Cabin Fever

While my house isn't quite as drafty as the one pictured left, I do feel justified in complaining about the cold. The spell of arctic weather verifies my suspicions that, of the multiple renovations our 100+ year old house has undergone, not one has included the addition of insulation.

At least we do have central heat, and of fairly modern vintage; one winter during my freewheeling youth I shared a beautiful old Pennsylvania farmhouse, built in 1783, that had no such amenity. There was a modern woodstove installed in the old fireplace downstairs, but the stone mass of the house was just no match for the stove's meager heat output. My housemates had kerosene heaters in their bedrooms, but I kept from freezing to death at night thanks to my cat, and my electric blanket. (Luckily we had indoor plumbing -- and plenty of hot water!)

I can't claim to suffer from cabin fever today. I can, however, use the sub-zero wind chills as an excuse to stay indoors and surf the 'net. Let hardier souls than I take to the ski slopes....

Thanks to the internet, I learned that today is Jimmy Page's birthday. And of course, yesterday would've been Elvis Presley's 75th. This celestial juxtaposition can have only one logical consequence:



OK, maybe the onslaught of winter has affected my sanity just a smidgen.