Sissy stuff to keep warm with during the "VORTEX"?

[Betty]

Didn't get as windy as they said it would. Only a light sprinkle of snow snow far, most of the ground is still bare. 21F. But they're still saying more later.

[samantha1]

Hi Betty,in slough berkshire ukit is 8.07 am and is wet ,but luckly we have had no snow,i have to open my place up at 6am every day and so far we have had ice and ttemp going down too 2c ,but still no snow,so you could call me luckly ,however i like snow allot so that i can put on my boots and rain wear and enjoy myself

[Angela M...]

Very cold and Ice on everything Monday morning but the sun came out later in the day and melted some of it. Later that night it started snowing again here and very cold again. Despite living in Canada most of my life I do not like the cold snowy weather anymore. No longer a skier or skating any longer either so it holds no interest for me now. During the winter days I do my housekeeping chores and in the evening when not on the computer I am curled up in bed watching a video and reading my books. I have gotten into the routine of a retired person at least until Spring when I can go out walking again.

[Angela M...]

Well of course woke up to snow and ice all over the car and about 2 inches on the ground. Had to go out so out came the car brush and shovel. At least it was light snow and easy to push aside until you get to the end of the drive by the road where the plow has pushed it all in a bank. While the car was defrosting and the window ice melting I shoveled away the dreaded white stuff. Not an easy feat when it is blowing around you and by the time I had returned home it looked like I had done nothing.  Oh well we live in Canada so I guess we should not complain. It is still snowing and blowing around the house and has been most of the night. I made a big pot of potatoe soup for supper and a fresh baked baguette and settled in front of the fire. It is the only good thing about this cold weather, oh and wearing my thick wooly tights.   

[Betty]

As of this afternoon we still had less than an inch of snow. There were plenty of spots of bare ground around. Later this afternoon & evening we just got a couple more inches. Currently 17F (-8C). There goes my heating bill. To save on energy, I've already got used to wearing heavier clothing inside so I can stay comfy with the heat turned down lower.

Just like previous years, I keep the heat extra low, & have an electric radiant (reflective) heater nearby pointed at me so it's a little warmer in the area around where I'm hanging out, rather than waste a lot of heat blowing all over the place. I keep one in the bathroom too. Kitties don't seem to mind the cooler temperatures at all. They like it cooler & can't take much heat. Because of my COPD, it's rare the place gets very hot in the summer (heat & humidity is bad for COPD), so they were raised in a place that has AC running on the hottest days, that I let get down to the 50s or 40s overnight in the winter when I'm cozy under blankets.

Haven't got used to turning it down that low yet. I'm getting used to it gradually. Got it down to 60F awake, & 55F sleeping, but it's a lot warmer near a nice electric heater. I don't leave that on overnight though, because I'm warm under blankets.

It's not cheaper to heat electrically, but it is a lot cheaper to heat a small area you're sitting around in to be comfy, that make the whole place warm.

On the national news, again they show white-out conditions, deep snow, traffic bans, & school closings for Buffalo. Nope. Didn't happen. They're showing areas like Dunkirk & Fredonia about 40-45 miles SW of Buffalo, too far away too even be considered a suburb of Buffalo. You have to drive through farm country, & undeveloped wilderness to get there.

[Angela M...]

Well with the snow we got there were 13 accidents just in my area on Tuesday, with people going too fast. That's 13 single car accidents where people slid off the road or into something or someone. You can't cure stupid. I saw an idiot in front of me sliding all over the road because the tires on the truck had very little, if any tread left on them. I stayed well back so I was not involved if he did go into the ditch but he was just lucky nothing happened because he was driving like an idiot all over the road. It is times like that when I wish I had that spear gun the Police used in Fast & Furious to kill the cars electrical system. I would use it often just driving around here on any given day.

[Angela M...]

Hey Betty, I use my gas fireplace like you use the radiant heater. I keep the rest of the house in the low 60's and just have the gas fireplace on low to heat my family room when we are in it. We also keep the ceiling fan on low to circulate the heat away from the high ceiling in there and help to send it into other parts of the house. I have 12 feet of sliding doors in this room and when it is sunny (south facing room) the radiant heat from the glass helps to warm that room and the back part of the house quite a bit but in the evening the heavy curtains are pulled across with an insulating blanket hung over the doors also. I was going to put European style insulated Rollag shutters on the doors but the cost was huge so I found another way. Friends have these shutters on their windows and doors at their cottages so they just roll down like garage doors when they leave and they are well insulated and tamper resistant. I have never heard of anyone having the cottage vandalized or broken into with these on but they are a big expense. Maybe there is a cheaper insurance rate if you install them, I should check into that.

[Betty]

That's 13 single car accidents

It seems like every winter people gotta learn how to drive in snow & ice all over again. Miraculously, they've seemed to have forgotten how in just a year. I don't care if they have 4WD. We all have 4 wheel brakes, so they can't stop or control their 4WD any better than we can control our 2WD. They can just go & crash faster with 4WD.

[Betty]

We got a couple inches of snow before dawn yesterday. With the wind blowing it around, there were mostly bare spots in our yard, but places about 6 inches deep in the yard next door. It's already 30F before dawn here, & they say it will get up to 44F (7C) today, so all of that stuff will melt.

By Sunday night they say it will go down to 16F (-9C) with more snow, & down to 12F (-11C) Monday night.

[Betty]

The snow had all melted by Saturday morning. Today is getting much colder again, with lots of snow expected later this  afternoon.