The dogs are so happy with their new, furry, chair protecting, throw that they do not seem to notice the cold. This weather is scary cold, and the rolling blackouts make it a crap shoot for keeping warm. We woke up to no power on Tuesday, with minus 16 degrees outside.
It was only three hours for us, and we have a good fireplace with a heat blower on it, indoors, the temp only dropped to 56. Other parts of our land aren’t doing as well, I hope that these temporary blackouts stop the problem from getting even worse!
Last week, I volunteered a second time at the Covid vaccine drive through and it was only 14 degrees at the highest point of the day. This weather has gone beyond “cold snap” to “frozen smashed and broken”. Or something like that.
I hate cold with a passion and my family knows that I am a cowering mess of fear when I think the swimming pool water might be a tiny bit more chilly than I like.
Yes, quite the wimp.
I really didn’t think I could take being outdoors in that weather for six hours, but it is a cause that means a lot to me and I was so proud of myself for doing it.
It took:
- 3 pair of Cuddleduds leggings
- 2 Cuddleduds shirts
- a fleece vet
- a jersey lined, long lace skirt (because I could’t fit another pair of pants on)
- wool socks
- Ugg boots
- a fleece gaitor/hood
- fur lined hat
- fleece scarf
- lots of Toasty Toe warmers
- fleece gloves (I had mittens to wear over them, but was handling paperwork and couldn’t use the mits, dang)
- puffy jacket
- Pretty mask
Did I mention, LOTS of warmers? I stuck them all over me.
I knew that all would show was my eyes, so I wore a ton of eye makeup. But didn’t realize that the fleece gaitor would cause my mask to steam up and I’d have a wet, red, icy nose all day. And that it would cause my mascara to melt into puddles that not only ran down my cheeks, but smeared in ragged half circles and froze above my eyes.
As if I had drunkenly drawn on weird eyebrows with a black sharpie.
And no one told me that I looked demented, as I greeted hundreds of drivers.
The cold was so bad, that my poor Apple Watch couldn’t take it. I had it buckled to my vest, because I couldn’t get to my wrist through all of my layers. The frigid air shut the watch down.
After dealing with freezing my watch off outdoors as a volunteer, a few hours in front of a fireplace, under a blanket with the power off didn’t seem so bad.
My next volunteer date is supposed to have temperatures way up to a balmy 21, so I am looking forward to the heat wave!
Hopefully you are warm, safe, and healthy. If you are, please turn down your heat a tad, turn off extra appliances and lights, and conserve what you can so that the grid doesn’t crash and the power stays off a while. Take care out there!
As a downhill ski racer mom, I love Cuddle Duds. A tip if your next trip is this cold take a carpet square to stand on. This insulates you from the cold ground or in my case snow.
Thank you for helping. My husband and I are lucky that we have received both of our shots.
So enjoy your blog and all your creativity.
Posted by: Mary Anne Perlmutter | February 17, 2021 at 10:34 AM
Wow Karla - you're a real trooper! Thank you for helping out at the Covid lines. I'm on the vaccine list here in Virginia, but the State has just implemented a new program, and we're assured that our names have been transferred (in order) to the new vaccine schedule.
Today it's beautifully sunny, but cold. Tonight is when the storm that hit Texas is supposed to hit us, first with snow and then ice. The first snow we had created power outages all over. I was without power for 26 hours and my gas fireplace wasn't working. I'm with those snug looking dogs! Not a fan of the cold weather either.
Posted by: Ellen D. Bailey | February 17, 2021 at 02:36 PM
One nice thing about the cold is no one notices if you look demented! Thanks for your volunteering, specially in the cold! I'm a California girl living in New England, so I know what you mean about not liking cold. Grey & cold is even worse, so I'm glad we're finally having a sunny day today. Snow is forecast for the rest of the week here. Glad you have a fire and warm fluffy dogs to cuddle with. ~Marilee
Posted by: Rose Brier Studio | February 17, 2021 at 02:58 PM