Heat

A couple of weeks ago when we had our first dose of winter cold, I got to thinking about heat.

Our house has an old oil-fired furnace that sends hot water through pipes in every room. When it gets really cold, like it's getting right now, we can supplement in order to save oil usage. We have a wood stove on the fireplace in the basement, with a vent in the ceiling/floor to the living room. Heated air from the fire flows upward. On really cold mornings we can fire up a kerosene heater in the living room and get a hearty blast of "hot" right away to chase the chill out of the house from overnight. In the study, which used to be a front porch area on the house, and therefore is not well-insulated, we can supplement even more with a little portable oil-filled heater. High or low.

When we were having the house inspected, before we closed on it, we were here on the coldest day of that year (December 2006)! We had not fired up the furnace yet. I remember our agent, Julia C., standing in the kitchen, holding her begloved hands over the stove burners (electric) to get a little bit of warmth on an otherwise frigid day. We thought about turning on the oven and opening its door also!

In the upstairs bathroom, in addition to plenty of hot water (unless one happens to follow Eli in the shower), there is a little heater that adds warmth to even that small room. We just purchased a small heater for the basement bath for when guests stay over. That room has not yet been renovated, so it's still pretty drafty.

Not only is it cold tonight, but it's also pretty windy. Every now and then a gust will blow a branch off a tree and bump along the deck making noise.

So from my toasty warm home these days, when I reflect that the Savior of the world was born in a stable (of whatever type), I am humbled. Sappy as the words may be, Christina Rosetti's words, "in the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan..." keep me honest and humble. Not only do I have a roof and walls, and not only do I have heat; I have a variety of sources of heat. I'll try not to complain too much about the cost of oil, nor the cost of electricity. I'll try to figure out a way to use my comfort, my warmth, that they may let me become a blessing to those without.

The Christmas concert by the Owen Middle School bands was last night. Eli plays percussion in the sixth grade band. Here is a video of the group (it's shaky, and I missed the first measure, but you get the idea). Eli's on marimba for this piece. He's in the back, against the wall, the left-most standing percussionist. Later he covered snare and bass drum. It was a long night (90 minutes) but fun.