Winter in Yankee Land?

U

unclemick

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
7,973
Location
Kansas City
Moving on to more unpleasant subjects:

It was 14 degrees at 6:30 A.M. when I went out with the dog for his morning whiz and exercise.

So - leaving dreams of Club Med off the table for the moment - what the heck does a New Orleans' transplant do up here on 'da Plains' in winter:confused:

I do have an unfinished - about 1000 sq ft - with a furnace in the middle basement - 86" ceiling height begging for some action. The crazier the ideas the better!

Heh heh heh
 
Point your vehicles toward Florida.  Load them up.  Drive.  Soon you will feel better.  Everybody know there ain't no bon temps in Misssuri!
 
Eagle43 said:
Point your vehicles toward Florida.  Load them up.  Drive.  Soon you will feel better.  Everybody know there ain't no bon temps in Misssuri!
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Eagle has a point! About 5 below zero here this morning.
We left the goldfish bowl too close to an oldside window.
Frozen solid! :)

JG
 
unclemick2 said:
The crazier the ideas the better!
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You need to start watching more HGTV... pop in a VCR tape, record a few hours, and review it with the fast-forward button!

But since only a NASA engineer could appreciate it, here's the link again.
 
It was a balmy 16 degrees this moring. High to be 23; low tonight 9.  I spent an hour shoveling 7 inches of snow off my driveway after I got home last night.

The mountains now have well over 7 feet of snow in most of the higher elevations.  The ski year is off and running and the winter tourist season is in full bloom.  We love those East Coast $$$.   :D

I don't mind the snow.  I lived in Pittsburg for a while and several years in IL so I am no stranger to snow.  The cold here is not so bad.  We rarely go below zero and that is nice compared to upper Midwest.  Also, with a low humidity, the cold just does not feel as cold.  I rarely use my big heavy coats much.  A medium weight jacket works most of the summer even in the low teens.  

Unclemick, you blood will adjust to the cold.  It usually take a couple of months, but it will thicken up and you will wonder how you dealt with the heat and humidity in NO.  ;)
 
I thought about working in Chicago after school but after recent visit I don't know.  It's friggin cold man.  Being a hotel clerk in Hawaii never sounded so good.

So - leaving dreams of Club Med off the table for the moment - what the heck does a New Orleans' transplant do up here on 'da Plains' in winter:confused:
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Freeze your a!! off.  It takes some getting used to but I am sure even the Pac NW drizzle is more appealing than winter on the plains.
 
Unclemick, as far as I can tell everyone just holes up and watches TV. I prefer the computer. (I'm in Indianapolis.) I tried getting out Saturday night, but there was freezing rain so I did a u-turn and hit the drive-through and the video rental store. Whee. But I fly to Texas about every other week for family reasons, so I get my escape that way, too.

When I lived in Alaska winter wasn't an obstacle to outdoor activity, but down here people seem less inclined to weather the weather. If you dress right being outside isn't a problem, but if you're by yourself then it's boring.
 
SteveR said:
 

Unclemick, you blood will adjust to the cold.  It usually take a couple of months, but it will thicken up and you will wonder how you dealt with the heat and humidity in NO.  ;)
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I doubt this but want all the best for unclemick, obviously.

Unclemick and I are the same age.  I lived in Dallas for 4 years.
It never got too hot to suit me.  I grew up in Illinois and now find
the cold weather here really unpleasant.  Anyway, I assume unclemick will
keep us posted.

JG
 
wildcat said:
Being a hotel clerk in Hawaii never sounded so good.
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Then come on by, brah.  Unemployment's the lowest in the nation-- only 2%-- and management is desperate for workers.  If you have a captain's license or mechanical or  customer-service skills then Atlantis Submarines would reeeeeeally like to talk to you.

The lobby of one Waikiki hotel, the Hale Koa, isn't even closed off from the environment.  The reception desk is completely exposed to the temperature and the tradewinds.  Of course they're wearing sweaters & soaking their feet in buckets of hot water on the midwatch, but that's because we have no remaining organic thermal resistance.  

I can barely even walk into the surf this time of year without whimpering.  Maybe someday I'll be one of those real wimps wearing 3mm neoprene when the temp dips below 75 degrees...
 
Have seen some good deals on Carib cruises out of Galveston. That'll warm you up.
img_345324_0_a930c4642f95ec64e1885b0117ef106d.jpg
 
We're in the upper midwest, so maybe not plains but here goes anyway.

We make sure we get out when we can. Over 20 and we are out walking every day. Cross country ski once in a while.

Join a gym and go everyday to excercise. When its too cold to go out, sure is nice to be able to stretch your legs and work out.

I won't ride my bike in the winter, but do see some who do.

Lots ice skate and play hockey, but I like my teeth, so I'll leave that to the younger ones.

Downhill skiing is fine, but I prefer cross country.
 
The human body is very resilient. I was riding a bicycle in Chiang Mai 2 weeks ago in 85F -90F with t shirt and short and now I am back in NYC riding my bicycle everywhere in 30ishF with 3 thin layers of bicycle clothing. It's cold but very tolerable. When it get's down below 25F, that's where my tolerance on the bike hit's a wall.

MJ
 
MJ said:
The human body is very resilient. I was riding a bicycle in Chiang Mai 2 weeks ago in 85F -90F with t shirt and short and now I am back in NYC riding my bicycle everywhere in 30ishF with 3 thin layers of bicycle clothing. It's cold but very tolerable. When it get's down below 25F, that's where my tolerance on the bike hit's a wall.
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MJ, I agree about resiliency. Body can definitely adjust - I remember when I started bicycle commuting first year I was drawing the line at 40F, next year it was down to 30F and now I have no set limit.
The key for me was a good full face balaclava and a lot of layers.

sailor
 
Winter is the time for projects. UM wants a project.

Build a workshop in the basement and create an overly complicated device to accomplish some meaningless task.
Enter the Rube-Goldberg contest? http://www.rube-goldberg.com/

Cover all the walls with pegboard and gather items to hang on the pegs.

Paint the basement floor with interesting colors.

Me--I am doing "mission organization" in our overcrowded basement. I like working on stain glass windows. I am thinking about building a radio controlled boat. I am going to repaint the bedroom walls.

And I like to play outside too--if above 0.

EDIT: I had another thought. You could take Christmas lights and poke them through the holes in pegboard to make an interesting design. Use as a lighting source for the basement.

Can I come and play?
 
sailor said:
MJ, I agree about resiliency. Body can definitely adjust - I remember when I started bicycle commuting first year I was drawing the line at 40F, next year it was down to 30F and now I have no set limit.
The key for me was a good full face balaclava and a lot of layers.
sailor
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I agree. I wear a full face balaclava and also layer when the temp goes down into the mid twenties. I haven't bought the proper clothing to ride below mid twenties (gloves shoes socks). You still have to breath in that cold air at a higher rate than if you were walking. Then there is the wind chill factor multipled by the wind hitting you when you are riding at 15 to 25 mph. Today, when I went out briefly for a quick bike errand, it was 29F with wind chill of 17F. Before I left, had a nice bowl of hot cold cereal. I had my hot oatmeal yesterday.

MJ
 
Another basement project idea: Install grow lights and grow okra and other vegetables. Start a hydroponic garden. Don't go all out with the grow lights though--the increase in the electric bill may draw the attention of the authorities.
 
start moonshining? Er, ah, ethanol gas additive manufacturing ;) That'll keep you warm...
 
This will be my 1st and hopefully last winter in my northeast home since I retired. When I went off to work in past winters, I set my thermostat to 63F unless my tenant was at home sick. Now that I am at home during the day, I still haven't changed the thermostat setting so right now in the LR is 60F. Heck, if it will save me $10 to $15 a day, I'll wear a hat and jacket when I start to feel cold.

Frugal MJ
 
unclemick2 said:
Moving on to more unpleasant subjects:
So - leaving dreams of Club Med off the table for the moment - what the heck does a New Orleans' transplant do up here on 'da Plains' in winter:confused:
I
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How about sell out and go back to Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, or Baton Rouge or Lafayette? Even College Station, or Shreveport. Socially it isn't NO for sure,  but that may be good all things considered.

The North is not just cold and dark, it is dangerous too. Traffic is hazardous enough in good weather, ice and snow make it worse.

These guys are right, you do adjust. I think many people on this board could adjust to The Gulag.

The question is, do you really want to? You are pretty close to social security. Consider doing what feels good. My 2 cents.



Ha
 
Well I disagree with Ha. Too many changes in one year. Stay put. Check out winter life. The world slows down. And start a project in the basement.
 
MJ said:
This will be my 1st and hopefully last winter in my northeast home since I retired. When I went off to work in past winters, I set my thermostat to 63F unless my tenant was at home sick. Now that I am at home during the day, I still haven't changed the thermostat setting so right now in the LR is 60F. Heck, if it will save me $10 to $15 a day, I'll wear a hat and jacket when I start to feel cold.

Frugal MJ
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DW and I are at odds on the thermostat most of the time.  She is a warm blooded California girl and likes it warm, I am a midwesterner who likes it cooler.  We keep it around 65 most of the time but raise it if company comes over.
 
I have to agree with Martha stay put unless you are really miserable. But then I live in Ontario, Canada and am a few years younger than you UM. If you like music build yourself a high quality tube amp or two to put in the basement and add in some exercise equipment.

Bruce
 
MJ said:
I agree. I wear a full face balaclava

MJ
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I love balaclava. Never thought about using it on my face,
although I did see a guy pass out in a pile of it after consuming too much ouzo.

JG
 
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