Saturday Evening

Boy, I never knew there was such a learning curve to heating a house with wood! As I sit here in the nude with a fan on me, I'm reminded that there is a time lag between fire and heat. By the time I noticed it was getting a bit warm, it was too late--It continued to get warmer and warmer. There is not the slightest bit of doubt in my mind that I will be able to save a lot of money this winter by not using my electric baseboards very often.

The question though, is will I ever learn how to do it right?

I need to go out tomorrow and buy myself a couple of thermometers I guess. I need to know how warm it's getting at the different levels of my house.

I spent the earlier part of the day running all over hell, getting back home at about 2pm. I hit about every grocery store around, shopping for all the loss-leaders I had written down on my list. I was everywhere it seems. I even hit a local Bartell Drug store just to get a hot deal on a bottle of olive oil. I also bought two BIG bags of Halloween candy. They're a Hershey assortment with 105 in each one. I predict a lot of kids here due to surrounding apartments and such. I hope I don't have any leftover... I don't want the temptation. But just in case, I'll start with the crap that I like least and get rid of them first. In this case it would be the Whoppers malt balls. I hate those damn things. I'll save the Almond Joys for last. :-)

I even ended up buying (gasp!) pajama bottoms! Okay, not really pajama bottoms... More like lounge pants. Yeah, if they have pockets, they must be lounge pants, right? I certainly didn't buy them to sleep in. They are the usual relatively thin flannel, and have a "token" drawstring to supplement the elastic waistband. They also have the usual "open" fly with one button in the middle, and it has a fairly deep overlap so nothing should escape... I'm going to have to probably hem em up a bit though, which is weird--Usually things I buy like that are barely long enough for me.

I called my folks to RSVP an event they're having at their house next Sunday. A relative from New Jersey is flying into town for a few days. I think he'll be here on Wednesday. He is very possibly the last member of my dad's original clan from the over that way. Except for his daughter, I think he's the last. I met him way back when in about 1977 or so when I stopped in for a visit on the way to Europe in the Air Force. Back then there were a lot more relatives. Times change. I think I'll take my laptop over too, just in case I want to grill him on genealogy.

Well, it feels like it might be around 80 again, so it's getting cooler in here. It's still pretty warm on the stairs though. Probably because I have the little window in my bathroom open all the time and it's creating a chimney effect.

I could definitely host a nude gathering in the dead of winter here if I wanted to. It's a good stove.