What are your preferred ways of keeping warm over winter? For me, it’s cuddling dogs, sporting a ski onesie, and excessive cups of tea. If I ever achieve my dream of having a home sauna, that’ll probably top the list. As it stands, I have to go to the local pool for that, and I resent concluding the experience with a stressful drive through the rain in my unheated car instead of flopping onto a beanbag with a mug of tea.
It’s all about having a continual, unbroken stream of comfort and cosiness. Something might be great for upping the body heat, but I want none of it if it’s going to end abruptly and throw me into a contrasting sensation of chilliness. That’s why I look for warming techniques that can be knitted seamlessly together. For example, a cup of tea and cradling a dog while waiting for the house to heat up is my standard just-got-in-the-door ritual. If I skip it, I just can’t seem to feel cosy, even after the heating has come on.
As you might be able to guess, I’m pretty good at staying on top of heating repairs. Melbourne tends to put the pressure on indoor climate control systems, and it’s not unheard of for a heater to be purring away one minute and refusing to turn on the next. As soon as I notice something even vaguely amiss, I’ve got my guy over to sort it out. I just can’t tolerate gaps in my comfort zone, and a busted heater is the fastest route to falling into one.
The watchword for me is not so much repairs, but routine upkeep. Like I said, I have my guy for repairs, and he also takes care of my ducted heating maintenance. Melbourne folks, you understand this mild obsession, right? It’s not just me, is it? Maybe it is. I’ve never thought of that before – that I might be unreasonably fixated on preventing heater conk-outs.
You’d think I’d be a bit more relaxed, given the amount of dog cuddles I consume. Maybe I should switch to herbal tea.