I live in the coldest capital city in Australia. Not a great spot for someone who is cold-blooded like me. I’ve survived 5 winters so far (heading into #6 in 8 days!). Each year I manage to find some little thing to make my winters that much more comfortable. Flannelette sheets for the bed or the discovery of fleecy lined tights or heated towel rails…they all add up.
This year it’s an electric blanket for the bed. Tonight is my first night with the blanket and I am rather excited. The Hub is pleased because the blanket I bought has dual controls – so I can set my side to scorching and he can leave his turned off.
Our house heating turns off at 9.30pm so when I go to bed I’m often starting to get chilly. If I go to bed cold, getting to sleep is a nightmare. I just can’t warm up (cold-blooded remember). But that will now be a thing of the past because my bed will be nice and toasty when I crawl into it.
What do you do to stay warm in winter?
May 23, 2018 at 11:26 pm
I have a woodstove and a fireplace, both of which do the job nicely during cold days and evenings. Admittedly, while they grow off some heat, they’re as much about the ambience as anything.
If I’m cold before I go to bed, hot baths do the trick for me. That resulted in a winter of dry, itchy skin but it was a small price to pay for the coziness of a nice bed and a great night’s sleep.
I imagine you’ll love your electric blanket, AJ, especially if you put it on a bit before you go to bed. I hope that it proves to be this winter’s perfect purchase.
May 24, 2018 at 10:07 am
We have an electric fireplace which we never use (the Barbarians turn the flame light on when they have mates for a sleepover – they set up chairs and blankets to create a roof over their stretchers and with the fire makes them feel like they are camping).
A hot bath before bed sounds lovely, except then I would be wide awake.
May 24, 2018 at 12:51 am
That’s actually a good idea. I don’t freeze at night but I do during the day. Maybe I can adapt it. Hmm…
May 24, 2018 at 1:39 pm
You should get a little fan heater, Jacqui. I have one under my desk and it works a treat!
May 24, 2018 at 12:57 am
When you said that, I went and took a look at the temperature map for Australia. Very strange…
May 24, 2018 at 1:41 pm
We’re strange people, John… In all seriousness, Australia has a large mountain range that runs down the east coast, so the very coastal areas along the east have very different weather to those inland a smidge. Canberra sits on the mountain range hence our cold climes (and our hot summers – we have big extremes).
May 24, 2018 at 2:47 am
Ah, winter. We don’t really have winter around here. I have a space heater to take the chill off, but mostly I don’t get cold. Although, I have a hankering to make one of those mermaid tail blankets. Maybe you need one.
May 24, 2018 at 1:43 pm
You are lucky, Liz. I used to live in the tropics and sub-tropics (in Queensland) and I still felt cold! Little did I expect to ever live somewhere where it really gets cold. The difference though is that in the north the houses are built to keep heat out so for the few weeks of cold you are cold. Here we build houses to keep the heat in so for those few weeks of hot we are very hot.
May 24, 2018 at 8:32 am
A hot water bottle. Or two or three. I used to have an electric blanket, but got out of the habit when I spent a year overseas. I found that while it was nice to climb into a warm bed, I woke up cold, while a bottle or two kept me warm enough, and I woke up warm. I assume you are planning to switch off the blanket after you get into bed?
May 24, 2018 at 1:44 pm
Having lived most of my life in Queensland I’ve never had an electric blanket either. But it was so toasty last night (and yes, I turned it off when I went to bed). I didn’t wake up cold but we aren’t into the really cold months yet (last night was only a minimum of 1’c – I’ll see how I go when the temps are -5).