Winter already?

[sumi]

Oh boy! That would be quite dramatic weather over there!

Very! It doesn't happen often, so we are not equipped for it. Schools close, businesses close, public transport stops and the shops get emptied of bread, milk and bottled water lol

I remember chatting to a lady in Ennis, Co Clare once. She told me in all her life living in that town, she never saw snow there. (They had a bit of snow last winter)

 

[Beekissed]

Long term forecasters are saying we may get a second "Beast from the east" with heavy snow fall like pictured above. Last year we had early snow in December already. This year they are talking about snow at the end of October?!? That's unheard of here. If we get snow it's usually in January or February only.

So Ireland must be like the like southern US? To them, a few inches is "heavy" and they call it a storm. That's a very beautiful and mild land, I've always wanted to go there. Are the summers hot and humid?

 

[Lynne]

I like to acclimate to the cold. We wait to put our heat on until it gets to about 53 inside the house. Once you are used to feeling chilly you can easily live at a lower inside temperature all winter. I think the mistake is to throw the heat on too early. Living a bit cooler is healthier I think, especially for sleeping.

I just hunker down at night under some weighted kapok throws I have made for this occasion

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We wait to put our heat on until it gets to about 53 inside the house. Once you are used to feeling chilly you can easily live at a lower inside temperature all winter.

Holy Cow - ya'll are tough!

 

[NH Homesteader]

My husband and I fight over the thermostat all winter. He turns it up, I turn it down. He would freak out if it got down to 53 in here, lol!

 

[Beekissed]

I like to acclimate to the cold. We wait to put our heat on until it gets to about 53 inside the house. Once you are used to feeling chilly you can easily live at a lower inside temperature all winter. I think the mistake is to throw the heat on too early. Living a bit cooler is healthier I think, especially for sleeping.

I just hunker down at night under some weighted kapok throws I have made for this occasion

I agree. I sleep in the cold end of the house, the furthest away from the wood stove and do most of my living in the colder portion of the house...most evenings will find me under a warm blanket. My mother spends most of her time about 8 ft from a huge wood stove, so she can't tolerate the cold much at all.

My grandchildren live in a meat locker all summer and a sweat box all winter, as their mother wears layers of clothing all summer in the AC and then walks around in shorts in the winter, blasting the heat. Consequently, the kids can never go out to play when it's hot in the summer nor cold in the winter, as they have no way to acclimate.

I think we were meant to be more acclimatized to our environment and I do think it creates a healthier population to live that way.

Hey...

 

[Lynne]

Beekissed, that is such a good point about kids reluctance to go outside as the transition in both summer and winter would always be felt as a shock!

I am not that tough - just to acclimate in October and early November, 53 is the lowest I can go and that is only in the AM as the sun heats our home up during the day. We live at about 64 degrees in winter but have no drafts and radiant heat so objects we touch are warm which makes a big difference.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We set our AC to 74 in the summer and set our pellet stove at 68 in the winter. It is cooler upstairs where the bedroom is, so winter nights are good sleeping. Summer it gets way too hot up there for me, so DH bought an AC unit for the bedroom for me. I always have problems with the temp at the office - here i am with my fan on (Low speed) and the gal in the cube next to me has her sweater on and the space heater under her desk is blasting away.

 

[sumi]

So Ireland must be like the like southern US? To them, a few inches is "heavy" and they call it a storm. That's a very beautiful and mild land, I've always wanted to go there. Are the summers hot and humid?

It is, yes, but our summers, though humid, is not hot at all. 80F is considered "hot" here. We have a wonderful, mild climate most of the time.

 

[sumi]

After many years in South Africa, about 15 of which in the hottest part of the county (up to 130F in summer), I adapted VERY quickly to the cooler climate of Ireland. I love being cool I cannot stand heat, it makes me feel awful.

I don't heat the bedrooms in winter, just the downstairs rooms and there I often don't light the stove until noon, except on really cold days. My son has a little fan heater in his bedroom that he uses.