On the cold.

A masonry heater my brother  and his ex built.
Want cheap heat?  Got a spare $30,000?

Well, it's really not all that cold.  Outside it's 51 degrees.  The problem is the house isn't heated.  So, it's 51 degrees inside too.  That might be fine as far as my brother is concerned, but you know what:  I like it warmer in the house.

Speaking of my brother.  Several years ago he ripped out his furnace and installed something called a masonry heater.  For a year that was the only source of heat in his house, but he ended up deciding a wood stove for supplemental heat would be nice.  He was proud when the temp in his house was above freezing that first winter.  I guess I'm just a wimp...

While my brother and I may be at odds regarding what constitutes comfortable temperatures indoors, a masonry heater would be the perfect addition to our house.  Essentially it's a big pile of bricks which get heated by a wood fire once or twice a day, trap the heat in a series of semi-complex channels and slowly radiate the heat throughout the day.  A person ends up burning about 3 armloads of wood for 24 hours of supplemental heat.

Enough whining about the cold indoor temps, if it's not raining - this is perfect running weather.  Yesterday form work.  1.5 hours with high knees, butt kicks and "spin ups".  I went out in a short sleeve shirt and shorts and my wife warned me about the cold.  It was perfect.  Oh well.  Two and a half more hours today and tomorrow is a rest day.

Thanks for reading and be safe out there.
J