So we woke up Sunday morning to an unusually cold house. I admit that we turn the heat down quite a bit at night, and I admit that I keep the bedroom window open a crack even in the winter time – making it a pretty chilly room sometimes. . . . . . But THIS was cold even for me!
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to confirm that our stupid furnace wasn’t working. Oh Burrrrruther! SO not convenient! 
In fact, we suspected it may have stopped working the day before. We had been out most of the day and went to bed as soon as we got home. Upon reflection it did seem a little chilly to me. . . . . . Could have been off a good 24 hours before we discovered it. Sheesh! Its November in Edmonton! You don’t get along for too long without a dependable heat source!
Lucky for me Dan was home, so he could take charge of figuring it out – LOL. I hate doing that sorta thing. Unfortunately however, none of his ideas worked. Lucky for both of us, our son in law Ray lives within an hour’s drive. He’s a pretty smart guy, AND he works with furnaces. He put his Sunday going-to-church-with-his-family plans aside so that he could come help Dan fix the furnace. (Thanks again Ray) It was a bigger problem than any of us expected and he needed a part that could not be purchased on Sunday. So that meant another 24+ hours without our furnace running. This was SO not in the plan for a cold November day.
The thing about these kinds of occurrences is that they seldom are “IN the plan“, but planning for their possibilities makes all the difference in how you get through them. They quickly move to the top of your list of priorities without much warning. Seriously, in Edmonton a furnace is pretty close to the top of any priority list in November. Fortunately for us it wasn’t bitter cold outside and fortunately for us again, there wasn’t a strong wind blowing. Both things to be grateful for, but there were other things to be grateful for too. Factors that contributed to how this next 48 hours played out.
Let me tell you the “rest of the journey”.
Among the many factors that went into making this experience easier for us, I want to focus on four. Things that we were very glad to have paid attention to when they were manageable and affordable. Perhaps you might find them helpful too, so here they are.
Factor #1
At the beginning of our married life, we committed to do our very best to prepare our home and family for potential hardships.
That early decision smoothed out many difficulties over the years and prevented undue stress at times when we would have been least able to deal with it.
We knew some of these preparatory projects would cost hard-to-come-by-money in those early years. We committed to make those things a priority, and sometimes priorities require sacrifice. We also knew we couldn’t afford to do everything at once. It would be a work in progress, that we would complete one step at a time. As we could afford it.
Factor #2
As part of that ongoing commitment to prepare ourselves, several years ago – maybe 15 years ago, we invested in reinsulating our house. (We also re-insulated the first house we owned many many years ago. It seemed like a good investment. And it certainly paid off.) We paid particular attention to the attic where Dan blew a special insulation all over the surface of it. This may seem like an unusual project in preparation for future hardship, but remember, we live in Edmonton. ….. We planned for the extra insulation keeping our house more efficient winter and summer. Truly it has paid off. Big time. Many times we continue to still be amazed at how long the house keeps its warmth in the winter, and how long it keeps a morning coolness in the summer.
Factor #3
About a decade ago, we decided to save up and buy a wood burning stove. 
We did considerable research before choosing one, and we had it installed in our basement that November. It became a major part of our Christmas that year. We opted for a free standing woodstove that had a flat top upon which we could boil water and perhaps even cook a meal if needed. We positioned it to be on the other side of the wall of a 250 gallon water tank which stands in the adjoining laundry room. No mistake on the positioning of it. Having 250 gallons of clean water is a wonderful thing, but losing heat in an Edmonton winter could freeze that water, and turn a very good thing – VERY bad. That was a major concern of ours, and we deliberated upon how to prevent potential freezing in the event of heat loss. The wood stove would serve a dual purpose. Heat the basement, and prevent the water from freezing.
Factor #4
A wood burning stove is useless without a lotta wood! 
So we purchased a few cords of clean-burning wood and stored it in our backyard. We have a stash close to the back door, and we have a bin in the basement close to the stove. We keep kindling nearby, and of course matches. We learned the trick of lighting a fire in a wood burning stove when the outside chimney is 40 below zero. If you think that isn’t important, then you have never tried it. Cold air in the chimney makes it impossible for lighter warm air to rise above it. The result? A smoked out house that takes weeks to get the smoke smell out. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Factor #5
We tried for years to put a few dollars aside for emergencies. We weren’t always successful but our hearts were in it and we tried to make it a priority. Sometimes that is more difficult than one might imagine. We get it. However, a little here and a little there is what makes the difference. Some thing is better than nothing. Having a few extra dollars on hand can take a potential tragedy and turn it into an inconvenience. And the opposite is equally true.
So with these factors in mind, let’s return to our Sunday without a furnace. There were so many things to be grateful for that turned our experience into nothing more than an inconvenience. The absence of some of the preparatory steps however could have had a completely different outcome.
Good thing / Bad thing
I like to play the good thing – bad thing game. It helps me put things into perspective and appreciate blessings in my life.
* Good thing – this happened on a day that Dan was home. Yay for me.
* Bad thing – he couldn’t fix it. Boo.
* Good thing – Ray was in town and able to come and help. Yay.
* Bad thing – he couldn’t fix it without an important component (the board), that could not be purchased on Sunday. Boo.
* Good thing – we have a gas fireplace upstairs. We turned it on as soon as we realized we had no other heat. We also have a wood stove in the basement. Dan lit the fire right away and added some logs to it.
* Good thing – the wood stove downstairs soon heated the basement to a toasty warm and we only needed a few logs to maintain it.
* Good thing – Dan kept a supply of house suitable logs cut and accessible for winter burning.
* Good thing – we were surprised at not only how sufficiently the wood stove heated the basement, but how much of that heat flowed upward to keep the main level comfortable. It wasn’t long before we were able to turn the gas fireplace off. Of course sweaters and slippers were useful in keeping us comfortable.
* Good thing: once the house was comfortably heated again, it retained that warmth for an exceptionally long time. Thank goodness for good insulation.
* Good thing – extra quilts and duvets made sleeping comfortable.
* Good thing – we had set enough aside for emergencies, to cover the unexpectedly high cost of the new furnace piece we needed. Something to be especially grateful for.
By Sunday afternoon, we understood the earliest we would have a working furnace was late afternoon the following day. Before bed we stoked the fire and kept it burning low. Fortunately we still had embers in the morning that made reigniting it quick and easy. We were pleased and surprised to note that the house had maintained a reasonable warmth during the night, and that the next morning was considerably less chilly than the previous one.
The moral of the story is to plan for and be prepared for emergencies which are reasonable in your area. Sometimes those emergencies take the form of unfortunate situations. Prepare for those too. Sometimes that preparedness is the result of years of effort and commitment. Usually that is the case.
One of my favourite mottos is “Best time to start was yesterday. Second best time is right now.”
Warmly,
Cindy Suelzle