Preparing for winter II

Confuzzled

it has thankfully warmed up slightly around here. nights had been between -3 to 3C or so and daytime temps around 5-6C but we're forcast a fairly steady 6-8C for both for the next few days and i've felt the difference

i took the wee one out to scrump the last apples off a very neglected tree yesterday and i actually had to open my coat it was so mild (and a bit of effort to deal with a very overgrown area!)

i had finally started using the heat... on the night it went below 0C i put on both the hall and living room heaters for about 5 hours each as i didn't want the house getting cold. but the next day we were too warm, even walked around with no slipper boots and no blankies so i thought, right, tonight i'll just have the hall heater on for about 4 hours.

again next day too warm (oh thank you you older people around me that turn your heat up on high ) so the next night i put both heaters on again but only for 2 hours. yesterday it was still reasonably warm and since the daytime temp was warmer yesterday then it had been i decided to try something last night

even though we did start feeling a bit of a draught (gotta figure out where that came from, i heard my doors moving about :eek:) i stuck to my guns...no heating on last night! and i'm happy to say whilst it does feel noticeably cool in here it's no worse than before i turned the heating on. so i have my slipper boots on but not my warmer shirts just a med warm one. i have a blanket over my lap and will use a rice sock or tea/coffee to take the edge off. if it gets cooler later i have some cooking that needs doing so that will take the edge off til we can have heat tomorrow.

i think i'll just put the hall heater on tonight, it works the best and is closest to our desks so we'll feel the benefit of it most there and being the most centrally located it will give the flat the most benefit too...

oh and i am proud to announce that my 9 year old daughter hasn't complained about my experiments with the heating... i'm so proud

shegar

Really cold here today, with gale force winds and rain, had the heating on since 6 this morning, probaly will be on now until we go to bed. .........I fell asleep at lunch time with my 2 small dogs by my side on the sofa with a huge big fleece on us...:Dim suffering really bad this year with SAD , worse than ive had it previous years, and all I want to do is sleep and cuddle up, until next february then I will come alive.....I hope :eek:

coco1980

Primrose wrote: »

I resorted to my woollen bedsocks last night for the first time. I suffer from cold feet but they they were so warming that I drifted off to sleep almost immediately. We did have a frost and on checking this morning was relieved to find that all my little endive seedlings, planted in my emptied patio pots and covered with mineral bottle cloches with the bottoms sawn off have survived.

I had my woolen socks on in bed last night:o
very rainy here today, ive just had to collect ds from school as hes not very well, everyone seems to be catching something latley, this means ive had to put my heating on earlier as its very cold :eek:

parsonswife8

I feel the same as you do Shegar. Miserable to say the least.:( Still in my pyjamas.:o

It's dull and blustery outside and cold.:eek:

I'm going to sort some clothes out to go to charity, that will take my mind off it.:)

Primrose

shegar wrote: »

..:Dim suffering really bad this year with SAD , worse than ive had it previous years, and all I want to do is sleep and cuddle up, until next february then I will come alive.....I hope :eek:

I sympathise. I know the feeling and feel so DOWN when I look out of the window and see dull grey skies. I don't mind it the cold so much when there's a blue sky and some sunshine. Now I'm retired there's no excuse for not having the discipline to to get out and have a walk, even if it's only a short one, whenever the sun is shining. I do find that this really energises me and makes me feel so much cheerful afterwards.

rigsby1967

Have been reading this thread for a few days now (on and off) and got to page 71 but thought i would post.

I have only just found out why my bathroom is sooooooooo cold in the winter even after putting bubble wrap on the window, my bathroom is blowing a gale :eek::eek: where there is a gap behind the sink and leading to the bath where the tiles are meant to be, some are missing. My bathroom is above the garage and it's very windy here today in Luton, Anyway i felt a breeze on my hand and when i worked out where it was i bent over to it and my hair was floating about in the breeze :mad:, i am now going to use some bubble wrap to put down the hole to fill the gap......that should work .

Thanks to this forum, i have also put bubble wrap on the porch window, I also have door curtains for front door and inside porch door, stuffed the letter box with bubble wrap, and have made a thermal covering for my (breezy) double glazed patio door, I got the thermal lining from free-cycle and attached some velcro to the lining and the window frame so every evening i put the lining up. I couldnt attach the lining to the curtian as some of you do as they sit well away from the window so the cold air would still get in above the curtains IFSWIM.

Is there anything i can do in my garage to help stop the gale winds in there ?

Thanks
rigs

raven-333

I started to get things ready for winter but DD has been ill and in and out of hospital for the last couple of months. Now its really cold in here. I live in a big old house with high ceilings and large sash windows. My bathroom is the coldest room in the house even with the bubble wrap on the window. I need to read through this thread again and see what i can do.

katholicos

Today i went to dunhelm mill (sp?) and bought 2 metres of sticky back hook and eye velcro. Came home applied a strip of it to the front door and back door, rummaged in my ottoman for some long curtains, found them, applied the corresponding self adhesive velcro strips to the tops of the curtains and then stuck them directly to the velcro on the door. Voila! Two door curtains doing their bit to keep the interior of the house a bit warmer!

I have zero sewing skills and as the curtains are lightweight (though they are lined) i thought i would give it a go and so far so good, they don't look that great but they work and that's all that matters to me.

Fruball

shegar wrote: »

Really cold here today, with gale force winds and rain, had the heating on since 6 this morning, probaly will be on now until we go to bed. .........I fell asleep at lunch time with my 2 small dogs by my side on the sofa with a huge big fleece on us...:Dim suffering really bad this year with SAD , worse than ive had it previous years, and all I want to do is sleep and cuddle up, until next february then I will come alive.....I hope :eek:

Hi Shegar.

I suffer badly with SAD too. I hope it doesn't get any worse for you. I have found that a walk every day (we walk to and from school) seems to help... I know they advise that but I have never bothered as I don't have the energy in winter... Lo and behold... It really does seem to work as I don't feel as bad as I have done in recent years.

Also, I used to wear sunglasses all year round for driving (except in the rain and dark )... I have stopped doing that as the amount of light that hits the back of your eye has a direct impact on mood levels and SAD.

Probably you know all this but thought i'd mention that those 2 things seem to have helped me

Rest up and keep going...

shegar

Thanks frugal, I do get out each day to walk the dogs take them to the beach and breathe that lovely fresh air......:)good for my sinuses tooooooo..........Ive also got chickens to look after so I do get out and about, im lifted while im walking but it dont last too long...its those dark days at 4 pm what makes it worse for me......I asked my dr whether I should buy a light box and he said dont waste your money, just up the anti depressents until feb, so thats what I do, ive only just upped them so I will have to give it a week or two for them to take effect, I tend to shower about 4 ish pm and on go my pj s to me thats the end of the day.......I couldnt go out of a evening if I really tried, toooo tired . never mind roll on feb and I start to come back from hibernation as the days start to get lighter....:D and I can get out in my garden ..cant wait eh......:T