Chilly damp winter days (and nights) in Mallorca – yes, we do have them – are made bearable with the help of five Important Things. In my most recent posts, three of these have been revealed: our generator, dehumidifier, and the woodburning stove.
And so to the final two items: Firstly, there’s the electric slow-cooker. Mine is quite old now, but works a treat – without using much electricity (an important consideration when using solar power). Not only can I produce delicious casseroles that have been burbling happily all day, I can also warm my hands on it if my fingers get too cold to type properly!
Warm Hands and Feet
And, finally, there’s the electric underblanket. Our first winter visit to the finca, before we’d moved to Mallorca, was a week’s ‘holiday’ to do some decorating. Fortunately, the previous owners had left us a double bed in the property (with mattress), so we had something to sleep on. After months of being closed up, the house – and the mattress – were both very damp, which made for a very unpleasant first night’s sleep. The next day we went to town and bought a new mattress and some hot water bottles. I’d never felt so cold . . .
Once we had electricity, we bought ourselves an electric underblanket. How does anyone manage without one here? If the generator, dehumidifier, logburner and slow-cooker were all to fail, you’d know where to find me. In bed, warm and cosy – hibernating until the worst of the cold weather had passed.
Jan Edwards copyright 2012