It’s So Cold Today I Put The Leftover Chicken Soup in the Unheated Sun room To Cool Down….9 F. Right Now…

@NativePortlander1970 The 9-day outlook for temperatures has us under or right at freezing so I can leave foods out there for quite a while. It might get a little colder in there tonight. I’ll check the thermometer.

@cherokeepatti That is a good thing in this case.

@NativePortlander1970 the gas bill is going to be high this month. But we hadn’t needed to use much until about the first of January.

@cherokeepatti I have baseboard heat, last month was $206, this month is $168.

@NativePortlander1970 for how many square feet?

@cherokeepatti maybe a bit less than 400sq

@NativePortlander1970 Wow. Baseboard heaters are not that efficient. I had friends who self-built and underground house here in a rural area. It was U-shaped and they covered the top and outer sides with dirt. They thought it wouldn’t cost much to heat and used baseboard heaters. Jacked the electric bill way up. Have you ever used one of those portable radiant heaters that are oil-filled and look like a little house radiator? I have read that those are more efficient. And Ray has a different type he uses for his office and the bathroom at the car lot. He said it doesn’t take much to use it. He uses a wood stove in the shop area and that’s good.

@cherokeepatti my mother had an oil filled portable but got rid of it when she burned herself on it.

@NativePortlander1970 the heaters that are at the car lot have safety features on them. They are narrow and on wheels, if something bumps into them and they tip over they automatically go off. And they seem like they wouldn’t burn anyone yet keep continuous radiant heat coming out. I forgot the brand name but Ray mentioned wanting to get one for the house in case the furnace breaks down, he doesn’t want us to get cold.

@cherokeepatti I don't blame him

@NativePortlander1970 If the electricity is still on I would use the stove to bake, and bake up a storm all day. That will put out quite a bit of heat. Of course when the ice storm several years ago caused the power grid to go off in this area I couldn’t do that. We do have a fireplace, no firewood here but if he brought some home I could use it. And it also has a natural gas line in it. I lit the fireplace all day and used that to help give some heat in the living area. We still had to bundle up and were sitting around with a blanket over us. Used the fireplace to heat up water in a camping kettle. Reheated enchiladas for the boy over some votive candles…took about 20 minutes but it did the trick. We drank hot drinks all day too.

@cherokeepatti I miss a good wood fireplace or woodstove.

@NativePortlander1970 We used to use the fireplace but we didn’t want to use it after the boy came to live with us since he had asthma sometimes. I think he could handle it now if it was an emergency. If the electricity was still on but the furnace went out for some reason I would use my air cleaner in the living room to clean the air. We haven’t had the chimney cleaned or inspected. I think it would be OK but not 100% sure. You never know. The chimney does have a liner in it.

@cherokeepatti My Grandfather used a heat insert to keep the air cleaner to keep my grandmother's asthma from kicking in.

@NativePortlander1970 Couldn't live without my wood furnace ,gas just isn't the same kind of heat

@kodiac Plus the aroma of wood is calming.