Subj : Seasonal Traditions
To   : Paul Quinn
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Wed Feb 07 2018 15:36:21

Hi, Paul!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

 AH>  We have a ceiling fan which can be set to blow
 AH>  downwards when we need some wind chill & upwards
 AH>  when we just need to stir the air a bit.

 PQ>  Yes.  That's the type.  (It's still going, BTW.
 PQ>  There's still a couple of months to go till the
 PQ>  heat of summer dissipates.)  After about 15 year's
 PQ>  service, it has developed two speeds: off or fastest
 PQ>  and will not operate on two other settings.


          Ahh... no wonder you need a blanket!  Ours is probably about the same 
age.  It makes unhealthy noises from time to time, as if the bearings are about 
to self-destruct, but otherwise it still works more less as advertised....  :-)



 AH>  .. and I'm also reminded of a conversation I overheard
 AH>  in a neighbourhood pub.  Of four men, two said they
 AH>  prefer their bedding loose & two said they prefer it
 AH>  firmly tucked in.  As do you I prefer some covering
 AH>  when I'm asleep.  And I can relate when I hear autistic
 AH>  kids find the weight of bedclothes comforting.  :-)

 PQ>  I've known all of those combinations (even military
 PQ>  'tight' makes), and enjoyed all.  (BTW, my wife was a
 PQ>  nurse who was quite proud of her work at making a bed.)


          Yes, the guys in the pub specifically mentioned the military/hospital 
style.  My mother once said she wanted to be a nurse but was forced to drop out 
of school to help support the family when her father was killed in an accident. 
Although she did her best to instruct me in the art of "hospital corners" and I 
understand the theory, I've never quite been able to pull it off... [wry grin].



 PQ>  But even my earliest childhood memories are peppered
 PQ>  by episodes of poking my toes out from under any cover,
 PQ>  reinforcing current practice.


          Occasionally I'd stick a foot into the tunnel where the upper & lower 
sheets met at one side.  I used a WWII military surplus bunk, though, which was 
narrower than the average single bed.  I reckon my parents bought it partly for 
economy & partly because it was all they could fit into a very small room.  :-)



 PQ>  There again, I used to be tall before I aged.  ;-)


          In my younger years I was evidently taller than average for my age... 
but with geometrically precise corners & with walls on three sides there was no 
way I could have stuck my feet out at the bottom even if I'd wanted to.

          When I'm taking a nap I'll often use a quilt or what my mother called 
an "afghan"... i.e a knitted or crocheted blanket.  In general these things are 
not meant to be tucked in.  If whichever comes easily to hand isn't long enough 
to cover both my legs & my torso I make sure my feet are covered first....  :-)



 PQ>  Another BTW: our national Bureau of Meteorology uses
 PQ>  Celsius.


          So does ours, but I still think in Fahrenheit.  Around these parts it 
has an elegant simplicity.  The temperature hasn't gone below 5 or above 95 for 
as long as I can remember.  I wonder if it's like that in Germany too....  :-))




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

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