As I sit here writing this week’s column, the wind is just howling, and flurries are flying by our window. It’s November 2, and our furnace is officially on.

Social media always cracks me up because it seems there are so many families who do the “Who will be the first one to turn on the heat” challenge. My husband and I don’t even go there because he knows he will lose. This is my kinda weather. I love it cooler, and welcome snow anytime. I can sleep with five blankets on, my fan on my face and a window open if my hubby would let me in mid-January. He says, “Good grief woman, why don’t you just pitch a tent and sleep outside!” I mean, I totally would, but I wouldn’t be able to have my fan out there, so it’s a no go. This woman has to have her hurricane fan on at all times! So, as you can see, as for that challenge, I’d totally win, hands down.

BUT I am a cozy person and really believe this is why I am a cold weather person even though I love riding my motorcycle. (The ONLY downside to cold weather.) I love warm fuzzy slippers, fleece blankets, hoodies, cotton Christmas PJ bottoms (don’t judge me!) and a crackling fire.

We don’t have a crackling fire per say, but we have a propane fireplace and that works for me! A real fire without the crackle. Makes cooking in my kitchen and dinner time around the table extra cozy. There is just something about a fireplace that gives me such joy.

My son is the same way. I swear to Pete, I will have to tell this kid to take off his hoodie in the middle of July before going outside. “Ty, just because it’s cooler in here with the air on, does not mean snow is flying outside!” I then look down, only to find he also has fuzzy brown reindeer socks on, with flip flops! Ohhh child of mine, you are so much like your momma, but please take those socks off!

“Mom, I just wanna be cozy,” he will say. He would live in hoodies and sweats if I let him and have a fireplace in his room.

I miss the smell of a real fire though. We heated our home with a woodstove in our basement for years. Even when my husband was working 100+ hours when he used to work in the oil industry. I had a little one, plus babysat six kids 10-12 hours a day, and still managed to keep that wood stove going. I would stack the wood, and make sure the basement was always loaded so Chris never had to do it. It kept me busy, but I didn’t mind.

Now, we switched to propane and man do we love it! The crazy part is it is cheaper than what we were paying for wood, without all the work! So, I still get my fire, just in a different way. Plus, we found out two years ago that I am literally deathly allergic to a bunch of popular hardwoods and had to get rid of the woodstove immediately. Spent 7 days in the hospital. It’s no joke. Cutting and splitting wood literally made me sick. That’s for a whole other column sometime though.

This year is the first with our furnace. That fireplace I told you about is what used to heat our whole home up until this month. Our home is a Cape Cod, so it worked beautifully! Kept our room nice and cool upstairs which I loved and toasty downstairs.

Last night, as I sat in the living room, the furnace would kick on and off about every 20 minutes or so. Chris wanted to see how it worked since he literally just finished hooking up all the duct work last night. Listening to it kick on was a sound I haven’t heard in such a long time. I was like “Oh my word!! Babe, this brings back a memory I haven’t thought of in years!” I would stay with my Grammy (Margaret) Perry a lot growing up. I loved sleeping over at her house and spending the weekend with her and Pop (Dwain Perry). At nighttime I would get a bath and gram would always have me wait till the furnace kicked on. When she heard it, we would go upstairs, and she would draw me a hot bath and dump in all the old bath toys that my dad used to play with when he was little! The door stayed shut so that heat from the furnace kept me warm for when it turned off. I remember when I got out, she would even wrap a heated towel around me that she had heated in the dryer! My gram seriously spoiled me rotten. I remember she had a huge bottle of this perfume stuff that always sat by her sink. I swear it was like a two-gallon jug. My dad still has it in his bathroom to this day! It had a big black ball for a top and I got a kick out of using that when I was out of the tub.

Isn’t it funny how the smell of a fire or the sound of a furnace brings back memories?? I hadn’t thought about that in years. Still hearing it today, right now, kicking on and off. I can’t help but want to run to the tub when it turns on, and play with those old bath toys. I still have them ya know. Memories. Precious memories.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• 1 can crescent rolls
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 4 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

ICING:
• 3 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 – 3 tbsp milk 3 tbsp will make it runnier, 1 tbsp will make it more like frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9” pie pan with cooking spray. Unroll crescent roll dough. Firmly press perforations to seal, making it one big sheet. Spread pumpkin evenly over the dough. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice over the pumpkin puree. Starting on the short side of the rectangle, roll the dough up into a log.
Cut the roll into about 8-9 pieces and place into a baking dish. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until turning lightly golden at the edges. Let it cool in pan for 10 minutes.