Record Lows

It's cold here in Minnesota. Very cold. It's projected that it may get to -53 below zero by the end of the day. All area schools are closed, and the paper has advised that all children, elderly, and anyone with health problems remain indoors.

Yesterday, having received an astronomically high gas bill to heat our home, I was a little frightened at the thought of keeping our home warm with the frigid cold outside. Last night I shut unused rooms in our house and bundled up. This morning I layered Luke with a turtle neck, sweater, sweatpants, socks and slippers. I collected every extra blanket we had, rolled them up and placed them in front of every door and window to keep out the draft. Refusing to raise the thermostat, I drank some hot coffee and turned on the oven. Luke and I ate Bran and Flax Muffins for breakfast and I plan on baking at least three more times today to keep the oven heat going.

Although Luke likes his house and never likes to leave we still get our occasional bout of Cabin Fever. Prepared for these situations, I had a new challenge for him today when after mastering his Christmas puzzles I had another waiting for him, a 100 piece Melissa and Doug Noah's Ark puzzle. Being his favored activity, I'm hoping this puzzle will be enough of a challenge for him to keep him busy for as long as we're home bound. I did venture to the library yesterday, too, so the stacks of fresh kids books should keep us entertained at least until it's safe enough for a short car trip.

Are you freezing your buns off, too?