Thankfully Toasty

This morning when I opened the door to bring in the paper and let out the cats, I encountered a rarity for our Southern Califnrnia area, a chilly (relatively) morning.  I had noticed during the night that our heat came on several times, and wondered about it. It wasn't that I felt cold or uncomfortable, so the dip in temperature was a surprise.

I grew up in Missouri, in a house over 100 years old, with drafts blowing in from every corner, between the bare plank flooring, under doors and any crack it could find. We heated entirely by wood, there was a grate in the floor which at some point had been plumbed for gas heat, but which our parents assured us was 'broken'.  It was eventually sealed over with plywood, to keep vents which should have brought in warm air from being another source of cold drafts.

Wood heating is an iffy thing. Our one wood stove centered in the livingroom was occasionally adequate to heat the overly large room (our home prior us occupying it served as a general store). We'd close the doors, shove rugs under the front door, and hang an old blanket on the kitchen doorway to contain the heat. But there were many bitterly cold mornings when we were miserable, no matter how we stoked and fed paper and kindling, the fire burned low and refused to throw off heat, and our family would gather around the big metal box which was the stove and lay over it, trying to suck up any warmth from it we could.

How appeciative I am to have central heating. How thankful that my family has only to adjust a dial on the wall to maintain a comfortable environment in our home. I was trying to tell my hubby how grateful I am to have this modern luxury, but he didn't get it. He grew up in middle class suburban Southern California, the coldest he has ever been was probably on our camping trip to the Grand Canyon in April, when the nighttime temps dropped into the 40s and he insisted on dragging our cooking stove into the tent to warm it up.

I am sharing some pictures from last year's Thanksgiving tablescapes. I'm inbetween computers right now, my hubby is transferring our old one into my daughter's bedroom, and we've yet to buy a new router for our new one. I'm borrowing my other daughters laptop, which is very awkward for me to use. Looking at these pictures, it occurs to me that I didn't find my patchwork pumpkin. I thought I was missing something!  I guess I'll look for it again. Maybe I'll even find my fall placemats, I can't think why they are lost.

Hoping everyone is staying warm and toasty this November.