Fall Days

Yesterday and today both, the temperature crept below 60 degrees. I wore socks and long pants in the house. I know it's not permanent, but it feels that way a bit. My cooking has shifted dramatically as a result.

I made chili, quinoa with faux chorizo, and potatoes and rutabaga au gratin. Alex bought a whole local chicken and roasted it last night. This morning, I baked apricot tea cakes for breakfast and ate them with the first new apples acquired at the farmer's market.

I am not ready for this, so the tomatoes, corn, and cucumbers will be back on the menu soon, I'm sure.

It does make me realize that I need to start thinking about making the house warmer for winter. The HVAC system at the house is such that the furnace needs to be on constantly just to keep the house around 65 degrees, while it'd rarely get below 55 if we had it completely off. The attic is where Alex spends a lot of his time playing video games and doing work for his brother, and that has no heat at all. While it never got hot enough this year for the attic to be uninhabitable, I suspect the same won't be said for winter and the cold. So now's the time to consider efficient space heater options.

Vornado has some cool ones that are relatively inexpensive, and will double as fans in the summer online. I think a couple of these should work for this year. I'm very interested in a wood burning stove insert for the fireplace, but they cost about 1300$, which I can't swing or justify presently.

Come back, summer sun!