Thursday, December 16, 2010

Stoves, heaters and ovens...notice a theme?

You know what I miss? Full-sized ovens that help heat the house when you use them. My little microwave oven is just not the same. I made cookies today, so I can spread a little Christmas joy to those around me, but my hands froze between cookie batches, and I forgot that I had toes because they lost all feeling! I didn't turn on much heat because I thought the cooking and baking might help, but nope.

So yea, the house is quite cold now that the weather has turned genuinely cold. There were snowflakes in the air today, but nothing that stuck. And unfortunately the house is so poorly insulated that once a room is nicely heated (my kerosene heater will take a room from freezing to comfortable in about 8 minutes), you have to keep the heat on to maintain the temperature. I turned it off once - and about 10 minutes later I could see my breath.

AHHH! I just realized that even when closed, this closet right next to me lets in a significant draft of cold air. The closet ceiling opens right up to the top of the house, where there must be an open window or something because cold air comes rushing out of the closets when I open them.

By the way - in Japan, "stobu" refers to the kerosene heater. I think "reinji" is one of the words for what we call a stove/range. And the air conditioner functions as a heater, but in this cold, it's a joke really. I think it blows lukewarm air at best, whereas I can see the fire inside the kerosene heater. Well, here's to hoping I survive the winter.

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