In one day,
my laundry went from shorts to jeans, and evenings of walking the dog in tee
shirts and sandals faded to a distant memory. I woke up Sunday morning to a
chilly bedroom in a chilly house. Fall had arrived but our heat hadn’t. I still
have a knee-jerk reaction to the first round of cool weather, telling myself to
dig out my socks and sweatshirts and get on with it. The house was 62 degrees
but I hadn’t turned on the heat yet because our storm windows weren’t down,
thus resulting in all that oil-burner coziness leaking outside.
On the plus side, I was driven to make a really good batch
of impromptu minestrone and onion/dill bread.
All those
years of watching pennies make me feel really guilty if I move the thermostat
past 64. This year, however, I declare to the world that like Scarlett, “I’ll
never go hungry cold again!” I am no longer going to shiver under a lap
blanket while watching TV, or sit on one hand to warm it while the other holds
the book I’m reading. At this point in my life, I deserve to be comfortable in
my own home.
Another factor is that we have a
house sitter coming while we’re away for a couple of days, and while I might be
willing to shuffle around in fleece, I won’t ask that of someone else. For all
I know, she’s that delicate species, an apartment dweller, who lives in a
blissfully steady 72 degrees year-round..
And of course, after four hours
yesterday of scraping the window tracks where sadistic bugs build small empires
for their cocoons, then washing storms and screens, and finally battening everything
down, today it’s in the 70s. It’s the same phenomenon that occurs in the spring
when I pack away all my sweaters and boots and nature piles on a last-minute
snowstorm. I’m beginning to believe that I possess the power to control the
climate – even if it is in the opposite direction. 
We (hubby and me) have moved our thermostat from 64 to 66, so that we can be comfortable in our own home. At night, however, we've started moving it down to 58 for economy. It costs a fortune to heat our tiny apartment with electric baseboard heat. And yes, I think it must be YOU who controls the weather. I wondered. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a heavy responsibility, DJan.
DeleteThe same here.It was 62 in the house this morning. The heat of the day (ha!) brought it up to 72, but 51 overnight and I think it will be colder tomorrow. I set the thermostat for 60. We'll see who's who around here.
ReplyDeleteWe have ongoing wars about what level the heat should be set at, and when it should be turned on. In our spring I am happy for it to go off. When himself emerges from bed I will lost the battle. Again.
ReplyDeleteOh my, a world I know nothing about, wow. In Texas electricity was a major expense, particularly in the summer. We now live in Oregon, in an apartment, without air conditioning. Summer's are mild here. I never turn the heat on in my bedroom, never. Bob seldom turns the heat off in his bedroom. He runs it year round. The livingroom most of the time gets by on what heat escapes Bob's room. Sometimes I turn the heat on to make him more comfortable. I don't think I give a lot of thought to the cost. It's one of those bills that comes out of the bank automatically. I check it occasionally but not monthly. I just do whatever it takes to keep us comfortable. Not easy to do since I'm always hot and Bob's always cold.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for keeping the house at 64. I'm afraid I'm a whimp and keep mine at 21 C (72 F)
ReplyDeleteWell, those days have sailed. We're heading to 72 ourselves, now.
DeleteMarty, everything thing you write is interesting and fun to read. I love it! Poppy and I never agree on what the temperature should be in the house. When I'm hot, he is cold. I tell him he is the only person I know who turns the thermostat UP instead of down at bedtime. That's what big quilts are for!
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't think I'm ready for a tropical bedroom. Nothing better than burrowing down under a big quilt in a cool room. Of course, getting out of that warm bed in the morning is another thing entirely!
Deletewe set ours at 65, bump it up to 68 for a few hours in the evening. not just for saving money but because it's too much of a shock to the system to go through a 30˚ difference in a moment.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we're having temperature swings, too! I try not to turn the heat on until October. I have no idea why that is the magic time when it suddenly seems reasonable.
ReplyDeleteI am always changing clothes this time of year and thus my laundry bill starts climbing.
ReplyDeleteI have always said there are many things I can't afford and will do without but being comfortable and having really nice toilet paper aren't on that list. I settle for 80 in the summer with ceiling fans but like it around 75 in the winter.
ReplyDeleteMy brother is much more spartan. He won't turn up the heat till he sees his wife knitting with gloves on. Mercy.
I have similar knee jerk reactions to the first wave of cold, and again when spring teases us with a taste of summer-to-come. Like you, I've decided that shivering or sweating just ain't worth it and will adjust the heating and cooling to suit myself.
ReplyDeleteWe stay warm in the winter, 74 is a good number for us. I hate being cold. So far we have only used our heat one day but it is getting colder up here. Stay warm! :)
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