On Feeling a Little Winter Chill:

It is cold here. There is a point on the scale of comfort that I don’t like to pass. Yesterday we reached that point. I do not care how silly, stupid or un-cool it looks. I have dressed the windows in bedding.

Almost all the windows have plastic on them. (We do have to have fresh air to breath and to burn the fire in the wood stove with.) Every window on the north side of the house now has an extra layer of blankets or sheets or even table clothes on them day and night. On the other sides of the house they come down only when the sun is shining in on that side. And if the sun is shining I open the curtains wide to let the warmth in.

Yes, the house feels a bit like a living in a cave. Especially on the cloudy days. But it is only for a few days really. Sheets don’t block that much light. And they really do help the temp go up a bit. I do find myself taking a peek out every now and again to have my view back, but I like the warmth better.

The colder it is outside the faster the fire in the wood stove burns and although that means some more heat, it also means that the wood is used up faster and the air being pulled through the house to the fire to keep it going is faster and colder. There is a point when it doesn’t heat as far into the room much less into other rooms. It’s a heat going up the chimney faster thing because of the heat differential.

I don’t care about the math. I go to bed with hot water bottles for my feet and back. (Recycled plastic drinking water bottles in a sock, thank you.) In the day I can wear two pair of socks on my feet in my slippers, extra layers of clothing and sweaters, and I can wrap my hands around a warm cup of tea in my fingerless mitts. It’s the getting into and out of the bathtub that is the killer of my day. I shiver for over an hour and want to sit right on top of the wood stove.

I’ll even admit to skipping days as the cold settles in because, 1. I’m not into torturing my self in that way and 2. I’m not sweating in this cold so I don’t feel the need to wash as often. But I do still need to change my clothing.

This brings about a new ritual of warming the clothing before doing the Houdini like quick change into my cloths in the morning and ‘jammies at night. But much as I dislike the bitter cold I hate hot and humid more. So don’t tell my to move south it ain’t gonna’ happen.

So I’m just sitting here trying to keep my perspective about a little winter chill. Burrrrrrrrrrr!