1 October 2009
No, I’m not talking about football. I’m talking about staying warm.
The weather has been getting colder every day for a week. This morning it was in the upper 30s at dawn. By now most of you have turned on your heat, but not us. We’re toughing it out until we get a new furnace. The old one won’t turn on and rather than pay to fix it I thought we could cope without it until the furnace man comes with a new one on Friday.
This plan has resulted in a couple of “learning experiences.”
First, we’ve learned that 60 degrees feels great outdoors but when you’re inside it’s like Antarctica, especially when it was summer last week.
On Tuesday I was really crabby and could not figure out why. Eventually I put on my coat (though I was indoors) and suddenly felt fine, even happy. I was crabby because I was cold.
We’ve discovered which rooms are warmer and are spending our time there. So why is the basement warmer than the living room? Cold air should be falling to the basement – and it is – but the water heater is running more often and its metal exhaust vent warms the room enough to make a difference.
And finally, we’re huddling. We huddle at night just like the ducks in this picture and our cat finds a crack to sleep between us. Emmy seems so affectionate right now. I hope she remembers to love us when the heat is on.
(Ducks in a huddle from Shutterstock)
p.s. Emmy has many names including Emmalina.
I so relate to this! My house has old pine floors that I had previously left bare most of the time, except for a small area rug. However, the wood is spreading from its age and the cold air from the basement was leaching up through the floors; each year makign it more and more unbearable.
I’ve rented for 11 years, so new floors simply wasn’t an option. I finally ordered a huge jute rug to lay over the entire floor. I was determined to wait until that rug arrived to turn on the heat- determined. Then my 5 year old’s nose started to run constantly from the cold. I just couldn’t subject him to that. Huddling wasn’t working because he kicks at night and the dogs take up too much room and the cats simpy refused to share space with all of us…
So, I had to turn it on. Fortunately, the rug arrived yesterday and what a HUGE difference!! I was able to turn the heat down to 69, and still have it be warmer than outside.
And it is strange, isn’t it? that you can enjoy being outside in the 60’s but inside it’s torture! I still can’t wrap my brain around why that is. Maybe its because inside, we are more sedentary? I don’t know. I do know that buying that rug will pay for itself in terms of reduced gas usage. Good for the planet and my budget!!
First of all, I love your website and I’m always excited to see a new post come up. Second, I completely relate to your plight. Our old house is poorly insulated, so we try to save money by not running the furnace as high when we’re huddled in bed at night. We have two cats and they somehow manage to squish themselves into the corners and crevices we leave in our queen-sized bed. Funny how they suddenly love us, right? Anyhow, I find that a nice cup of tea and a heated blanket always does the trick against a cold, drafty house. Good luck staying warm till tomorrow. 🙂
I’m stubborn and poor so I keep my heat at 65. I haven’t turned it on yet because so far the house hasn’t dropped below 63. I have, however, pulled out the wool blankie and down comforter and try to take advantage of my two hot cat compresses.
I feel guilty being here in Tampa and responding to this and the above responses, but I did spend the first 51 years of my life in upstate NY on the shores of Lake Ontario, so I remember only too well all of which you are speaking. Your seasons are changing again. I miss that very much.
I came home from work last night and my grandson was riding his bike up and down in front of the house. He is 5, and it was 84 degrees. He had his JACKET on. When I asked him why, he said, “Grandma, it is October 1st!” “So it is sweetie” I replied. The neighbor, who was sitting on his bench in the front yard taking it all in, laughed right out loud. I think this means that “cold” can be relative.