Goddamn, It's Windy!!!

I suspect that when this house was renovated, the insulation was skimped upon, since its was to be primarily a seasonal home. At any rate, I finished and put up the new window quilts in the bedroom last night, and was pleased to feel the decrease in the draft from the windows, but couldn't help but notice the cold air oozing from under the baseboard of the exterior wall. I know: I should have shut this room off and moved to the back, South-facing bedroom, but the scale of this one is much more human, its shape more furniture-friendly. And yes, the wind sounds even louder here, which is usually a charm to my ears. Since I am commmitted to this front room, the added bonus to the new curtains is the increased privacy. Ill-fitting muslin curtains were not the most discreet option ever, though they were, as the saying goes, "better'n nawthin." Of course viewing is a two-way street, and now looking out the windows to see street and water traffic will be more cumbersome. I am still adjusting to the dining room having curtains.

As for last evening, I did not, in fact, make gingerbread. After an afternoon spent working, then wandering about in the weather, I was not up to digging out, and gingerbread should be shared. Instead I started decorating the house for Christmas, stringing lights around my windows between the panes and the window quilt panels. In happy coincidence, the dining room quilts are backed with slender white stripes on a red background, so the result is pretty festive when you look from the outside world. I hung a delightfully fake evergreen garland along my banister, then wrapped it in colored lights. For now, the tree-topper is perched on the newel post.

Alright- I just got brave, went downstairs, turned on said lights (since it is still dark out), and made my breakfast: oatmeal w/ maple syrup and dried cranberries, and a mocha. I will face the dishes when the temperature in the house is somewhat more reasonable. I did duct tape the insulated curtain tight to the door frame in the kitchen. The wind is shrieking through, miserable, miserable, but slightly less miserable now, for the quilted hanging. If anyone was wondering, I would like tapestries for Xmas. Now I am ensconced once again in my bed, thankful for Tempur-Pedic matresses, down comforters, and the polar fleece blankets I put between the flannel sheets... my place was still warm! Breakfast in bed is pretty fantastic on a cold day, even if you had to get up to make it yourself. So glad computers and work became so lap-friendly. Let the week begin...