Last winter, we decided to take advantage of the tax rebate for home insulation. The only insulation we’d discovered was old (let me stress old) cellulose insulation heaped behind the lathe and plaster. It’d been there long enough that it had settled several feet below the fill line. Yikes! The best part by far was the attic. It had mounds of cellulose, topped with hundreds of other pieces of garbage: think stacks of old newspapers, clothing, books, wooden boxes, dressers, and on and on. My mom found a corset up there once. Who really in their right mind would honestly think a corset would keep in much heat? I suppose our society has lost that drive to use every last scrap until it’s useless.
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| Can’t read the date? That newspaper is from 13 April 1901! |
Though we’d been diligent in insulating the walls, around windows and in any cracks we could find, the attic and front and back porch still needed improvement. Luckily, a good friend of ours works for a company that blows in insulation. Serendipity!
Jack helped as they filled the spaces with a blanket of soft, white, fluffy fiberglass. I sent pictures to my family and you know what? They asked if snow had leaked into the attic.
I suppose it was a valid question. We actually did have snow leak into the house our first winter here. I laughed and reassured them it wasn’t that catastrophic. Our investment was a worthy one too. A bit of our budget did a noticeably good job keeping us warm during the cold Iowa winters. A lot better than a threadbare corset anyway.
