Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Valkyrie]

We only have a sheet, blanket and a quilt on our bed - but I tend to throw the lot off because of my fluctuations in temperature lately! Last winter that was the most we had apart from the February snows when we had the duvet on for 2 days - gosh was that heavy - again spent most of the time on the top of it.

[ali-s]

I am trying to put off switching the storage heaters on. I might give in to the bathroom one as it was very chilly this morning, -1c at 8.30am this morning.

 

The living room coal fire has been lit most evenings for about a week. I also had the kitchen coal fire lit over the weekend.

 

I suffer with raynauds in my hands and feet, my hands were totally white this morning de icing the car. I have the winter duvet on the bed and am wearing fleecy jimjams and bed socks.

[ubereglu]

I can't believe any of you have your heating on yet. We don't at all, it's still quite mild down here really, considering it's October.

[Seagazer]

Well we've only had one bad day of weather so far (today - raining all day) but we have just put the thermostat on for the shower room. We've just installed a new extractor fan in there and boy does it do a good job. Trouble is we counted on the warm damp air to keep us warm! Its freezing in there now as it sucks the life out of the room

[Valkyrie]

Ubereglu, my brother isn't too far from you in Warminster - it seems to be a little hot spot there - it's when the snows come across the Salisbury Plain that he gets snow and we don't. Although this year we had snow very bad here and he hardly had any at all. I'm moving that way next house!

[jlo]

No heating here yet. I think that we have been quite lucky and it has stayed quite mild. Even today when it has been raining, it has not been cold.

 

At work the heating comes on 1st October no matter what and it was stifling in my office. It makes me cross. Firstly, we have been told that we need to cut costs and then we have unnecessary heat on and secondly (and more importantly !) the planet can't afford unnecessary heating either!

[PurpleTree]

No heating here yet. It's turned quite chilly here today though, and I had to close the front room window - it's been on a crack since about May. Our bedroom's still on a crack though. A blanket is permenantly on the sofa and most evenings I've had it over me. Hubby's a Yorkshire man so doesn't feel the cold.

[sparkysmum]

Hate to admit it but mine's been on for weeks However have just read Chicken nutter's post & I may turn it off

[keyhole kate]

Finally succumbed on Sunday

[Alis girls]

Huddle under duvet and use OH as radiator as he pumps out heat and doesnt complain about my cold feet - love im

[PurpleTree]

ok we've just succumbed, although only for a couple of hours over the kids bath and bed time. It's really wet and miserable here today, and I've got washing to dry.

[Cinnamon]

Mine has gone on today,mostly to dry all the washing on the radiators

That said,there is something about a col,wet,greay day that makes you want to snuggle up in a wrm house.

 

I would have the logburner lit,but I am useless & can't light it without smoking the house out.

Hubby is in the garage tinkering with whatever he has in there - the garagre logburner is lit I have noticed,so he is warm (stuff the rest of us!)

[Paddy]

I put mine on today for an hour just to take the chill off the house. It worked and I don't think we are going to need it this evening.

[chickenNutter]

Sparkysmum, don't feel guilty to use your heating, just make sure your house is well insulated and you don't leave anything switched on when you are not using it.

 

If you havent looked at your loft insulation for years, chances are it isn't thick enough, and you can have it added to really cheaply as all the energy companies legally have to subsidise it under law these days. We have a 5 bedroom victorian house and a local company just increased ours and it only cost £90 with the subsidies, and we don't qualify for any benefits or anything - everyone gets it subsidised. If you have anyone over 65 in your house, you can get it for free!!!!

 

Similar situation with cavity wall insulation - we are having that done next week too!

 

If you have lots of clothes on and still feel very cold, then use your heating. As I say, we have two radiators just cranked on slightly, but not lit the real fire yet. It is just that we have all got used to wearing only t-shirts all year round and turning heating on to compensate. Our predecessors from 75 years ago, when they had proper winters and no central heating would think we were all wusses!

 

I would hate anyone to think I was preachy it is just I am one of the people trying to sort climate change out, and it is a heck of a sould destroying job!

[Guest]

I agree with Chicken Nutter. We had our loft insulation DOUBLED when I had the loft boarded and we finally got the cavity walls done this year. Our house has far too much glass to ever be warm, my hall has a glass wall upstairs and down and at the back of my house there are THREE sets of french doors! Add to that the open plan nature of the downtairs and you can see why I would get cold.

 

Last year it was frezing down here every morning but I'm downstairs for like 40 mins before I go to work and I can't be spending a fortune heating a 4 bed house for one person to be warm for 40 mins!!! Now I have the AGA that isn't a problem. In the afternoon/evening I light the woodburner, been collecting free wood all summer for that. Upstairs isn't as cold - if I'm in the bath I@m not cold and if I'm in bed I'm not cold. DS doesn't feel the cold much. We also have a couple of halogen heaters and calor heaters which can go on briefly and take the chill off a room.

 

I held out till January last year but this year I'm going for no heating unless I have guests. The annexe has electric storage heaters which Mum does use as she is in there all day.

[bluekarin]

so far I haven't turned the hating on. Hubby however has had his fan heater on in his office as his little tootsies got cold aww bless. But after seeing the weather for tomorrow early morning I think the heating might go on for a little while, just until the kids are dressed and have had breakfast.

[Lesley]

so far I haven't turned the hating on. Hubby however has had his fan heater on in his office as his little tootsies got cold aww bless.

 

The best thing for cold feet when sitting at a desk is a cardboard box! - OK if you don't have to keep geting up to fetch files and things. We have underfloor heating now (when it's on) but I used to have a box with an baby cot duvet in it

[Rhapsody]

The best thing for cold feet when sitting at a desk is a cardboard box! - OK if you don't have to keep geting up to fetch files and things. We have underfloor heating now (when it's on) but I used to have a box with an baby cot duvet in it

 

 

thats the kind of advice you would only see here!

 

We've been lighting the woodburner for a couple of days (it heats the hot water too so I had my first bath since May yesterday-yes we have an electric shower for the summer before you boggle) but the ridiculously expensive and wasteful electric storage heaters will stay off until I cant bear it any longer. I live in an uninsulated medieval hovel (planning permission for improvements pending) and frankly winter fills me with chilly dread.

[abwsco]

It was cold in our house yesterday afternoon but I just bunged another fleece on and soon got warmed up. DH is still in tshirts and has not long stopped wearing his shorts for work.

 

I know we need more loft insulation but it would be a nightmare to do as we'd have to find somewhere for our huge, and I mean huge Simpsons memorabilia collection to go first and then take all the boarding up. At least we've got cavity wall insulation.

[Alis girls]

mighty nippy here at 6am - no heating yet but only a matter of time. OH a useful bed warmer as is the cat. YS gone into winter coat for school protesting violently as usual about why cant he have a new one (its hand me down from ES) I said we had no money and when we did I buy him something exciting like jeans or a hoodie. they only get dumped on the school goalposts or floor at the end of the day

[ubereglu]

Nice and sunny, with a lovely autumnal chill down here. A lot nicer than the downpours of the last couple of days and it was very close to a ground frost this morning...had to find my mittens for on the way to college!

[Chicken Licken]

Crunchy under foot this morning when I let the girls out - brrr. The worst thing is I am off supervising a Duke of Edinburgh's expedition tomorrow and I hate waking up to frost!!

[Happy chickens!]

Ok, ok, I've given in, mine is on too. (And lovely and toasty it is )

[docsquid]

I'm afraid we've had ours on all this week. I feel the cold rather a lot, and being outside quite a bit I get cold through, despite multiple layers of clothes (when others are happy in just t-shirts).

 

I feel bad about the planet, but we did plant 600 trees this year!

[Willow]

Ours isn't on yet but that's only because OH is working at home as well now. When it was just me working at home I used to justify heating as I wasn't moving around much being stuck at my desk.

 

I wish I'd sorted a wood burning stove earlier in the year as I'd be able to justify putting that on