Well the temporary ability of the furnace failed overnight,

and our new install isn't until tomorrow. Today's high was 39 degrees F and low about 26 degrees F. That's the bad news. There is good news.

We kept the living room and entry hall at 64 degrees F until noon and 66 degrees in the afternoon, using a space heater and the electric fireplace (with heat output). That's really good. The fireplace and space heaters were turned on at 3 AM. It was 27 degrees F when I got up this morning and the temp in the living room hadn't changed for the worse. I'm keeping the kitchen warm enough with the large cast iron griddle across 2 gas burners on low (with a pot of hot cereal keeping warm on the griddle) plus 1 burner with the tea kettle on low. It doesn't take much to keep the kitchen warm-enough. The bedrooms are chilly, but we're doing okay. The other good news is the furnace lasted through the coldest of this cold snap, and the temps will only rise incrementally from here. The other good news is we absolutely know that we eked every last bit out of our furnace. I'd say we got "good value" out of that furnace, purchased 29 years ago.

We also have a couple of microwaveable heat pads for personal heating and for heating beds at bedtime. We only have to get through one last day and night before our new furnace will be installed. That's all good news.

The other positive to today is I cooked a hot lunch for all of us and we enjoyed not only a hot meal, but eating together. And I was motivated to begin cooking for tomorrow, as being in a warm kitchen cooking is better than any colder place today.

I'm choosing to look for the good news in all of this. Soon, this period will be behind us, and we'll have reliable heat once again.

I hope your week is going well.

Some egg talk

Egg prices are beginning to come down in my area. (keeping fingers crossed this trend holds)

About a week ago, Walmart had their 60-ct cases of Great Value eggs priced at $26 -something. Today, those same cases were $24.60 (works out to $4.92/dozen). Last week, Fred Meyer had a dozen Kroger large eggs for $7.49. Today, those same eggs are priced at $6.49. Our other grocery chain is Safeway/Albertsons. Their eggs are even more expensive at $6.99/dozen. These are historically high egg prices for ordinary white eggs. 

Chickens have to be cage-free in my state. But that's not the same as pastured chickens (much more expensive eggs). Cage-free chickens may still spend their entire lives indoors, never seeing actual sunlight. So these egg prices are for the least expensive eggs in my stores.

This morning I shopped at a small NW chain grocery, Town & Country. They're not terribly convenient, but they do carry some items I can't find in my local stores and they have a nice gift section. (I was shopping for a gift for someone today.) I've become obsessed with egg prices lately. So of course I checked the egg cooler there. T & C tends to be on the pricey side for many items. Imagine my surprise when I saw eggs priced at $3.99/dozen for cage-free brown eggs. $3.99 per dozen is a fabulous price on eggs for my area right now. It gives me hope that eggs will be even more affordable as we inch closer to spring. I bought 1 dozen eggs while there this morning.

I had used my last fresh egg over the weekend. So I was glad to find the T & C eggs today priced so favorably. The plan is to use the frozen eggs that we have on hand, with an occasional fresh egg when I only need one at a time or need a hard-boiled egg for something. I searched through the various freezers and found 32 frozen eggs. They're spread out between 6 containers of 4 to 6 eggs each. I can make these eggs stretch for perhaps 6 weeks, using 1 container per week. I'm hoping that the price of fresh eggs will be lower when I've exhausted my frozen supply.  

As I judiciously use the eggs I have, I'm using egg substitutes in baking and cooking as much as possible. I made pancakes Monday morning, substituting 1/2 teaspoon additional baking powder plus 1/4 cup of applesauce for the egg in the recipe. The pancakes turned out really well. I've baked no-egg cookies as well as this no-egg cake for my family in recent weeks. I'll give no-egg waffles a try this Friday morning. It goes without saying, having an egg for breakfast is off limits for now, unless it's a special day, such as this coming Valentine's Day.

What are egg prices like in your area this week? Have you noticed any price trends, up or down, since late-January? Have you tried any no-egg or less-egg recipes lately?