I have a lot of un-distracted time on my hands to use for list making. The problem is I can't do anything on the list at this time. It's frustrating. As the temperatures drop, drafts pick up speed and the price of oil continues to go up, I have come up with all sorts of ideas to keep the heat in where I can appreciate it. There are projects that can be done to help with that:

1. Re-cover the front windows with heavy plastic that will withstand the claws of a small dog. She has shredded the tight plastic weather proofing I'd installed earlier in the season.

2. Hang heavy plastic between the kitchen and the great room like a shower curtain. The kitchen is cold and the drafts from the back of the house are like mini tornados.

3. Put up plywood and insulation over an unused back door in the kitchen. It needs to be removed and a window placed there instead. Next year. This door has a single pane window and leaks air around it. It's silly having two back doors side by side. This one can be boarded up for now to stop the heat from escaping.

4. Put insulation into the can light above the sink. I can actually feel cold air blasting down from that fixture. Brrr.

5.Install door sweeps on both exterior doors and the basement door. I read that a 1/8 gap can translate to a two inch square hole in the wall. Really?

Help is on the way. I think I hear horse hooves beating a path to the ranch now....