frozen pipes: round 2

today i woke up to a balmy negative nine degrees.

i realize to people in the midwest this is nothing. on the plane to hawaii we were with a bunch of people from minnesota. it was negative thirty the day they left. yeah, -30. i can't even imagine what that feels like.

but after spending a week in 80 degree weather -9 feels pretty chilly. and last night before i went to bed i was doing a chemistry problem set (quick flash back to hell undergrad), which meant that i wasn't really thinking about the fact that the temps were going to dip into the negatives at night. so today i woke up to frozen pipes. now, this happened last year so you think i'd be prepared. except last year the only pipe that froze was our kitchen sink because the pipe runs through the garage. (seriously who runs a pipe through an uninsulated garage in a place where design temperatures are -10?). this time that pipe froze AND the pipes that run to our showers. so not only can i not shower, but if that pipe happens to burst it would soak 3 floors of our house, which is everything we own. oh, and did i mention that we don't have renters insurance? yeah, we're idiots. and charlie's in las vegas right now (just like he was last time), which means i'm left to deal with this one on my own. so i called work and let them know i'd be working from home but i have class today that i have to go to. i'm really hoping that these pipes unfreeze before then (because i'd really like a shower) and then i won't have to worry about coming home to a drenched house.

the dogs also hate it when the temperatures get this cold. they usually limp around on three legs because their paws get too cold. and then henry starts whining.