the sun did not shine.
it was too wet to play.
so we sat in the RV
all that cold, cold, wet day.

Glad we're in the warm part of Texas as the polar vortex gas a grip on most of the rest of the continent. Now, compared to back home we shouldn't complain as they're getting hammered with snow and record cold temps. However, it's been dropping to the freezing mark here the last few nights and our RV doesn't have the 4 season package and I'm guessing we're around an R20 (a long way from the R2000 rating we enjoy at home) so it's been getting pretty cold and drafty inside as we have a lot of single pane windows (16 to be exact and 2 roof vents).

In the mornings the windows are dripping with condensation and with the outside drizzle going on for days, the humidity level in the air is very high so nothing dries out. So, we decided it was time for some window insulation. The stuff they sell at the RV store is foil coated foam that is pretty flimsy and would cost about $120 to buy enough to do our windows.

I checked out stuff in Lowes and found some stiff foam floor underlay with foil on 1 side for $55, enough to do all but 1 of our windows. The stuff is 1 continuous piece 4' wide, which is the height of our largest window, so it's perfect. It's also thick enough that it friction fits inside the window frames and is more or less self supporting so after cutting each piece to the proper size of the window frame, they can be installed and removed in seconds!

We tried them out the first night and the difference was incredible! No more cold drafts while we're watching TV and the furnace only came on less than half as often as before. When we took them out fo the windows in the morning there was hardly any condenstaion on the glass. So, this makes a huge difference and we'll recover the cost in saved propane in no time if it stays this cold.

I also fit a piece of pourous plastic shelf liner ( you know, that non slip rubber stuff you put in drawers so stuff doesn't fly around when you pull them open) on the inside of our cold air return vent. We were getting a pretty cold draft through it which was contributing to our meat locker ambience As the outside temps approached ice cube cultivation conditions. It's hinged at the top via Red Green's favourite tool, duct tape, so it swings up when the furnace kicks on allowing airflow but falls down and blocks the opening preventing cold air flowing back into the RV when the furnace is off.

The barrage of firework artillery has dropped off but there are still the occasional booms throughout the day. Finn retreats to behind my chair or wedges himself between the bed and wall when this happens. Maybe he knows something we don't....like, maybe they're not really fireworks at all! Anyway, no bullet holes yet.