A Word on Cold

Last week we ran out of biodiesel. We've been using more than Troy's been able to produce. (That would be a pretty common way to run out of something.)

This meant that the oil stove in the kitchen couldn't run for a day or two. And it didn't happen during a peculiar January warm snap. So things got cold.

The living room was 44^ when we would get home from work. Cold.

To deal with the problem
  1. we wore more clothes,
  2. I tended the woodstove even more diligently, and
  3. Troy stole some biodiesel from the shop stove. (Now the shop isn't being heated, but I don't feel bad about that at the moment.)
We're back in business, the living room is usually in the low 50s when we get home and Troy is making more fuel as quick as he can.

I made a posting on Facebook at some point about the cold and got a number of responses. (44^ being colder than your average home temperature.)

But it got me to thinking and comparing to last year. Last year Troy couldn't make more biodiesel because he wasn't set up in the shop yet--it was strictly a warm weather activity. So he stored up as much as he could and we rationed.

Last year we only ran the oil stove overnight. That way the house was a little warm when we woke up. (And even more key is that the shower is off of the kitchen and the bathroom wouldn't be frigid.) We turned it off during the day letting the house cool until we got home when we could heat it back up with the wood stove. During cold weather, the living room was regularly 42-44^ when I got home. It was a cold winter.

And it also go me to thinking about how it was when I was growing up. We used wood to heat and Dad would stoke it up every night before going to sleep. But I can still remember many nights when the air was so cold in my bedroom that my nose would feel numb. I would lie awake trying to choose between a frozen nose or breezing stale air under the covers. Neither was very appealing!

Anyway, I guess my point is that even though we got ourselves in a pinch for a bit, things are still improving. We've had the luxury this year of running the oil stove pretty much full time and it has made a big difference.

I still look forward to the day when this house is insulated and I can come home to 65^ and raise it to 75 with the wood stove!! :)

Signs of the End Times

1.
In the middle of the cold snap in Jan/Feb, we had a day or two of a little nicer weather. I was home for the day and at some point was debating with myself whether to start the woodstove. I glanced at the thermometer in the living room which read 52^. Having gotten used to 42^ in the mornings, I decided it was warm enough not to bother.

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2.
Yesterday I was home for the day. When I was hauling in more firewood, the living room felt exceedingly hot. Glancing at the thermometer (wondering if it was actually in the 80^ range), I saw that it was all of 66^.

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Who am I and what have I done with the real Christina?