by Curt Kovener
I’m going to clue you in on a bedroom secret here in the Hoosier Wilderness.
This isn’t X-rated but it is Z-rated as in ZZZzzzzzz.
When colder weather arrives in this neck of the woods of the Hoosier State, our bed gets covered with flannel sheets: top sheet, bottom sheet, pillow cases.
Yep, the same material we all wore as footed PJ’s as we toddled through the house in diapers & training pants. The same material I wear three seasons of the year in my outdoor shirts.
What we have found as we surpass middle age is that comfort is playing a larger role in our lives.
Satin sheets are way over-rated for sleeptime. They are cold & never warm up. The percale and muslin cotton sheets might be fine for the summer night sleeping, but when the frost is on the pumpkin, snow on the rooftop, ice in the birdbath, and the thermometer is even too cold to rise, we switch to the soft, warm embrace of old-time flannel sheets.
Growing up I think Mom called it a sheet blanket—a flat, white cotton flannel sheet which covered you. But you still had to deal with the initial cold bottom sheet.
We now has an assortment of flannel sheets in a variety of colors—solids, plaids & outdoor woodsy scenes.
The flannels are particularly appreciated in the wilderness where after a day of working outdoors and some warming up in front of the fireplace and an adult beverage or two the flannel sheets, extra blankets and comforter offer a warm hug for the night’s slumber.
In the winter we forego electric blankets. Instead, our bedroom thermostat is turned down into the mid-60° range and we pile blankets and a thick comforter onto the flannel sheets. And the snoozing is never better. You don’t feel cramped up fearing to move to a new sleeping position because the sheets where your body isn’t are cold. No matter where arms & legs flail through the night, there is warmth.
But there is a downside to flannel sheets: flannel pajamas. They act like Velcro®.
In addition to flannel sheets and flannel shirts, I have found another comforting application for the wintertime fuzzy cotton fabric—flannel boxers. But maybe that is a topic for another column.