Grandma and grandpa had a winter retreat in the mountains when I was a kid, but most older people tend to head down south when it gets cold, our grandparents loved the mountains and they loved spending the winter season where it’s most beautiful, then nearly every winter, our parents would bring us to that log cabin of theirs for a week of fellowship and enjoying the spirit of the season, the log cabin was spacious and as beautiful as the surrounding area, however there was no central heating or air, and grandpa and grandma relied on space furnaces and even a fireplace in the foyer, to keep warm.
In addition to that, they had electric blankets.
The log cabin was truly cozy, and I have fond memories of listening to grandpa’s stories by the fireplace, as I sipped on tepid cocoa topped with marshmallows and munched on Christmas cookies freshly baked from grandma’s oven. Come to think of it, the oven also helped to keep things warm in the dining room, for sure! Despite the fact that during our visits, it was often in the single digits up there in the mountains, and occasionally it was even below zero, we seemed to stay nice in addition to toasty in that chalet without having any central heating whatsoever. I guess it was truly well-insulated, also, I guess the space furnaces and fireplace in addition to electric blankets in addition to the oven all worked together to ensure that the chalet was acceptable warm. Mom and dad were upset that grandma in addition to grandpa would lose power up there during a particularly bad blizzard, though. I’m ecstatic it never happened.