Fall and the Temperature Wars
ByFall is my favorite time of year except for one thing – the battle over when the A/C gets switched over to heat. Invariably, Husband and I compromise. We just turn the thing off altogether. So, this means Husband is hot as Hades during the day and I freeze my tushie off at night. Eventually, as we grow closer to winter, one of us has to give in.
Last night it was Husband. He had to close the window before we went to sleep. And, I got to turn on the heat. (This is because the night before – my compromise night — I woke up with frozen lungs. Breathing in air all night, which has dipped close to the 40s, does that to you.)
After much hrumphing about how hot as hell it was in here, already, he finally fell asleep. I woke up cold, of course. In an act of “marital peace offering” I had the heat set so it would turn on only when the walls would be in danger of frosting over it got too cold. So, if it dipped into the low 60s, the heat pump was supposed to do its thing. It did not, all night. Apparently, the temperature falling to 64 does not qualify for our heat pump – who I suspect is in cahoots with Husband – to click on.
No, extra blankies won’t help. (See Battle for the Covers.) Also, they have yet to develop covers for the sinus passages, which rebel against arctic temps.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, the local weather mavens say we are about to get a blast of winter air headed our way. (The weather gods clearly did not consult with me, allowing winter temps to taint our fall. But, anyway…) I have learned it’s important to have third parties to point to when negotiating the thermostat. Now even Husband agrees that maybe, just maybe, setting the thermostat to at least 68 is in order.
When I was single, I barely paid attention to the weather forecast. We now live by it. It’s the only way to protect the lungs.
4 Comments
October 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am
On the bright side…having someone to sleep with who allows you to put your cold feet on them, regardless of whether or not they, too, are cold, is a real blessing. Cohabitating at its finest
October 19th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Yup, when you wake up with frozen lung, it’s time to nudge the thermostat into the positive realm. On a similar note, I just learned the origin of the word ‘anorak’. It comes from Greenland and means “heavy seal fur with portal to slip neck through.” I’m not so sure what it smells like, but by golly, a gal’s got to have priorities. Warmth over smell any day!
October 19th, 2009 at 10:20 am
This is a familiar scenario in our household. My Husband is from Norway, he was born ABOVE the Arctic Circle! Talk about cold. I was born in Savannah where “winter” means temperatures in the 50’s. Husband walks around, in the dead of winter, in a t-shirt while I have on 3 layers of fleece. I also refuse to set the thermostat (ie pay for more gas heat) above 68 degrees. So it’s cool in our house in the winter and even cooler in the bedroom at the far end of the house. But, I have the perfect solution – Mattress Pad Warmer under my flannel sheets
Some have dual settings. I turn it on about 1/2 hour before I climb into bed and when I do, it is warm and toasty. At first, Husband laughed and made fun of it, saying he’s a studly Viking from Norway and he doesn’t need any mattress pad warmer. Guess who likes to use it now, and year-round?! He has made me promise not to tell his parents for fear of being a disgrace to his country.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:23 am
What a great idea! I love the idea of a heated mattress pad. I now just need one for the ole sinus passages.