Hot water bottles
As a kid in South Africa, my mom used to use hot water bottles to warm our beds in winter. It has been very cold here since the rain stopped and last night was especially chilly (in the low 20s) so I hunted down my hot water bottle which I haven't used since last February, filled it with boiling water and popped it into my bed before tucking in for the night. What a treat to climb into a toasty bed.
My Granny Flossie used to knit woollen covers for our hot water bottles which made them much more cozy. I guess I'll have to dig out some knitting needles and make a cover for mine because it isn't nearly as comfy without a cover. Yes, Flossie taught me how to knit and it's something I really enjoy doing. In fact the first thing that I ever knitted was a hot water bottle cover. Then Flossie taught me how to knit bed-socks. Those were great. Maybe I'll knit some of them too. The hot water bottle covers and bedsocks are easy to make - basically rectangles that are stitched together in the right places.
I'd never used an electric blanket until I moved to England. The first winter that I was there, I was invited to spend Christmas with my lady friend Jill's family and the bed that her mom made up for us had an electric blanket. It made my skin crawl and itch all night. I just don't like being hot all over. I prefer being slightly cool in bed as long as my feet are warm and that's what makes hot water bottles the perfect winter bed warmer. Once they have warmed your feet, you kick them out. I haven't used an electric blanket since then.
This has made me think about that first winter in the UK. On Christmas Eve it began to snow. Although I was already 21, I had never seen snow before. It made me high as a kite and I laughed and danced in the street through the gently falling snowflakes as we walked to midnight Mass. Oh, okay - I was already high because Jill and I had smoked a few doobies after dinner. Of course I slipped and fell but didn't notice my bruises till the next day.
Later that winter I ended up with chilblains for the first and only time in my life. Chilblains are caused by damp cold rather than the icy dry cold which causes frostbite. The blood-vessels in the feet break and bleed into the surrounding flesh and cause pain and itching. I soon learned to put on dry socks as soon as soon as my feet got wet. Anyway my feet were so badly swollen and sore that I took a day off from work because I could barely stand. I decided to take some mescalin which a hippie friend had given me. (Hey, it was 1968 and every self-respecting rebel took psychedelics in those days.)
Just as I was settling down with a doobie and a nice hot cup of tea in bed to watch TV and was starting to get the warm fuzzies from the mescalin, there was a knock at the door. My landlord had decided that my apartment needed to be redecorated and had sent over two crazy Irishmen to paint it. Well, I spent the rest of the day laughing my ass off watching Pat and Mick paint the walls (and themselves.) When they finished the job, they went out and bought some fish and chips and Guinness and we all got drunk and had a lot of fun until the Guinness made me puke.
That was the winter that I learned that I did not like electric blankets (or Guinness) and have never used them since. Give me a hot water bottle (and a glass of wine) anyday.
My Granny Flossie used to knit woollen covers for our hot water bottles which made them much more cozy. I guess I'll have to dig out some knitting needles and make a cover for mine because it isn't nearly as comfy without a cover. Yes, Flossie taught me how to knit and it's something I really enjoy doing. In fact the first thing that I ever knitted was a hot water bottle cover. Then Flossie taught me how to knit bed-socks. Those were great. Maybe I'll knit some of them too. The hot water bottle covers and bedsocks are easy to make - basically rectangles that are stitched together in the right places.
I'd never used an electric blanket until I moved to England. The first winter that I was there, I was invited to spend Christmas with my lady friend Jill's family and the bed that her mom made up for us had an electric blanket. It made my skin crawl and itch all night. I just don't like being hot all over. I prefer being slightly cool in bed as long as my feet are warm and that's what makes hot water bottles the perfect winter bed warmer. Once they have warmed your feet, you kick them out. I haven't used an electric blanket since then.
This has made me think about that first winter in the UK. On Christmas Eve it began to snow. Although I was already 21, I had never seen snow before. It made me high as a kite and I laughed and danced in the street through the gently falling snowflakes as we walked to midnight Mass. Oh, okay - I was already high because Jill and I had smoked a few doobies after dinner. Of course I slipped and fell but didn't notice my bruises till the next day.
Later that winter I ended up with chilblains for the first and only time in my life. Chilblains are caused by damp cold rather than the icy dry cold which causes frostbite. The blood-vessels in the feet break and bleed into the surrounding flesh and cause pain and itching. I soon learned to put on dry socks as soon as soon as my feet got wet. Anyway my feet were so badly swollen and sore that I took a day off from work because I could barely stand. I decided to take some mescalin which a hippie friend had given me. (Hey, it was 1968 and every self-respecting rebel took psychedelics in those days.)
Just as I was settling down with a doobie and a nice hot cup of tea in bed to watch TV and was starting to get the warm fuzzies from the mescalin, there was a knock at the door. My landlord had decided that my apartment needed to be redecorated and had sent over two crazy Irishmen to paint it. Well, I spent the rest of the day laughing my ass off watching Pat and Mick paint the walls (and themselves.) When they finished the job, they went out and bought some fish and chips and Guinness and we all got drunk and had a lot of fun until the Guinness made me puke.
That was the winter that I learned that I did not like electric blankets (or Guinness) and have never used them since. Give me a hot water bottle (and a glass of wine) anyday.
posted by Joubert at 12:02 AM
The Alliance
<< Home