Bitter cold and ugly outside

I have been in IL for 11 winters now, and this is the coldest winter I have seen here.  But the house is not too cold and the most recent utility bill is less than this time last year, despite it averaging at least 7 degrees colder than this time last month.
I still have a lot of drywall work to do in the attic and 2 windows in the kitchen to replace so I won't complain about the utility bill.  I know it will slowly improve and it is not as bad as many.  The old house has made a lot of progress in the years I have owned it, and it has a long way to go, but I gain a bit as I can afford to and as I have help.
I like my life here, my singleness and lifestyle here.  I work long and hard hours now on days at the plant and like it better than I did the frock room.  The pay is better most of the time also and I don't have the bickering women to deal with.
I am finding time to sew for my dolls and hope to sell some of my work, have most of my tax work done and plans for a survey on the property and get it legally recorded.  I want to try and start work on fencing the north, east and part of the south so I have a more dog safe place here and also deal with the property line issue between my property and the property on the north.
Life here is not perfect but I keep making it work, make the choices that are best for me, and work on letting go of the garbage from the past.
The dog is growing and at almost 8 months old, needs to be spanked a lot more if he was a child, he whines, he bullies, he pitches dog fits if he can't have his own way and he gets time out in his crate.  Living through the next few months with him will be challenging but I know part of his acting up is the cold weather. It has become too cold for the dog to enjoy outside, but it took getting down to 10 above and winds for that to happen.
Jake is doing ok with school and life and the current girlfriend, who is often here.  I like her and enjoy her company so have no complaints.  We all need to put a bit more effort into house work some days and the dishes grow into mountains far too often but we survive.