Monday, January 05, 2009

Brrrr

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day. However there was something about the way that the wisps of smoke came out of chimneys that seemed odd. As best I can figure, the smoke was freezing on its way up. Probably not, but with temperatures starting at 6 below zero I know I could freeze. By late afternoon, it had soared to 9.

When you watch the Salt Lake news on days like that, you hear so many stories about pipes bursting and flooding houses, black ice forming on roads, and the homeless struggling to survive. Up here in Park City, we are better equipped to handle the cold snaps, but it makes me happy not to own too much of the mining history. Many of the original mining houses in Old Town (near Main Street) are built directly on the ground with no foundation. The insulation in the walls is crumpled up newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's. I just can't imagine the bill for keeping a house like that warm, even if it is small.

Fortunately, we built our house with 6" walls, extra insulation and triple-pane windows. It's big, but at least most of the heat stays inside.

Today is warmer and another snow storm is coming in. Yeah!!

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