Bone Chilling Cold

This Polar Vortex thing has me thinking about other years when the temperatures dropped way below zero Fahrenheit for days on end. I am actually old enough to remember a few of those years, but two that stand out are 1982 and 1983 when the temps slipped to -20 or worse *for three weeks or more right over Christmas and New Year's. It was brutal. *
Back then, I was still in my twenties with two small children. (We were homeschooling so I have no idea what happened with school attendance. Since most of it was over the Christmas vacation anyway, it must have worked out.) We lived in the "big" house. It was a bugger to heat. We didn't use oil as we could not afford it. Each year we ordered 10 cords of dry wood and heated our home that way with two woodstoves just a cranking. * 
Christmas Day 1982 1983 (should have known because son was not yet in school in '82), we were scheduled to host a family breakfast to include my parents and grandparents. My mother informed me that if the house was not warm enough, my grandparents would suffer terribly. They kept their home so toasty that we joked that steak could be fried on their kitchen table. *   Passing on this information to the man of the house, I lit candles, closed doors, and stuffed blankets while he got the stoves roaring hot. It looked cozy enough as candlelight always does. In truth, the drafts could be felt around the floors and from every window and door. *
When the car drove up the drive breaking ice with every rotation of the wheels, we were ready. And still poor grandparents suffered. They managed to make it through breakfast and the children's opening of gifts, but were out of there as soon as politeness allowed. *   We sure served a lot of hot coffee that morning. *
Before long, the news reports included all who had died as a result of the bitter cold. I remember that there was a lot of intercessory prayer that the cold snap would end for the sake of the elderly and the children. *   It did. We carried on blissfully happy that the usual winter temps were once again the norm. I have never forgotten the relief that I felt. Course we did it all over again the following year. *
 

Manuela says that she reads The Long Winter every year. This might not be the best year to read this one. I'm thinking Hawaii might be good. (By the way, look how Manuela is keeping her wreath warm.) *

I think it is good for all of us to remember a hard winter to prepare ourselves against them by keeping the pantry full, having extra water in the house, extra fuel for both the furnace and the car. It's important to know how the neighbors are faring, to provide cozy places for our pets to hang out. I keep a blanket fluffed enough for Fioré to climb in and I find her under there quite often. I also have throws and cozy fleece everywhere. I find my grands under there, too. *
Those ten cords of wood were not enough to "spring out on." We wound up having to buy green wood...very inefficient for heating. I remember taking "my students" to sit in a warm car to eat our lunches because the house was so cool. Warmth. We need it! * 
I'm glad that those winters are gone. I'll be glad when this cold snap breaks, too. I hear that it'll be 40F this weekend with rain. (A mess of another sort.)
*the facts do not bear this out—9 days
*What's with the asterisks? Blogger is being a bugger again this morning and smooshing all my paragraphs together. So in my craftiness, I've figured a way to show the break.*