Biological Clock

2C

That was the temperature at the Rideau Camp this morning. Here at Mist Cottage, where we wisely spent the night, the morning temperature is 3C. Inside the house the temperature was 18C when I arose at 6:25 a.m. The heat has not yet been turned on this autumn. This little house retained much of its heat through a cold night, despite the thin sheet of plywood, that is the wall below the new windows in the dining area. With any luck we can avoid turning the heat on for another few weeks!

Frost! We will see how much of the garden has succumbed!

Another sunny day has dawned. I sit in the living room, in my comfortable chair, watching the light quicken. On my lap is the computer, on which I enter these characters on the page. To my side is my crocheted blanket project, ready to be taken up at any time, as the mood strikes. As well, there sits my new book, Kristan Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset, waiting to keep me company. I have books in progress here at my easy chair, beside the throne in the bathroom, and at Grace The Trailer. Everywhere I go I have familiar friends waiting for me, anxious to tell me their news and spend time with me.

Attila sleeps. He requires much more sleep than I do. It has always been this way. Until I moved myself into a twin bed some years ago, I seldom had a good night’s sleep. Attila snores. In addition he has severe, very severe, restless leg syndrome. His legs would shake the bed like an earthquake, jerking me awake, then his snoring would keep me awake after the sudden jarring movement. Before sleeping with Attila, I was a single Mom. Sleep was a light experience, when every noise in the house, during the night, would put me on the alert. All of these factors combined, with my “farm girl” biological clock, early to bed, early to rise, to make for many nights of sleep deficit. “Sleeping in” isn’t something I have ever done, although it does happen when I run a high fever, so I kind of know what it is like. The only up side of being sick is that I can rest effortlessly.

Today we have been working on the new windows. They are coming along. Attila prepared the interior wall, I installed the insulation, and the vapour barrier. Attila installed the drywall over the vapour barrier. We are hoping to get the drywall mudded, and the exterior wall painted by the end of the day.

DSCF1331 My part of the project was to install the fiberglass insulation, apply the vapour barrier and then seal the vapour barrier with tuck tape. The sealing wasn’t as easy as it might have been, because Attila had to cut the previous vapour barrier close to the edge of the drywall. That meant I had to add small pieces of tuck tape extending underneath the drywall around the window, so that the seal would be intact. It tool a long time and a lot of patience. It isn’t pretty, but it is functional!

DSCF1336 The drywall is on, the mudding is going to be a bit of work, as parts of the drywall around the window were damaged when Attila removed the trim from the previous windows. Now he needs to insulate around the window frames, seal them, and then the windows are ready for the trim. Attila will build me a window sill, which will take extra time, but we both like window sills, so it will be worth the extra effort.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

14°C
Date: 12:00 PM EDT Sunday 1 October 2017
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 103.0 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 14.4°C
Dew point: 5.3°C
Humidity: 54%
Wind: WSW 13 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
1850 – 1894

It shows!

4 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Cathy

Oh, I’m so glad they arrived all in one piece. The low low temps I’m talking about – well low for us that is Our heating is having a well earned rest as well
There have been times over the years when I’ve resorted to our spare bed due to The Golfer snoring. I’m loathe to make it a permanent arrangement yet get annoyed that it’s me being inconvenienced in leaving my nice warm bed and he lies there unaware – until I make it known! He won’t entertain the idea of a visit to a sleep clinic either. My cross to bear I suppose. ~ Cathy

Teri

You folks are moving right along with getting the windows in place and everything closed up. I’m always impressed by how quickly you and Attila get your projects finished.

At about the same time we had our new windows put in here at the house I decided that I was getting older and I wasn’t going to put a lot of effort into keeping the house at a lower temperature anymore. I decided I was going to allow myself more comfort now that I was getting older. Fortunately, I’m sure, the new windows made enough of a difference in our house with keeping the heat in/out that we haven’t noticed a marked change in our heating/cooling bills. I’m sure you’ll notice a change too as more and more of your windows are replaced.

A long weekend coming up. Hope you and Attila enjoy the holiday. We’re taking a 4 day weekend and will be going to the cottage again. More painting to be done now that the gutters have been cleared and the doors sealed against the weather.

I hope some of the mid-week warmth that we’re supposed to get will linger.