Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Hot and Cold.

Monday night the wind was howling around the apartment building and it often gets pretty cool in here when it’s windy. We went round checking windows and it appears the new bedroom windows leak air. That’s nice. I ended up getting a very thick blanket on the bed which I could snuggle under. Tuesday morning when we got up it was worse, theShivering temperature was 64°F or 17.7°C in our living room, and the heat was not working properly. Called the Super and he came and looked at it. He is now scared that the pipes might freeze causing yet another flood – the last lot must have cost them quite a bit when the pipes broke a week or so ago and people got flooded. He said he would phone the office and asked us to do so as well. When I did it turns out that the office is closed and the main woman is on vacation anyway. Sh*t. However, the Super has an emergency number to call which, obviously, he has called and now we have to wait and see. We have the oven on which is helping a little bit. Meanwhile, it is one of the coldest days in this part of Canada with -19°C. Anybody down south got a room they can spare? Maybe we should move into the dragon cave.

Someone finally came in the afternoon, meanwhile the Super had opened the zone control wide manually. Made a bit of difference.The young man said basically that there was nothing wrong with the heating but that the system was old and Cold Daythe weather was bitterly cold and it just couldn’t cope. It’s much better here anyway, having had the oven on all day. It really is bad out today with the howling winds which don’t seem to stop. The wind chill is between –30°C and -40°C and there have been warnings all over the radio and TV. The local schools either side of us are closed. I feel so sorry for the birds and animals. I saw a squirrel’s dray with a lid of snow yesterday, I wonder if that would keep them warm? Tonight it is going to be -23°C. I will be using my big blanket again.

Having written that, another young man turned up and he is working on the zone control. No I don't really know what this all means, I need Tina's Engineer!

This tip turned up on Facebook today. Sadly no pots. What a good idea though.


Here’s a somewhat different way to prepare shrimp which I found on WebMD’s website today.

Jasmine Green Tea Shrimp


By The Healthy Apple
WebMD Recipe
Jasmine Green Tea Shrimp
from Foodily.com

 Ingredients

2 quarts water
1 ounce jasmine green loose tea leaves
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons ghee
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ounce fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1 pound fresh rainbow Swiss chard, roughly chopped
1 pound fresh kale, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
  1. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil. Add tea and shrimp; cook for 4 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.
  2. Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
  3. In a skillet over medium heat, add ghee, garlic, ginger and basil. Cook for 1 minute; add Swiss chard and kale; cook for 3 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat; transfer to a serving dish. Serve shrimp atop greens, sprinkle with sesame seeds and a drizzle of white balsamic vinegar.
  5. Enjoy!
Have a great day
Jo

10 comments:

  1. So cold the heater can't even keep up. That's cold. Just stay huddled in front of the stove.

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    Replies
    1. We are, don't worry. Not quite as cold today, but still bad.

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  2. We're nowhere near that cold, but I still have piles of blankets on the bed. And I wear socks to bed. My husband has about bolted out of bed before when my bare, cold foot has touched his leg, so socks are required.

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    1. You shouldn't be that cold in NC Diane, if you are, something would be drastically wrong. The thermometer is up to 72°F in the apartment which is a lot better than yesterday. As I recall, you haven't a lot of flesh to keep you warm.

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  3. We leave our thermostat on 64 through the winter months anyway. You know, to save money. My wife refuses to live in the warmth though, so in the summer the temp is around 68. Which I think it embarrassing, but we've long since made our peace about it: She gets to win. Me, when I grew up we left the AC set to 80 through the summer so it only kicked on if it was pretty hot.

    So I tend to be colder in the summer months than I do in the winter ones, since I typically run around in t-shirts and shorts all summer, and in the winter I'm dressed a bit more for the weather outside, and 64 doesn't seem so bad.

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  4. Guess I require lots of warmth then, it actually reached 72°F in the apartment and I was still freezing. I am wearing long pants and a sweat shirt so go figure. A lot of the time cuddled up in a snuggie. In the summer though, I like lots of AC and lots of coolth. Even though we lived in the Carolinas for 12 years, I don't like it when it gets too hot. I couldn't live in your home temps.

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  5. Weather's beyond erratic lately, so wishing that you're all able to brave it. You should have those 'leaky' windows replaced, in my opinion, since windows aren't exactly designed to 'leak' unwelcome weather into an abode. Better safe than sorry, and even better to be exacting. :)

    John @ Beach Windows

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    Replies
    1. In fact they are brand new windows. However, we live in an apartment so are stuck with them.

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  6. You could bring up that window with your Super. At the very least, he might find a way to seal it next time. With the heater already having problems coping with the temperature, something like that could only be aiding to the detrimental temperature in your home. That said, I hope you are doing well nowadays. Take care!


    Lane Pemberton @ Metcalfe Heating & Air Conditioning

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lane. They did in fact call the company in that installed the window but of course he couldn't really feel anything which considering the weather wasn't particularly bad or windy was not surprising. He gave me his card and suggested I call him. I never have done so because it's always been at night or weekends ever since.

      I might mention that the window only opens slightly (it has a stop on it) and if I want to open it, I have to climb onto a blanket box to click the lock. The other two new windows have no blanket box so remain closed. The guy who came in was very tall and could undo the lock just by reaching up.

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