Do You Really Need the Heating On in March? A Marital Debate

Now that spring is here we can turn the heating off, right? It’s March, it’s positively balmy! 

Agree with me? My husband doesn’t. He also doesn’t agree that snow on the roof insulates, that fresh air is bracing, and being slightly chilly is excellent for the metabolism. He’s all thermal vests, I’m very much not. 

We have what can only be described as ‘thermostat incompatibility’. Or to put it more directly: Thermostat Wars. My husband and I can’t agree on the temperature - at all. He tweaks it up, I tweak it down. The dial is right outside the living room, so in the evening whenever one of us casually asks, “Drink?” the other suspiciously watches as they pass through the hallway to the kitchen. 

Should You Turn the Heating Off in March? The Never-Ending Thermostat Battle

My response to the whoosh of the boiler turning on is the same as the whoosh of £10 notes bursting into flame would be. Besides, making it turn on all the time for the heating puts strain on the boiler - and after the boiler we had in the last house, with it’s flaky, frankly laissez-faire attitude to working, I think that’s a very valid point.

For me, a pleasant ambient temperature is one that will see my husband putting on a coat. And he’s not averse to doing that in the house either. For Christmas this year I bought him some thermal socks, hand warmers and a gilet that heats up when you plug it in. He wears them all INDOORS. He’s still cold.

If I’m going to have a particular phrase etched on my gravestone I think it might be: “Is it me, or is it hot in here?”. And don’t go thinking this is because, as the delightful Mr Wallace would put it, I’m a woman of a certain age. Oh no, I’ve been like this forever. To me, my idea of absolute hell is a turtle neck jumper. Or just any jumper, especially one that’s acrylic. I can feel my eyeballs sweating at the thought of it.

We recently bought a new car, and this thing has not only heated seats but also a heated steering wheel. Ridiculous! Thankfully it also has individual climate control, so he can have his side of the car on ‘Bahamas Setting’ whilst mine is the far more sensible ‘Snowflake Setting’. 

We also have an ongoing window war in the bedroom. For me, I absolutely can’t sleep with it shut. This worked perfectly in the old house when my side of the bed was next to the window. Sadly that’s not the case now, so he sleeps with the duvet literally over his head and the ever-present thermal vest on (although not the gilet). I sleep with my legs out. I've been googling "Scrooge type nightcap" for his upcoming birthday...

We can both get quite dramatic about temperature levels, and I admit quite freely that levels of histrionics about said temperature are often just as extreme. I can’t cope with being in a hermetically sealed environment (ie, windows closed), he can’t cope with being in the Arctic (ie, a room temperature below 25 degrees). 

I know that this disparity isn’t how things are supposed to be - women are supposed to be cold all the time, men are supposed to be hot all the time. I’ve seen men with my own eyes, walking about in January in shorts. I suppose at least we’re both the wrong way round when it comes to heating, so I guess we’re not so different from other families up and down the country. And there’s always that day or two every year when the temperature is just right for both of us. Not too hot, not too cold, no need for gilets.

So, what’s it like in your household? Do you also suffer from the Great Thermostat Wars/Standoff in your relationship?

Sarah x

So, why DO we throw confetti at a wedding?

When you think about it, it does seem like a slightly odd thing to do - and one that’s pretty much guaranteed to get the vicar’s knickers in a twist! 

But actually, it seems we’ve been doing it for centuries - and apparently it dates back to Pagan times, when newly married couples were showered with grain to represent a ‘fruitful union’ (not unlike the wedding cake cutting ceremony which represents pretty much the same idea - when you think about it, the cake would also contain wheat which would also represent fertility). Druids believed that the fertility of the seeds would transfer to the couple on which they fell. And flower petals scattered for the couple to walk over were thought to protect the couple from harmful spirits.

So, how do you give Mr and Mrs a good send off and not irritate the vicar? Use biodegradable confetti, or visit your local florist and go for real petals instead.

If you've been invited to a wedding this year, why not check out the great range of wedding gifts at PhotoFairytales - guaranteed to be totally original and a fabulous keepsake for the new couple!

Sarah :)

Where did you last see it...?

Damn it woman, where are the biscuits?!

There’s a bit of sighing and cupboard door slamming going on in the kitchen. Coupled with a bit of mumbled, slightly put out, ‘Well I can’t see them…’.

You see, my husband is looking for a (packet of) biscuit(s) to go with his tea. I’ve told him there’s some nice oaty ones in the cupboard that I bought the other day. ‘Which cupboard?’, he asks - well, its hardly difficult given that our kitchen is only just about large enough to stand 2 adults with a joint BMI of under 10, and the cat would most certainly not withstand a swinging in it either. We have two food cupboards - one for savoury stuff, one for sweet. ‘In the sweet cupboard, on the left!’, I reply (whilst doing a bit of unsubtle eye-rolling). And still he can’t find them.

You see, there is a distinct way that my DH looks for things - basically, if it can’t be spotted the second (and I mean, THE SECOND) he starts to search, then it is officially lost. If he can’t find his socks in his sock drawer in under 1.2 nano seconds then I am called for to explain, A) where his socks are, and B) why they weren’t there a minute ago when he looked, or C) why do I hide them under his pants like that…

Of course, when its something important that is lost (think car keys, wallet, important paperwork, etc) it can become a little, erm, accusing in our household. Lot’s of me saying, ‘think about it methodically, where is it likely to be?’ and a fair bit of both of us saying, ‘Well, you had it last - no I didn’t, you did’ and ‘Well, where did YOU last have it?’. And it’s invariably a short hop and a jump to the full blown discussion as to the general tidiness of the house and why it is that only one of us is capable of putting things away properly whilst the other treats the place like a hotel (no prizes for guessing for who takes which role). It isn’t long before finding the lost item has taken second place to establishing firmly who is at fault for the aforementioned loss.

Mind you, I have to confess I have been known to freak out when I can’t find my glasses - ‘But they’ve got to be somewhere, I need them, I can’t drive without them, I’ve got to find them, it’s an emergency!’. Which is when I tend to get asked, ‘What, the ones on top of your head you mean..?’ (followed by smug face). Well, we all make mistakes, OK?

Now, where did I put that reminder about the car tax….

Sarah :)