The Challenge Of Keeping Your House Warm In Winter.

Almost as important as keeping yourself warm...

Winters are fabulous and I love them, but I have to be honest and say that it does have its little challenges. Warmth being the main one.

This last week we have been dipping into the minus degrees and even though we have sunshine almost daily, the ground and air are still rather icy. Luckily our old farmhouse has walls at least 60cm thick. In the olden days they knew how to build to suit the elements. There are only two small ( toilet ) windows facing the ' colder wind ' side, and the other, window side gets a huge amount of sunlight. Our thick walls, somehow makes the warmth linger longer in winter, and the cool the same in summer.

We have a wood burning pellet stove ( pellet ofen / Amazon.de ), that makes it easy for us. Once a day, we put a packet of those little pellets ( they look like horse feed ) into the stove and that heats us for the day. Of course we don't heat continuously, trying to save a bit of dosh. When the pellet stove is off, boy does one feel the cold. Look, it is an opportunity to wear all of our winter clothes at once !

I have been wondering this whole week, how the older generations managed to survive their
winter ? They did not have all of our modern contraptions, to help during winter. Plain building materials, no special thermal clothing and mostly only a wood burning stove in the kitchen. Can you imagine, every time you want to make yourself a cup of coffee, that you would have to make a fire in your stove to boil water ? On top of everything else, it is not so easy to get a fire going...
I tried it last winter, but did not get the hang of it.

Has our generation become accustomed to this, lets face it, luxurious and easy lifestyle ? We just flick a switch and the water boils, or the heater works. Would we even know how to survive the lifestyle of 50 or 100 years ago ? Imagine having to go outside to your " Outhouse "( check out my blogstory & pictures on Outhouses in our area ) in winter, instead of just walking down the passage, to do your ' business ' !

I, for one, am so grateful that managing a winter, is so much easier and more comfortable than it was in the past.

Biggi