It’s the second to last day of 2025. Pete is all caught up on posting dispatches. I have one to write today, and one to write tomorrow. I think I wrote a dispatch this year, every day of the year. If I did not, I do not remember.

The year is going to end on a strong note. I had a good day. The wind has stopped, and now it will be replaced with colder temperatures.

Last night Pete discovered that the pipes had frozen. He wasn’t sure where the blockage occurred (it’s a good thing that he is not a surgeon and specializes in intestinal blockages).

I was sitting by the woodstove, at the kitchen table. I had taken on the job of loading up the woodstove. It does not pay, but there is a perk, and this perk is that I stay warm. Pete had been working in the kitchen addition and had put a quilt over his lap. He also may have been wearing a winter hat.

The dogs were restless because they had not been out for a walk all day. It was too windy. Ryder is starting to lose it. She now spends time licking the kitchen floor.

Pete, realizing that the pipes were frozen, walked around muttering that it could be this or could be that. I kept working on Shelf Life and did not pay much attention. I watched him, over the top of the computer, pull the stove out from the wall, remove the plywood behind it and check out what was going on behind there. It didn’t appear as though this was the problem. He also talked about heat tape, and there was mention of a heat gun. He didn’t catch my joke, that I didn’t think we had armed weapons in the house.

I repeatedly said that it was time to go to bed. He did as he always does and ignored me and kept attempting to problem solve. He eventually gave up and came to bed – it was so cold that the memory foam mattress didn’t have any more memory. This morning, after making breakfast, he went outside, turned on the generator, came inside, and turned on the water. The problem was resolved.

This was a good thing because otherwise we would have had to go to town and fill water buckets and give this water to the horses, goats, chickens, and dogs. There were no showers last night. There will be showers tonight.

I went to the hotel and finally had a hardship story to tell, one that seemed to rival that of others. It wasn’t that I wanted one, but this is my story about the pipe or pipes freezing did allow me to participate in the collective hardship conversation.

I have, now that the problem is resolved, more time to think about a what if. This is, what if Pete left me or died and I was then alone here in the winter? I would know if there was no water that the pipes had frozen, but I would have been at a loss about what to do about this.

I guess I should pay closer attention to what’s going on. This could save my life.

Next: 351. 12/31/25: When the Old Year becomes a New Year