filed in Daily Life
Baby It’s Cold Outside
Outside at the Getty Museum this weekend on a warm winter’s day, I chatted with a woman from Alabama. She asked if I take the weather in L.A. for granted. “Never,” I quickly replied. Amidst the polar vortex in much of the country, I’m feeling particularly grateful. Have you been bundling up?
Photo of Chicago by Brian Clay
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20 comments for “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
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Appreciative of our LA weather. But feel as if the earth is about to crack open. Major drought happening feels ominous. Lowest rain fall since 1877.
Yes, Jules. You’re absolutely right. Thanks.
Let’s put it this way–I never thought 3°F would feel so WARM.
@Jules–and we’ve got a foot of snow on the ground and rain forecast for the weekend. This could possibly be a repeat of the pre-Christmas flooding. Feast or famine, I suppose.
Wish we could transport some of that for our Sierra snowpack.
I’m with Petra…25 above with little wind chill felt downright balmy this evening. I’ll probably be walking around in flip-flops when it hits 60 this weekend.
But if I never have to experience the single digits and sub-zero wind chills of Monday and Tuesday again, it will be too soon. It took me 5 minutes outside to get on a bus Tuesday morning, and I swear I was developing frostbite in that time. My gloves were only providing minimal protection to my hands, but I needed to cover my face with my hands to keep it from feeling like it was on fire. And then I couldn’t decide whether to cover my cheeks or my ears. Once I got on the bus, my legs, face, ears, and hands stung as they warmed back up. But that bus driver was the highlight of my day – he cranked the heat up and kept scolding people for keeping the back doors open longer than necessary to get off. 🙂
This week, I’ve been hearing on the news that mittens are better than gloves in really cold weather. Is that true?
Yes, mittens are more effective, but it’s really hard to do things wearing them. I don’t own mittens, but even if I did, I think the gloves would have won because I could lock my door and pull out my transit pass wearing them, without pulling them off. Perhaps I need to invest in the mitten/glove hybrids (the kind with the flap that turns them into mittens when you’re not actively doing something with your fingers).
Maybe just for the next polar vortex.
I find mittens are more effective than gloves. Making fists inside the mittens helps keep the hands warm.
It’s consistently been around -20C + wind chill here lately. I’m almost ready to break out the bellaclava, unless I’m going to the store – it makes people nervous 🙂
Silk longjohns are wondrous in this weather. And the +1C temps this weekend will feel like a heat wave!
A friend of mine will be moving the Caribbean next year. We’re wondering what the acclimatization will be like – it’s amazing how the body adapts.
What I wonder with long johns is, are you hot with them on when you’re inside?
No, I typically don’t overheat even when I wear them inside. They’re silk, lightweight, and breathable, which for me prevents overheating. I would be just as comfortable indoors without them, but outdoors, the extra layer is great. I also wear them when I’m outside for vigorous activity (breathable).
Now, when it’s bitterly cold and I’m outdoors for non-vigorous activity, I wear heavier long-johns, which are similar to a lightweight fleece. Warmer, less breathable.
More than you ever wanted to know.
Re: dogs: I had a raincoat for my big German Shepherd, but it was for my benefit (big, wet dog = lots of wet dog smell in the house). In winter, no jacket, but he wore booties to prevent painful ice balls from developing in his paws. Without the booties, he would last only 5 min on walk before limping. With booties, he’ll walk all day.
Just imagining your German Shepherd’s booties is making me smile.
And I should note, the alternative to putting my hands on my face/ears was to stuff them in my pockets. They WERE nice and warm in there, but my face was not doing so well…
RE: Body adapting to climate
I lived in Antigua for two years, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.
First December there – frolicked in the warm ocean water all month.
Second December there – refused to go in the ocean because the water was too cold!
My brother lives in New England (and loves winters, go figure!), and I asked him if he puts a coat on his dog. He told me he does when it gets below 20 degrees. In L.A., I see people putting coats on their dogs when it’s in the fifties. Maybe dogs acclimate too.
My dogs are Labs and will still get in any running water they can find, even if it’s zero degrees out (as it was last weekend). They look impatiently at me as I don sweaters, scarf, hat, gloves (mittens!) boots, etc as if, why do you need all that stuff? I know we are in the minority but we love the cold!
Labs have a beautiful built in winter coat, as does my poodle.
I wouldn’t rely on that “winter coat” for a poodle. Their fur is more like human hair, with no undercoat, so their skin gets as cold as your scalp under hair. My dog’s a schnoodle, and he has poodle “hair” without the schnauzer undercoat. Sure, because his whole body is covered in it, he can stand the cold a *little* longer, but he’s usually ready to head home shortly in extreme cold.
Since it barely gets below 50 degrees in L.A., I’m assuming my “bijoodle” (bijon-poodle) will be okay.
Rub it in, why dontcha? 😉