Thought of another thing we do here in the cold. We have winter curtains and summer curtains. I grew up with this. The winter curtains are heavy drapes. My mom even made one pair of fiber glass lined drapes for the living room. Summer curtains are sheers, lacy, and stay at the sides of the windows. Winter curtains get drawn across to help keep the heat in. I remember spending a week or more visiting aunts, neighbors and friends helping with the change over.

I don't know if many folks do this now. The new vinyl replacement windows help a LOT in keeping the heat inside. And as compared to my mum's generation, more women work outside the home now. I don't even HAVE curtains! Just valances, same ones year round. I say it's because the cats would just climb and shred curtains. (well, they WOULD!)

These cold days, we only put the shades up in the kitchen and livingroom. the bedrooms and bath, the shades stay drawn all day as well as all night.