alskuefhaih
asoiefh

Thursday, January 07, 2010

cold winter nights

-
-

In January Michigan is cold. This week the whole U.S. has had a cold snap, with even the Orange Bowl football game being played in Miami in forty-something degrees fahrenheit (around 10°C). But that's far from normal, whereas here in The North, 0°F (-17°C) is not uncommon this month and next. When Mr. North Wind bottoms it out with some wind chill, staying warm is an art. Out in the country we have a propane gas tank that feeds our forced air furnace ducts that web into the walls of the house, but we try to keep the front half of the house where we live warm with heat from the wood stove, allowing us to turn down the thermostat and save propane. This means the rest of the house is chilly.

If you are truly of The North and love it as I do, this is perfect for bedtime, because where I sleep must be chilled - in fairy tale proportions. So for instance if Hansel and Grethel were sleeping in a cold room, a Grimm might have written something like -

The fire had gone out, and the air became colder every hour that the hands on the clock moved around the face's numbers. The brother and sister huddled together under their shared thin blanket, hoping to catch some heat from each other and fall asleep before morning. But there was one good thing about being too cold to sleep. They were alert to plan their escape.

But that isn't how it was in the wicked witch's cottage. She had fed them and was plumping them up to be eaten. After a supper of pancakes with sugar, milk, apples and nuts they were tucked into a warm bed for a cozy sleep, unaware of their impending doom. See? If they were cold they might have been more wary.



100% wool blankets made by the Orr felt and blanket company of Piqua, Ohio (pronounced pick-wah) could have been a blanket fairy tale children would cover themselves with. When I pull out this old blanket I feel like a child of an old time. Wool has been the warm weave for centuries, unlike microfibers in comforters nowadays, which are very nice and warm but just don't have the same aesthetic. However one blanket is never enough, and I don't put a wool blanket directly on top of the sheet, because it is too itchy and scratchy, even through a sheet. It's better at the foot of the bed in case I wake up freezing and need an extra layer against the frost.



On dark winter nights it is nice to turn pages of Grimm's Household Fairy Tales, illustrated by R ANDRÉ under a warm fleece blanket by the wood stove. Snow-White and Rose-Red welcome a big black bear in out of the cold to warm up by their fire. Evil dwarves and wicked Queens are always stealing or selling, and usually plotting to kill somebody, sometimes to eat them - all pretty scary and grimm.


When it's time for bed there are those uncomfortably Siberian minutes getting undressed, washing my face, brushing teeth, thinking about how cold the sheets will be. This makes me remember sleeping in a three hundred year old stone cottage in the Scottish Highlands outside a village called Lairg on Loch Shin in November 1980. They kept each room's door closed and only heated them as needed. So our bedroom was freezing - more than even I could stand - but there was a heated mattress pad in the bed waiting for us after painfully undressing in the Frigidaire - I mean frigid air.

When one of you goes to bed before the other, or sleeps alone, there must be some strategy for warmth. I don't care for electrically heated pads or blankets. I like a heavy pile of three or four blankets that doesn't move when I do - first the sheet, which needs to be dense weave cotton, no polyester, then a soft cushy fleece, then a heavy cotton quilt, then a flannel blanket and maybe the Orr wool, and if it's any warmer than 60-63°F (15-17°C), I get too hot. Perfect is having your body toasty and your face cool. The heavy blankets feel protective when you've just read grim and scary stories too, I think, but I don't want the story too scary to stick out my foot in case I get too warm.

The Orr felt and blanket company and Pendleton started making blankets in the 19th century, and during World War II both made hundreds of thousands of drab green army blankets for soldiers. I picture them not being able to get quite warm enough under one thin wool army blanket on cold winter nights, and that's no fairy tale.



-
-

78 comments:

Susan said...

Of course I knew about Pendleton, but had no idea about Orr Blanket Co. in PIQUA, of all places! That's just right up the road from us! Are they still in business, because now I WILL have to have one!

I like it cold in my bedroom, too. We keep it about 64, but I would go lower if David would let me. He's such a wuss! I have to have flannel sheets in the winter, though. I suffered with regular sheets for decades and finally discovered the wonder of flannel ones. Ahhh, no more staying in one position all night long! Lands' End makes the best ones, but they're expensive.

Grimm's Fairy Tales are much too grimm for me! Do you think it was his way of keeping his children in line? :)

I'm afraid I'm not much of a fan of Old Man Winter, especially since I got the chickens. I hate going to the barn to take care of them. Brrrrr! This weekend is going to be brutal...thank God I don't live in International Falls!

Anonymous said...

wishing you warm winter night. hate having cold feet in bed.

@ susan: "Grimm's Fairy Tales are much too grimm for me!" - i agree completely!

ShazRon said...

Nothing more wonderful than a chilled room and a hot partner between the cool sheets! Bring in winter!

Anonymous said...

We use Ibena blankets that are made in Germany... Not the same fabric, but no scratchy. They are bright and pretty blankets too and we probably have 6 or 8 of them around the house. Even my dogs sleep on them! ha ha.

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

joaop1960@gmail.com said...

Guess another advantage of the cold is that it makes you more laborious and cunning...you really have to be organized and dilligent to survive.
Here in Portugal, even without heating our houses stay well over 10 positive all Winter, so fairy tales never get too grimm here...

Shari said...

Loved your Grimm's Fairy Tale book, cover, illustrations and your own addition. Your description of cold bedtime rituals brings to mind every time I have been really cold. I have been pretty cold a few times walking home from school in the windy sleet of Oklahoma. Can't imagine heating with wood, though it sounds very cheery. We have such a hard time getting a real fire going in our little fireplace and even then it seldom puts out any real heat. Here in our house we favor cool, crisp sheets and a light, warm cotton quilt. I MUST stick one foot out of the covers and I turn my pillow often during the night looking for the cool side. (I once tried putting my pillow cases in the freezer, but they didn't stay cool very long even then.) I will think of you with a smile when I climb into bed tonight.

Kat said...

Exactly the temperature I like to sleep in! What a beautiful blanket to keep those tootsies warm!

Pat said...

What an interesting read! I'm usually cold when I get in bed, but by the middle of the night I'm throwing off my covers.

I remember my Dad's old wool army blanket. Of course it didn't look anywhere as pretty as the one you have!

ellen abbott said...

I love fairy tales and have several collections.

I can't sleep if it's too hot either. We always turn the heat down low when we go to bed at night. Makes getting up chilly though.

California Girl said...

Now I'll know how to segue from blankets to fairy tales, ah hah! I can't remember, did the witch finally eat H&G? Grimms was grim as are most fairy tales. Love the book you featured. I've never seen that before. I have an old two volume set of Grimms & Hans Christian Anderson dating back to the 1940s. It belonged to my parents. Cool pics of those warm blankets.

The Bug said...

We live fairly close to Piqua - & have been there a couple of times to visit the Piqua Historical Area & tour the house & ride the canal boat. It's a very peaceful place.

My father had an old wool army blanket - and this is what they sent with me to take naps on in kindergarten. Scratch city!

I love a cold room too - but I have to have an electric blanket. I just seem to be unable to generate heat on my own. But then in the middle of the night the blanket goes off & I'm flinging covers...

Anya said...

Lovely post to read
I have a waterbed its always warm
:-)

(@^.^@)

GailO said...

I love climbing into nice chilled, soft sheets, under two layers of blankets, a light one and a warm down duvet...just one hand and my head sticking out as I read myself to sleep...Soon though I have one leg out of the covers and the duvet pushed to the bottom of the bed...then back and forth all night...

CottageGirl said...

Your post makes me feel even cozier in my warm cottage! I also love a stack of covers on cold nights. The more the better! The only times that I don't like the snow and bitter cold is when Tony has to work! I always feel so sorry for him and all the people who must be out in the elements for a living.
This month the featured author in my classroom is Jan Brett ... a far cry from the Grimms, but the illustrations and stories are those the students really get into. I think as an adult, however, the Grimms Fairy Tales would be a wonderful read!

♥ Kathy said...

Those blankets look super cozy right about now!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

For us it is two quilts handmade my moi several years ago, topped with a fat down comforter and Edward. Apple prefers to sleep in the window seat, but Edward stays atop my feet all night. Not under the covers, mind you, but as a big furry footwarmer,better than any hot water bottle on the planet!

Also, thank you so much for letting me know it was you that recommended Fugitive Pieces! I did so love that book. I bought an extra copy for a client of mine and he was completely entranced as well. He reciprocated by giving me another of Ms. Michaels' books for Christmas!

Renee said...

They look like the blankets that are called Hudson Bay blankets in Canada.

Lovely post.

Love Renee xoxo

ds said...

Down comforter, topped with flannel quilt made by my mother. And then a cat--or two...Loved the story of the blankets, not grimm at all, and the way you made the last picture look like a flag.
Beautiful book.
Stay warm!

*jean* said...

o ruth, you are so delightful! i use the bright orange & yellow afghan that my dear hubbie's grandmother knit...it's obnoxiously cheery in the winter dark...
i do have some wonderful old wool blankets that i inherited and bought...i keep them in the car for a real emergency!!

cheers!!

Babs-beetle said...

You have taken me right back to my childhood with this post. Not because of Grimm's Fairy Tales, but the wool blankets. I do believe we had a few 'Army' blankets in our household too. The blankets were so heavy that if they started to slip off the bed, there was no stopping them!

We are in the minus figures in the UK at the moment and I admit (mostly due to my flu waking me up in the early hours) to finding it rather cold. Tonight I added a second, lighter tog, duvet to my bed ;)

cathyswatercolors said...

Hi Ruth, This post makes me long for a my nice warm cozy bed, piled high with blankets.The problem with our chilly bedroom is that i need to wear gloves to read a book! Anything outside of the covers is in the freeze zone.

Grimm's fairy tales have always been a favorite of mine. I love the old text you have. Again it reminds me of growing up and reading these great tales. My family didn't go for the Disney versions, we rarely went to the show, instead we read the books or maybe i saw them on t.v. saturday morning cartoons,you know the black and white ones.

I love that you heat your house with a wood burning stove... your livin the life girl!
My brother just arrived in Florida and he called to tell me that they are expecting snow this weekend!


I would love the meet I will email you and we can set it up .. what fun.

myonlyphoto said...

Hey Ruth thanks for the reminder about cold, lol, we got some cold temperatures also. Funny when we were young we never wanted to wear extra clothes to school (but in case of my mother always giving us boys underpants, wasn't fun lol). But now days I wear anything to keep me worm, even my husbands underpants if I had to lol.

BTW that blanket looks like one from Hudson Bay department store we have, lol, and their logo.

And may be one day I get to sit down and read those old winer classics, probably for Matthew.

Hope all is well Ruth, and wishing you a Happy New Year 2010. Anna :) PS nice to be back to your blog.

C.M. Jackson said...

ruth--Michigan makes NJ seem temperate almost balmy--in our house it is a down comforter with flannel sheets accompanied by fleece aka comfy banklets that move from chair and sofa to bed...ah winter good time for snuggling --stay warm --c

PeterParis said...

Basically you are so right about sleeping better when it's not too hot, but as I'm (mostly) alone in my bed nowadays and of course not too happy to get up in a freezing room in the morning, I have a tendency to keep my bedroom a bit (too) warm. (I'm not mentioning at which the temperature as the C and F matter is so complicated.)

Loring said...

You get a larger sense of shared experience when people from El Paso and New Orleans can post 'How cold is it? Why it...' stories that are almost the equal of their northern brethren. I had some interesting experiences walking the dog at 5 am in Colorado the last couple days, no doubt. But somehow, after a while, the endless Facebook postings about the temperatures become as MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) as women posting their bra colors!

Jeanie said...

And I was CERTAINLY bundling up last night! Hope you had a safe drive in today! I do the quilts (when you collect quilts, you always have something to keep you warm!) and flannel sheets -- and when it's really nippy, nuke up my rice (or whatever)-filled neck roll to put by my feet. When my feet are warm, so am I! (A furry Gypsy helps, too!)

Arti said...

You know Ruth, we have the Hudson Bay Company here in Canada and this blanket looks just like the famous HB ones... at first glance. But a careful look will point to the green stripe instead of the blue. But take a look:
http://www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=hudson+bay+company+blanket&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=e2lHS6uwO5SOtAOFgen1Dw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CCYQrQQwAg

Bella Rum said...

I'm in full agreement, Ruth. The room must be cold for me to sleep well. I can't stand a warm bedroom.

My husband still has one of those olive-drab wool blankets from when he was in Vietnam. You're so right about the new microfibers. Nothing beats natural fibers.

Our house was very cold when I was a child. Maybe that's when I got accustomed to a cold bedroom. There's something comforting about all those covers in a coooold room.

I like thinking of you snuggling down on a frigid night, Ruth.
Bella

Ruth said...

Susie, from Orr's web site I get the impression that they manufacture paper making products, and felt. It isn't clear to me. But I don't think they sell these blankets now. You can find them on eBay though.

I tried flannel sheets, and yes they are softer and warmer, but I still like me the cool (frigid?) feel of cotton weave even in winter. It's like some sick part of me wants to go through the "excitement" from cold to cozy. :|

You know, I wondered the same thing about the Grimms when I was reading Snow-White and Rose-Red the other night, that this was about keeping kids behavin'.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Kamana. Sometimes I start out with socks on, but I usually take them off. I like feeling my bare feet against the sheets, as long as they're not cold.

Ruth said...

Hi Sapphire, amen, sister!

Ruth said...

Snappy Di, I didn't know about Ibena. I looked for them online, I think we have an imitation one. I like how colorful they are.

Ruth said...

João, it's a mercy many places in the world are not cold. I ache for the ones who have to live out in it.

Ruth said...

Shari, I can't get over the terrible cold you are having in Oklahoma, it must be quite a shock. It's one thing to get winter the way we do here, but in the south, you're just not ready for it. I hope you will get back to your normal warmth quickly.

Shattered said...

I love wool! Aren't warm blankets piled one on top of another nice? I live in Texas and we are unusually frigid... it has been in the low teen's the past several nights. I have never minded the cold but this is C-O-L-D! I am very thankful for my quilts these days... and so is the rest of my family!

Stay warm, my friend. :)

gma said...

I grew up with a blanket like that. Mine had stripes of green, black and red. You jarred a childhood memory; my blanket and Grimm's Fairy tales. Hope you are keeping warm up there in the north country.
:-)

shoreacres said...

Such a lovely post to read, Ruth, surrounded here in my house by every palm, ficus, geranium and schefflera that's been hauled indoors to protect them from the freeze. I look like I'm working in a greenhouse.

I'm sure everyone who lives in cold country does sigh and roll their eyes, but we southerners are transfixed, obsessing, convinced that some Grimm reaper has come to find us and carry us off to a cold and certain death. After four days of below freezing temperatures and wind chills nearly to zero, everything ~ animal, avian and human ~ is just hanging on, waiting.

Luckily, I gave my mom flannel sheets for Christmas, and another fleece blanket. All this talk of heavy blankets makes me smile - this is a young crowd. Our wonderful heavy wool blankets are gone, donated to shelters. The elderly often can't lift such heavy things and mom had to give them up. She doesn't have the strength to move them to get out of bed. Good fleece has been an absolute blessing for so many who are frail or ill, and she's no exception.

On the other hand, even for the fleece-huddlers there's a lot of truth in that old saying: Cold hands, warm heart!

Tom Bailey said...

I never knew this much about blankets.

I have family made blankets. I like the kind that are NOT yarn and DO NOT itch. Just because they are home made does not mean that the cold does not seep through the yarn. You are a wealth of information here.

Best regards,
Tom Bailey

Vagabonde said...

Your blanket looks like one I bought for my husband, I believe it is Canadian from the Hudson Bay, Here in Georgia we are used to or not geared for cold weather, at least in our house. The poor heating system is working overtime and it is still around 61 upstairs. Today the temperature only went to the mid 20s and that is quite cold for us. When years ago my aunt from Cairo, Egypt, visited us in Paris, in the autumn, she was so cold and my mother said it was because she had blood from the desert which is very thin. I think we have desert blood here too. I am like a bear, I slow down, don't move much, can hardly do anything, my fingers are cold, I believe my brain is cold too – and I am cold on ideas.

Ruth said...

Kat, maybe you don't get too much of that temp at night in Alabama - until this week anyway!

Ruth said...

Pat, yes, I know what you mean about throwing off the covers! :) Not so much lately, thank goodness. It comes and goes.

Susan said...

I wonder - is a difference in preferences about nighttime temperature considered an irreconcilable difference?

I, too, love it cold in the room. I've been known to open a window if it's not sub zero, so long as I have enough blankets.

My guy, however, gets huffy about even turning the heat down at night.

I woke this morning to discover he'd stayed up late and left the heat at 70 all night.

Can this relationship be saved? He's going to have to be particularly lovely to me today.

But when I slept alone, I was a huge fan of the heated mattress pad. I'd turn it on half an hour before going to bed, hop into a toasty bed and turn it off, snuggled under a pile of blankets.

That, to me, is the ultimate luxury.

kath said...

I recently unearthed a wool car blanket that is likely older than I am. There is a photo of me at about six months performing a wobbly sitting up pose and smiling like I had just invented the world. It is so cozy.
Thanks for writing such a beautiful post.

Ruth said...

Ellen, and how. I hope your TX temps get back to normal soon. The poor animals, and poor humans too.

Ruth said...

California Girl, oh, I hope not, I don't think so. I think they escaped. But sometimes I wonder if the stories I heard were cleaned up for modern ears, and maybe in the original they were eaten. :|

Ruth said...

Dana - Yikes! Itchy kindergarten nappee.

I have always been a hot person, but now that I'm 53 I am definitely feeling the cold more and taking longer to warm up. Except for the hot flashes. :|

Stay warm! It's nice to hear that Piqua is a peaceful place, so lovely the way you described it.

Ruth said...

Anya, excellent!

Once Don and I housesat for friends in Pasadena, this was in the early 1980s. They had a waterbed, we had never slept on one. For some reason they had turned the heater off. The mattress was freezing, and we shivered all night. We were so dumb, we didn't know to turn on the heater. :|

Ruth said...

Oliag, smiling here.

Ruth said...

You're right, CottageGirl, it must be miserable to work outside in this. Poor Tony.

Jan Brett is wonderful! I just looked her up. How cool - she has free coloring pages online! janbrett.com.

Stay warm. Don has amazing snow-winter stories from Wisconsin where he grew up (Appleton), like drifts covering the door. Too bad the screen door opened OUT. They wanted to walk out into it.

Ruth said...

♥ Kathy, it's crazy how cold it's been in Atlanta too!

Ruth said...

Pamela, animals do make very good body warmers. We used to have a cat that wanted my neck's heat and tried to sleep across it. That is frightening in the middle of the night.

I'm so glad you loved Fugitive Pieces too, and I wonder if your client gave you The Winter Vault? I am mid-book, enjoying it, but not quite as enthralled as with my favorite book - Fugitive Pieces.

Ruth said...

So right, Renee. I didn't know about it until Don looked them up. The Hudson Bay blankets are the original of this design. Pendleton and Orr made the copies, apparently.

Stay warm, loads of love to you.

Ruth said...

DS, your window proves its insight once again: I had not noticed the flag-ness of the last image. That makes me happy.

I am a winter lover, and a blanket is my banner!

Ruth said...

Jean, I can picture that afghan - crocheted squares? Yes, obnoxious, and wonderful, and now trendy!

Ruth said...

Babs, what a shame you are so sick during this wintry snow-up in UK. I know you would have loved getting out with your splendid new camera too. I hope you are beginning to feel better today. Stay cozy.

Ruth said...

Cathy, it does me good to hear about your family, not getting into Disney or TV.

Snow in Florida? Oh my. Poor things.

Can't wait to meet you, though it may be tricky to settle on a day when we never know what the weather will do. Maybe plan a Saturday or Sunday, then see if the weather will cooperate?

Ruth said...

Yes, Anna, the Hudson Bay company made the original blankets like this. I found out when Don researched it after I wrote the post.

I hope you and Matthew are cozy and warm. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Ruth said...

C.M., I'm getting ready to take a Sunday afternoon nap! All this talk of blankets. Mmmmm.

Ruth said...

Ha, Peter, I wish I could memorize the formula for celsius-fahrenheit conversion, but I give up. I always have to use an online converter. Then I have to go to my character map and copy and paste the degree symbol. It's January, let's not work that hard!

I hope you're staying warm in Paris. I'm glad you're not traveling now.

Ruth said...

Loring. Ha!

I remember a pastor who had recently taken his post at a Michigan church after moving from Arizona bemoaning how much everyone talks about the weather. It's the way we start conversations. But I don't think I have ever talked with anyone about bra colors. You have very interesting friends! (Well, you do have a wife and daughter.)

Ruth said...

Jeanie, they say if your head and fingers and toes are warm, the rest of you will be too. You have some good methods there.

Thank you, yes, the drive was fine Friday, partly because I waited until close to 9am when the roads were pretty clear.

It's beautiful today!

Ruth said...

Yes, Arti, Don did a little research online after I posted this. I was first inspired to do the post after seeing Country Living's current issue with a history of Pendleton. Anyway, while looking for Orr, he found Hudson Bay, which I had known of and forgotten. He found the same as you, that the blankets are going for $300-500 - all three brands! That was quite a surprise. Our Orr has some wear - which makes it better to me, but I would never sell it anyway. Well, maybe if I were desperate for cash. Very fortunately, I am not.

Ruth said...

Ha, Bella, I just finished writing a comment at your place about olive green - I must have subconsciously been thinking of your husband's olive-drab army blankets.

I am SO glad I didn't marry someone who likes hot rooms!

Ruth said...

Shattered, it is just freakish what is happening in TX. My daughter's new MIL said it snowed Christmas Eve in Fort Worth! Even before it snowed here in Michigan. I think it is supposed to start moderating in the next couple of days. Stay cozy and warm with Hubby and Daughter.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Gemma, we're doing just fine. The sunshine today helps a lot, and I am getting real close to a Sunday afternoon nap.

Renee said...

Ruth I am so you. I would think Wahid had died before the thought of affair ever came into my head.

Love Renee xoxo

Ruth said...

Ha, Linda, Grimm reaper. :) I do so understand how devastating it must be to have this kind of cold for such a prolonged period in places that are used to heat. I feel for you.

You make a very good point about the weight of wool! I have a down coat and a wool one, and they feel so remarkably different, I realize I choose them depending on my mood for weight. I feel that they are equally warm, though many wool coats aren't worth the money any more, so lightweight when they pretend to be winter coats. There are also lovely lightweight wools that can be worn year three seasons.

Ruth said...

Tom, yes, those knitted holes do let in the cold! They're good for medium chills, but I like a tight weave most of the time too, as we have drafts in our house.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ruth said...

Hello, Vagabonde, yes, we discovered the Hudson Bay company after I wrote this. Apparently they were the original, and Pendleton and Orr created imitations with different colors.

Oh yes, imagine what friends from the Middle East, the hot parts of Africa, Asia and Central and South America would feel here - even in Atlanta this week. My fingers get achingly cold here, I wish it were not so, because that it the only part I mind. I need to find some good insulating gloves, none work for me. Stay warm, and I hope your kitchen is back to normal very quickly.

Ruth said...

Oh no, Susan, I don't know if it can be saved, your marriage. I don't know if I could withstand such torture!

Yes, the heated mattress pad does sound lovely. Maybe I could turn it on, get in, then turn it off.

Thank you for your visit, so nice.

Ruth said...

That a great cute image, Kath. I love that age of babies.

Ruth said...

Renee, it was a strange response from my friend, no? I was quite startled by it.

Dutchbaby said...

I, too, must sleep in a cold room with 100% cotton sheets. Our luxurious Peacock Alley All Seasons cotton blanket is always the first layer and the next layer depends on the season. Right now we also each have a wonderful blanket at our feet, in case we need reinforcement. The blankets, similar to your Orrlaskan, are from my childhood in Amsterdam. My parents bought each of us an "AaBe Deken" during a very cold camping trip. AaBe still makes blankets, perhaps Ginny and Astrid have one or two (if not, maybe a wedding gift?).

When we were in Botswana the temperatures dipped down to freezing nearly every night. Imagine our delight when we all found these hot water bottles in our beds:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/godutchbaby/3968978007/sizes/l/in/set-72157622010409342/

They were filled until they bulged, to the point where I was actively concerned that they would burst, but they did not leak a drop and stayed warm all night long. In the morning they hid another hot water bottle in each of our folded ponchos for our morning game drive. Yes, we were pampered beyond belief.

Love the segue to Grimm's with your impressive meme and the gorgeous illustrations. I love the just-so tattered cover of Household Fairy Tales; is it yours?

Ginnie Hart said...

I had to smile throughout this post, Ruth, because you'd love our cool apartment. The only room we heat is the living room, keeping all the other doors closed. If I work in the kitchen longer than half an hour, I will turn the radiator on in there for an hour or two. But we LOVE our cool bedroom. Exactly as you described it! Astrid has a wonderful, thick wool blanket that is just what the doctor ordered. I love it. :)

Ruth said...

Dear Dutchbaby, it's been so long since you posted your comment and I'm finally back to respond, I hope you'll come back and read. Because those water bottles are fantastic! Your experience in Botswana will never cease to amaze me. Now the water bottles in your bed and in your ponchos. WOW. I love it, and I will always love the image of that bed in your tent.

Yes, this volume of fairy tales is one of three books my ex-brother-in-law Hank asked me to pick out from his collection. He and my sister had an old house they'd bought with a library intact. So they don't have personal family history, but I love them all the same for their elaborate illustrations.

Ruth said...

Boots, well now I wonder what Dutchbaby asked, is that thick wool blanket Aabe Deken? Don looked them up and said they are plaid. Yes, it's a good thing when both partners like the same night time temp!

Laurie said...

I stumbled upon your blog doing a search for Orr blankets. I just purchases a beautiful one at our local thrift store for $15. It's a rosy red with pale pink on the other side, inspired by the Holland tulips it says. It's thick and soft, I think I got a good deal. I live in Minnesota so it will be put to good use.

Ruth said...

Hi there, Laurie, your blanket, and your blog, are very beautiful. Stay warm!