Colorado here. Temps are same as your's are, 65 one day and 85 the next, in the 40s at night now. But haven't turned on the furnace yet, house seems to stick around the mid 50s (even with windows open) which is higher than my norm for night temps set. I do have AC, but has to be in the 100s for me to turn it on and almost as bad with using heat. In the winter I cuddle up under an electric blanket watching TV, the heat is rarely turned above 65 during the day. We do have sun to take advantage of throughout the winter and I use as much as possible streaming through the windows.

The one thing that I would like to do for more insulation is carpet the floors. Am on the fence with this since the entire house is hardwood and covering it feels like a sin. But the darn wood is cold in this winter climate. Have thought about buying carpet that just fits each room and having it bound rather than installed.

Will be interesting what our bills are this year. I have paid about the same for all utilities for so long that an increase is not welcomed. Keep thinking I'm going to be layering tons if it goes up too high. Greatful for the little house.

Happy curtain hanging....

Frosty air almost would be welcome here. Right now it is 79 but feels like it is 91 and the humidity is 78%. We have our a.c. on. We were both outside doing some work and were sweating.

It sounds like you've got your place insulated nicely Chris. Hope it stays nice and cozy in there for you this winter.

Emagineer ~ Oooohhh, I would hate to cover those gorgeous hard wood floors. Buy some colorful, wonderful throw/area rugs for your tootsies during the winter. Just my two cents worth, which wouldn't amount too much in another forum. : -)

It is nice having our little abodes, definitely much easier to cool and heat.

Enjoy small house living ~ FlowerLady

We had a couple of windows open until Monday night. Then it got pretty cool. I prefer to keep fresh air coming in going out. New house smells are not so great after the first impression.LOL Even though it was cooler this evening I cracked a couple of windows but will close them before going to bed. Which is just about now. Night All

Chris

Flower,

I have so many rugs, it is a passion. Akin to slipcovers and comfortors which I change with the rugs through the year. Most of the rugs are wool native american patterns, love color. Right now I'm making a new slipcover for my TV chair/ottoman, rust corderoy.

I threw out the idea of binding carpet because of not really wanting to install over the original floors. They are in good condition, the kitchen/bath gets a bit more wear. The wool rugs I have took some thinking for a rug backer. The ones they sell are too expensive for what they are, in my mind, and vacumming didn't get the dirt which settles through them. I finally bought some inexpensive rugs from Walmart for backers. And the bath rugs are another story, they really do not keep water off the floor, it seeps through the backing regardless of how well made. So I bought a large rubber tub mat and set in under the rug to eliminate damage to wood floor.

And yes I double up on socks during the cold. Hate shoes or slippers, they hide from me or get lost from wherever I last walked out of them.

Chirs, Love having windows open, even in my bedroom a bit during winter. If there isn't some massive storm. Will be interesting what this winter brings.

Getting ready to leave to go for the last round of kitty feeding for our friends. They have 25 cats!! They happen to live in another house we used to own.

Emanigeer you reminded me about that house. One of the nice things of it was it had free heat because of the hot spring,water temp 158 to 162 degrees at the house. We used to always leave the windows open all winter. Remember the old cast iron radiators? We had three of them with small fans behind them to push the heat around when needed.

At our last house we had a glass storm door I could leave the regular front door open on a sunny day and it would let enough fresh air in but keep the worst of the cold out in the winter. The sun coming in the door seemed to balance the heat to cold problem. Not sure what we will do here. I am such a fresh air freak.

Chris

Fresh air is nice when you have it. During the summer months down here, it smells swampy to a degree. We really noticed it when we went away for a week to visit DH's aunt and uncle in upstate NY a few years back. We got off the plane here and couldn't believe the swamp odor. I guess we are used to it so it isn't noticeable but it sure was then. During the cooler weather, we do open windows and I open the kitchen's door to the screened porch, really nice then, except for the noise of traffic racing by out front. During the cooler months the tourists flock down here increasing the road traffic tremendously.

emagineer ~ We have several older Persian rugs which we love. Some are sort of ragged out but that gives them character. I bet your native American rugs are great. Those are always colorful.

If I lived up north I'd have to double up on socks as well. I hate wearing shoes, and am barefoot all the time indoors.

FlowerLady

No frost here yet in Illinois. It's still pretty warm here, but it's not out of line to get some freak frosts about now.

I bought my little house in May, so I'm gearing up for my first heating season & curious to see the bills. My downfall will be the fact that I'm just always cold. I have a programmable thermostat, but I guarantee I will mess with it. I've been guilty of that everwhere I've lived. LOL!

I want to see those colorful curtains!

I can't wait for our first frost. I love snuggling under a quilt at night & so far it hasn't been cold enough.

Hi matri8a,

Hubby is on the computer with the curtain pictures right now. I will ask him to leave it on when he is done and then get them loaded to show and tell. He said it will not be long. Good thing because I am caving in tonight.

Was so fun to have the house feel a little more like home. Just keep in mind the curtains are from grandmothers table cloth, some dust ruffles and another vintage table cloth. I can be creative sometimes. Laughing!!!! Gads I am a NUT!!!! Sad part is it is so fun. Hehehehehe

Chris

We had snow on the ground yesterday morning and a few flakes driving home late afternoon. I second the snuggling under a blanket along with the fireplace going. The wind really whipped up and yard is covered with leaves.

Chris, winter will allow you to really play inside. I have bunches of things to do and looking forward to it now that the garden work has come to an end. Well, sort of, need to blow the leaves off the lawn when they have ended their drop.

Sheesh, you guys get to cozy up inside with projects during winter, and I have my gardens calling me 365 days a year, and I try to squeeze indoor and outdoor projects into each day.

Enjoy your chilly temps, today it is 85 and the real feel is 95 and it's humid and a bit breezy.

FlowerLady

Sounds like the weather in Texas....if you don't like it, just wait a minute :^)
It is absolutely perfect here, after a freeze early in the week!! High 30's - 40's at night and 70's in the daytime. There is a high pressure zone right over us, so our entire week looks perfect! We DO need rain though, so I'll be putting pressure on that high to move it along pretty soon! I have tanks for about 200 gallons of rain water...I have about half left, then I will be moaning and griping about no rain!!
FlowerLady, my son lives in Orlando and is a surveyor. He says it is still hot and slightly uncomfortable there. He always looks forward to the cooler temps of "winter" in Florida! Y'all have a good weekend!
J

I don't think Orlando has been hot the last couple days- we were in the upper 40's the last two mornings, and Tampa was 42 on Wednesday morning- that's chilly for us! I'm still in shorts and T-shirts, though. I'm trying to toughen up for our move 'way up north' to SC.