It's Coming

Victorian Winter

There is no doubt after the last couple of days that winter is making an entrance early this year. Heavens I have really used a lot of personal restraint to not put on the fireplace to take the chill out of the house. I'm determined to hold out to get to as close to November 1 as possible before using any heating other than solar. The cooler temperatures at a balmy 18ºC (64ºF) indoors just a little lower than the 20ºC (68ºF) we try to keep the house at during the day in the winter. The end of last heating season we discovered a way to shave off a lot of BTU by using only the gas fireplace so I really want to try using that method for as much of the month of November as possible.

We had a cooler and wetter summer that many complained of having no summer at all. It was not all bad though because we only ran the AC for 3 days and with staying home more we spent less money, getting more things done. The fall is now well into it's first week feeling more like winter than fall. Throughout the blogosphere there are warnings for those in the northwestern US states to stock up on wood and supplies for the predicted long, cold winter ahead.

I have been consistently working on caulking and sealing since we moved here just a little over 2 years ago. We are now reaping the benefits of that sealing! I continue to be ever vigilant for any drafts, sealing as soon as they are discovered. Unfortunately we did not get the sunporch rebuilt this year so we will be sealing it up with plastic shortly. The main focus of this year's winterizing is: replacing weather stripping on outer doors, weather stripping windows and installing window treatments (blinds, etc). I will be writing more about that shortly. Window treatments are not a high priority for privacy here so we simply haven't bothered with them because we like the open look. Using energy efficient window coverings will increase our energy savings lowering our carbon footprint.

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