I know, it's only California, not Colorado, or the northeast. It's not even snowing here. No blizzards blowing snow at the house. No mounds of white lining the walkway, or icicles hanging under the eaves. In fact, the sun is shining beautifully. Be not deceived, though, by the brightness. It's freezing outside, and pretty darn cold inside as well.

My two heaters barely make it tolerable to exist in this house. Not much gets done when the temps are too low. I feel like I'm hibernating without the benefit of being able to sleep for six months. I'm sure the builder must have been new to the area. He was probably thinking "They don't need any insulation! It's sunny California!"

My dad had that notion as well. Growing up in Utah, and having to sleep in the garden shed much of his youth, he had no concept of the benefits of keeping a house warm. We had a heater, but he told us it didn't work. We just accepted this year after year, as if there was nothing anyone could do about it. Turned out not to be true. He just liked the frugality of not using it. Probably saved a whopping $10-$20 a month back then.

Doing homework in a 40 degree room? Didn't happen. Hanging out with the family? Also didn't happen. Spending lots of time with friends, staying away day and night, that's how I survived. I never wanted that for my kids. I never wanted home to be a refrigerator, but that's what I've had far more than I care to remember.

There are very few things Hubby and I butt heads on these days, but this is and always has been one. He turns the heaters off every time we leave the room. He means well. He doesn't want to leave them unattended. Fire hazard and all that. He also doesn't want to waste energy. Electric heat is very expensive.

One recent winter our freezer thawed out because the temps in the kitchen weren't high enough for the thermostat to kick on! Hubby jokes that we should simply buy long underwear. Even now he's looking at websites that espouse learning how to exist without heat. I wish one of us could adapt... preferably not me. I'm tired of being cold.

The thing is, it takes all day to get the temps up to where we can exist semi-comfortably. I don't like to wait all day for the room to become livable. I want to wake up to a warm house, or come home to one. He obviously disagrees, and I cannot convince him to leave the darned things alone. I'm constantly discovering, when my nose feels pinched, that the heater has not been on for the last two hours... or more.

So, if you're wondering why I haven't regaled you with my latest house project, or hoard conquest, this is why. It's too cold to do anything but sit under a blanket, getting up only periodically to fix food. Seems like a big waste of time to me, but, I guess some people in this house would rather waste months of valuable work time than electricity. So be it.