Then and Now – Heating

During the 1960s, the heating where I lived in Texas transitioned from electric wall heating to gas powered central heating. Both had to work harder because the windows of the houses were single paned and had little insulation. I remember that my grandparents’ houses were often colder in the winter than mine was. My paternal grandparents’ farmhouse had gas burning (probably propane) stoves in each room and my maternal grandparents’ house had gas burning (probably natural gas) floor furnaces; in those houses, the kitchen during meal prep time, was the warmest! Prior to the advent of thermostats, the controls on the heaters were tweaked manually.

My house now has two central heating furnaces (2 zones) – one natural gas and one electric. Within the next 5 years, we will be transition to electric powered heat pumps. The house has well-sealed doors and double pained windows….and was well insulated when it was built in 1999. It has two gas fireplaces which we haven’t used; the gas is turned off and we have sealed the vents with magnetic strips to stop the drafts in the winter. We have a ‘smart’ thermostat that we can program to change the temperature at different times during the day; since we are retired, that is usually letting it cool down a bit at night while we are sleeping.

In general, modern heating systems and houses, make it easier to feel warm in the winter. I wonder sometimes if that changes the early years of children’s lives. For example – a baby born in December would be learning to walk a year later. Prior to central heating, that would mean more clothes to get in the way during that process than a child born in July would have as they learned to walk. Did mothers of winter babies keep them close to their own bodies to make sure they were warm (i.e. did winter babies get held more in their very early lives)? Central heating might have made early childhood development more consistent because it took away much of the seasonal variation experience for babies!

Staying Warm in Winter

We had some very cold weather recently…prompting us to implement our strategies for staying comfortable.

Staying indoors is the primary strategy. We do things like closing insulating drapes and blinds…opening them if the sun is shining through the window. Opening or closing vents to help the heating system do its job. Small sources of heat like candles or halogen lamps are also something I am conscious of in the winter. They don’t do much, but I like the extra bright light and the glow of candles on a winter night. Maybe the extra warmth is purely psychological!

Warm food also helps. My winter favorites are:

• Hot tea or milk (with water) to drink.

• Homemade soups. They are so easy with bouillon for the broth then veggies and meats. Right now, I am doing a lot with pumpkin puree that I cooked/froze last November and frozen cranberries. I rely on my spice cabinet…or use salsa as one of the ingredients. Leftover meats or canned chicken or quinoa are my favorite proteins in soup. My favorite toppings are fried onions or pumpkin seeds. Another strategy for a winter soup: a well-seasoned spaghetti sauce from a jar, added sausage bits, and arugula. You could still eat it over pasta…but I usually eat it as soup these days.

• Stir fry. I like chicken, bell pepper and onions a lot….then add whatever other veggies I have in the crisper or freezer. I am still savoring the flavor of cranberries with chicken – adding frozen ones from last fall to stir fries. I also like apple and raisins cooked in butter for a winter dessert. I generally make enough stir fry for a second meal – very quick heated up in the microwave.

• Meat loaf. It’s not a bad thing to cook in the oven in the winter…no reason to not put a little extra heat into the house. Still – I try to fill the oven when I do. There is generally a baked potato for my husband (I enjoy the skin!) in with the meatloaf…and I usually cook a pumpkin custard or some cookies as well!

Clothing is important too.

• We keep our house warm but not too warm. We wear jeans, sweaters/sweatshirts, and wool socks with shoes indoors during the winter.

• Being outdoors can be a challenge but we both enjoy winter walks/birding. Over the past few years we’ve ramped up our gear.

• My coat is filled with down and styled to reduce air leaks. It works beautifully for my head and body.

• We both have snow pants that we bought them large enough to go over leggings/skinny jeans. They keep our legs very warm.

• Wool socks help keep feet warm.

• Our hiking boots keep our feet warm enough if we are moving. If we anticipate that we will be standing or sitting for very long outdoors (i.e. sometimes this happens when birding), we add foot warmers to the bottom of our boots.  

• A tube scarf works well for me to cover my head and neck. The hood of my coat goes over it and keeps my head very warm.

• We’ve discovered that the masks we have for COVID help keep our lower face and noses warm! We haven’t invested in goggles yet!

• Gloves are still a work in progress. We have some battery powered ones that work OK…not excellent. Prior to that we used hand warmers in the palm of gloves. That worked OK but fingers still were cold when not wrapped around the warmer…and the outer part of the hand got none of the warmth. Mittens might work better but it is difficult (or impossible) to use a camera with mittens.

Overall – we’ve been comfortable this winter even when the temperature outside was below 0 degrees Fahrenheit recently.