Saturday, November 4, 2017

Friday: Hot Drinks, Blankets, and Pomegranates

This whole week has been overcast and cloudy, with some rain at times.  64F in the morning with afternoon highs of 74F might sound perfect to some, but I prefer temperatures in the 80s and 90s.  The temperature inside my house is 62F this evening.

I need to get my heater checked, as it is not coming on when I try to turn it on.  I have a feeling the pilot light might have gone off.  So, until I get it checked, I am bundling up in sweaters, with a hot drink:

Hot Cocoa
And a knitted blanket:

Knitted Blanket

The blanket is one that I knitted when I was pregnant with my daughter.  It was meant to be a baby blanket, but my mother urged to make it bigger and it is almost big enough for a bed!  It is a perfect size to be used as a throw when curling up on the sofa.  

I went to the office, today, and took some cornbread I had baked (when the heater is not working, turn on the oven and bake!)  I am not sure if I mentioned it, but one of my colleagues covered the vent over my desk at the office with a plastic trash bag taped over it!  Now I am not having the vent blowing on me, directly, and it feels warmer.


I picked the last two pomegranates, this evening.  They were starting to crack, after the rain the other day.  

Pomegranates


I spent a fairly relaxed evening after I came home, catching up on blogs.  One of my aunts called to check on me and to say she and cousin might visit tomorrow night, if it isn't raining, but I am not to cook any dinner.  Well, I'll still cook something because I need to eat, too.  One of my friends called, too, and we had a nice chat.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter.  What I didn't do was the last bit of paperwork!

On Friday, I was grateful for:
- It is warmer in the office
- Hot drinks
- Warm blankets
- Phone calls from family and friends
- A productive day at the office/relaxed evening at home

I am looking forward to the weekend.  I hope to have a nice balance between things I need to do and things I want to do.

Saturday's To Do List:
- Call to have the heater checked
- Buy a new thermostat/have the thermostat replaced
- Finish the paperwork/filing
- Grocery shop
- Take down/put away Halloween decorations
- Put up Thanksgiving decorations
- Dust
- Vacuum
- Tidy the kitchen
- Work on the quilts

How was your Friday?  How do you keep warm when you can't or don't want to turn on the heater, yet?  What is the temperature in your house during the winter?  How cold does it get before you turn on the heater? 

17 comments:

  1. I don't like being cold, so I don't mind turning on the furnace when I'm cold. However, I couldn't get it to turn on this week. I also think it's something to do with the thermostat because more fiddling with it and we finally had some heat. However, it warmed up the next day and we didn't need it.

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    1. Probably time to get the thermostat checked? Or replaced? Hope you are able to get it done before it gets really cold.

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  2. I have a tendency to drink too much coffee in order to warm up when the weather is chilly. I should try and have a healthier alternative. Your blanket is lovely and a precious memory to treasure. The blankets in our house are getting plenty of use now. X

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    1. Jules, do you drink tea? Maybe an herbal tea is a good alternative to coffee? I usually drink one cup of coffee (or tea) in the morning and one cup (usually tea) in the evening. On cold nights, I might have a cup of hot cocoa, as well, but I am trying to persuade myself that some herbal tea would be good, too (I don't much care for herbal teas - tea, to me, means black tea with milk and sugar!)

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    2. In my mind tea means black tea as well, but for winter nights when I want to get off caffeine spice tea blends are a good alternative. Ginger-lemongrass is a good place to start, but there area also some with pepper, licorice, aniseed, cinnamon and whatnot. A few of them work well with milk and sugar too. I like them much better as black tea replacement than herbal tea.

      Jazz

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    3. Haha! Yes, I do drink tea but I like it black with milk and sugar too, so I'm not sure that's any better for me.
      I used to drink something called Barleycup which I found quite pleasant, drunk as you would take coffee. I might try and see if I can source some of that. I really should drink more water but I like hot drinks in cold weather. X

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    4. I have a box of rose hip tea that either someone gave me or daughter bought - I think I'll give that a try, one of these evenings. :)

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  3. Our weather has been like a roller coaster, up and down. So when it first turns chilly we burn our free wood in the fireplace, dress warmly and I like a throw or afghan to cover with. Also cook using the oven more. Once we turn on the central heat it is usually set no more than 67 or 68F but I'd be happier at around 65 or 66F. We turn this down when we go to bed as I prefer a cool room for sleeping and add flannel sheets.

    I know you feel the cold so happy to hear that you at last have that cold air vent no longer directed at you. Hope it is an easy fix to get your space heater working again. Do you have a furnace? I know many of the homes where you live do not. My son in San Diego only has a fireplace and portable heater for the times when it gets cold. Perhaps it is what you get used to. When we have visited in November it has been really mild and I am always surprised when I see some of the locals dressed in heavy clothes while we do the opposite. Son says that is how you tell the locals from the visitors from a cold climate!

    Love your knitted blanket. Hope you are warm at home.

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    1. Sandy, that is exactly how we tell the visitors from the locals, here, too! :D I remember when I first came down to visit my sister, one December, when I was attending university in Green Bay, Wisconsin. When I left Wisconsin, there was a snow storm and, with the windchill factor, it was -30F! When I arrived in Los Angeles, it was 67F. My sister was wearing a big jacket and I was removing my layers! Now, I am one of the locals wearing a big jacket!

      I have a gas wall heater in the wall between the living room and the hall way that leads to the bedrooms. I will take a picture of it, tomorrow, and post so you can see. The warmest spot in the house is the arm chair directly in front of the heater! The heat spreads very slowly throughout the house - there are no air ducts or vents, etc.

      Today was a warm day - highs in the 70s and sunny. I managed to get the heater to work, so, at least the pilot light is still lit! It is the thermostat - it's probably worn out. I bought a new one, today; still need to call my neighbor to ask if he can install it for me.

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  4. I hope you get that heat fixed! I can't imagine not having it on around here when things get cold. It was a funny temperature today - the one where I can't seem to get warm no matter what. I ended up having to get out these hand warmer things to heat up my hands. We even had the heat on but it was just me!

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    1. Sharon, I'm glad you were able to get warm, eventually. Last winter, when my hair was just growing out, I had to wear knitted hats inside the house, I remember!

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  5. Thank you for your reply to my question on your previous post Bless. Yes, I think a lot of readers would be interested if your decide to do a post on cultivating non-attachment.
    Another question for you, how do you prepare and eat Pomegranates?
    To me they always seem just full of seeds, do you eat the seeds also.
    Thank you so much taking the time to write your blog and reply to your readers.
    Best wishes Pam in TX.xx

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    1. My pleasure, Pam. I will do a post about it, soon.

      As for the pomegranates, yes, they are full of seeds, aren't they? The seeds are edible and one does eat them in polite society. But, when I am eating them in the privacy of my own house, I just chew the pomegranate pips (that's not the proper term for them, but I am calling them that to differentiate them from the seeds that are inside each pip) until the juice is extracted and then, spit out the seeds! :D One can crush the pips and extract the juice, too, to drink.

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  6. Hot chocolate is so nice on a cool day/night. I do not turn on the heat until at least Nov 15 but hope to not use it until December 1. I know those sound like arbitrary dates but it usually takes until Dec 1 for our first light frost.

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    1. I hope you'll be able to keep the heat off until Dec. 1, Anne. Here, too, it doesn't get that cold until December or January, but I start to feel cold well before then!

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  7. So happy that your coworker covered the vent for you. Know this has to be more comfortable for you.
    They yellow and white blanket is beautiful. Love the colors.

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    1. Thanks, Judy. Yes, definitely more comfortable! I'm not freezing, anymore, although, I've been making sure to wear 2 layers - a blouse and a sweater, and to bring both a cardigan and a jacket! I haven't needed them, but I have the comfort of knowing they are there, if I do need them!

      "They yellow and white blanket is beautiful. Love the colors." Thank you! I like that combination of colors and mint green for baby items, because they are neutral colors, useful if you don't know if it is a boy or girl.



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