Preparing for Winter V

Out,_Vile_Jelly · 5 October 2017 at 10:30AM

Lucy5781 wrote: »

W
DS is sleeping better without the heater on in his room. He had an eczema flare up on his back which we think was triggered by getting too warm at night. His body temperature regulation is changing now he's over a year old.

Lucy, I've said this before on this forum, but the old school GP in the village where I grew up refused to have central heating installed in the bedrooms of his house. He insisted people should be wrapped up warm in bed, but breathing fresh cool air. Modern houses seem so stuffy and overheated.

Did a freezer audit the other day, and am looking forward to making a load of spicy veg soup soon. The only portion left from last winter seems to be Thai Parsnip & Butterbean. I have to guess based on colour....

Primrose · 5 October 2017 at 10:37AM

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Did a freezer audit the other day, and am looking forward to making a load of spicy veg soup soon. The only portion left from last winter seems to be Thai Parsnip & Butterbean. I have to guess based on colour....

Unlabelled freezer stuff can be embarrassing. I once dumped a bag of what I thought was chicken stock into a pot of home made minestrone soup. Unfortunately it proved to be gooseberry purree !

mardatha · 5 October 2017 at 2:36PM

I used to use peat and the smell stays with you forever

It was hot but I had to work with it, not like coal where you throw it on and ignore it.

LadyhavershamLost · 7 October 2017 at 6:08PM

Been in garden today, moved big table and covered BBQ. Chimenea still accessible - will probably light over Halloween and bonfire night. Last of the pots have been emptied and bulbs planted.

Not quite youngest feeling a bit ropey so she is all wrapped up. Tiniest one is faffing about in shorts and a t-shirt so it's definitely not cold down in Berkshire!

Got a voucher to spend in a well known supermarket beginning with T yesterday - £7 off a £50 quid shop. Also had a voucher for money off a smelly candle so did my usual shop and spent the extra £7 on boring things like lentils, uht milk, oats and bits for the store cupboard. The candle voucher was used to get a lovely Christmassy scented one which will go into a hamper for the Christmas market at tiniest ones school.

Feeling very virtuous and pleased with myself!

[Deleted User] · 8 October 2017 at 7:09AM

We've lit the stove in the evening for the past two days we've needed it as it's been chilly! We've located another sweep to sweep the chimney, he knows our former one as a colleague and apparently the original Sweep has moved out of area and is winding down his business here. I wish he'd let US know! This new chappie is so booked he can't make it to us until early December but better late then never eh? I'm also aware of needing a hot meal at lunchtime now, invariably home made soup but the days of salad and fruit have departed until next summer I feel.....winter draws on!

mardatha · 8 October 2017 at 8:19AM

MrsL alweays get the chimney swept in August - by then the birds have long stopped trying to nest in chimneys and the sweep isn't busy

We've had the long skeins of geese coming over us, going south. That's winter coming for sure. And the cat is getting very excited about the corner unit in the kitchen, next to the sink. That means the field mice are moving into the walls.
Mind you if she ever saw one she'd probly scream and faint..
I'm so looking forward to winter, I enjoy the long dark nights and since I started overheating I will enjoy the cooler temps

[Deleted User] · 8 October 2017 at 8:42AM

We were booked for the first week of September MAR and he didn't show, and hasn't responded to any of the messages we've left on his phone. The appointment was booked last year when he cleaned the chimney and we normally get it sorted well before the 'burning' season. Bad customer service to NOT let us know he'd moved and wouldn't be coming though I have to say up to that point he's been very reliable and thorough in his job and is a very pleasant bloke.

Outside smells of winter this morning, it's lovely. No geese here yet but I'm expecting them in the not too distant future, they overwinter on the nature reserve down on the river and I love to see them bobbing up and down and just being 'goosey' on the river and pottering on the beach at low tide. Feels much cooler here over the past couple of days and I'm looking forward to seeing the first skeins fly over the house en-route to the nature reserve, gives me a 'lift of heart' like nothing else xxx.

Wednesday2000 · 8 October 2017 at 10:05AM

I love seeing the geese too.:) There were loads of them in the park the other day, near the lake.

I have been lighting my scented candles and my LED candles at dusk and it feels lovely and cosy. It still isn't that chilly here so it's not heating on or fluffy sock weather yet.

mardatha · 9 October 2017 at 8:15AM

I think we're on the flight path, and they all seem to gather on the fields a mile or so up the road and eat the grass

Cheapskate · 10 October 2017 at 4:35PM

This summer, we had new windows and doors installed, including having our old stained glass panels encapsulated so that we still have them. They are beautiful things, with coloured surrounds, but it's so stuffy with them closed that I have them open at all times, unless we're going out or it's blowing a real hoolie!!

Got a bit of washing on the line today, first time in well over a week, it keeps raining at the exact time my washer finishes!! Quite mild today (about 16 C), but slowly cooling at night. Had the CH heating on for a few short bursts to check it, and had the stove on once or twice. This week, I'll clean out the stove properly, and get some coal in, and chop up the wood in the garage that's destined for kindling. I've no big chunks of wood, despite mentioning it around our friends, so might have buy some when I get the coal, but there's a place about 20 minutes' drive away that does all manner of solid fuel and decent prices - worth the trip.

A xo

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Preparing for Winter V

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