Today began badly. I awoke with the alarm to open Dixie's door. Barefooted, in the kitchen, I thought that the carpet felt rather cold. I turned up the heat on the way back to the bedroom and crawled back under the covers, keeping my feet nice and warm for the next hour of snoozing. When the alarm to get up and get ready for work went off, I slipped on my slippers and went to the kitchen for my morning coffee. Miss Dixie Bell came in from outdoors, gave my hand a lick and returned to her sleeping spot back the hall. I leaned over and felt the carpet, it was not only cold, it was W-E-T!!!!
Having not been able to go into work on Wednesday, I knew I could not miss yet another day due to winter's havoc. I telephoned my pseudo-brother Stanely (long story short, he's married to my pseudo-sister Patty), but got his voicemail. I left him a message stating that I was on my way out the door to work, but, if he had the chance, could he stop in and check on where the wetness was coming from. Since the wetness was right near Dixie's door, and close to where Mum parks her wheelchair, I was quite concerned about leaving Mum at home alone with it.
By the time I made it to work, Mum was up and calling other relatives, who did come to our rescue. It seems that the ice which has been forming at the house's corner has been melting significantly enough to start seeping into this one particular area. A cousin from up the road came down and brought up my dehumidifier from my room;l another cousin, two doors down, came up and started chipping away the ice formations and finally, Stanley and Patty arrived with Stanley digging snow off our roof and Patty drying up the kitchen carpet as well as helping Mum to get dinner ready. Stanley's nephew came down a while later and continued getting snow off the the roof.
When the winter finally breaks, it looks like we'll have to re-caulk all of the gutters and build Miss Dixie Bell a new doghouse. . .well, this one that she has used to be Miss Minx's, so it's a good twenty-year-old structure. You can see the doghouse in several photos I have posted.
When all is said and done, it is gratifying to know that we have family and friends we can totally rely on when the going gets tough.
I know that I am grateful to have such a network of family and friends.
