Living in the eco house!

[Hemlock]

Woke up - poked nose out of winter strength duvet and piles of blankets, it feels like -12 in the bedroom.

Went to get a bath (was REALLY looking forward to it) to find no more and no less than an inch of hot water left, I now realise why my aunt and uncle in the country in the 1960's had the 'one inch' water rule and freaked out if you ran a deep bath because using up all the hot water means going outside to chop wood to get the temperature right up.

In a fit of petulance and rebellion I refuse to get dressed until the water is hot enough for a boiling hot bath at least three feet deep so I go outside with the wheelbarrow to the wood shed which is under several inches of mud as it's rained overnight.

Go outside in a pair of pyjamas that should have been burnt many years ago and a paint splattered jumper with holes in, mad hair and yesterdays make up panda fashion, wearing Corum's size 10 wellies - look like a mad cat woman. One of the neighbours comes out but goes back in again pretty sharpish when I give her a,"What the hell are you looking at" stare.

Fill barrow full of wood, negotiate a path back to the house past numerous obstacles - the cat ramp to the cat flap which is there because the cat flap is three feet off the ground, the narrow gap between the shed and the wall which takes the skin off my knuckles, the pile of bricks which Corum left there for no apparent reason, the trailer full of wood in the way which I can't move because it has around a ton of branches in it.

Get wood into house depositing piles of fungus, woodlice and rotting wood debris everywhere because we got that lot of wood from the forest, pick off all the slugs, snails, spiders and woodlice and scrutinise each piece for wildlife. The ash tray is full so I take it to the front door to empty it and open the front door - it is very windy! Go back in wearing an ash jumpsuit.

Get fire going, go back to bed with electric heat pad purchased for the cat.

Bet you wish you had an eco house too

[puffin]

Haha, that made me chuckle.
*runs and screams like a girl at the thought of all those woodlice and spiders*

[cedarblue]

obviously as they say "it aint easy being green!!"

hope you had your nice bath in the end hemlock!

[cobweb]

oh no that just brought back some horrible memories for me Hemlock!

[Gorilla]

poor you Hemlock, that sounds like the kind of morning that would drive me completely round the bend

[BlackCats]

That sounds like my idea of a nightmare! It reminds me of staying on my family's farm in Ireland when I was about 6 years old. Freezing cold floors!

Well done on you both for doing it though.

[Hemlock]

And the new cat hates everyone!

[Ruby Rose]

Hemlock, you made me LOL there!

[treaclemine]

Anyone you'd happily bath with? That pushes the depth of water up nicely by displacement

[VeganLiz]

Hemlock - you are a hard core greenie - makes our efforts look like nothing.

By the way we use a hot water bottle for our cat who is recovering from an operation - we put it under a towel he sits on and then re-do it every several hours. He loves it!

Not being funny or anything but if you ever get desperate for a really warm shower or bath we live in Brighton when you next make a visit in you can always come here. I will always entertain you with some tea and vegan cake. And I am sure Smudge the cat would welcome a fellow cat lover!

Liz : 0 )

[Daffodil]

the NON-eco house:

wakes up, kicks quilt off coz the thermostat keeps house at a constant 23 degrees 24/7. runs bath with boiling hot water from the combi boiler (always hot). removes sexy [hardly there] PJ's before bath.
pre-heat oven to make a nice cooked breakfast whilst OH takes his equally hot bath - he fills it to the top and it nearly over-flows when he sits in it.

Lush!

[cobweb]

Daffodil you make me laugh - i liked your comment about Ribena, too

[Hemlock]

Hey thanks VeganLiz, you may find some waifs and strays on your doorstep along with a cat with a sour expression and it's fangs out!!!

The house is so much better now, we know which woods burn best (hawthorn and blackthorn) and there is tons of it lying about on our doorstep. The water is always hot and we haven't been cold for weeks now.

The house has now been fully insulated and I have a hot bath everyday.

The new shower is going in next month because I am getting the back pay from my promotion at work and we can afford to finish the bathroom.

Brighton folks (or anyone really) we must have a get together at our place and you can see for yourself.

there are a couple of things that need to be ironed out, the small stove in the living room has been fitted into the recess so far back it doesn't heat the room so we'll have to have it pulled out in the summer and put further forward and the cream coloured carpet probably wasn't a very good idea given Corums stature as a big hairy biker who is often covered in bike oil.

[Daffodil]

Daffodil you make me laugh - i liked your comment about Ribena, too

wot did I say about Ribena??? prob something to do with vodka?

[cobweb]

wot did I say about Ribena??? prob something to do with vodka?

yep, everyone else was on about how it's unethical (as it's made by smithkline beecham) and you just said "good [that it's vegan, ingredients-wise]....i can drink it with my vodka"

[BlackCats]

^