The pacific northwest is temperate throughout the year, being neither too hot or too cold. As a result, it is fairly effortless when it comes to maintaining my wardrobe. Fewer layers as it warms up; more layers as the mercury drops. It’s actually quite a simple system, and extremely friendly on the budget. Traditional winter gear is not mandatory–unless of course, plans are made to head to the mountains for skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, or other such winter adventures. However, when it drops down to 9 degrees at night, the layering technique becomes far more elaborate, and creative ideas for thwarting the cold take center stage.
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, my husband graciously extends the same offer he gave last winter, “You can turn up the heat, you know.” But the pioneer spirit in me resists, as I declare yet again, “I don’t want to pay any more money to the power company. We can buy additional sweatshirts for a lot less.”
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, I layer up with with long underwear, two shirts, fleece vest, fleece scarf, “fingerless” gloves when it gets really cold, and that’s while I’m inside…
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, I wait with hopeful anticipation for morning light to reveal if the clouds have vanished, thus allowing me to open the blinds all the way, as the sunlight streams through my now-clean windows, whereby I can bask in its warmth…
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, I am inspired to prepare hearty cuts of meat in the oven, which take a really long time to cook properly…
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, doing the dishes in warm-as-my-hands-can-stand water is a great way to cut the chill. For a few moments, I can actually remove my scarf as I begin to feel my core temperature slowly rising, and my nose is no longer cold–which always makes me feel like a dog…
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, I go to bed with socks, long underwear, pants, two shirts, scarf, and vest… to which my husband can only say, “What are you wearing, a snow suit?” If only I had one, I might actually be warm…
When it drops to 9 degrees outside, I make a lot of noise as I complain about the plummeting sub-freezing temperature; which probably means I should reconsider turning the thermostat up, because…
“Baby, it’s cold inside.”
