It seems Winter has finally arrived. Just in time too, as it’s January, and it will be Spring in a little less than 65 days. We had a snow squall today, dumping about an inch and a half of snow in our area over the course of about 90 minutes. I was at work, and didn’t get to see any of it, though I heard about it from a co-worker that had gone to his vehicle on a break. Said that visibility was about nil in the parking lot and he couldn’t even see the nearby Interstate, though he could tell that the big rigs and the rest of the traffic was going a lot slower than the normal 65-70 mph.
Too, I’ve already had a chance to use my old snowblower, but for the moment it’s on the shelf as it needs a new fuel line. Being 33 years old, I’m surprised it’s just one of the lines that need replacing, but luckily it’s the one that’s closest to the shutoff valve. So it’s just a matter of popping 2 retaining clips, removing the old line, measuring it against the new rubber one I got at Tractor Supply, cut to size, add the clips, replace and test to be sure it doesn’t leak. Then (hopefully) back in business.
The temp tonight is supposed to be dropping into the teens, or even below that. So far this winter we’ve been fortunate in not having too many evenings where the mercury was in danger of going negative. Our bedroom for some reason is not getting the warmth the rest of the house is, so tonight I proposed keeping the thermostat at an elevated level, so we don’t have a situation where the bedroom is below 50°F/10°C (normally lately it’s been hovering at/around 60°F/15.6°C at night). The thermostat after 11pm is set at 65°F/18.3°C.
Naturally with an older home (mentioned this before, it was built in 1838 and there’s no insulation in the outer walls) you’re going to have issues with keeping the cold out and the warmth in. Over the years we’ve done quite a bit to shore up our winter defenses, but I think we need to consult a winterization business to see if we’re doing enough. I’ve seen a panel truck making the rounds over the years, I even think there’s some sort of program whereby we can offset the cost of beefing up our ability to keep the warmth we’re paying for more inside of the house. Something else to look into this year.
At any rate, it’s going to be a chilly one tonight. At least the kitty is an indoor girl. She’ll be grateful for the extra warmth overnight I imagine.
our home is similar to yours, not as old but no insolation in the walls! double brick construction so we can’t add any even if we wanted to. we’ve done the attic, basement and crawlspace but that’s about all. our weather here has also turned very cold and the plaster in the walls is now retaining the cold lovely!!
stay warm! 🙂