Winter arrived, for real this time, a few days ago. With the wind chill, it felt like -38 C last night. I love winter, so I actually like this weather. We bundled up this morning to feed the cows and enjoyed the quiet that only comes with such cold.
Winter is my favourite season, especially in the yurt. Here are 5 tips for cold, wintery days:
- Don’t forget to stoke the fire. If you take notice of how warm and cozy you are, stoke it. Don’t wait until the fire dies to add more wood. If it is very cold outside (colder than -20 C), we do smaller stokings more frequently.
My Dad looking like he is stoking the fire while, in reality, burning a piece of toast
- Wear slippers. If you have cold feet, chances are, you aren’t going to enjoy winter. Warm feet = happy person.
- Ditch the polyester and bring on the wool. I used to freeze every winter because I refused to wear wool. I wore cotton sweatshirts and polyester sweaters before I learned about the magic of wool. It really is so much warmer – I cannot believe the difference fabric can make on my grumpiness level. I am so much nicer when I’m warm. If wool makes you itchy, the good news is that there is such a thing as soft, non-scratchy wool: merino and alpaca are my favourites.
- Sleep under a good duvet. Our beds have such fat duvets on them that we could probably sleep outside and still be toasty. Everyone in our family finds them too warm except for me. Alma kicks off her blankets every night, and Mike needs his feet out of ours or he can’t sleep. I, however, think they are perfect.
- If all else fails, cuddle and drink tea by the fire with a good book. If you are still cold after all of that, have a dance party and then cuddle up by the fire until summer arrives.
girl in a tree 
I love this post and I agree with all of those things! I have a bad habit of forgetting to stoke the fire until it is too late, despite my Dad constantly reminding us when we were little to “stoke it when you’re warm!”. I already wear slippers but I really do need to invest in some good wool sweaters. Where do you find yours?
I was thinking about him as I wrote this – I remember him saying that every time I mentioned how cozy the house was lol. My warmest (and ugliest) sweaters have all come from thrift shops. One day I plan on knitting a sweater that is both warm and cute. That day is a long ways away.
Tara, thank you for sharing all your wise suggestions and for posting pictures too. Knowing that you, Mike and Alma are safe and warm all snug in the yurt helps me worry less. I know after being there last winter during the ice storm that you are far better off than we are at home without power. Happy hurting!! ❤❤
Auto correct changed yurting!?!?
You girls look adorable in the photos. Oh! Your Dad too of course.