Oh, the weather outside is frightful(ly cold).

All I can say is that at least it hasn't been a full month?

(We recently got about 3-4 inches of accumulated snow when they had predicted 1 inch of accumulation.)

As far as heating our home and staying warm ourselves, this winter season has been interesting. We have nudged the thermostat from 64 Fahrenheit to about 68 Fahrenheit. I fear we may need to go as high as 70. Really, we need to work on improving the insulation of the house, and get some throw rugs. Some good news is that our recent gas bill was not unreasonable. I take that as a sign that we are not overusing the heat and that it will be okay to turn the heat up smidge so my fingers can thaw out.

I need to recognize that this is a process and will take time.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for a few family members, and the colder temperatures did not seem to be an issue. I realize, though, that this could be attributed to the fact that we have 4-8 people in our house, as well as many kitchen appliances going. We used the stove, the toaster oven, the counter-top conventional oven, and the counter-top roaster (which actually became the coffee-table-top-oven and hung out in the nebulous foyer/living room area).

Aside from when I mention it here, we have not used our wood burning stove. The previous owners gifted us, whether they knew it or not, a whole slew of fire tending implements, as well as fire starters, long matches, and one 2-hour log. Said log is what we burned earlier. Now, we have no real fire fuel.

Recently, it did dawn on us that junk mail would make excellent tinder or random fire fuel. (We always set it aside to shred, but I have burned out more shredders than I care to admit. Either I am impatient, or we get way too many credit card offers. Probably both are true.) And we do have a lot of junk mail. We frequently get behind on shredding it, so it builds up. I am here admitting that we have moved boxes from one abode to another that are either predominantly junk mail, or contain junk mail as padding/filler. Not only do we have a lot of junk mail, we have old junk mail.

The other night, my husband decided to try out this junk mail as fire fodder business. He was sitting in front of the stove, feeding more credit card offers, and was quite toasty. Unfortunately, the warmth did not really reach back to the couch where I was curled up. So, junk mail may not actually heat our house, but it will raise the temperature of nearby air a bit, as well as help get a fire going. Plus, if we burn it, no dedicated con artist can piece the shredded bits back together.

So, things to do to keep ourselves and the house warm:
- more insulation
- throw rugs
- additional socks
- contained fires
- cook!
- at some point look into updating our HVAC system and thermostat

How are you doing?

*Chirp, Chirp

Do you hear crickets?

As tired a refrain as it may be, the office has been quite busy. We've had recruiting trips, urgent deadlines, grant reporting, and conferences. On top of the regular stuff we do on a regular basis. It does not leave much time for anything else.

We have an upcoming conference soon, and this time, my husband is coming with me. We both have family in the area, and this is a great opportunity for us to visit and have a little time away. Since the visit is because of a conference for work, my travel and room and board are all reimbursable. It will be a crazy and busy schedule for me, but should be fun!

I also went on a recruiting trip a few weeks ago. During my first stop, I stayed at a hotel that had apples in the lobby and a Target across the parking lot. This was wonderful. I ate more apples in that 24 hour period than I thought was possible, but they were delicious. I was also able to stroll through Target for my dinner, instead of paying outrageous amounts for a restaurant meal. Plus, even though I had neglected to bring granola bars, I was able to pick up a box at Target. Apples and granola bars can make an interesting meal.

In other news, the weather has certainly gotten much colder here. Last year, we were able to put off turning on the heat for a good while, and even then, keep the temperature set at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. We were in an apartment then, and while we only shared a wall/floor with two other units, sharing their heat (we were on the top floor) really helped us keep our own heating costs down.

Now that we are in our own, stand-alone house, heating it is a different story. (Plus, I suspect some major lapses in good insulation. Another project.) We've tried to keep the thermostat set at about 64-65 degrees Fahrenheit, but it is an older model which is difficult to regulate. That and 64 degrees in the house feels tremendously colder than 65 did in the apartment. (I blame my beloved wood floors.)

We do have a wood burning stove in the fireplace. We have tried it once, and it did a nice job of keeping the immediate vicinity (well, the TV viewing area) warmer. We've also purchased a small space heater for the bedroom. Close the door, and after a few minutes, it is positively toasty! (Always follow the instructions, and keep flammable items away from a space heater. Do not leave it unattended!) Of course, we turn it off and unplug it before bed.

In addition, you should see the layers I put on at home. At any given time, I'll have on one or two pairs of socks, maybe leggings and pants, and a shirt plus a sweater. In the morning, when I let our dog out, I am usually toddling about with a hoodie, a sweater, and a coat. But that is because I roll out of bed and let her out. It is the very first thing I do, aside from put on my glasses.

Our electric bill has been slashed though. But, we have gas heat, and are waiting for that bill to spike. It hasn't yet, but we are trying to be prepared.