Some Things To Make Winter More Comfortable

 

  Are you sick of winter yet?  I'm trying not to be, but we've had a lot of rain recently, and those days have been awfully dreary.  I'm sure I'll be happy to see spring when it arrives.  I thought I would share a few things that have made my winter more bearable this year. 

  First of all, you saw this new coat in a fall post that I wrote.  My husband gave it to me for my birthday back in September, and I really have enjoyed it this winter. 

 It's a Barbour jacket, which I don't think I'd ever heard of until I saw Susan's post a few years ago.  She shared so much of the company's history that she really captured my interest.  The history, quality, and design of the coats sounded like something my husband would like, so I gave him one for Christmas 2015.  I figured if it was good enough for the Windsors, it was good enough for my pookums.  😉     

   Hal's coat is the Barbour Classic Beaufort jacket in olive green.  It's been gratifying for me to see how much he loves this jacket; he wears it almost every day in the fall and winter months.  Yes, these are a mite pricey, but he shouldn't have to replace it anytime soon, if ever.  My coat is the Barbour Cavalry Polarquilt Jacket.  It feels lightweight, but boy is it warm.  It has a fleece lining, a double zipper, and snaps, as well.  We've had some very cold weather here this year, accompanied by bitter cold winds.  I've found that if I zip and snap my Barbour jacket, and wear gloves and a hooded scarf for my head, I don't even feel the cold outside.     Another item that makes winter much more bearable for both Hal and I is a cool mist humidifier in our bedroom and our den.  A few years ago, we needed to replace our old ones, and we purchased a Crane Drop Humidifier for our bedroom.   

   We were so pleased with it that we ordered a second one for the den.  I always read the reviews these days before I purchase something like this.  Most of the reviews were positive, and of course, there were some negative reviews as well.  We've had no complaints with ours.  The best thing about them is that they don't require a filter -- Yippee!  Those old filters used to get so nasty; they were disgusting, and it was expensive to keep buying replacements.  You do have to clean the Crane humidifiers, but we only have to clean ours about once a month.  I found a couple of videos on YouTube showing the best way to clean them, and it's not that difficult to do.  These humidifiers are also available in a variety of colors. We've discovered the hard way that if we don't use a humidifier when our central heat is on, we have dry skin, dry throats, and dry, painful sinuses.  Mr. Forest Manor even gets nosebleeds.  So these humidifiers are almost a winter necessity at our house. Another thing I must have is a good hand lotion.  I have two brands that I use on a daily basis now. 

  I use this Lubriderm lotion on my hands after each time I wash them, while my hands are still a little damp.  It's a light, clean moisturizer that I've been using for years. 

 At bedtime, I put a generous amount of this Eucerin lotion on my hands and let it do its work overnight.  I highly recommend this lotion for skin repair if your hands are extra-dry and cracked.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of more useful/necessary things for winter here at Forest Manor.  I'd love to hear what some of your go-to things are for getting through the winter.  Thank you so much for visiting -- I love your visits and kind comments! Warm hugs,