I've got a Canadian buddy (wife of a builder) that refers to our...

I've got a Canadian buddy (wife of a builder) that refers to our homes as matchstick houses (generally speaking) - freezing in the winter, blistering hot in the summer and so fragile they will blow away in a good wind. She can't believe that houses in this climate don't have effective insulation and triple glazed windows - her main complaint. It struck her as odd that in her native home where the temp can drop to minus 40 degs in winter that she can walk around the entire house 24/7 in her undies, but she had to rug up in the one heated room in her Oz house.
Anyway, thought it was an interesting comparison of building material use between two similar western countries with a similar economies and extreme temperatures.