Preparing for Winter V

MingVase

Yes I think it's far more sensible working everything so you are going to be ok without elect at all. I use coal for heating, Propane for cooking, and have a Butane gas heater, just in case Scotland runs out of coal or the chimney falls down

I do envy those who can grow fruit, I'm too high up here.

Si_Clist

MingVase said:

 ... I use coal for heating ...

Same here if the gas or electric goes off or when we just fancy a bit of proper heat, but with logs as a backup to the coal (smokeless actually).  Given the fact that nearly all coal's imported nowadays, it might  be worth your while seeing what your coal merchant reckons the odds are on his supplies being interrupted this winter ...

MingVase

He says they are phasing it out, in Scotland at least. Sooner or later it will vanish. We burn smokeless eggs. The HA will just have to come and give me electric heating. O joy. Bleugh.

supasick

Have been lurking for awhile now and need to hold myself to account. 

My ex walked out in December 2019 so I just cruised that winter. This one will be different. Am in credit with my bills by approx £70 each which is a great start. 

I have a log burner so need to sort out logs and coal ready for winter which means I need to get rid of the mattress me and my ex slept on. 

I have a slightly dodgy loft conversion which has zero insulation (!!) so am planning to cover up the top of the stairs going in with plywood to stop drafts. 

I’ve got curtains up at every window now which will help. 

I’m planning to get my gutters cleaned out before the weather turns too. 

Bought a new clothes horse so I can avoid using the dryer. 

Feeling pretty good about getting through winter so far! 

Grabs39

I’ve made a start - I’ve found the list mentioned in the first post quite useful.

I’ve cleared a third of the gutters, and wailed down the soffit/fascias at the same time.  I’ll do the rest next weekend.  I did the north side of the house, which gets no light and there was loads of moss.  The East and West bits are hopefully not as bad, which I’ll hopefully do over the long weekend next week.

We moved in May so I’ve managed to find the manual for our thermostat online (I thought I was going to have to replace it) and so have programmed the heating ready for the first cold weather (still turned off at the boiler until at least October, of course!)

Si_Clist

Grabs39 said:

... I’ve cleared a third of the gutters, and wailed down the soffit/fascias ...

Don't forget to yodel up the drainpipes while you're at it

Shropshirelass

15 geese just flown over the house in perfect V formation, one of them  keeping regular time as they flew. A group went over Friday, but it was obviously a practice run, they were very straggley.
Winter is coming!

Primrose

always ways a rather sad and wistful experience when you see these VEE shaped flights overhead. I sense.they feel that same early chill in the air that we do and decide it,s time to start moving.  After all it take them a lot more time and effort to get to warmer climes than humans who can just climb on an aircraft !   All our local swifts and swallows seem to have departed already.  Alas the cabbage whites don,t seem to have got the message yet and are still busily teying to congregate around the winter greens I. Iur veg plot.  I don,t know when they will die off. 

MingVase

I've had the geese already up here, very early. We hardly had any swallows this year and they all left a week ago. Tomorrow's forecast is heavy rain and 50mph+ winds.. good job I like winter!

Living_proof

MingVase said:

.. good job I like winter!

....living where you do!