It had been a truly wonderful Sunday, like most Sundays we had spent the morning snuggled up together. Snuggling up together during the daytime while you’re awake is totally different from snuggling up together in bed at night then going to sleep. Your partner is beside you as you drift off, you know this as you can feel them, then when you wake they are still there beside you, you assume they have been there all the time, but you have no proof of this. During the daytime you can see them. Or in our or rather my case I can feel him. I can feel his left arm around my waist, I can feel his left leg between mine, his right hand is holding my left. Yes I know where Hugs is even if I can’t see him due to the blackout curtains we have, and if, like now it’s in the depths of winter we are both snuggled up in our cocoon.
Hugs got out of bed to make his first brew of the day about twelve thirty leaving me re-wrapped in the cocoon to keep warm and snug before the main event of the day. This was something I always look forward to, especially during the more warmer months, an event I really do enjoy. Now it’s February, outside of this snug bed, beyond the 12.0 tog king size quilt that is covering me is the sub zero temperature of the front bedroom of Frostbite Hall, the place I’m expected to sit totally naked. Why? Because today is my pampering day, the day I get bathed and preened by Hugs. In one way I’m glad it’s just a pamper day and not a super pamper day otherwise I’d have to sit still on a chair, naked, a lot longer. In the warmer months I enjoy that, the more time I spend naked with Hugs the better.
Wearing my new "Barely Awake" pyjamas and new fleecey dresing gown.
By sixteen hundred I was downstairs, clean and smelling nice, wearing my fresh pyjamas under my dressing gown. Hugs had changed the bedding (sheets and pillow cases) which kept me entertained while I air dried. The supply of warm towels that he wrapped around me helped enormously! Soon I’ll be in my favourite position, laying against Hugs who’ll be sitting in the Ikea chair with his feet on the foot stool. Sheer bliss! The gas room heater had raised the temperature to an acceptable level (22o C) and was now turned down to just below low (it’s a knack I don’t yet have). The tv screen changed and was now displaying the opening menu of the dvd we were about to watch before Hugs went off to prepare dinner for us. Hugs pressed play, the screen changed, now showing the Universal logo, followed by ‘High Plains Drifter,’ the title of the film we were about to watch. I turned my head slightly to face the screen and paid close attention.
“Are you ready?” asked Hugs as the Universal logo came back on the screen signifying the end of the film. “Hmm mmm,” I confirmed as I moved myself into an upright position in readiness for what was about to happen. Hugs shuffled himself (and me) towards the edge of the chair then whoosh, I was in the air, swung around and lowered carefully into the chair. “Won’t be long.” He stated prior to giving me some kisses and leaving for the kitchen. Dinner was a beef stew with boiled potatoes and suet dumplings and a bottle of Spanish Rioja. After dinner we watched another dvd ‘Pale Rider’ which was the start of the Clint Eastwood ‘Man with No Name’ series, after-which Hugs went upstairs to switch our electric blanket on. On his return we watched the second film ‘A Fistful Of Dollars’ before heading to a nice warm bed.
This was the beginning of what our week would be, watching Western films and being together on the Ikea chair close to the room heater. It was now Thursday February 2nd 2023. the day began and continued to be like the others, uneventful. We watched some more western films, had dinner, watched another film then Hugs went upstairs to switch on our blanket, exactly as he has always done during the cold months. Upon his return we settled down to watch our final film of the night ‘The Ballad of Little Jo.’
We made our way upstairs to our bedroom. The orange glow from the indicator of the electric blanket was visible as we walked along the landing and into our bedroom. I sat on the chair while Hugs switched off the blanket and pulled back the quilt on my side of the bed, then he helped me get into my nice warm pyjamas that were between the quilt and the sheet. With my top off I placed my hand into the right arm hole. “Hugs!” I screamed “This is freezing cold!” He placed his hand under the quilt and came to the same conclusion. “OK Gorgeous, tonight we’ll sleep in our clothes, I’ll see if I can quickly find your jogging suit.” Luckily he did, and once again I was in something rather warm. We got into a freezing cold bed and together we tried to get it warm. When we woke the bed was bordering on warm above and below us, but freezing all around us. Needless to say we didn’t stay in bed as we would normally do, we got straight up and rushed downstairs. I took up residence in the Ikea chair while Hugs lit the gas room heater and put it on full wallop, four radiants soon began blasting out heat. After about fifteen minutes it was reduced by half to low, and fifteen minutes later to somewhere between low and off.
Hugs made his first brew and placed it on the table close to one of the laptops which he opened and began searching for electric blankets in all the local stores. Being February with the winter almost over there wasn’t any available locally. Amazon were also out of stock, Hugs then tried ebay and success, someone somewhere had one and could deliver by Sunday February 5th 2023 it was slightly overpriced, however as Hugs stated slightly overpriced is quite acceptable when no-one else has one, and you’re desperate. Friday and Saturday nights we relived what we did soon after I arrived, sleep on mattress toppers on the floor of the dining room, it wasn’t ideal but it brought back many happy memories and it was warm! Remembering those happy memories I’d almost forgotten my initial reluctance to try them. Hugs assured me that they would ‘do us proud,’ to say I was unconvinced would be a gross understatement. How could two pieces of one inch thick foam ever compete with six inches of an air filled mattress, even if it did deflate during the night and we ended up on the floor! Without any enthusiasm whatsoever I slithered down onto these pieces of foam and resigned myself to a totally sleepless night. I must have fallen asleep at some point as I can remember waking up somewhat confused. I didn’t hear the seagulls that normally greet me in the mornings, in fact there were a lot of things I didn’t hear. It took Hugs a long time before I would accept that the reason I didn’t hear those things wasn’t because they weren’t there, it was because I was in a very deep sleep, something I hadn’t experienced before.
Saturday Hugs and I rose early in case the delivery person was an insomniac and we were their first call. We were tempted to leave the hall door open so that we would hear them knock, needless to say we shelved that idea early on as it was just too cold. Hugs, after making his brew, opened the laptop and checked for any tracking on our order, there was but it only informed us of what we already knew, delivery would be made by Sunday February 5th. Great! I was tempted to resume reading my latest novel but feared I could get so involved in it then have to stop as the delivery had arrived. So annoying. I then turned my attention to what we may have for lunch, admittedly it was quite a few hours hence, but there was very little else to do, and I was getting bored. Saturday passed slowly, very slowly and quite boringly. I was glad when evening came and it was past the time for deliveries to be made. Now Hugs and I can be together, watch a dvd or two then snuggle down in our makeshift bed and go back to sleep for another short night.
Sunday morning passed pretty much like Saturday had with a great deal of inactivity. Both with us and the delivery driver. It was about fifteen fifteen when Hugs leapt up and rushed out and went quickly along the hall to the front door. I turned and looked at the dining room to hall door, just as I could hear voices the door shut. Was it the blanket getting delivered or was it one of the neighbours, I would have to wait for Hugs to return to find out. Soon the door opened and in walked Hugs with a package in his hands. It was here, it was actually here at last. Our reward for our patience would be a nice warm bed waiting for its occupants to arrive, but that would be after Hugs has installed it. Hugs stood beside me and offered me the package asking “Would you like to open it?” I looked at the size of it and the way it had been sealed shut, getting into it looked rather challenging, “No thanks,” I replied “I’ll leave it to you, if you don’t mind.” “Of course not Gorgeous.” he said as he bent down to kiss me several times on my lips. The blanket got installed in the early evening and we were installed a few hours later. The blanket wasn’t quite as big as the old one, it heated the centre part of the bed leaving a cold border all around. In the morning I stretched my right foot tentatively out into the corner and found it cold, I quickly returned it to its former position in the warmth.
Braving the Arctic conditions to show you our new electric blanket.
The coat was a Christmas present from Hugs. Super warm!
We used the blanket every night for the rest of the winter. It was during October 2024, we had just moved the clocks back and were seated in silence until Hugs exclaimed “Hell, I completely forgot about that!” Without looking at me I’m sure he sensed I was eager to discover what he had forgotten about until now. “When I was a child” he explained “my mother used to swap all the bedding for a warmer winter weight product called flannelette. I wonder if it’s still available?” Before I could comment he had leapt up and grabbed the laptop, opening it as he sat back down. On November 6th 2024 we took delivery of our first two sets of flannelette sheets and pillow cases. We haven’t used the electric blanket since.
These sheets are so luxurious as are my new pyjamas!
Regards,
Elina.