All my power...Genesis 31:6

This morning was cold. J said the thermometer said it was 12 degrees when he went to feed the horse this morning. It was 16 when I took this picture...
I couldn't believe it says only 57 in the house. I didn't think it was quite that chilly inside. I went out to take these pictures...
After enjoying the beautiful morning we got ready to go to town. The kids and I got in the van with my list of errands and were ready to head up to the city. After the errands, I was going to stop by the ER, trade vehicles with The Man, fill up the truck, then take the kids to their music lessons.

I'm here.

The van engine would barely turn over. Ugh. The battery. I called The Man and he confirmed that with the cold weather, it was probably the battery.

"Hook it up to the battery charger," he said.
"Where is the battery charger?"
"That's a good question. It may be on the porch or..."
I glanced toward the porch and saw the black box. "Yes, it is on the porch. Where are the extension cords?"
"That's another good question."
"That's why I asked it."
"There's the one coming out of the garage, but it is probably buried."
"Bye."

The Man was right. Our "good" cord was buried. It is under about 2 feet of snow that has been melting and refreezing the past week.

J started to work trying to uncover it while M went to shop to try to find another cord. I headed in the house to see what I could find.

I'm not sure, but the following might be illegal in some places. Don't try this at home!

I plugged this power strip into an outlet in the garage.
I will admit that I didn't plug it straight into an outlet, but into one of those six-outlet things that plug into two outlets.

Then, I plugged this into that power strip...
Another power strip! Then I plugged this thing into that...
A third power strip! Then this orange extension cord...
And then another orange extension cord...
Try not to notice that the plug is pulled away from the wire covering, okay? Then, finally, I plugged in the battery charger...
And that was connected to the van...
As long as I'm here, let's see how old that battery is...
February of 2005. Almost 3 years. I'm sure it is still under a partial warranty.

It is taking its time to charge. Hmmm, with a box, three power strips, and two extensions cords between the outlet and the charger, I can't imagine why.