Last night the temperature fell to 1C. The temperature in the house was 20C, so it was decided that the heat would be turned on the prevent it from getting colder. The heating system has run three times since it was started up, and has maintained the temperature at a comfortable 21.5C, despite the very windy and chilly weather. It was time to turn it on. I saw on the weather reports that snow was expected where we used to live in the Country House. My oh my I don’t miss that!! They will have snow from now until the end of March, it is a long winter in the north. I still feel as if I am living in the tropics, with state of the art conveniences, like a thermostat.
Now that the canning season is virtually over, there is time to catch up with the myriad of little projects that have needed doing since July, and during canning season.
Today has been a busy one with “linens”. Eventually our dishcloths begin to take on a funky odour. Today I boiled them for ten minutes in a gallon of water with one cup of vinegar added. Then they were washed in the washing machine as usual. They are smelling fresh as daisies now, mission accomplished. To make up a full load, all the towels and facecloths in use were collected and added. They are all hung up on racks in the living room, drying ever so slowly, tomorrow they should be dry enought to fold and put away.
A fresh loaf of bread was baked, and has yet to be sliced. For breakfast I felt like Buckwheat Pancakes. Last year buckwheat kernals were purchased for a project. What was left over was milled into flour, and makes wonderful pancakes. One recipe made enough for four breakfasts for one. I enjoy pancakes topped with unsweetened applesauce, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
I’ve been trying for days to figure out how to back up some old DVDs that we purchased, they don’t last forever. So far my efforts have failed. Every morning I try again, feel I’ve got it, and it fails. I’ll keep trying though, eventually I’ll hit on a way to get it done.
I really, really enjoy the flannel sheets on the bed, so soft and cozy. I find myself looking forward to bedtime so that I can snuggle into them.
Stay safe dear friends!
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Tue, Nov 2, 2:55 PM
8 °C
FEELS LIKE 5
Partly cloudy
Wind 16 SW km/h
Humidity 67 %
Visibility 27 km
Sunrise 7:45 AM
Wind gust 25 km/h
Pressure 101.9 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 5:56 PM
Quote
“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.”
Epictetus
55 AD – 135 AD
This is more poorly practiced than ever, due to the opportunities of social media.
We switched to our fleece sheets last week. So much warmer!
Had to call for our propane tanks to be topped up last week, since we have the heat on. Was not amused that the bill came to $485! The company shouldn’t have let it go so long. Ouch!!!
Teri, that is an ouch! I am surprised the propane company left it that late. If the propane lasts all winter, then that isn’t too bad. Our wood at the country house was $1000 for the winter, and to fill our tank here is close to the same (we didn’t need a delivery last winter), plus we have the ground source heat pump which increases our electric bill. When these hefty bills arrive it can be a budget buster, lol.
Stay safe dear friend!
I wash my knitted dishcloths as well……because I knit about half a dozen new ones each year there’s quite few clean ones under the sink, I only use each for maybe 2 days then after a rinse in boiling water get set to one side in the laundry ready to go in with a load of washing. Every now and again they all get a boil up before going in the wash.
Maybe we don’t feel the cold after all – 20c indoors is warm…..so we wouldn’t feel the need for the heating but as you say, because of the extreme outside temp you need it warm to serve almost as a safety precaution. The heating is turned off o/night……sometimes at the change of season the window is still left open sometimes it closed tight
Cathy, what a great idea, to rinse with boiling water before throwing them in the wash, I am going to try that. Our dishcloths get really bad during the harvest season, with so much organic matter passing through our kitchen, rinsing in boiling water could really help at this time of year. I found the addition of vinegar to the boiling water made a big difference, I think we might be getting some calcium buildup in our dishcloths.
20C is comfortable in the warm months. I don’t like to let the thermal mass in the house fall below 20C.. Our mild winter temperature heating source is an air source heat pump, which works efficiently to -7C. It is quite different than an oil or gas furnace, or even conventional electric heat, in that it never produces heat above the temperature set on the thermometer. That means that when the system is heating to 20C, the air blowing around in the house is 20C, and the thermal mass in the house does not rise above 20C as it does with conventional methods of heating. I have to turn the thermostat down when the conventional furnace takes over, because the warm air heats the thermal mass and it feels much warmer in the house. Heat pumps of any kind do not produce a temperature above what is on the thermostat, and it feels completely different.
Stay safe dear friend!