Heat?
In New England, everyone seems to have a date in mind when it’s OK to turn on the main source of heat in the house.
Is the same true in Minnesota? Let’s find out.
This Yankee Magazine article describes the sense of shame and defeat that most every New Englander feels when that switch is first thrown, whatever the date may be. (By the way, haven’t come across any Minnesotan publication that inhabits a similar mindspace as Yankee does for New Englanders. Is there one?)
For many, it’s fine to light the wood stove or fireplace any time it’s needed. But the main source of heat — oil-fired, gas, propane, electric, or whatever — that has to wait until it gets “cold enough.”
I haven’t been able to discern yet whether Minnesotans share this odd attitude towards the inevitability that is winter. Please let us know what is true for you by answering the two questions below.
When is it OK to turn on the main heat in the house?
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This will be an interesting poll. I hear Minnesota neighbors and friends who do not turn the heat on until long after I turn on the heat. For me, one who gets chilly easily, I turn on the heat whenever I feel chilled. Yikes!!
You and Katharyn both, Nancy. For my part, some time ago in New England I lost whatever guilt may accompany that first flip from “off” to “heat.” I decided that I just wasn’t going to compete in delaying the heating season, since I would lose anyway to my “hardier than thou” friends.
I agree with Keith about turning the heat on without being competitive about my New England hardiness. Let it go. Sylvie still resists turning the heat on, though. She’s the hardy one.
The Buddhists might call that “attachment,” no? 🙂
As I voted, I don’t have a specific date – it depends on the temp. I tend to play with the heat; turn it on briefly to “take the chill off”, then maybe have it off for weeks after. (Yes, I have done that late one chilly day here this year!) 🙂
Hi Alice, welcome aboard. In my old house I was more likely to use spot heating methods to “take the chill off”: portable oil-filled heater or wood stove. That’s because the central heating system just didn’t work very well. The time it took to bring up the inside temperature went asymptotic as the outside temperature dropped. The house in St. Paul actually heats up when you raise the thermostat. It is a source of constant wonderment.
Jim and I have had what I call “the thermometer wars” for 31 years. I’m cold; he is not. The best thing I ever bought was a programmable thermostat. So he can be cold all day. He is retired. I am not.
So I program it at 62 degrees for all the time, except the heat is turned on at 3 pm to 68 degrees, so when I get home, the house is pretty cozy. Then back down to 62 at 7 pm. The house does not cool down fast, so when we go to bed at 10 or so, it is just drifting down as we heat with radiators. We both like the 62 degrees for sleep. We have a big old house, as most are around here. Also during the cold months, when I get ready for work, I have a little space heater in the bathroom. This strategy has saved many arguments and money too. On the weekends, I get up and go downstairs to manually increase the temp to 68, and make coffee. If I do feel chilled on weekends, I sneak in a 2 degree increase. It goes back to the 68 degree limit after 4 hours.
Pretty nifty, huh?
And P.S., did you read Ruben Rosario’s article in the PP today? He is from New York, and it is about Punch Pizza. I can’t remember if you liked the pizza at Punch, but it is a good article about them raising minimum wage for their work staff.
I hadn’t seen that article, thanks. I’m following the [minimum] wage issue with interest, along with the nascent movement to do away with restaurant tipping.
The catalyst for the latest upsurge in interest in no-tipping restaurants seems to have been San Francisco restauranteur Jay Porter. Here is his full 6-part blog series (from 2013) on his 6-year-long experiment with eliminating tipping, which the Slate link above summarizes.
The New Yorker ran a piece a couple of days ago after an influential, upscale restaurant group in New York announced a no-tipping policy going forward.
Re: Punch: I hadn’t posted yet on my impressions of their authentic Neopolitan-style pizza, but I like it very much. My wife and I have been to the Highland flagship location a couple of times, and to a few of the no-table-service outposts as well.
Do you know about Sargent Ave between Cretin and Sargent? [sic — perhaps Finn? See link.] An entire block is cordoned off every year, and the whole block goes nuts! Really scary stuff. Take a look. We have no little children in our lives anymore. So we walk down there with a cup of wine or a Baileys and enjoy the spectacle! Ooooo, really scary music too. All over the top. Does the east coast enjoy Halloween like we do, or more? We live on a corner, so we usually get about a hundred kids at our door. Very fun.
Linda — Thanks for the tip. Now on the 31st we’ll be torn between handing out candy to our local kids and checking out the river end of Sargent.
In Groton, MA we lived near the village center, just outside the historic district. We were on the “loop” in town that was a local destination for trick-or-treating. Parents would drive their kids in from outlying suburban developments and even from other towns. Most years we had north of 300 kids. They traveled in packs, in drifting shoals like sea life. It was awe-inspiring.
From talking with neighbors we’re expecting around a hundred this year.
It seems to me that over-the-top Halloween observances have spread nationwide over the last decade or two. Neither New England nor the Twin Cities appears on this recent top 10 list, though.
Yes we get the shipped in kids from other neighborhoods too. It is fun. We do enjoy them no matter where they’re from. Jim doesn’t like to walk down to Sargent, so he stays home to give out the treats. Sometimes it is so fun here that I just stay home too. We are on the corner of Cretin and Fairmount, and I always play really loud scary Holloween music. And we are famous for giving out the big candy bars! Not those bite sized little ones! Oh I just noticed that Margaret gives out full sized too! Smart woman. The kid’s eye just widen like saucers when they see what’s in the bowl.