The beauty of a programmable thermostat. The temp goes to 64 at 11 p.m., then drops again to 62 at midnight. As morning approaches it goes back to 66 at 6 a.m.
I can’t think of one thing that’s good about Winter. I have lived in Northern New York my whole life and I can’t remember a time, even as a kid, when I liked Winter. It is not pretty. It is grey and cold and ugly and lasts for about 7 months up here. My skin is dry and itchy and the forced-air heat makes my nose so dry it bleeds. :mad:
To make the hatred worse, last night we had a severe Winter storm. There are widespread power outtages, lines and trees laying across the roads. I have no electricity, no heat, hot water, phone etc… and the power company doesn’t expect it to be fixed until late tonight or tommorrow (I am posting this from work). School was closed today so I had to scramble for someplace to take Little Honey.
When Mr. Honey and I no longer have parents alive here, we will leave skid marks upon our departure to the Southwest.
Honey**-Who except for going to work, is hibernating until April**
Like Homebrew, I have our programmable thermostat set to drop the temp at night. I like bundling under a thick blanket and having the air around me chilly.
I like winter as far as I like being bundled up inside. I wouldn’t like winter if it actually got really cold out, like up north. I like it when we have snow or ice, because everything shuts down. As much as I like living here, I don’t like Texas summers. 100 degree F heat with humidity of about 65% isn’t fun, and I have a very low tolerance for heat. I’ve had heat exhaustion many times and I unfortunately don’t sweat very easily.
k2dave brought up one of the main reasons I don’t mind winter too much: No insects! They are gone after a good hard freeze. I don’t think I could stand to live in a climate where there were insects year-round. Cockroaches? The only time I’ve ever seen them in my life is when I have been on vacation. Fleas? Even with 3 cats and 3 dogs, they are not a problem here. I have had pets my whole life, and only twice have I had to deal with fleas - and those were animals that went outdoors.
If you know how to dress (in layers, a good hat, proper boots, ski pants, heavy coat and nice mittens) you don’t feel cold.
I do appreciate the fact that not everyone can deal with the cold - this gives me the chance to go to the parks and be the only person out there. Then I can let my dogs off leash - and I usually don’t have to worry about running into anyone else. I love having the whole park to myself!
And nothing beats being out at night, with the snow gently falling, all bundled up, and listening to the silence of a muffled world.
I love the winter. I like the cool nights, sleeping with the windows open, all the evil ragweed plants have died, the nasty bugs are gone, the humidity is gone…bring on the cold weather!
You can always bundle up to get warm, but when it’s hot, it’s too hard to get cool.
I hate the humidity. I hate the heat.
My husband and I turn our AC on in May and it stays on till September. We joke about keeping it set on “Arctic.”
I hate having to open the car and turn on the AC and roll the windows down and still wait several minutes before being able to get in.
I hate sweating.
I hate when it’s 80° at 7:00 am. I hate the endless days of 90°+ heat, with humidity in the 90% range.
I hate having an electric bill that looks like a phone number.
We never turn our heat above 68°, unless it gets really cold outside.
I love fall. I love nights when it’s 50° or so outside, and opening the window at night, to sleep in that glorious cool night air.
I love all the holidays associated with the winter.
I love going out with my kids and sledding in the snow, then coming home and making hot chocolate and watching a Christmas video, bundled together under a blanket on the sofa.
I love walking through the leaves, and crunching them under foot.
I love winter!
Boscibo said:
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That’s right. That’s one of the best things in the world. 
Hate cold - lived in Chicago, NY, Berlin…no more snow, no more ice, no more cold for me.
In Las Vegas, it does sometimes drop down to 32 F or colder at nights, but in the sun by day it is always warm.
And as you complain about your newscasters always bitchin’ bout the cold - our newscasters are always complainin’ “It’s too hot!” in the summer. Hello! It is a desert! It is Las Vegas! What did you expect?
It helps to have a pool in the backyard - but give me 110-118 degrees anyday over the cold of the north. Plus, if I ever lose my mind, I can always drive 45 minutes from LV up to Mt. Charleston and see all the snow I want. So far, I am quite happy to see snow - in pictures, on TV or on my Christmas card. I don’t even like to put my hands in a freezer to get ice cream.
What about people who feel they have a reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder?
I hate summer. I loathe it. I actually get irritated around my birthday (mid May) because I know that the blasted heat and humidity are coming. Bright light hurts my eyes and my skin. I burn in less than 5 minutes without any sunblock on, and I still burn in a half-hour even with spf 50. I get these tiny capillaries that rise to the surface of my skin, and look like bright red freckles, but are frickin blood vessels just beneath the top layer of skin that bleed like a bitch if they’re punctured.
I’m more likely to be depressed in the summer, more tired and fatigued. I’m much more irritable and cranky. The fact we don’t have air conditioning doesn’t help matters either. I can get used to 90-something and high humidity (to the point where I don’t really sweat much and I don’t feel the heat), but damned if I don’t feel very good just because of the weather.
Then fall and winter roll around. It gets darker earlier. The sun isn’t so bright. It’s COLD. I’m in heaven. I’m more likely to be in a happy mood (even with the stress of work and classes going on), more alert, cheerful. I’m more stressed, but again that’s due to my classes and whatnot.
In the winter, our house is set at 66 - 67 degrees, day or night. I’m fine with it, perfectly comfortable. I don’t wear a coat if the weather is over 30 or under 15 (the odd range of ~15 - 29 makes me feel cold, but anything warmer or colder than that, and I’m perfectly fine). I never use the heat in my car because I LOVE driving when it’s freezing. I love breathing through my nose and feeling the hair crackle in stiffness. I love grey skies and flurries or blizzards. I wouldn’t mind living further up north, because honestly it doesn’t get cold enough or snowy enough around here for my tastes.
Winter makes me happy, summer makes me miserable. If the weather related to a season does that to you, can’t that be a version of Seasonal Affective Disorder as well, even if it’s not the “normal” season?
I’ve always been a winter girl. I just love playing in the snow! I love winter as long as I’m bundled up and warm and don’t have to drive in the snow. Being cold is no fun, and I hate driving in squishy weather, especially when I can’t figure out how the defroster in my dad’s car works (that was a terrible experience which I NEVER wish to repeat!). I’m all for building snowpeople, sledding, skiing, and whipping snowballs at my little sister and the neighborhood kids!
It’s dark outside all the time. And dreary. And dark. I try to see the sun as much as I can, I’ve been up since 7:30 this morning, but it doesn’t matter, because the sun’s gone about 5:00, and it’s only going to get darker earlier until Dec. 21. Ugh. And all I want to do is sleep when it’s this dark out. If we could have winter with sunlight from 6 AM until 9 PM, I’d be totally okay with it.
But we don’t.
So winter is my enemy. :mad:
I don’t live anywhere it gets cold. When it snows, we all get off work and schools let out and we take pictures of it. And we run to the grocery store and fight over that last moldy loaf of bread. But how can you like your ears hurting and your nose getting red and the wind cutting right through your clothes?
Also, I hate the way I look in winter clothes. Fall is fine, where you get to wear long sleeves but they don’t have to be ugly and bulky. I like to look sleek and tailored and put together. Nowhere in this does “great big furry winter sweater” fit in.
Also, maybe I should mention I haven’t got a lot (well, I haven’t got any, unfortunately) natural padding. The cold feels very cold to me.
I still love taking pictures of the snow, however, because it melts when the sun comes up.
Just put cardboard inside the grill over 1/3 to 2/3 of the open space during Winter. We used to do that on all our cars during winter, when the average car was a big ol’ V8 with no accessories and lots of airspace.
No sun? Hehe that’s why I live in Colorado. 300+ days of sun a year no matter how cold, and skiing and snowboarding that will raise your concsiousness. Too cold inside the house? Just get a chick to sit on your lap, or if one is not availiable, your dog. Winter living is the best time of life if you ask me.
Yeah… but I was thinking of more recently, like the Inuit and Northern Europeans. The Inuit have been in Arctic North America for over 2000 years now, surely there’s been some physiological adaptation there? Body shape, metabolism, more than just lifestyle adaptation?
-fh
Update…
The power is still out! It is now 42 degrees in my house. Brrrrrrrr
Winter sucks. :mad: