… and finally put the central heating on, to come on for short while in the mornings. Quite pleased actually that we made it this far… November an all. Of course..we cheated, as we have been lighting the woodburning stove, fed on scrap wood, and we found the sitting room again after a long summer of working until late, the clocks changed and suddenly sit
ting cosy and working on knitting or repairs in the warmth is appealing again.
Also some time in October we lit the rayburn again, only idling.. and that makes a massive difference.. just keeping the chill off the air, and other novelties such as hot water and an oven!
Also a large difference to our gas bill too.. sadly.. so we make the best use of it, and most suppers are along the casserole/stew/slow roast line these days, which suits with cold weather too. We dry our washing on a rack in front of it over night, and keep a kettle of water warm on top ready to go on at a moments notice.. well half and hours notice, as it takes ages to boil a kettle with the rayburn is just idling.. but I wont turn up the gas!
Next the plans are to look into bread proving and yogurt making, and already the fermenting bin of beer for Christmas lurks nearby, enjoying the warmth, gurgling contentedly through the air lock.
When we moved here , I was really against the rayburn, as it does cost a fair bit to run, but I have warmed (sorry for the pun) to it and quite like the benevolent cooking it offers, the hotplate drop scones! coming in from the cold field and leaning against its warmth, and it’s not as bad as it seems once you realise everything it does.. hot water, heating, cooking, laundry, drop scones (did I mention them already?)
In summer we turned it off, and our bills averaged out to sensible, but I did miss it’s presence.
