It's definitely Fall here in Tirana! The days are bright and sunny and the temperature warms up to about 18 or 20 celsius, but the nights are cold and clear with temperatures falling to 3 or 4 degrees. You can start off the day wearing a winter jacket but by noon all you really need is a light sweater. But despite warm days our apartment feels really, really chilly. When you live in an apartment building as we do, you have to wait for the owner to decide to switch on the heating system, which in our case will be a hot water radiator system. I haven't a clue when that will happen but I imagine (and hope) sometime this month. Now we do have a beautiful fireplace and a few pieces of wood as you can see in the photo, but I am afraid to try to start a fire! I wasn't a very good GirlSscout and I once tried to warm up our house in Canada and didn't know there was a flue to open. You can imagine what happens when a flue is closed and a roaring fire is going. Withi minutes the house was filled with noxious smoke. Now I've been contemplating making a fire tonight because last night I sat in the living room wrapped in a big fleecy blanket, with my huge gorilla slippers (thanks MOM!) and socks, a flannelette nightgown, and a hot cup of tea- and I was still shaking from the cold. But I've been studying this fireplace all afternoon and I just can't find a flue! P is 4 hours away and won't be back til midnight and I am not looking forward to a cold evening alone.
I wonder if a hot loaf of fresh bread would give off enough heat?! One of the best things about living here is the hot bread shop around the corner. It's really just a hole in the wall kind of place, with the bread displayed right up against the window and a sliding window which opens and shuts as you pick and pay for your bread. This is a loaf which was not only warm when we bought it- but hot! It was perfect for a light supper the other evening with slices of Edam cheese and dollops of yummy Ginger Orange Marmalade!
3 comments:
The bread looks wonderful! You should have lied and told us that you made it! Hehehehe
As for you flue....
Our fire place (in Italy) does NOT have a flue. This stinks in the winter because all of our heat goes right out of it. My parent's house (in America)has a flue that is easy to find. Maybe you don't have a flue....
Good luck on keeping warm. With stone houses and tile floors, I almost froze to death last winter. My cats have sleeping up against the radiator. When it gets really cold, I might join them!
Cyn
Mine doesn't have a flue either, so it has doors that stay shut when not being used. Not pretty, either, and hell to get back on if you take them off.
Don't you have scaldasogni in Albania? Mattress pads that heat your bed? I know it means going to bed, but if it is miserably cold and there's a good lamp and soem books, what the heck?
OH MY GODD! I miss it!!!!! I miss the bread :D!
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