sub zero

current temp is -1 degree f.
it used to be -5 (like this morning when i had to trek out to my car to get in to the office)

half of my team is out today
- - husbands with pneumonia
- - school closings
- - i'd rather not trudge my sorry self through sub-zero temperatures to go to work

over the weekend the part of our water line that goes to the laundry room and out to the hose connection on the addition froze up. i'm not sure if it's because of the hose spigot or because of the significant lack of insulation between the outside wall and the water line in the addition part of the house. regardless, my dad spent the better part of 4 or 5 hours thawing the pipe yesterday. today the laundry room faucet is left at a 'better-than-a trickle-but-not-full-out-run" while i work. on the way home i'm depot (or lowes) bound to collect a heating cable, some pipe insulation, some house insulation, and a boot cover for the outside faucet. it will probably set me back a few dollars, but I adamantly refuse to have this happen again.

it also got me to thinking about the blanket that is not on the hot water heater, the window film that is still in boxes, and the gazillion other things that i should be doing to winter-proof my house (for the next two months or so).

for now, though, i'm going to tend to some work and my headache.