Winter is here

1-18-08

It is cold today. Tomorrow night it’s expected to drop to 15 degrees, our lowest nighttime temperature yet. I stayed home today and wrapped up in my new soft afghan. This is my first winter in my house in town. I have central heat and air and that is a blessing. For the past 21 years I’ve built wood fires to keep warm in my country home. I do like wood fires. They are so cozy. But it takes a lot of work to keep a fire going when there’s snow and ice outside, especially when that’s the main source of heat. 

For several years, my son cut my firewood and I would stack it downstairs under the deck to keep it dry. Then later, I started buying ranks of wood from local woodcutters. That was simpler. Then a couple of years ago I decided that the wood stacking, carrying, and loading the stove was just too much work for me. It kept my shoulders sore all winter. My thoughts started turning to central heat.

I happened upon this old house which was being auctioned in the summer of 2006. On a whim, I bought it with the idea that my son could fix it up. It was a real challenge because there was lots of repair to do before I could move in. My son added floor tile and laminate flooring. All rooms were painted, including woodwork.

I know now that I really got a bargain.  The house is located in a nice neighborhood on a corner lot with a lot of yard space.  The house was equipped with a dishwasher, a compactor, garbage disposal, five ceiling fans, recessed lighting in the kitchen and dining room, a garage, a workshop, a root cellar,  and a covered patio.

I moved in about three months ago. At first I went back and forth, from one house to the other. I had to wean myself from the country house which I love. The country house was built by my husband and me with a lot of assistance from my son.

I had mixed emotions about moving from the country house into town. It’s an adjustment. Come springtime I’m sure I will be drawn back to the country and the backyard fishing pond. Keeping two houses operating is not an easy undertaking. Time will tell what I eventually do.

‘Till then, I’ll stay bundled up by my electric space heater that resembles a woodburning stove. That will do for now.

Starting 2008

The new year is underway. I made a resolution not to procrastinate. Other than that, I haven’t committed myself to change much.

I did make a big change in 2007 when I moved from my country house to an old remodeled house in town. It took almost a year to redo the house which had been trashed. I’m proud to say that my son and I did all the remodeling by ourselves, with no outside help, with the excepti0n of two rooms of carpeting.

We painted all the walls in every room, including ceilings. I painted all the woodwork and baseboards which my son removed and placed on scaffolds. That took a while since I put two and three coats of white enamel on the woodwork. I also painted all the doors, ten of them, and the kitchen cabinets, inside and out.

My son repaired the walls which had holes in them. He also removed the old carpeting in the living room and dining room and replaced it with laminate flooring. He laid porcelain tile in the kitchen, two bathrooms and hallway.

 I could go on and on but I won’t. There was a lot more re-doing and decorating, but you get the idea.

 I am enjoying my house in town but I can’t forget the 20 or so years I lived in the country. There were ducks and geese on the pond, wide open spaces, woods all around the house that were alive with deer, foxes, coyotes, raccoons and ‘possums. I enjoyed watching a blue heron land on the bank’s edge and catch his morning fish. I liked fishing for catfish in the backyard pond or just sitting in a lawn chair by the dock in late evening.

 It was my husband’s idea to build a house in the country. He thought rural life would be more economical. We would grow a garden and build woodfires in the wintertime, thus saving fuel. He chainsawed the wood on our property and I helped haul it and stack it. Woodfires were our main source of heat in the wintertime. We also had a window air conditioner in the summertime. Here in the town house, which I often refer to as The White House, I have central heat and air, a blessing.

 This house is old. It dates back to depression years, I’m told. It has a wrap-around porch and a root cellar. At one time, there was a storm cellar but it was filled in with dirt in later years.  The house was updated by a previous owner, then fell in disrepair. I bought it at auction in August 2006.

 Well, I’ve rambled long enough. There are dishes to wash, floors to dustmop, and clothes to fold.  I mustn’t procrastinate.

Until next time.