Heat Day 2025

 Today is the official Heat Day for 2025! (Yes, I know I missed last year's heat day, but I don't know why.) Anyway, as is usual for the last several years, I feel the need to provide some disclaimers. 

1. Today is the day we turned the heat on in the main part of the house. The heater in my father's room in the addition has been on for a little while because he was cold. I'm not forcing him to play my game. However, the other heater in the addition is broken, so it hasn't been on.

2.  A week or so ago, I woke in the middle of the night and realized that the furnace was running. I hurried to the thermostat and realized the heat was on; it just hadn't run because it wasn't cold enough. I turned the heat off.

3.  Last week (?) the heater guy came to service the furnace, so it had to run some I think.

But this morning I woke early, showered, dressed, walked out into the dining room and realized it was cold! I checked the thermostat which said it was 65℉, and since that's too cold for my face to be comfortable when I'm outside, I deemed it time for the heat to come on. 

It's time for snuggling in for a cozy winter!

Cozy kittens

Heat Day 2023

 I am popping in here to announce that today is the official Heat Day 2023! 

This picture is from yesterday morning when we actually decided to turn on the heat.

But Heat Day isn't simple anymore, so allow me to offer some clarifications.

Since my father moved in, we have not allowed him to freeze. His room has its own heater, and so does my son's room. Both of these heaters are in the addition to our home on the north (and cold!) side of the house. Their heaters have been in operation, off and on, for a little while now. That heat doesn't seem to have too much of an effect in the main house. Or at least I don't think so.

Also, we did have to turn the heat on earlier one day when the furnace repair fellow came to service the furnace. We turned it back off as soon as he was done. So this doesn't count for the heat game either.

AND yesterday morning was the day we turned the heat on, BUT the furnace didn't actually kick on until around 6 a. m. today because we had the temperature set low. I am not planning on turning the heat up yet because there will be much baking the next few days. 

It is still not the record, but it was a more than respectable performance this year, don't you think?

Heat Day 2020

This morning the inside temperature was 65F, and it was absolutely no problem. After church we decided to visit my father and cook supper for him. My husband and I knew we would be coming home to a very cold house since the dryer wouldn't be running, the oven wouldn't be cooking, and the 9 living bodies wouldn't be maintaining a few spots of heat in the house for the entire day. So, we made the decision to name today, November 1, the official Heat Day of 2020. We turned the heat on as we scurried about to fill water bottles and as we reminded everybody to visit the little girls'/boys' room. 

I don't feel shame, especially since we were driving through blowing snow on the way home. Snow outside equals heat inside, right?

BUT there could have been an interesting turn of events in the game; we discussed during the drive home that the wind was blowing so hard that perhaps our electricity had gone out. Now, as long-time readers know,  I occasionally change the rules of this heat game on a whim. My husband and I reasoned that if the electricity had indeed gone out, then we technically wouldn't have benefitted at all from the heat being turned on. SO, if the electricity was out, today wouldn't actually be Heat Day since we would still be shivering in the cold until the power was back; Heat Day could have been delayed a whole day (or even two).

But we had lights and heat and very tired children when we got home. The game is over, and we made it to November! Yay! 

Heat Game Update

 Temperature outside: 26 F

Temperature inside: 65 F

We woke to these chilly temps, but the heat is still not on! Will we make it to November with no heat? We will try! That means biscuits in a hot oven for breakfast, heating up leftover beans in the oven for lunch, and something piping hot for supper, too! One son has volunteered to make granola today, and that takes a long time in the oven. Warmer clothes are out of storage for everybody, so we can bundle up a bit, if necessary.

I think our chances are good of getting at least to midnight tonight before turning on the heat. Still not going to make a record (November 23rd is my record), but I count anything in November as decent.