Electric Blankets?

[DebSP]

I considered getting a wool filled duvet at one point. I ended up getting a polyester fill duvet with a duvet cover. (We call the actual comforter the duvet ). I purchased a down filled blanket. Yes they really labelled it a blanket. I only have a problem with cool sheets for my feet which are usually cold. I use a "Magic Bag" (oatmeal filled/heat in microwave) for my feet. I like the fact that it cools down and doesn't add heat all night. Gotta love night sweats. I have a flannel sheets just loose on top of me. If I get too hot I can pull it out and toss it aside. It is just a flat single.

[Catrin]

I considered getting a wool filled duvet at one point. I ended up getting a polyester fill duvet with a duvet cover. (We call the actual comforter the duvet ). I purchased a down filled blanket. Yes they really labelled it a blanket. I only have a problem with cool sheets for my feet which are usually cold. I use a "Magic Bag" (oatmeal filled/heat in microwave) for my feet. I like the fact that it cools down and doesn't add heat all night. Gotta love night sweats. I have a flannel sheets just loose on top of me. If I get too hot I can pull it out and toss it aside. It is just a flat single.

Unsure if what I already have is a "quilt" or a synthetic "comforter", but it isn't warm outside of July. As I recall it was originally one of those "bed in a bag" things, I DO like the design of it. It just isn't warm. It will be interesting to see what it will be like with the addition of a better blanket and flannel sheets. One nice thing about this approach is it is easy to change the number of blankets. We will see, I've decided that I don't actually have to be cold - it's just been a result of being cheap

[Catrin]

Very few grocery stores in MA are allowed to sell liquor, so my Trader Joe's does not. My local grocery store does, and we have a really good liquor store close, too. Based on your recommendations, I will be heading to Colonial Spirits tomorrow... everytime I say that, I think of my friend and former colleague who always says, "the bad boys in high school hung out at Colonial Spirits." This must have been when the drinking age was 18; I know by the time my kids got to the high school, they did not hang out there!
We belong to a wine club and get wine every month through that, so it's pretty rare for me to go to the liquor store.

Crankin - in Indiana grocery stores may sell wine and beer - but it can't be cold. Anything else must come from the liquor store, and many of the local stores have a limited choice. We do have a couple of specialty liquor stores that carry a nice variety of fortified wines and liqueurs. Well, they all can't have the same stock but it would be nice if the good place was less than a 30 minute drive from my apartment. Perhaps that is a good thing :-) I DID try the 3-star (4 year) Barbancourt Rum last night, very nice. When that bottle is empty I will try the 5-star (8 year).

[Crankin]

Very good, Catrin. You'd fit right in with myself and my cycling friends!
The worst liquor buying situation I've lived in was in PA. There's state stores, but I remember that I had to go into an actual bar to buy beer, and that was a little scary to me. It was really weird. Like you couldn't buy beer and wine at the state store. Of course, this was in the 70s, so my memory is hazy, and it may have changed since then.

[Pax]

Very good, Catrin. You'd fit right in with myself and my cycling friends!
The worst liquor buying situation I've lived in was in PA. There's state stores, but I remember that I had to go into an actual bar to buy beer, and that was a little scary to me. It was really weird. Like you couldn't buy beer and wine at the state store. Of course, this was in the 70s, so my memory is hazy, and it may have changed since then.

I have friends who moved to PA a few years ago, it's still a very strange place to try and buy alcohol. When they come home to visit the buy stuff by the case to take home.

[Blueberry]

One of our local runs had beer. The problem was that the run was on Sunday morning - so they couldn't *sell* beer according to our blue laws. They gave it away I have friends who really enjoyed that!

[OakLeaf]

And in North Carolina, carryouts can't sell beer on Sundays, but bars can pour all week long. So as long as you're driving, it's just fine to drink on Sundays.

[Crankin]

You couldn't buy alcohol on Sunday in MA until about ten years ago. There was an exception for towns that were within 10 miles of the NH border (so they didn't lose business) which started sometime in the early 90s, and when I first moved here, I lived within that 10 mile radius. Heck, stores weren't even open on Sundays in 1990.
So, now we're fully alcohol legal and they just changed the opening hour/serving hour on Sundays from noon to 10 AM. I guess brunch business was being affected. Money talks.
One of the issues here has been the strong lobby of the liquor store owners, who are, let's just say not the most savory group of people. A couple of years ago they finally changed the law, to allow delivery of alcohol from other states (i.e. wine clubs), but forgot about the truckers/shippers who had their own rules about this. The shippers wanted each individual driver to have a special license. Another sort of sketchy group, with Teamster/organized crime connections (I have a foster parent of a client who was on the bad end of this group, not just making this up). The legislature just remedied it, I think it will change in 2015. Our wine club got around this, by having a legal distributor in the state. So the club ships it there, and then they ship to us.
About 15 years ago, we found a wine we loved at a winery on the south coast. We couldn't even have them ship us the wine! We had the liquor store order it for us and then we bought it there... of course, now, we ride past this winery on one of our most beloved rides, and always include a stop here on the way home in the car.

[Catrin]

Just order a few cases of brandy, and forget the new blanket. Problem solved.

That is funny Murienn :-) I do appreciate all of the good suggestions that you, and everyone has made. If my current course doesn't prove to be warm enough for me, then thanks to your links I already know which one I would purchase.

The new blanket and flannel sheets with my usual quilt/comforter/whatever-it-is was MUCH warmer last night. Indeed, I had to kick my seed-corn foot warmer out of the bed after about 4 minutes. I will wait to add to my blanket collection until it is colder, but I got the best night's sleep that I've had in a long time. Apparently my cold room has been affecting my sleep far more than I had realized, I thought it was stress! I only had about a 3/4 shot of the rum 6 hours before bed between a sip and some decaff so I can't credit it on that

In Indiana there is currently a move to allow cold beer sales in grocery stores and to all non-restaurant/non-brewery sales on Sunday. I can understand the liquor store's resistance to the former as there are far more grocery/convenience stores than there are actual liquor stores and this would impact their sales further. I am less clear of their opposition to Sunday sales - the best I can understand is they feel this would force them to open on Sundays to try and compete with the grocers, whether they want to or not, and thus increase their operating cost. Considering some of the best liquor stores in Indianapolis are family operations and not chain stores I can see part of that. The chain stores appear to have the smallest selection and focus on cheap - at least that is how it seems to me. Personally I am agnostic on both questions as I can equally argue both sides. It will interesting to see if/how this develops.

[Blueberry]

And in North Carolina, carryouts can't sell beer on Sundays, but bars can pour all week long. So as long as you're driving, it's just fine to drink on Sundays.

Nope - I think it's changed! You can buy beer after noon (in most counties) - and bars can serve after noon. No one can do anything before that.

[OakLeaf]

Well that's one good thing then!

[solobiker]

This is what we do and I love it...It is a sad night for me when I forget to do it. :-)

[shootingstar]

I didn't realize electric blankets still existed.

No, I just prefer to pile on an extra blanket...which I don't need to since I have my place heated enough. I'm walking around in shorts at home now and it's at least -18 degrees C tonight. I worked for a provincial fire marshal's office for nearly a decade....yea, electric blanket fires awhile ago. I have no idea how they are constructed now...but still wouldn't do it.

[Catrin]

It doesn't matter how warm my apartment is, I get COLD when I go to bed. I have always been that way. So far I've only added one blanket and switched to flannel sheets which has helped quite a bit, but yeah, I can see another blankie being added...

[VeganBikeChick]

I had the best idea this morning when I biked home from work in the freezing cold after an overnight shift. Took the blanket off the back of the couch, threw it in the dryer and ran the dryer while I ate breakfast. Then went to bed with my super warm blanket and fell asleep immediately. Best idea ever.