Sleep is not usually a problem for me, provided I can draw heavy drapes and shades against the street lights. I go to bed promptly at 9:00, read for an hour, and it's lights out.
About once a month, I am hit with insomnia, something I seem to have inherited from my mother, who suffered greatly from it. When I can't sleep, I simply get up and spend the night working on the computer. This is fine during the months from spring to autumn, but in the winter cold, I am not happy with this solution. We have an automatic thermostat that turns down the heat down to 57 degrees F. (14 degrees C.) at 10:00 pm and so it stays until 6:00 am. I am all in favor of this as our own little antidote for global warming. I refuse to change the dial for a little discomfort.
So when I woke up at 3:00 am today, I stayed in bed reading until 4:30 when Rascal Cat and I decreed that it was morning. I put on long underwear, a robe, woolen socks, mukluks, a warm coat and a knit hat and set to work, a cup of hot tea to keep my hands and stomach warm. Because it was too cold to sit in front of the computer screen, I decided to make my favorite vegetable soup, pulling leftovers from the refrigerator, cupboard and stove. With the soup bubbling away, I started the oven and made muffins. At 7:30, the house is warm with delectable smells wafting through.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When nature gives you freezing temperatures, cook.