Winter officially began on December 21, 2017. The last day of winter is (according to the calendar) March 19th. Here it is the middle of January and I have forgotten what it is like to feel warm. The furnace is controlled by the thermostat which has been programmed to maintain the interior temperature at a reasonable 70 degrees. Except for during the day when it drops to 65 degrees. Sparky has configured the settings supposedly for optimum monetary savings. What this means to me is that I will not feel any warmth unless I’m standing in a steaming shower. But even that is transient. As soon as the hot water runs out I am forced to exit the shower into a frigid bathroom. I have perfected drying off in the shower and being able to get my clothes on faster than “The Flash”. That isn’t to say I haven’t run into some problems. The other day I discovered my underwear was on inside out.
I have taken to dressing in layers. This results in no one being able to appreciate the cute top I’m wearing. You see I wear a turtleneck knit shirt as my base layer. Fortunately I have a gazillion in every color of the rainbow. This is followed by the cute top, sometimes. Then I put on the sweater or jacket. I have a couple that are my favorites due to being denim or navy/black micro fleece. And over that I have my fleece or crochet/knit poncho. My MIL asked me how many ponchos I owned and I had to truthfully say 7 winter ponchos. As I type I’m wearing a brown turtleneck under a wool plaid shirt dress with a short denim jacket and my caramel fleece poncho. It isn’t a tailored look to show off my figure, but it has the advantage of conserving body heat.
We have 2 space heaters. We run one at night in the bedroom and the other is positioned next to my chair in the computer room. Even with the space heater in the bedroom, I sleep in fleece pajamas, socks, flannel sheets, a heavy comforter and my CuddleDuds® thermal blanket. I’m still cold. Sometimes I wake up and I’m practically wrapped around Sparky in an attempt to get warm. He doesn’t mind as long as I don’t put my icy hands on him… If the nighttime temperatures continue to be in the negative numbers, I’ll have to resort to wearing mittens to bed!
So I’ll leave you with this little haiku:
Frigid winter air
fails to respect my boundries
Crawls up sleeves and skirts
A Different Perspective 
Doesn’t using heaters counter the conservation measures? Wait until you hit your 70’s you will either be used to doing this or you will reset Sparky’s method.
I used to be someone who cracked a window in the bedroom at night during winter. No more, though I sometimes turn the ceiling fan on due to night sweats that crop up. (daughter thinks it is a thyroid issue) I bought leg warmers as my legs and feet are always cold now.
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The heaters are very efficient and have their own thermostats so they turn on and off. As it is running them shows only a $20 increase in the electric bill – well worth it! I keep thinking that eventually we will have to get a bigger furnace or a smaller house. Either way I’ll be warmer!!
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BRRRR! I have a space heater in my bathroom and another in my bedroom. That pretty much takes care of the transitory heat needs. Yes, it gets into the 20’s at night here. That, to me, is cold enough.
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It got to 34 degrees today and I thought the students were going to break out the shorts and flip-flops. It felt so much warmer compared to the sub zero temps of last week!
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I used to run space heaters, until I realized how much more expensive the electricity to run them was than the natural gas that runs my furnace. Now I just crank up the furnace until I’m warm. I still occasionally run a small space heater in the bathroom. It doesn’t seem to matter how warm the house is, the toilet seat is always like sitting on a block of ice.
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Hehe! That toilet seat is never going to be warm – no matter what you do! A former co-worker had a fake fur covered seat – because she wanted something warm for her bottom. She was completely dismayed when her son failed to aim and the toilet seat had to be “laundered”. It wouldn’t fit right after that and she ended up tossing it. I don’t have that problem because my keister is ice cold all the time so no temperature shock with a cold seat!!
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I hear you. I haven’t been warm in months.
Your layering idea sounds pretty smart. I’m not that smart.
In fact today I’m wearing a challis dress, no tights, and summer shoes (not sandals) and probably have recess duty this afternoon. Maybe I’ll bring a sweater.
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I hope you live somewhere warmish! What you describe would result in hypothermia and frost bite in these parts!!
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Brrrr — we’ve had a few days in the last month when it got below 50 at night — daytime temps generally around 75, although this weekend they will be in the 60’s/ It cools off quickly at night, and by the time it’s really dark, the heater comes on to maintain 70.
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I’m a touch jealous. Spring will come and I’ll have warm air and sunny days. Then I won’t envy you and long to live in CA despite the earthquakes, mudslides, and wildfires!
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I feel your pain! In the winter, I not only wear flannel pajamas, I wear shirts underneath them and burrow down completely under the covers to sleep. I take long showers to put off the moment when I have to step out of one into the cold air! Let’s just hope for Spring….
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I love my fleece pjs – but the flannel are less static inducing when sleeping on fleece sheets!!
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The weather is nuts here–freezing (in the 30’s and below) up to almost 70. IT’s crazy…and doesn’t do much to help sinuses.
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Yes. It is sinus infection season. I’ve been lucky so far… It is the periodic thaws that revive the germs and we all get sick!
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Brrrr…. We had a cold snap here (not like some places deal with of course) and I was not warm for a week – except when I showered. Hooray for hot water. My son likes the house cooler and I try to be reasonable about it for his sake (he is very hot natured) and for the sake of the utility bills. I hope spring comes soon for you! peace always
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I’m anxious for Spring but if it is anything like this last Fall, it will be very short and we’ll slide right into the HOT of summer!! Our utility bills have been low but I’d be willing to pay more and be warmer!!
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