It got down to just one little degree above zero last night before I headed off to bed. We had the house at 68°F inside, though, and are awfully proud of ourselves. We haven’t yet turned on the propane stove, and are determined to heat with only wood for as long as we can. We use propane for hot water and for cooking, so it’s not like we can do without propane, but we live on 343 acres, mostly of trees. Surely we can heat with wood alone. Especially with all the land clearing that’s gone on this year, we have more firewood cut and stacked than we ever have, and there are tons more (literally) just lying on the ground.
One of the things that really helps is the warm window quilts. I had them custom made for every window a few years ago, and what a great investment that turned out to be. If I knew how to sew, that would have been better, but Ginny did a few, and I crocheted one with wool and lined it with flannel. It’s working remarkably well, actually. The house feels all snug and cozy when I pull them all down, and I still love all my crazy colors. I remember when I designed them, the lady told me I’d soon “grow up” and want something less vibrant, but that hasn’t happened yet! Bjarki loves to sleep on his pillow when I pull the quilt down. He doesn’t like how it keeps him from seeing what’s going on when there’s a noise out there.
