Crazy as a Loom

I don't mind winter so much when there is sun. And today, even though the snow was deep, trudging out to unthaw the heat line, the sun was awesome. In the house, it streams through the old curvy glass windows, and everything feels better when it does.
This photo is of a high cranberry bush on the side of the house. I just love the vibrant red color of the berries against the backdrop of all the snow.
Heating a 200+ year old house is a daily challenge. While there is an old oil furnace in the cellar, that I call the "volkswagen", it is now only a backup. I have a pellet stove in the living room, a kerosene fired Monitor heater in the dining room, and a gas fired Monitor in the coldest part of the house, the old kitchen. Unfortunately, the kerosene Monitor refuses to run when the temperature falls below 12 degrees. Then I have to trudge out there and pour steaming hot water over the pipe that comes out of the kerosene tank. But today, I did it a few times, and it still wouldn't run. There is no insulation in the walls, the windows are not insulated, and the ceilings are high. You don't walk barefoot, or go without a sweater. I guess it is a reminder about how people lived in times past. You keep busy, or you stay close to the stove.