Hoping David Skips This One

Well the winter BLAH's are still in full force- we had wind chills of MINUS 50 here last night. I loved hearing what you all do- the music, getting enough exercise, buying spring-y or other fun things... I have to say that the music idea is one that I should have mentioned. Nothing- NOTHING- makes us all feel better than cranking the tunes and dancing around like fools. Even Marin can shake her hips. Oy.

So, here's a story about the Green Family Furnace- (and this is also the part you should skip, David):

We live in an old house. See:

It is also a big house. Our furnace has 3 zones, so that we don't have to heat all of the house equally.

Also, I have a very jack-of-all-trades husband. He's a farm boy- the youngest of eight kids. He is very smart about math and computer related things, and knows a little about just about anything/everything else. He's also a wonderful father and respectful husband. He's a good friend, kind person, and patient to the core.

But back to how he knows a bit about everything? And about how he's very smart? Weehelll, this sometimes leads to him thinking he knows more than he actually does. Because he knows a little about everything, NOT everything about everything... which can lead to some problems.

Ok, now go back to the picture. See those dormer windows? That's our finished attic (aka: the guest room), which we don't heat unless we are going to be up there. Usually, on these really cold days, it's quite cold up there... but this winter we've noticed that it's not. Huh. Weird, since it hasn't been above zero since approximately October 3rd.

David did some investigating and found the problem with our furnace- whenever any of the zones were heating, it was also heating the attic. Since we already go to the gas company each month and open our veins, this is not exactly great. After spending an evening or two puttering around with it, he came up with a solution. I could tell immediately that our 2nd floor was much warmer.

We were warmer and happier.

Until I found out how he "fixed" our problem. He stuffed a pillow in the attic vent.

HE STUFFED A PILLOW IN THE ATTIC VENT.

Oh, yes, he did.

Fire hazard, carbon monoxide issues, fucking with the furnace's airflow and perhaps causing more issues that we can't even speculate about b/c we don't know enough about furnaces?

You guys, seriously, sometimes he drives me completely up a tree.