shiver shiver

Ohio, like many places, has weather that can be pretty up and down during this part of the year.  One day it will be warm enough to run outside without a jacket and the next you can't go out without twelve layers.  So, the other day, I was in my house and I was freezing.  I'm often colder than most people.  (My mom says I am another Sam McGee and I will only be warm when I'm cremated.)  So, I turned up the heat.  But it was still quite cold.  So I turned it up some more.  I didn't hear the tell-tale sign of the heater turning on, so I feared the pilot light was out.  We've had pilot light problems in the past.

The problem was the furnace is located in the unfinished part of the basement and currently that part of the basement is full of furniture and other stuff that was in the way of checking the pilot light.  Being the pansy that I am, I couldn't move the stuff by myself to check.  So I waited for Scarlet to come home and together (i.e. her, by herself) the furniture was moved out of the way.  I removed the cover, but the pilot light was going strong.  Great - now what's the problem?

I headed back upstairs and settled in on the couch with a hat and gloves and cuddled under a comforter to read.  Scarlet walked by and laughed good-naturedly at me.  "It really is a bit cold," she conceded.  "Oh," she went on, after having checked the thermostat, "the temperature is set to 80, but it's actually not on heat - it's off.  That's probably why."  Probably why indeed.