My house has central heating.

This is not normally news, but today it is.

We woke this morning to Jack Frost nipping at our nose, which is never good when you’re not sleeping in a tent (and not even so great when you are).

Turns out that yesterday’s whipping and blowing snow whipped and blew its way up our furnace input valve. The furnace detected trouble and shut itself off. Since the storm had also brought about rather cold temperatures (-16C), we were eager to have the problem dealt.

The first call elicited the advice of turning off the furnace, trying to clear the valves ourselves, turning the furnace back on and see if it resolved itself.

Five hours later, it appeared that wasn’t working. Though we were coping with the help of a gas fireplace and a couple space heaters, it was still a bit nippy. And more snow is forecast.

So with another call, the technician came out (at weekend rates) and found that one of the sensors had been damaged by the snow. He replaced that and voila. Part is under warrantee, so it’s just the labour, and it wasn’t a huge job.

Makes you appreciate the wonder of central heating, though. Yes, indeed.