It’ll get warmer by mid-week, but the high for today will be a chilly 58 degrees, according to the weather channel. We’ve probably already been there, and are on the way back down the thermometer. Are you thinking about firing up your heating system yet or will you tough it out like the “furnace abstinence” folks?

These are the weeks of transitional weather, and it can be very confusing. Are you still in summer garb? Have you pulled out the fleece boots yet? What’s your strategy for between-seasons living?

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26 replies on “Furnace Fantasies?”

  4. Holly, that’s just idiotic…. I do like the electric blanket idea though! Especially since our weather is so unpredictable ALL the time.

  5. The heat goes on when it becomes unreasonably cold in the house. “Unreasonable” being a measure of how many people are complaining.

    BTW, the above is a picture of a boiler, not a furnace.

  6. windows open during the day if over 62- closed at night. Thermostat set to 59 – no heat is running yet.

  7. I’m shooting for furnace abstinence until after Halloween, although I’m cheating a little bit by using space heaters in the bathroom and elsewhere to take the chilly edge off.

    I did, however, replace the cotton blanket with the down comforter last night. Down featherbed, down comforter, down pillows – who could ask for anything on a chilly autumn eve? To those valiant fowl who have sacrificed their downy warmth for my comfort, I salute you!

  8. Idiotic? Holy crap! htorrone before you call me “idiotic” about my heat rule I would like if you actually knew me first. I assure you there are countless things I do that are idiotic. Keeping the heat off for 10 days is waaaaaaay at the bottom of the long list.

    FYI I was born in MN so the cold does not bother me. It drives me crazy when people say, “I’m freezing to death.” Now that is idiotic.

  9. whoa…easy, no one called you anything. Simply the “idea” that we would let a calendar predict our comfort level is idiotic. Either we are sweating or freezing by those standards. Personally this weather is perfect for snuggling. LOVE IT! Sorry if you took it as harm….im sure you are wonderful!

  10. Don’t worry I am totally kidding. I don’t let the calendar predict anything. I’m just stubborn and frugal

  11. I have to confess we’ve had our heating on already – so profligate but hate having cold feet – I know I should get slippers right.

  12. Oh I’ll make it alright Holly. Right now I have huge boot-like slippers on and a fleece robe over my jeans and sweater. I also made a lasagna and baked Lisa’s delicious muffins, so the oven has helped to warm the house. If I have to bake constantly to avoid putting the heat on, damn it, I will! I may gain 10 lbs. but I’ll save money.

  15. I would rather live in a goddam igloo than move to Florida. Our furnace is broken and has to be replaced, and I don’t do any baking–not even Holly’s gorgeous muffins could entice me into the kitchen–so I’m hoping for a warm October.

  16. brrrrr…. Holly, I was hoping you’d tell me if it has been 10 days yet?? (((shivering)))

    apparently our office building landlord doesn’t turn on the heat til October 15th. I may very well buy one of those ridiculous fleece things that look like a backwards bathrobe As Seen On TV and wear it around the office. The space heater is no longer cutting it. My floor is full of frozen cube rats!

  17. PS Roo, I figured you would be getting ready for hibernation right about now…so technically you won’t need a furnace!

  18. Be careful for what you wish, Nellie — Florida is God’s waiting room, after all.

    As a Scandanavian-American myself, Holly, I do understand your Minnesota background and heat-frugality — but after several years of living in Yellow Snow, New Hampshire and having to occasionally chip the ice out of the commode in October, I made an executive decision to turn the damn heat on when I feel cold. Yesterday morning at 5:30 AM was one of those times.

  19. As my Dad would say, “Put on a sweater.” I vowed to have a warm house when I grew up, but alas I neglected to consider the heating bills that went with it. I will one day retire not in Florida but on a sunny tropical isle. But for now I try to hold to the NYC landlord rules about when heat must be turned on by law: Oct. 15. I have already failed, but that is just b/c the thermostat is set so low & the heat came on by itself.

    On another note, Yellow Snow, NH? Who would name a town Yellow Snow? Don’t they know what that means in NH?

  21. Yesterday I had the furnance cranking in the morning.. I have little kids, and a baby, and why should they be cold? In the transitional weeks before heat is needed all the time, I crank it up in the morning to take off the chill. The house is old (1883) and needs help warming up. Why suffer?

  22. Since I have my own internal power surges I can stay away from the thermostat till snow fall. I did peek at it last night and it read 60 degrees. I opted for PJs with sleeves and my down bedding, which still gets kicked off during the night, and an open window. Please call if you’re coming over and I’ll turn on the heat.

  24. Scandinavian ancestors also but still don’t like the cold. I can tolerate fall if my feet are warm and I have a light coat or sweater but winter? So not for me. The only positive thing I can say about winter is that it provides me with fodder for photographs. Other than that, I stay indoors for much of it, only venturing out if I absolutely have to. My cat feels the same way. 🙂

  25. Kay it has been five days. Roo, those gorgeous muffins are not mine. This time they are Lisa’s muffins.

    Conan, is it too early for glogg?

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