Batten down the hatches

My love of the fall season is unwavering. It is strong and proud. I believe my life is enhanced by its presence. I welcome it wholeheartedly regardless of the type of weather that comes along with it. I love not feeling hemmed in by summer's hot and humid days. To me, it is the most wonderful time of year to be alive. And it is beautiful. All my favorite colors dress the trees...red, yellow, orange, brown. I noticed last fall that the interior of my house is painted in autumn colors. This was not planned...just a happy accident.



The one and only drag that keeps coming up year after year is the effort it takes to try and keep as much warm air in the house, and as little flowing out in our older energy inefficient house. Old wooden doors with single panes of glass...aluminum windows that actually conduct cold instead of keeping it out....a cold storage room door that is actually a hollow core interior door....and last but not least a concrete basement floor that is our saving grace in the summer, but the bane of our existence in the winter. We are responsible and aware people who lack the funds to just "throw money at it". So, we are left in a position to do what we can. Last fall, I attached batts of insulation to the back of the cold storage room door and interior basement door with a staple gun and some vapor barrier that we had around. I recaulked around all the windows in the interior. I taped up the ducts to prevent heat escaping up through the walls. And, of course, the part that I hate the most...the most tedious and disappointing of tasks.....putting up the cursed window plastic.



While I have gotten very good at putting this stuff up, I don't look as happy and well put together as the woman on the box. (I found this at an estate sale and bought it as a joke for myself). I can make it look like it isn't there, and provided that I clean the windows inside and out beforehand (done on Friday), from a distance one would never know there is plastic there. The sad truth only hits me when I want to open a window to air out the "winter" house and I can't. I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that there is indeed lots of fresh air infiltrating from many other places!
Maybe one day I will miss this seasonal ritual.....find myself longing for some windows to put plastic up on. Hopefully though, I will have better things to do with my time.
Happy weekend all.