This is the second night in a row that our temps have fallen below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Our heat pump/furnace thermostat registered -16F at 2:03 a.m. We have a fireplace insert to supplement our heat and it does a pretty good job except you have to get up every few hours in the middle of the night to feed it more wood. Unless you’re a night owl,  getting up at 1, 3 and 5 a.m. gets old real fast.  Last night we threw in the towel and just let the furnace maintain a relatively low temp in the house…..can’t wait to see the power bill.

I went with a friend to a NeighborImpact fundraiser at Bend Country Club called The Empty Bowl. Proceeds went to help the economically disadvantaged. The donation garnered me a bowl of some of the best tasting homemade soup(s) I’ve had in a long while. Along with the soup we also got to pick out a hand-thrown bowl to take home with us.

We were sitting down to dinner at home when we heard sirens outside. Looking out we saw a huge fire just west of us near a neighbor’s house less than a 1/4 mile away. We got into the car and drove down the road to a safe area where neighbors were congregating and watched as fire crews tried to put out a fire that eventually burned the house to the ground. Since it was getting dark we decided to return the next day to get a closer look but had limited access due to a fire investigation team. We were able to get a few pictures and the only thing left of the house was their garage (not shown), chimney, and what’s left of a segment of a second floor and roof.