Preparing for winter III

Sunnyday

I`m progressing quite well

Got home from w*rk an hour ago and i`ve just put fresh sealant around the back door, i also discovered a draft by the front door and realised that the now redundant letterbox was the problem so i`ve no-more-nailsed it shut and stuffed the void with microfibre cloths before sealing up the indoor flap

We were supposed to be having new doors before winter but i`ve been told that i would be better off waiting now as its getting so cold that the new sealant etc may not take properly so i`ve sealed everything up to last the winter and i bought some of the replacement rubbery silicone stuff that feeds into the frame on the upvc doors and replaced that too. The doors have been scrubbed and actually look good so i`m more than happy with them. The big test will come when we have heavy rain as the back door used to leak in and i don`t want to put the kitchen flooring down until i`m 100% sure that its water proof.

Tugrin - I`ve heard the yankee candles mentioned a lot and they are supposed to be good but i`ve never tried them. A good compromise is one of the little pot oil burners like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/BAGWA-BURNER-BEIGE-CERAMIC-DESIGN/dp/B005LQYY0K/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1318780301&sr=1-5

The tealight goes underneath (there is a hole in the back) and the top is filled with water and a few drops of essential oil. They are great - just keep the water topped up whilst the candle burns - use hot water if you need to do this to avoid cracking it whilst its hot but if i fill mine to the brim it lasts for one tealight. The oils are really cheap too.

Its 11 degrees outside here now and quite sunny, inside its 18 so i`ll be lighting the tealights later

SD

Confuzzled

skilly wrote: »

I've bought this one as well the only problem I have with it is keeping the dog &cat off it !!

i bought it too, my problem is keepign my daughter from trying to use it all the time! i'm saving it til it gets really frosty and we're tempted to turn on the wee space heater to take the nip off the air, i figure this is cheaper and it means i get a snuggle from her too


i've still not even been tempted to test the storage heaters yet let alone have them on, i'm really hoping to last til november before i have to turn them on

so far i'm only wearing my slipper boots and fleeces and sometimes wearing my dressing gown (or using it over my lap as a blanket) i think the neighbour downstairs is using her heat some nights, this is where having older neighbours is a GOOD thing

Rainy-Days

Tugrin & Frugal

If you have satelitte TV tonight on QVC at 9pm they have a one hour Yankee candle show. What I will say to you both is that you must cross check the prices on Ebay because sometimes, you can get better deals on Ebay with free Postage and Packing that it makes it a better buy from there.

I tend to buy the tarts that I can use in the burners and they smell devine I also buy the really big candle jars. If you are new to Yankee try something like Clean Cotton, Sweet Strawberry, Fresh Cut Roses (gorgeous) and perhaps Midnight Jasmine, which is always a sell out. Have a read on QVC online for the feedback on Yankee candles as well. You can just log on to their website type Yankee in the search part and then it will bring it all up and click on the reviews which I have found are very honest feedback.

The house at the moment smells really lovely. I cooked roast lamb at lunchtime and the dogs are always pushing the door open into the kitchen so the smell from cooking tends to waft about a bit and the Yankee's do a really fab job of deodorising the smells. I have not long walked back in from a walk with the dogs and it does scent the place beautifully. The big jars last a long time probably a couple of months and they are pretty much true to their scents as well. I have bought cheaper candles in the past but have found personally that Yankee has longevity to them when you consider that they don't lose their aroma, which others quickly do.

CH27

The Vanilla Cupcake Yankee candles smell gorgeous.

Rainy-Days

I forgot to say that QVC give brilliant tips on how to properly burn these candles and trimming of the wicks as well to get the maximum out of it. Just for the information alone, it's worth watching. Sometimes they also have candles on easy pay where it spreads the cost of them across two months, interest free.

I don't buy a huge amount of them probably about three jars a year, so that gives you some idea as to how long they last and I always keep the glass lid on them when not in use so that when I go to burn them again (which could be a couple of months apart) they still have retained their aromas.

mcjordi

bought some slippers and a new hat that actually covers my bonce lol

gonna be ordering wellies on friday when i have some money..
and get some freezer shopping..

Fruball

Finally, the plaster and cement are dry so tonight is my first official fire in the brand new fireplace :j:j:j

It looks so cosy - 11 years of wanting and wishing have finally come true I am hoping to manage with just the open fire for heating until November - will see how it goes. I think as long as I leave doors open, the heat should distribute around the house quite well and as its well insulated, should stay warm

Its been a beautiful sunny day here but quite chilly and around 4pm the temp really dropped a lot.

A kind friend came today to help me do some jobs around the house leaving me with much more time this week for winter preps. :T Someone posted earlier that H0mebase have a sale on winter stuff next Fri, Sat and Sun so I will wait until then to get lagging for the pipes etc.

Together, we made a list of all the things I need to do over the next week/10 days

I'm looking forward to re-organising my kitchen - I have a fabulous OS larder which has become a bit topsy turvey so I want to re-organise that too so I can see exactly what I have and what I need to get.

The DDs are loving going to bed with their 'warmies' and when I change their bedding this week I will put blankets on top of the mattress to keep them even warmer.

Hope everybody is having a cosy evening

Rainy-Days

Frugal

Think wood for the flame and coal for the heat.

We build ours up with a good amount of coal so the burner gets really hot and it's like a massive block of iron belting out heat, we sometimes have the door open but mainly we keep it shut so that it continues to whack out the heat and then before we go to bed, DH 'beds' the burner down for the night and that keeps it going way into the small hours of the morning, then we keep the doors downstairs open so it wafts the heat upwards. I am trying hard at the moment not to put it on because when the weather turns it will be in constant use and the plan is to have the wood and coal with enough to last us right round until April next year if poss!

Fruball

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Frugal

Think wood for the flame and coal for the heat.

We build ours up with a good amount of coal so the burner gets really hot and it's like a massive block of iron belting out heat, we sometimes have the door open but mainly we keep it shut so that it continues to whack out the heat and then before we go to bed, DH 'beds' the burner down for the night and that keeps it going way into the small hours of the morning, then we keep the doors downstairs open so it wafts the heat upwards. I am trying hard at the moment not to put it on because when the weather turns it will be in constant use and the plan is to have the wood and coal with enough to last us right round until April next year if poss!

Yep :T Got both and its kicking out some amazing heat - lovely. I don't have a woodburner though, just an open fire.

NualaBuala

Congrats on your open fire Frugal, there is nothing like it! Enjoy!

Just thought - have you got a toasting fork? Or you can improvise with a wire coathanger. I can't think of anything cosier than toasting bread (or maybe marshamallows) by the fire.

Edit: I think you got it just in time - the forecast said it is about to turn cold (and I heard mention of snow on Scottish hills!).