Preparing for winter IV

Doveling

Jabba4 - could you contact your local council or CAB to see if there are any grants available? Possibly your energy provider could help you in some way. I hope you get something sorted.

quidsy

Yes speak to CAB, also local council, sometimes they have incentives. Particularly with kids in the house, there should be something available, although you don't say how old they are.

Doveling

Jabba4 - another thought- if your wife has RCN membership you may try to get some assistance from the benevolent fund.

fuddle

A lady of wisdom told me today that when a person is feeling cold they shouldn't drink a hot drink as it shocks the body into cooling down further. Is this right?

[Deleted User]

fuddle, that person is correct, someone with hypothermia should have a warm and not hot drink. Warm (not hot) heat pads or hot water bottles should be put under the armpits or on the abdomen but not on the extremities. They should also have high energy food like chocolate and be insulated with blankets

Also something else scary, a slim/thin person, of any age, can get very easily get hypothermia. Also at risk if you are very tired. You don`t just have to be older or ill and you may well not realise you have it. 35 degrees is the start of hypothermia and the lower the core body temperature gets the worse the consequences

And now I feel like ranting about all the billions sent overseas and people in this country are so at risk of dying from cold

bossymoo

I remember calling NHS direct once when I couldn't get DD temperature down, the idiot told me to put her (8 mths old) in a cold bath... I've never found the need to call them back...

Cheapskate

Kittie, thanks for the elderberry syrup link - that's one more job for the week ahead!

Got the new flannelette covers on the kids' beds last night - they look so cosy snuggled up, I sort of wanted it to be colder if that makes sense!

It's slightly milder again here in God's own county, but at least it means we're barely using the heating, but it's been rather rainy so a few loads of washing have gone in the drier, only because I've got behind!

A xo

SpikyHedgehog

I've been MIA for a while, and been a bit slack in prepping for winter though the bubble wrap hasn't been off the downstairs loo window since I put it on 2 winters ago!

I pulled out the vacuum bags of winter stuff at half term and swapped my summer clothes into one bag, DS2's summer clothes into another and looked at all my hats and scarves in the 3rd and decided I should try to resist scarves for me this year...

I do need to get more gloves etc for DS2 though. He's gone up to high school now, which means a bus journey to & from school, and a wait at the bus stop in the mornings - it's annoying that one side of the road has bus shelters on it and the other side (that he waits on for the bus to school) hasn't. He's left 2 raincoats at school this week - 1 in his locker and 1 'lost' (ie, he can't be bothered to remember which classroom he left it in, but luckily, it's the one he's really outgrown), so I don't want to let him have his winter coat to wear (and leave at school to get pinched/insulate his locker) until it is cold all day, not just first thing as he's at the bus stop. He is wearing his vests and agrees that he could put gloves in his bag to keep them safe, so we'll see how long that will do for.

DS1 has left school and is working in a village pub, so rides his motorbike there each day - he's got various cold weather stuff, so just needs new winter motorbike gloves having come off a couple of times wearing the old ones so the armour isn't as good. (He's been wearing the short summer ones for now but they're not so long therefore not as warm.)

Cat is fine as she gets into the beds if she isn't warm enough. She doesn't believe in closed doors so I need to get stronger curtain rails to put up in the hallway so I can get the curtains back up in there as the lightweight ones came down with the weight of the curtains I had on them.

Pooky

Maitane wrote: »

A quick question for everyone - does anyone forsee an issue with making a draft excluder out of oil cloth?

Our bathroom window has a bit of a draft when it's shut so I thought about making a water/steam-proof draft excluder. I know DH will think I'm mad but if it works, it makes me mad but right and less cold.

If you've got a draught then try giving the window mechanism a good clean, open the window fully, clean all the nooks and crannies and then apply some oil to all the moving parts, open and close a few times to work the oil in and you should have a better seal and no draught.

[Deleted User]

how are you mrsLW? I know you were struggling with the cold lurgy that is doing the rounds. Having a head cold certainly makes you feel off colour. I am still struggling but am only 6 days in and I should think about half way. Sinuses are ok now except for the horrible PND, cough is still problematic, more noticeable at night, so another night sleeping upright on a recliner with a neck cushion. I only came down because of dh, who never complains but my coughing was constant and fierce. I did a steaming with one of those easy cheap steaming cups, good result and much easier than the facial sauna

Anyway the weather is horrible today so I have made my christmas cake this morning and it is now gently baking in the oven, two upsides ie a warm room and a lovely homely smell. We never eat this cake over christmas but love it when outside is grim and snowy and dh takes some on his cycle rides. It will last well into march. Pooky that was some brilliant advice above, I will pass it on to my dd as she has draughty windows. lol this cake always eases me into winter and I always make thick pea soup if bad snow is forecast, it is an instinct