Thursday, October 09, 2025

The War is On

The October War, alternately the Furnace Battle, is on again.

At 7AM, I am wearing my sweater and am snuggled under an electric blanket as I huddle in my chair. I am toasty and warm under here, but I would likely be chilly otherwise with the outdoor temperature registering just a fraction above freezing. However, the furnace app app reveals that it is 17C/ 62f inside, which isn’t too bad, and it will increase during the day. 

We wage this futile tussle every October: resisting activating the furnace. I don’t know why exactly, but it seems like capitulation when we give in to the inevitable. We have made it all of the way to November 01 — exactly once! — but it felt like a victory. 

We shall see how and when the Furnace Battle of 2025 ends in inescapable submission. But it won’t be today. We shall hold the line, I tell ya. 

, , , Meanwhile, if I may shift the theme, I present you with an insight regarding my often unfortunate countenance. It has nothing to do with the cold but is simply, too often, my general reality. 






PS: I should have added that I did don my warm winter socks for the first time yesterday. They are long, so they help a lot. 

29 comments:

  1. We no longer even try to wage a battle against putting the heating on! Husband blames the blood thinners he's on, making him cold.

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  2. We do the same, hoping we can get another day without turning on the heat. I think you're kinda cute in a grumpy sort of way.

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  3. I guess I lost the battle this morning. At this time of year, I will fire up the heat and let it run one cycle in the morning when I get up and then turn it off for the rest of the day until the following morning.

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    1. That seems like a good stopgap solution.

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  4. I like to postpone heat in winter, cool in summer, because I welcome cheap months!
    My face looks gloomy at rest, with gravity playing a part.

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  5. We are in the same battle, AC. It is only 7 but windy here this morning. The house is much warmer though. We will live to fight another day.

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  6. Heat is on here at 68ΒΊ. We had frost last night.
    You look like you've lost weight.

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  7. I dehydrate vegetables in the oven over night. I did 4 trays of potatoes last night. That is probably cheating though.

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  8. I was always being told to 'cheer up' when I was younger. I have a naturally miserable face.

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  9. I've given in, the heating is on, at least in my little office. It is just easier to type with fingers that are not stiff and frozen.

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  10. We use to fight the thermostat. Then decided we are too old.

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  11. 62f is fine when you're moving around, but too cold for relaxing ;) I naturally frown, haha.

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  12. Hi dear friend, the bird 🐦 illustration made me laugh. It is chilly here in Montreal, I love ❤️ it, I just dress warmly.

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  13. We like a cool house, but sometimes guests aren't comfortable, so we have to capitulate. I set it to 67 yesterday to keep them happy, but turned it back down to 60 by bedtime.

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  14. I hate being cold so I'll turn on the gas fireplace soon--if the darn thing even works. Nothing but problems with it since I got it several years ago. I let my heat pump/furnace decide when to turn on. My furnace doesn't usually run unless it gets into the 30s since it's my auxiliary heat.

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  15. Love the two memes! Rick has that same battle. I'll turn on and off when I'm cold enough. Here at the lake it was 29 this morning. We only have a space heater (two). If I had a furnace it would be on!

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  16. So familiar! We wage the same battle every year.

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  17. I go through the same fight every year. My super goal is end of November, but here in Manitoba it’s more likely the 1st Jean

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  18. Why fight the furnace, I say. Life's too short. It does make a difference if I get, and keep, moving. But who can be moving all damn day!

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  19. Your memes gave me a broad smile. Thank you! Fortunately, we have warmish days at the moment though chillier nights. We just throw an extra blanket on. We always hope we don't have to turn the heating on until November, but every year it is a wait and see. My frugal side switches on and hubs says it's because I'm an across-the-pond-post-war-baby when everything was still rationed and my parents passed this trait down to me.

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  20. So intent is your relaxed look...just rather serious. But nobody looks jolly when relaxed! Keeping warm vs. suffering in the cold seems like a strange battle to wage...but go ahead and enjoy the pennies you're saving. Each of us has our values, and thus our battles.

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  21. LOL, I look the same way. I realize it sometimes and consciously lighten up my face, but it is an effort.

    I know I’ve griped about this before, but at least it seems like you are both on the same team in this battle. In my house, I’m team slippers, robe, etc. My husband comes downstairs in his boxer shorts and t-shirts and turns on the heater because he is cold. OF COURSE YOU ARE COLD, IT’S 60 DEGREES IN HERE AND YOU’RE BASICALLY NAKED. This is not a fight I am willing to have anymore, so I just grind my teeth.

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    1. Also, the narrative becomes ‘J isn’t cold because she runs hot’. HA! No, it’s because I know how to dress.

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  22. You DO live in Canada, right? My uneducated view from Kansas is that it's always cold everywhere in Canada. Try a heated mattress pad for sleeping. About $70 from WalMart, because heat travels up. Easier to get warmer than under an electric blanket that warms your top layer then the air above it. A stocking beanie cap isn't just for Santa Claus. Lots of heat escapes out our noggins. Linda in Kansas

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  23. We do the same thing.The sun through the patio doors heated us up to 23.5˚C.

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