Being very cold

[Mortblanc]

Ain't life grand?

You are getting the edge of the "bomb-cyclone" and that cold air hovered over our heads west of the mountains for nearly two weeks before it moved to meet the moisture on the east coast.

We have been under that "wind chill advisory" for over a week now. -15/-20f wind chill and not just for a few gusts, but a constant flow of wind for days.

It has not been above freezing mark since Christmas eve (12 days past) and we do not expect to see temps rise to above that mark and stay there for several more days. We do have a jump to 40f predicted but it will last for a couple of hours and bring heavy snow as the temps again drop below freezing.

In my case this is cold without snow. We have only a dust on the ground to remind us that it is not melting and it has laid there for nearly two weeks. It is simply a bitter deep cold with constant breeze of 8-10 mph that cuts through the best winter wear one can buy. I am sure the ground is frozen for a couple of feet below the surface and will take weeks to thaw. When it does this the ground actually breaks and heaves due to the uneven pressures, turns to mud and makes a real mess.

This is the first winter since I moved into this place where I can not keep the house warm. I have always been "comfortable", but this year I sit in front of the heater and my fingers tingle with cold and my feet refuse to warm up no matter what socks or how many layers I use.

I woke this morning to find the house at a uniform temp of 50f indoors. That would be 10c for you guys across the water. I had two heaters going in the 500sp/ft I have not closed off. Never before have I seen this house unable to sustain temps above 60f through the night, even in the coldest weather, using a single heater. This place is a thermos bottle, sealed with plastic barrier and filled with the best insulation money can buy.

Another winter like this and I am heading south for the season. They invented Florida for old folks like me.

Of course I have some friends down in Florida. They got a couple of inches of snow down on the beach.