Cold Snap 101

Frozen person = unloved blog

It's taken 5 days to defrost my fingers and drag myself out from under the world's warmest duvet to get to this post. UK is under the spell of a rather cold snap and I, the original Sun-catcher, is suffering for it. And it's only November.

Cuddlefest with simply adorable nephews aged 5 and 20 months helped warm the heart on Friday. Houseguests from afar (one whose tale is fodder for another post) since Saturday has kept me on toes - all the jogging around the house trying to keep some semblence of tidiness has got the blood flowing.

Not deviating anymore. To battle the fog that envelopes your house and the cold that permeates those thick walls here are my top tips:

1. Hot home-made bubbling chai (not lukewarm latte from Starbucks)

2. Steaming bowls of soup (M&S or Covent Garden heated on the stove will do for the mixie-challenged)

3. Boiling hot baths with lavender oil in them (so what if you look a bit like a lobster by the time you come out, atleast you will be warm)

4. Hot water bottles (24 hour rotation - get your other half to go make them while you preserve the warmth left behind)

5. Knee high woollen socks (one pair or two)

6. Tights (under the socks please, a bit superwoman like?!)

7. Fluffy bedroom slippers (without the pompoms please)

8. Big old (therefore softest) himachali shawl you can find (don't be fashion conscious, this goes over anything, really)

9. Lots of candles - differest sizes, shapes, smells and colours (even when you don't have guests, it makes the place seem cosier and burns that cold smell out)

10. Hugs (endless supply from certain warm human being - I've got mine to take the week off and acclimatise me to this harsh tundra)

It's cold and I'm a bit like an ice cream container - sweet but cold! As you can see I'm suffering with the -5 temperatures that only promise to go lower when the isobars become closer and the wind is from the Arctic. Brrrr....

Any wise suggestions to keep warm O wise bloggers?!