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It's really cold tonight. Cold at least for these parts of the world. 4.2C or 39.5F. That's cold, because most houses here in San Francisco Bay area are not winterized. I grew up in New York, where it gets colder, longer, and more often. 40F would be considered a nice Spring day. But here, without double-paned windows, brick walls, and efficient heating systems, we shiver through these rare but cold nights this time of year.
Our house is a little cottage. Very cute, but not very warm. Built in 1919, it still uses forced air heat, which is quite common here. But it was built when natural gas for heating was cheap, and you could afford to run the heater all day. And part of the house has no heating vents at all. We keep those rooms closed off. These houses were built for Spring/Summer weather, with no "real" winter. So we walk around with layers of sweaters and fleece, drinking warm tea, and sleeping under down blankets.
There is a very small fireplace, but we don't use it. And if we did, it would only heat the living room, while adding to the air pollution that is a serious matter this time of year. The cold air coming coming down from Alaska causes an inversion layer that traps all the particulates in the air. So burning wood now would not be a good idea. Ironically, this is just the time of year to get a fire going in the fireplace.
The good thing is that these cold nights will only last thru the week as the front that came down the coast from Alaska starts moving east. Warmer air from the south pacific should be arriving soon. Then we'll have milder (55F) nights. Spring will probably arrive in six or eight weeks, when the cherry trees will bloom.
But tonight we covered the potted orchids on the porch, just in case.
