I miss my central heating!

People sometimes ask me what I miss about America. Honestly, beside my family and friends, I don't miss too many things until they jump out at me from the supermarket shelves when I venture home once a year. Strange, but when I'm in the states, most of my nostalgia is food, and most often cheap food like frozen chicken pot pies, Granny Smith apples, pudding packs, and hearty grain breads. But, the thing I really, dearly miss is central heating! Japanese homes, especially the old ones like the home we rent, are not made for winter. There is no insulation, and the outer walls and floorboards are as thin as my mousepad! So, I am sitting at the computer right now, still wearing my jacket, a scarf, gloves, wrapped in huge blanket. And the winter is just beginning! In the worst days of late January and early February, I peek my head out of the futon covers and can see my own breath! We heat one room of our house, then bundle up every time we have to go to the kitchen, toilet or computer room. No fun for the next few months!