The Ice Box

I went to Indigo Joe's where I met up with Eli, Britt and Pat. Britt was over an hour late which I promptly penalized him for by liberating two beers from his bucket of beers. It was cold in the bar. I figured this was the first serious cold of the season, the low was 28, and the restaurant had failed to take this into account when setting the thermostat. By the time the error was realized the heating unit tried to play catch up for the rest of the night. #2 Alabama thumped #1 Florida 32-13 and I left before seeing the end of the Clemson/Georgia Tech game.
When I went outside to go to the bus the frigid cold pierced the sweatshirt and two longsleeve shirts I was wearing. This was the kind of cold where water can break. I was interested in how being on the bus in this kind of cold would be. Eli generously offered that I could stay at hers or Britt's place if it was too cold for me which I heard as 'If it gets too cold for you, you can always dust the frost off your lacy pink panties and come over and get warm.' I know she didn't say it in that questioning my manhood kind of way but she might as well have. Besides I need to be tested to see what supplies I may need to add to my must buy list.
Once I got parked in Walmart parking lot, first thing I did was fire up the kerosene heater. My breath was very visible the entire time I knelt over the heater fidgeting with the controls to stabilize the flame. Then I took Nala for her nightly potty walk. I quickly noticed that as cold as it was on the bus, the fact that it blocked the gentle night breeze was a huge benefit. I rushed Nala through her business and returned to the bus. I made some sandwiches, saving the last of my eggs to have a nice warm breakfast in the morning. The heater was not heating much on the bus. I moved it to within 5 ft of the bed. After an hour I still wasn't feeling much difference from the heater, it may have cut the brittleness out of the air but it was still cold. I pulled out one of my sleeping bags and put it over my comforter. I put on long underwear and wore two long sleeve shirts to bed, along with my wool socks. My bed now had 5 layers on it...bedsheet, quilt, down comforter, throw blanket, and my mummy bag (unzipped). Once under the covers I was actually comfortable. I put Nala under the sleeping bag and she preferred to keep her whole body, head and all covered. Miss Priss preferred to sleep on top of me for warmth. I could feel the cold coming from under the bed and through the walls. All that insulation board I had laid was pitifully inadequate now. I could even feel slight drafts of cold coming from not so well sealed wheel wells. I will be stuffing some junk pillows in that area in the immediate future. I imagined that this was very similar to what sleeping in a restaurant freezer would be like. I also noticed some simple laws of science in play. As the heat rose to the top of the bus I could see (through my breath) and feel (throughout my body) the colder air floating in an area about 2 ft off the floor. The heater never truly warmed the place up and I decided to cut it off when I found myself unusually drowsy (not sure if carbon monoxide was to blame or the three beers I had watching football or lying in bed watching a video about string theory but I wasn't taking any chances). I had an excellent night of sleep. My only issue was whatever hand I had extended out from under my pillow was extremely cold and numb as I fell asleep and when I woke up. All in all I now know that I will survive the cold. I just need to figure out how to do so more comfortably. More heaters, strategic new insulation (especially around rear windows in bedroom area), or walling or draping off the back half of the bus??? I do know I prefer combating the cold to combating noon heat on a 100 degree summer day. There are no cheap alternatives like piling up blankets to keep me and the pets from the suffocating heat. Opening windows is an option when I am remotely located but I run the risk of pet escape, even with screens up. So I relish taking on this cold weather versus high heat and humidity.

Here is a small clip of me playing "Catch the laser dot" with Nala this morning. Notice the clouds coming out her mouth making her look like some cartoon bull.