Heating this old house is something of a challenge.

For one thing, the only insulation is that which we had installed during the remodel this summer. There's some fiberblass insulation in the attic, and a bit in the cellar, and some blown insulation in those few wall-spaces where there are no windows.

We have lots of windows.

We have lots of old windows. While these old windows admit the sunlight in a splendid fashion, they also admit the cold. (And let's face it: for large stretches of the year, we don't see the sun in Oregon.)

We had a new furnace installed at the end of the summer. At the beginning of autumn, we programmed the thermostat on what seemed like a reasonable heating schedule. But I felt cold all the time. When the gas bill for October wasn't outrageous, we adjusted the programmed heating cycle to provide for more warmth. We just received the heating bill for November: it was outrageous.

The entire process is complicated because this house has microclimates. The parlor, where the thermostat is, sports seven windows. (Or is it eight?) The walls are virtually made of glass. The room is cold.

The bathroom, which has its own register, is a small room with two small windows. When we close the door in the morning, the room exhibits admirable sauna-like qualities.

The kitchen, too, is warm, despite the large aluminium window. In fact, it's so warm that I decided to measure the heat. Last night, when the thermostat in the parlor read 66 degrees, the thermometer in the kitchen read 78! We're not sure why the kitchen is so warm, but it is.

Lately, we've helped to keep the kitchen warm by cooking for ourselves. Generally we eat a lot of canned food. (Kris loves her broccoli cheese soup, I love my Nalley chili.) Over the past couple of weeks, though, I've had a tendency to buy a chunk of meat whenever I'm in the grocery store. We now have a surfeit of meat.

On Sunday night, at the peak of our meatiness, we had at our disposal two fresh salmon filets, four smoked center-cut pork chops, four lamb chops, a pound of ground beef, and the last few steaks from my cousin, Ron. That's a lot of meat for just two people. And I'm probably forgetting some.

It'll all get eaten, though, and heartily. The ground beef found its way into Hamburger Helper (hum!); one salmon filet became a mediocre meal on Tuesday; and we prepared the lamb in suprisingly delicious fashion last night.

When Kris is in Virginia next week, I'll probably return to canned chili.

I wonder what's up with The Cinnamon Bear:

Episode #4: "The Inkaboos" (02 Dec 1937) — While they try to find the silver star, Judy and Jimmy and the Cinnamon Bear are captured by the Inkaboos. King Blotto is insulted and sentences them to die in the Immense Inkwell.

Ah, yes: the Immense Inkwell. Something that had to explained to me when I was a kid.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2003 — HP Pavilion 6355   I've used the same HP Pavilion 6355 computer at work for the past five years. It was never a technological marvel, even when we bought it, but it's been a little workhorse, possibly the finest computer I've ever owned.

2002 — Ramble On   It's beautiful: crisp nights and bright mornings with warm yet chilly days. Few clouds. At lunch we watched as a fellow mowed the berm next to the service station across the way. He was mowing the lawn in December! In Oregon!