It’s come to my attention that I might be slightly obsessed with winter, and I’m okay with that. It’s something to do with the whole ‘nesting’ thing – decking out the house with warm furnishings like rugs and throw blankets, which are otherwise bundled away in moth-proof bags, and filling the space with the smell of something delicious on the stove. Let’s not forget that the fireplace suddenly becomes the centrepiece of our home, deposing the TV from that position.
Of course, I’m romanticising things just a bit. Come late July, I’ll be singing a different tune as I realise I need to source another cubic metre of firewood – just as the retail prices are peaking and everything outside is thoroughly drenched. I’ll be ready to bow to winter’s frosty victory and curl up in front of the telly by then, no doubt. That’s why I’ve got the central heating as backup. I tend to put off using it until I’m at that midwinter breaking point – some ungodly combination of seasonal affective disorder, a head cold and the inevitable moment of running out of wood.
Keeping that in mind, I should probably book in for a central heating service. Melbourne isn’t actually fully immersed in winter until July (unpopular opinion), so it’s easy to neglect the routine tune-up until it’s too late, and I’m huddled under five blankets cursing my June self for not taking care of business before things became intolerable.
What’s your take on ducted gas heating, Melbourne folks? How do you think it stacks up to burning wood? It’s a different type of heat, for sure. Like many people, I prefer the feel of the fire – it’s more organic, somehow. When it comes to environmental parameters, I’m not sure which has the upper hand; neither can be that fantastic, surely.
Anyway, for now I’m still relying on bed socks, ginger tea and vats of soup as my primary warming techniques – hence, my love of winter.