Not Shoveling Coal

No, we are not shoveling coal. We woke up to a cold house this morning. When I got up the first time about 6:30, I turned up the heat, went back to bed, but the gas never came on. He Who...fiddled around with the thermostat and turned the fan to 'on' instead of 'automatic' so we assumed our trusty ancient furnace had come on and we would be eating breakfast in comfy accustomed warmth. It was not to be.

Here we are, nearly noon, and with more thermostat fiddling and the fan back to 'automatic,' the gas is finally burning and the house is again over 60 degrees. "Maybe we need a repair man," I suggested. "Messing with the thermostat is easier than shoveling coal," was the reply to my suggestion. One can over-do the frugality, methinks.