The forecast for this week keeps changing and worsening, with the only stable thing being that we keep getting promised temps above freezing on Saturday. We’re going well below minus ten, which means that I no longer have indoor plumbing. I checked out the park facilities yesterday and was not impressed; for one thing they appear to include pay showers. Considering the amount of rent I pay here and that I’m paying for power and heating, paying for a shower too is out of the question! For now, I’ll just stick with the hauling water and heating it on the stove method of plumbing management.

When we get back up above freezing and everything is working, I have to decide what I’m willing to put up with this winter and for how long. If I knew for sure that I’m staying till the end of April, I’d get a heat tape for the water hose and materials to enclose and heat my holding tanks. But there is a chance I will be pulling out in January, which would make buying more warmth proofing materials pointless.

The upshot of this weather is that we finally have sun! And I have to admit to being rather partial a sunny, dry, just below freezing afternoon.

Brr. Day two of our cold siege. Since I am home 24/7 and needing to concentrate, it does not make sense for me to skimp on heat. I don’t heat like a maniac, having spent so many years in drafty, unheatable, places, but I do feel that wanting to be comfortable while wearing flannel pants, wool socks, and a wool sweater is not unreasonable. I’ll even add a tuque in the evenings without feeling put upon.

I headed out and had the 30lb propane tank filled, leaving me with a quarter of my on board tank as a back up. Propane costs have been creeping up over the course of the last two and a bit years. It’s now $27 to fill a 30lber in Osoyoos compared to $23 back in ’08 and $20 in ’09 in Surrey. It’s still better than $40 in Dawson!

Since I was out, I also got some groceries to tide me over since the roads are getting slick and people out here don’t know how to drive in winter. To be fair, they are better than Vancouverites, but that’s not saying much!

Having given up on finding on outside job this winter, I’ve been crunching numbers to see how much it would cost me to go south for a couple of months vs. hunkering down here and paying for heat. The current conditions are a pain, but do not justify fleeing. If we were to face a long stretch of minus ten or less in daytime temperatures, I’ll reconsider.

Today starts a long stretch of subzero weather.

And I woke up to this:

I’ll be living off my fresh water tank for a few days.

As for propane, I’ve decided to try something new. Inside of fully draining the onboard tank, I’ll leave it where it is, at about a quarter full, and instead live off the auxiliary tank so that I don’t have to worry if I run out in the middle of the night.