January weather

[turkey feather]

Real winter weather has finally arrived in the midwest. We had some snow yesterday but the strong blowing winds made in almost impossible to measure. The winds have been strong for weeks it seems.

[wt510151]

We should be thankful we are not living in Anchorage. Enough snow to cover 2 floors. Yikes!

Or Nome. Waiting for a Russian oil freighter breaking through the frozen Bering Sea. Brrrr!

This is a beach vacation compared to much worse situations. Wish we could get some precipitation as it is getting very dry here, but all in all, it could be much worse.

[turkey feather]

I do understand of course it could be much worse but just a few days ago we were at 60 degrees and warm sunshine. It's hard on livestock and people when it changes that much. Wind chill 3 degrees.

The last I heard was the Alaskan town had 18 ft of snow and they were using machines to melt it.

[Kay/NC]

The hard weather shift created tornados in western NC Wednesday night, injuring fifteen, at the last count I saw.  We got windy late yesterday, and Mike said it woke him, shaking the house, last night.  I slept through it, for once.  Tells you how tired I was, I guess. 

It was mid-forties today, and windy as all get-out.  Daughter put blankets on the horses that get them, and decided to keep some in the stalls today.  She and SIL had a lot of watering troughs to get winterized, which is nice to not have had to worry about, until mid-January. 

We have pigs in most of the buildings by now, so those are warm enough, and Mike had winterized them all for our downtime, so the rest are okay.  It was nice and toasty in the house, until we started opening doors for bringing in building materials. mostly this afternoon. 

I have to turn the thermostat down for son, since Mike's 75 setting is too warm to work in comfortably.  It is great when GS is over to stay for a while, though.  Not so many blankies to keep up with and wash.  He spent time here yesterday morning, and again today. 

[soilbabe]

Our temp tanked by 40 degrees at the same time the wind kicked up. So glad I had today off. Didnt have to go out until 11 to pick up Brynn at preschool. We have the wood stove going, the pellet stove going and the heat pump on. I don't plan to go out untilthat wind dies down!

[Kay/NC]

Our tiny guy was over this morning, and the house was toasty at 75.  Woinderful for him and his achy, arthritic grandparents.  Dropped the thermostat five degrees, when it was time for him to go home, and pulled on a hoodie, so I could work in and out with son. 

Once we came in for the end of the day, I cranked the boiler's controls back up, and Mike got the woodstove going, to heat up our curry adndgrill some na'an bread for supper.  Warm all over!

I do nto think anything but a wood fire keeps us warm enough anymore, do you? 

[Papa Wheelie]

Wed Robin sat outside and ate her lunch. Nine hours later were were driving home from seeing a friend perform in a driving snow. Probably 60-75mph winds. Not much snow but it was starting to freeze on the roadways and streets. Though we"re the Big Town, I still see the livestock and the changes are hard on them. In the 20s & 30s and maybe 60 Sunday. Old-timers called this pneumonia weather. This old-timer sees what they mean now. Wood fire is nice, hot tub (outside, the bomb) but the bedroom window is usually open and the heat shut off to the room. Kay, I remember catching a NC station one night and they were talking about the cold weather. I think it was 40 there in Feb. I'll take the cold as summer tornados are enough here. Tradeoffs, eh?

[Kay/NC]

Yes, we all choose our own misery, don't we?  We have teens and twenties at nights forecast for a while, so the house feels vooler than usual this morning.  It will warm up quite a bit if the sun breaks out and starts lighting up the windows. 

I have a sauna sracked full of crates of kitchen stuff, and it's gotten cold enough to want to sit in it for a while.  That means it is good that we finished most of the major kitchen remodel work yesterday. 

I do not see how you folks live through the kind of cold you get out there in the square states.  Mike told me last night he had turned on the wood boiler's circulator for the pool, to warm the pool house and our well pump.  It will be warm enough by midweek this coming week to want to take a dip, but he won't burn the wood to heat 30,000 gallons of water. 

[dairy mom]

OMG If some one cranks the furnace up to 75 you can't  breath in here.  Although I put up with it when the sissy (lol)Florida people are here. Rarely turn it above 65 maybe 67 if it's really cold outside.  Would turn it down to 55 at night but too wasteful and takes too long to warm it back up in the morning.  So instead I open a window in the bedroom.

But then all winter long we all have thermals on under our clothes.

[turkey feather]

We keep our thermostat low except when we are using the wood stove. DH likes it warm and he is cutting the wood. But yesterday I could not get warm with the terrible wind blowing. I think maybe that is why I was so cold, getting use to the warmth. Wind has quit this morning.