Yep…out of heating oil…as of today.

Which means no hot water until the one & only oil contractor (a one-man gig with one truck) who covers both Humphreys & Osan can finally get around to filling us up.

[ugh]

Normally that process takes a week.

[double ugh]

I tried heading to the realty office today to get them to schedule a delivery for us (since we’re not given the number) & they had closed the office early.

[fudge]

So tack another day onto that process.

[double fudge!]

South Korea is a country of  extremes – extreme heat & extreme cold.

So while we’re in the midst of the high heat (which is not so much the temperature as the 80 – 90% constant humidity), I’m already planning ahead.

In fact, this past weekend I bought the first fire log.

Yep – I’ll start buying 1 or 2 every week from here out…stocking up so I don’t have to deal with the inevitable last minute issues.

Like the commissary running out or it being closed altogether because the base roads are closed due to the snow.

And we’re planning on getting 2 loads of firewood this time. Soon I’ll go out in the woods & start rounding up small sticks & pine cones to make firestarters – anything to make the daily chore of burning the fireplace easier.

I’m also ordering sweaters online while they’ve all been marked down for clearance.

Half of what I have doesn’t quite fit or is so worn it needs to be replaced.

And I’m sorry, but the few winter clothes that AAFES will bring in won’t cut it.

They’re crap. Cheap crap. Cheap crap that’s cut for petite Korean women in day-glow colors & outdated styles.

And while we’re at it, we’re chunking small amounts of money away to pay for the outrageous oil bills we’ll get.

When it’s really cold we average burning through 150 gallons in about 2 – 3 weeks. When you total it up at $300 US a pop, it gets to be pretty pricey. And that’s only using the heat at night at a very low temp just to keep from freezing. During the day we were turning it off. So yeah…$300 a pop to still be constantly cold. Not fun.

Part of the problem is Korean construction & the other the heated floors.

Korean homes are built out of concrete slab panels & insulated with what looks like regular old styrofoam. And when you’re heating every square inch of floor – and only using 2 or 3 rooms in the house, it’s just a waste.

But I’ll tell you what…if we ever get lucky enough to build our own home after Army life is over, you can bet I’ll have heated floors. Just not heated with oil – there’s bound to be a more efficient way.

And I’ve also finally started on the quilt kit I bought last summer.

Having an extra blanket (or two, if I can knock ‘em out) in the house will be good.

But I’m also keeping an eye on the price of flannel sheets – hoping they’ll drop just a little more.

I need to pull out Moo’s coat & see if it still fits.

Although it was already pretty tight across the chest.

And I’m trying to find a good deal on a good winter coat for me – think function, not fashion.

I wound up using Eric’s black Army fleece jacket over 3 & 4 layers of clothes just to stay warm.

And last, but not least…I’m planning for the day the yard looks like this again come February.

Instead of cold, gray, stark nothing-ness, there’ll be daffodils & snow drop bulbs poking their heads up.

I never had to plan ahead like this back in the States – well, aside from that one big ice storm we knew was coming in back in Oklahoma. But nothing like this.

Last year was rough enough just from being so sick all the time.

And yes, buckets of hand sanitizer are on the list.

But I’m crossing my fingers that last winter was just my body having to acclimate to the cold & flu bugs on this side of the globe.

I really don’t want a repeat performance.