BRRR!!!

31 May 2009

Brrr!! We are, in Brandon’s words, FREAKING COLD!! It is eleven degrees in our lovely home right now. I am wearing long pants and a merino wool top in bed, Brandon has the covers pulled up to his chin and won’t resurface for ANY reason because, as he says, he’s FREAKING COLD!! You’d think we would be enjoying the mild winter, with daytime temperatures in the mid to high ‘teens (above zero!), but we’re having a hard time adjusting to the non-existent insulation, and the lack of indoor heating when the temperature dips to single-digits overnight. We’ve resorted to wearing layer upon layer of clothing, wearing slippers—which I have NEVER done before, considering my dislike of anything covering my toes—cranking up the heat on our eleven-fin oil heater, burying ourselves in blankets, baking like there’s no tomorrow, and eating chili and stew-like concoctions in an attempt to line our cold stomachs. Brandon took to turning on all four burners on the stove in order to heat the kitchen in the morning. In doing so, he melted my spoon-rest to the surface of the stove, not realizing that the burners were meant to have a pot or a pan on them to absorb the heat.
Far be it for us to complain about anything in New Zealand, but the chilly indoors are getting on our nerves. Kiwis respond to our comments about the chill by asking, “Isn’t it much colder in Canada?” Our response is simple, “It’s a lot easier to handle minus thirty when it’s 22 degrees inside.” Still, they do not understand. One co-worker, upon hearing about “central heating,” said that it must be nice to be able to drape your wet laundry on heaters all around the house. She didn’t understand that central heating means that warm air is pumped through vents in the ceiling or floor into every living space in the home. She also couldn’t believe that nearly all Canadians use a clothes dryer instead of a clothes line – even in the summer.
Most Kiwis have no concept of a cold, a real Canadian cold, but we’re surprised that they put up with the three months of “winter” here and don’t resort to double-paned windows, sealing doors, insulating walls etc. (We purchased that Saran-wrap-type stuff for our windows from the local hardware store, but we had to ask around. No one really understood what we were looking for.) I’ve asked a few people why they don’t better cold-proof their homes. This is one answer I got: “Well, winter’s only three months long. During the first month, people say to themselves, ‘Boy, it’s a bit chilly!’ During the second month, they say ‘We should really do something about the cold.’ But by the time the third month rolls around, they say, ‘There’s only one month left. It’s not that bad.’”
So, now that’s off my chest, I’m signing off. My fingers are cold and stiff, and the heated mattress-cover is calling my name.