St., Rockport. Sean will cut a complete hind-quarter of beef from Aldermere Farm, which raises grass-fed Belted Galloways.
• "Sexuality in Mozart," 3 p.m., Old Professor's Bookshop, 99 Main St., Belfast. UMaine Professor of Music Henry Wyatt gives this Old Professor's Shop Talk, which explores such topics as whether Don Giovanni was a jolly rake or someone waging war against women. FMI: 338-2006.
From the ridiculous to the sublime... this Sunday I'm going for training by my synagogue's Chevra Kadishah at a local funeral home. The Chevra Kadishah (literally, holy fellowship) is a group of Jewish volunteers that prepares deceased Jews for burial. There are certain traditions that are followed and that's what the training will teach the new volunteers, including me. It is supposed to be one of the most important mitzvot (commandments) any Jew can perform for another Jew. Why? Because you are doing something for a person who will never be able to do something for you in return.
I leave you with a picture of a beautiful sunrise on my walk with Ella one day last week during the "warm" spell. The horizontal black line in the water behind the masts of the boats, from the left stretching about 2/3 way across the photo, is the Rockland breakwater with its lighthouse (and its light!) at the far right. The point of land to the right and slightly behind the lighthouse is Owls Head (where one of the events listed above is taking place, at the famous Owls Head Transportation Museum!). The dark strip of land further out just at the "horizon" is the island of Vinalhaven.
Peace. Peace.
