HALLIE EPHRON: Like everyone else, I’m constantly worrying about catching COVID. I cough once too often or my throat feels scratchy… My sense of smell seems temporarily off… I look at those charts (27% positive test rate) and the news articles about how spectacularly infectious Omicron is… And it seems impossible to imagine that I haven't gotten it yet.
And of course who knows because in our area test kits are rarer than hen’s teeth and standing online for a test surrounded by possibly Covid-positive people doesn’t seem all that prudent.
Left to my own devices, I imagine little red and white soccer balls multiplying like tribbles (see Star Trek) in my lungs and blood vessels.
The other day I felt a little lightheaded and got so worried (paranoid?) that I hauled out my pulse oximeter. Clamped it on my finger. Waited as the red lights blinked and flashed until the O2 reading came up: 74. AKA nearly dead. And yet clearly not.
Then
I read (thank you Google) the caveats about pulse oximeters and
discovered cold fingers can give false readings. It's winter her in New
England. One day it’s thirty-five degrees and the next it barely breaks
ten. Of course my fingers get cold.
I soaked my finger in hot water, took another reading, and my oxygen
level measured in the mid 90s. Like Lazarus I’d risen from the dead.
My hands are cold because my house is cold. I’m cheap and environmentally conscious, so I try to only warm the rooms I’m hanging out in. 67 in the part of the house I’m in; 62 in the parts I’m not.
My plants seem to like it. An orchid in a chilly room has been blooming since August and a begonia I never knew could bloom is blooming away.
But my hands do get cold. Much as I’d like to go around in fleece mittens, it’s not practical for typing or writing or cooking or doing just about anything that requires the slightest bit of manual dexterity. So for most of the winter (and right now) I wear fingerless gloves. I also keep wraps handy—on the back of my office chair hangs a soft green shawl for throwing over my shoulders or wrapping around my neck.
Hot tea with honey is just the thing in the middle of the afternoon. And when I get desperate, out come a pair of microwaveable slippers, their soles filled with barley and lavender. I’ve been shuffling about in them for so many years that I’ve had to patch the bottoms with duct tape.
Every once in a while I open the front door to remind myself how much warmer it is inside than out.
How are you dealing with winter? And those of you in Florida and California and Texas and Arizona (you know who you are), stop gloating.
I could say we were dealing with the cold by dashing off to Georgia for a few days to enjoy being warm, but the truth is that we dashed off to Georgia for a few days to celebrate a grandbaby’s birthday . . . and it was cold there, too.
ReplyDeleteSo, like everyone else, we’re facing the cold by bundling ourselves up in heavier clothes, warm socks, toasty sweaters . . . and baking. [It’s amazing how much a double chocolate chip cookie-baking oven warms up the place.]
I don’t like being cold so wearable blankets are a really good idea, but, just like everyone else, we’re wrapping our hands around a mug of hot coffee and counting the days until spring . . . .
This is inspiring me to bake... if only for the smells.
DeleteI'm in Texas and I'm not going to gloat because, even though the daily high temperature hit 72 on Tuesday, it's been falling ever since, with strong, gusty winds. Today we're not supposed to get out of the mid-30s, and it will hit low 20s into the teens overnight. Which means everybody in Texas will be whining about how cold it is, and hauling out the chili pot because making chili is what Texans do in the cold.
ReplyDeleteI'm not hardy enough to keep my house in the low 60s, but I don't crank the heat too high, and I keep a pot of fragranced water--cinnamon, orange slices, cloves--steaming on the stove so the air in the house doesn't dry out completely. I bundle up. Last February, when Texas had its infamous deep freeze with power outages, I wore my puffy coat indoors, day and night. And wrote my state representative a salty letter. I had my rage to keep me warm.
Sounds like a song lyric: I've got my rage to keep me warm...
DeleteThis is a great idea: a pot of fragranced water--cinnamon, orange slices, cloves--steaming on the stove so the air in the house doesn't dry out completely
Glad you like the idea, Hallie. It's the winter version of the old summer saw: It's not the heat, it's the humidity.
DeleteGood idea, Gigi.
DeleteI must have some Elsa in me since cold does not bother me nearly as much as it does the rest of my family. However even I have to admit that it's been quite chilly here in the mountains of Georgia lately. We have the remnants of a pretty heavy snowstorm on the ground too. Since I work from home I tend to live in sweats, fuzzy socks and cuddly pajamas in winter. Tubby the cat spends most of the winter in her blanket "nest", her fleece igloo or on a lap. We tend to make a lot of soups in winter also.
ReplyDeleteI hope you stay well, Hallie. I had to get tested since I have a nasty cold right now, thankfully it was negative. Our health dept. has held several drive-thru testing events lately. Seems like a much safer idea than standing in line.
Brrr. Soups do triple duty -humidify your outsides and warm and nourish your insides.
DeleteI'm not gloating, I'm remembering, because I didn't always live here in Phoenix. I well remember one winter in particular when a blizzard roared through central Illinois, and my grandparents-- always so proud of their all-electric house-- had to come live with Mom and me in our little rental house. We read and played board games by kerosene lanterns, "heated" the house by turning on the oven and leaving the oven door open, and blankets, afghans, hats, and mittens were de rigueur. I have many, many more cold weather memories, enough to remind me that I'm very happy where I am now.
ReplyDeleteThis is making me wonder how those of you out there who've gone to solar are doing... a topic for another day.
DeleteIt's due to be -25°F here tonight, with a high of 7°F tomorrow, so I know cold. I keep the heat in my 8x12 office set at 68°, elsewhere in the house at 64°, and 55° in closed rooms. The toasty factor around my knees at my desk is my main self-indulgence. As someone who lives in a cold climate, I know that the easiest way to stay warm is to guard your core (I wear fleece vests in winter and keep an extra pullover in the office) and put on a wool hat (I have one lying next to my computer now). Of course when I head down to the barn in REAL cold, I am wearing about six layers of wool, quilting, and canvas, and I don't dally.
ReplyDeleteWhere on earth do you live that it gets that cold? Brrrr!!!!
DeleteBrrrr... guard your core. I've got a puffy vest for just that purpose. Though it's my hands and feet that chill first. Yes adkmilkmaid, where ARE you? Somehow, as we hear about global warming, it's encouraging to hear that there IS somewhere that's -25.
DeleteI live in Lake Placid, in the bowl of Cascade and Pitchoff mountains. It's the elevation that does it. I used to say that my old milking girl was the highest cow in New York State.
DeleteHallie, I'm an old schoolteacher who has kept middle schoolers safe in the deep cold for 35 years. If you keep your core warm and your head warm, your hands and feet will be warmer. Try putting on a knitted hat. Your extremities are not essential to survival, so blood flow prioritizes your brain and skimps on hands and feet. Of course, this only works up to a point. But it definitely works inside a house. This is why our ancestors wore night caps.
Hallie (and anyone else in the US), the post office will send you four free at home tests! www.usps.com/covidtest One set per address. Mine are on the way. I'm glad you haven't gotten COVID yet. We are being equally careful.
ReplyDeleteI also have some fingerless gloves that are just the ticket. I've been having a pesky itchy skin condition on my ankles for a year so I can't wear high socks. Last year I found some ankle warmers online (yes, shades of Jane Fonda step aerobics classes!), and they are perfect because they aren't tight. A space heater in my office warms this room, and downstairs 67 during the day.
Space heater here, too - on testkits, I'm still waiting for the ones I bought and paid for weeks ago to show up.
DeleteHallie, it's worth getting on the list for the freebies, too. I bought four tests in mid-December when we decided to go to Michigan for Christmas, and all of us agreed to test before we gathered. We used two, and then when we got home our daughter had to use one to travel. The fourth confirmed that I had COVID last weekend.
DeleteWhich meant that we had to have more tests, since Steve needed to take one, too (luckily, he was negative). He lucked out and found another four, but after I take my second tomorrow we will only have two left again. I suspect this testing thing is going to be normal life for us.
Edith, I should post a photo of the crazy fingerless gloves a girlfriend gave me a couple years ago. They are as silly as can be. With fur, and dangling pompons!
January is usually the coldest month here in Ottawa. It's currently -20C/-4F with a -30C/-22F windchill at 6 am. Despite the cold, I still like to crack open my bedroom window every night, and my apartment is kept pretty chilly (by most people's standards).
ReplyDeleteHANK: Thanks for the tip about the UNIQLO turtleneck shirts. I bought several online last winter and then bought about 6 more at the store in Montreal this past December. They are not expensive (less than $20 CDN each) than my Smartwool or other winter clothes. And my go-to pants are the Columbia Omni-heat pants which keep me warm. They also have 5 deep pockets which are great to carry the essentials (keys, credit card/other cards) while out doing errands.
Writing this down. Layers. Pockets!! And turtlenecks.
DeleteI used to think wool was the best to keep warm. The new synthetic fabrics do a way better job at a much cheaper price:
Deletehttps://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/women/collections/heattech (3 different layers of warmth)
https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Sportswear-Womens-Saturday-Stretch/dp/B00KTESD0G
NOTE: Make sure you choose the LINED pants which includes the OMNI-HEAT inners. It's similar to the silver blankets that uses your own body heat to keep warm.
Yay! Yes, I am devoted to Uniqlo ! I am not sure how it works so incredibly, but it certainly does.
DeleteI was skeptic that the thinnest HEATTECH shirt could keep me warm, but they all work.
DeleteDetails from their website:
What is HEATTECH? Innovative fabric that generates heat from your body.
HEATTECH's micron-sized fibers capture the energy of water molecules emitted from the body and convert them into warmth while retaining heat.
How am I dealing with the winter? Pretty much the same way I always do. Stay out of the cold as much as possible. Keep warm. Avoid people as much as possible and hope like hell I don't start feeling sick.
ReplyDeleteI have one activity that I do but otherwise if I go anywhere it is generally in and out and then move on to the next item on the list. This weekend will be a case of having to run around accomplishing a lot of things that I can do in person. Fully masked of course.
Getting exercise is a challenge... I know it's bad when I'm resorting to walking arund and around from my kitchen to living room to dining room to kitchen...
DeleteHey, I walk laps indoors when it's too cold or icy to be out! I put on a podcast and get my steps in.
DeleteI do the same as Edith, laps inside my apartment with my Sweatcoin app on my phone. Got into the habit on getting my daily steps indoors while doing rehab on my broken ankle in winter 2017/2018.
DeleteI do that too! Easy to walk around the house a circuit of the downstairs of the stairs a circuit of the upstairs up the stairs a circuit of the third-floor down the stairs. It works! And if I am ever on the phone, I always walk while I am on the phone.
DeleteI walk indoors, too, when the weather doesn’t permit outdoor walking. And I live in a tiny condo! Like Edith, I listen to podcasts. In December I listened to Christmas music. I do whatever works!
DeleteDebRo
Cold rainy morning in Connecticut. They predicted snow but right now it's just wet. I don't mind bundling up and wearing extra layers and we have plenty to choose from.
ReplyDeleteThe thermometer which controls most of the house is set at 66, the family room is set at 63. At night we turn them both down to 57. My kitchen is small and a fairly cold room. Like Joan, I have been baking a lot which warms it up. I do not usually mind winter. But the isolation is tough. We are going back out in public for a birthday celebration this weekend. What to wear?
57! I bet it takes awhile to heat back up after that.
DeleteYes, the isolation is tough indeed.
And am I the only one whose hair is getting long... again.
I had a haircut the first of December, Hallie, and now my hair it getting unmanageable again. But this was the best haircut I think I've ever had and I don't want start hacking on it myself. Fingers crossed it will be safe to go back to the salon before too long...
DeleteWe are in for it the next week, temps in single digits and chill factors minus double digits. I just stay inside. And wear layers. The heat is set at 67 from 6 am to 10 pm, then at 55 for the night. There are wooly throws here and there on all the furniture, and there are two dogs available for lap warming duty, sometimes both at once.
ReplyDeleteI like sleeping in a cold room, temp in 40s to low 50s, so windows are almost always open and heat vents closed in the bedroom. A mix of long flannel nighties and a heated mattress pad plus a down duvet keep me cozy. Not to mention the dogs.
When I must go out into the bleak cold, I have a down parka that's good to -35, shearling lined boots, wool socks, silk long underwear, gloves and mufflers and the like. I can't bear hats or earmuffs, but if necessary I can pull up the hood on my parka. If I have to dress up, which is rare, I have a faux fox fur coat. I look like the Abdominal Showman but it's warm and so who cares.
Let it snow. Bring it on, Winter. I can deal with it.
Laughing, imagining Abominable Ann. I see all my neighbors walking their dogs in the bitter cold and I imagine it's a tradeoff with the warmth they provide when they're in a lap.
DeleteI have a stack of sweaters, from a wool/nylon blend for days in the high forties to a layered approach for single digits, a heavy ragg wool sweater under a heavier Norwegian sweater that belonged to my mother. Wool hiking socks, underarmour sweatpants good to zero. Turtlenecks as a base layer.
ReplyDeleteNot forgetting my boiled wool baabaazuzu mittens!
baabaazuzu?I I needed to look the up. From RECYCLED wool so good for the conscience as well as warm. How about this for an origin story:
Delete"History of Baabaazuzu
Sue Burns, Baabaazuzu co-founder, lead designer and CEO, can thank her husband’s laundry accident for her upcycled garment line. Her husband mistakenly put her favorite wool sweaters into the dryer, and rather than come to tears, Sue dismantled her beloved wears and transformed them into her now international brand."
Dagnabbit, I've shrunk sweaters in the wash before. How come I don't have my own international brand?
DeleteCocooned in my office. I have an oil filled space heater that truly warms the room and we have two woodstoves in the house that hubs keeps stocked, and they keep most of the house in the high 80s. Before the space heater, I wore glove liners to work. Sensitive enough for typing yet they managed to keep my hands and fingers warm.
ReplyDeleteI spent much of the summer crocheting wool afghans, we rarely need them though, hubs likes the house at 67 overnight - a bit warm for my taste, but there it is. Given my druthers, I'd be down at 55 and maybe a window cracked open! How did I get to be a polar bear when I lived much of my life in South Florida. A mystery for another day.
Glove liners! Now there's a thought.
DeleteI have a space heater running in the sun room, but it sure is chilly that first fifteen minutes. Lots of blankets and fleece. A fire in the wood stove on the weekend.
ReplyDeleteHallie, we never set our thermostat above 68, 62 when we aren't here. In fact, although we are both working from home now, I don't think we ever adjusted the schedule so it's still only 62 during the day.
I'm ok working at 62 in the morning but i get truly chilled at that temp later in the day... I'm sure it has something to do with metabolism.
DeleteI have the house set a 68 downstairs and 65 upstairs. Humidifier is not working (part on order) so my nose is like the Sahara.
ReplyDeleteFound rapid tests at CVS yesterday and reacted as if I'd won the Lottery. KN95 masks from government stockpile will be available before the ones I ordered on January 6 arrive, sigh.
Middle son and family just coming out of COVID illness and I was exposed so every sneeze, throat tickle, etc. makes me pause. Good news is I'm off to Key West next week for a month. Fingers crossed that there will be seasonable warm weather there and maybe I'll see Roberta biking across town.
Key West - oh boy taht sounds good right now. ENJOY!
DeleteWe are lucky that our home is quite comfortable in the winter. We had an energy audit 5+/- years ago that identified the multitude of ways we were "heating the outdoors" as my mother used to say. We've since had the attic and basement walls insulated and replaced a couple of doors. The difference has been amazing. Of course, we wear sweaters and wool socks around the house, and have a couple of fleece blankets on hand for when we watch TV, but we aren't cold at home.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my office in downtown Portland is in a c. 1860s brick building. On these recent cold, cold days, the heating system can't keep up. One of my co-workers wears his down parka all day, and while I'm not quite that desperate, I always wear at least two layers (long sleeve turtleneck and fleece or wool sweater) and on especially cold days add a longsleeve silk undershirt as a base layer. I also have shawls (one wool, one silk) to drape over my shoulders when it gets really bad.
I need to find me some fingerless gloves - thanks for the tip, Hallie!
Brenda, imagining you need to keep up appearances while the rest of us don't have to go out in public or face a Zoom camera for days on end.
DeleteBrenda, when I was still working I used fingerless gloves that I got at Dollar Tree! They were great!
DeleteDebRo
The first Christmas after we were married Steve gave me a floor-length down robe from LL Bean. Coral. I wore that, and three subsequent down robes, completely threadbare over the years. (Now I wear fleece.) He kept the heat at his place at 62 until I moved in, and he conceded to raise it to 64. That's when I discovered the value of wool and cashmere.
ReplyDeleteOver the years the temp has crept up, and last year we discovered that our new house is well insulated enough that we can raise the temps without too much additional cost. We've had it at 70 lately, but now that I'm starting to feel better (COVID gave me shivers and chills, both times), I decided last night it could go back to 68 again.
Two of our kids like it chilly at night--in the low 60s, and I've learned to take extra heavy nightwear when we visit. My grandson is like Ann: he'd practically sleep outside if he could, even in Northern Michigan.
A friend's mom used to tell her five kids, if you're cold, go wash dishes. It really does help!
Existential question: Can you sleep in socks? I confess, I cannot. But the my feet get cold...
DeleteOn really cold nights I start with socks, but they come off a bit later. I do love a cold nose to sleep, and can't sleep when heat is on.
DeleteSame, as Edith.
DeleteI prefer to get my feet warm in a hot bath or shower, Hallie. If I have to I'll start off sleeping in socks, but usually have to take them off.
DeleteI use an old-fashioned hot water bottle when my feet are really cold.
DeleteThree cheers for old-fashioned hot water bottles! Thinking I can probably find them for sale on the internet...
DeleteSixty-seven degrees in the rooms you're actually in, Hallie?!?! Oh my goodness, that is positively cool living. With outside temps in the minus 13F (minus 25C) range, we keep our house a toasty 70F (21C) degrees these days. Given everyone's comments above, this makes us cold-weather indoor wimps! (I'm in Manitoba, Canada.)
ReplyDeleteWool sweaters are part of our winter wardrobe, for sure, but a bit of ambient heat is nice, too. Also, in our early years in this house (a small bungalow), we upgraded all the insulation and windows/doors to ensure the heat stays inside. Totally worth the upfront cost.
You're snug as the proverbial bug...
DeleteI'm more of a fleece fan - wool makes me itch.
At home, we cope pretty much like everyone else who has already commented: thermostat set around 68, wearing fleece and layers, and consuming lots of soups and hot beverages.
ReplyDeleteI am working full-time in the office again, and there it is somewhat different. The geniuses who installed the heating in our building put a thermostat in a corner office that has two solid walls of windows. Needless to say, it takes a lot to keep that office warm. So if the thermostat in there gets set to 70, it can easily reach 80 in my office (four doors away, with just one reasonably sized window.) We strive for a balance, keeping that thermostat set around 67, which allows the person sitting there some level of comfort. And I have had the heating professionals close the vents into my office, so I get almost no direct warm air blowing in. Just what leaks in around the closed vent and comes in through the open door is enough to keep my office a reasonable temperature that allows me to be comfortable in seasonal-looking clothing, though certainly not the weight of winter clothes I wear at home.
Sounds as if you've developed a ton of workarounds...
DeleteAdvice from the wife of the thermostat Nazi, who does not countenance a thermostat set higher than 60: hooded fleece bathrobe worn over all the other layers. Sometimes one of those layers is a hooded fleece sweatshirt. I am thinking of buying a second hooded fleece bathrobe because I wear mine so much during the winter, and sometimes it really does need a wash.
ReplyDeleteI divorced a thermostat Nazi twenty years ago! (There were other reasons, too...) I'm too old to be sitting around freezing at 62 degrees.
DeleteWash that robe!! My fleece bathrobe is from LL Bean and I love it to bits.
DeleteI hear you. My apartment feels cold to me. Maintenance have come up with a temperature gauger and my room is 72F, but yet I feel cold and only in the living room. Not in the kitchen nor my bedroom. I suspect the terrace door is the culprit even when I have the bottom blocked.
ReplyDeleteI need to get fingerless mittens and yes I have a shawl on my chair, a blanket on the sofa, my hat is handy. I could use a heater, but every time I had used one, it knocked out my power.
The terrace door is probably the culprit. I've used a sand-filled snake to stop a draft, if it's the bottom that's drafty.
DeleteHere in upstate NY I'm enjoying the same frigid weather you are Hallie! I just want to know where one can get microwavable slippers. What a fabulous idea!
ReplyDeleteGrandpa's Garden: https://www.grampasgarden.com/hot-cold-therapy-pacs/heat-your-feet-slippers/
DeleteThey also have similarly microwavable packs you can put over your shoulders.
I'm in NY near the Canadian border. Lots of days in the minus teens lately and coming up. Windchill -25 or more. Once it gets above zero we are out walking/snowshoeing in the woods. Every day or twice a day because the dog insists (she is 17.5 yo and skin and bones from kidney failure, but still loves her walks).
ReplyDeleteLayers are essential. Years ago we got snowmobile pants. Bundle coats and sweaters on top.
Inside we heat with wood and the front room gets toasty - 70 degrees. The rest of the house is low to mid-60s. On cold mornings the kitchen might be only 58.
I have a microwaveable neck warmer - for tense muscles. I wrap my hands in it if they get cold.
I wear fleece but I feel a little guilty. I heard that washing fleece puts a lot of microplastic/lint into the environment. More than one third of microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic clothing - plasticsoupfoundation. Yikes.
Yikes is right. I now rue the two new fleeces I bought last year.
DeleteReally? Fleece is bad for the environment??? Say it ain't so!
DeleteOne thing that really helps keep us warm here: microwaveable rice bags. I've made a bunch of them for us, and for friends. Steve's office is the chilliest part of the house, and he warms up his bag when he makes his coffee in the morning, and keeps it on his shoulders while he works.
ReplyDeleteThey're really easy to make: just sew a rectangle of fabric (upholstery sample pieces are great, but I've even used the leg from a pair of worn out pants), fill it with a pound of plain white rice, the cheapest you can find, and stitch the end closed. Microwave for 3-4 minutes. It holds the heat for a long time. You can also make them with feed corn, although not everyone has easy access to that.
Karen - I made those a few years ago with, I think, buckwheat (hulls?) or something similar. If I microwaved it too long it had a hot cereal smell. Also the stuff had some sharp edges that eventually put holes in the fabric necessitating the creation of new bags every so often.
DeleteJC, I wonder what's in your neck warmer? I've also made smaller ones with flaxseed and lavender, as eye pillows, but the rice is the best.
DeleteBuckwheat hulls must be cheap, because they're used in a lot of commercial bags.
I will try rice sometime. Right now I have one my son gave me that has little ceramic beads. Even they sometimes cut through the fabric. I should try the heavier fabric you use. I had used cotton shirting fabric - maybe just too thin.
DeleteI have a couple of little rice bags that are pocket size. They were a gift but I've never used them. Some day. . .
DeleteOh, my hands are always freezing! My fingertips are always white. It’s crazy. You should see me… On cold days? I have a heat-tech camisole, then a T-shirt, then a cashmere sweater, then a fleece lined hoodie. Then… Leggings, a flannel skirt, funny socks which are covered by UGGs. I look hilarious. Completely hilarious, and I am so glad only Jonathan can see me. But I am warm! I have been known to wear a blanket, as well. Very very chic.
ReplyDeleteHANK: Too bad we don't get to see the warm funny bottom clothes on the FCF video, but glad you are warm!
DeleteThis boggles the mind, Hank -- Because you know my image of you is wearing one of your chic suits and...
DeleteCount me in as a winter wimp. I keep the house at 70F or the cats get sick. On really cold days, I'll set the thermostat at 72F until the temperature comes up to that, then knock it back. My bedroom runs about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house, so I sleep always in a cold room. Two pairs of socks/slipper-socks, 2-3 layers, a throw for anytime I'm sitting. No socks in bed--I've tried it, but forget it. Later today I plan to make some apple crisp and that will add warmth from the oven, but also warmth for the spirit--I can smell it baking already!
ReplyDeleteAnd soups and stews--Hallie, I love your tomato soup recipe!
DeleteSo glad you do!! And good reminder to me to make it. So perfect for the witner.
DeleteStop gloating? But it got to 45 last night! And it is supposed to hit 70 over the weekend. That's coolish! ;)
ReplyDeleteSigh - 70 sounds lovely. Walking weather!
DeleteWinter arrived last night. The cold goes right through you to the bone. Dang humidity. We have a gas fireplace that I'll turn on to warm up the living room. Frank and I have thermostat wars. He always goes overboard, meaning if he's cold he'll turn up the heat to 72. When I find I'm boiling I'll check it and turn it down to something reasonable. I find my shins and feet get cold when I'm sitting and reading so I'll cover my legs with a coat or blanket. Whatever is handy. I layer. I have vests, fleece pullovers, sweatshirts, sweaters, wool socks, and probably still some silk long johns from when we lived in Minnesota. We're hitting the road tomorrow and winter will probably be chasing us the whole way. I've got to figure out a reasonable wardrobe to pack for all conditions including warm weather on the return trip. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteIt's so much harder traveling in winter than in summer - you need double the suitcases.
DeleteHallie, we use pocket warmers when it's really cold--the kind you buy for camping. I'll keep one in my lap when I'm typing and warm my hands every few minutes. As Gigi said earlier, you can leave those of us in north Texas out of your warm places list. It was 23 this morning and will be down in the teens the next couple of days. We normally keep our downstairs thermostat at about 68, but I have to use the mica panel heater in the sunporch if I want to write in that room. The dogs and cats have to take turns in front of it! I am not complaining about the cold, however, as we've replaced both furnaces (and AC units) in the last two years, and our house is so much warmer than it used to be!
ReplyDeleteOkay no gloating.. mummble go through 300 days of hell so I can have 60 days of New England August.. mumble. Don't have any heat in my home so the floors do get cold. Dmitri was so cold Tuesday night he slept in the dish drainer.
ReplyDeleteMumble still can go sky clad inside mumble.. still isolating cuz who knows about vaxxers in this state other than knowing folks in most govt agencies are not safe..
I lived in Connecticut in the late 1970's. Never knew what cold was until then. I do really admire all of you who are living with 12 seasons instead of 2 like me.
Hallie, 62 and 67? That's cold. During the coldest weather, like today, our thermostat is sitting on 73. I like to turn it down to 71 when I go to bed, but with the awful cold right now, I've left it on 72 or 73. I even turned it up to 74 for a bit yesterday. The plumbing advice is to keep your house at between 72 and 75 to avoid burst pipes, opening the cabinets to let the warm air circulate around the pipes. Of course, most of our pipes have been replaced with PVC pipes, so we are in less danger of frozen or bursting pipes. I have a little space heater by my recliner that I use sometimes. I also have a blanket to put over my legs if needed, and today I might need it.
ReplyDeleteMy adult daughter has Raynaud's Syndrome or Phenomenon, so cold weather is rougher on her. With Raynaud's, the extremities, such as fingers, toes, nose, and ears get restricted blood flow, and that results in those areas being really cold. It's a year-round thing, but the winter hits her hardest. I always include a supply of warm socks in her Christmas presents. You would think that she would keep her house nice and toasty, but, no, she keeps it on the chilly side. Well, it seems chilly to me.
I live with a man who likes hothouse conditions. So I kick off the covers at night and open windows where I’m working during the day. Of course it’s around 60 degrees here in CA although it gets nippy at night. And I tested myself to a fabulous throw: fake fur one side and soft cuddle the other. I snuggle while watching TV down in the family room, the coldest part of the house. But I don’t do cold. I couldn’t live where some of you brave ladies do
ReplyDelete