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Baby It's Cold Outside - what do you like about winter?

Teresa avatar
SoWal Guide
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after the holidays, after the celebration of the New Year.. things get quiet in SoWal for a while. the pace of life slows a bit. the days are short. the weather can be quite cold and dreary at times. it can even be depressing after a few months - even in paradise.

But, there are wonderful things in winter too! I find the time to do a lot of things I never seem to find time for, plus there are some things unique to winter that I absolutely love.

jewelry making or photo albums, start a new hobby, volunteer at school, etc.
finally find time to just sit on the sofa and enjoy a warm, cozy fireplace
movies movies movies - at home and the theater
playing cards or monopoly or chess or scrabble
wonderful warm comfort food
a walk in the sun on a cold day will waken all your senses!
catching up on all those magazines piling up in the living room
a wonderfully long novel
a warm wonderful bed with down blankets and pillows
a warm wonderful long bath
supper with friends with candles, fireplace, wine, and good food!
a drive or walk out on the beach to see first hand the beauty of the winter land and seascapes - with just a few people who are out and about (no tents or trash - for just a few months)
a relatively quiet community - but not too quiet! the locals are all out and about enjoying the wonderful winter that brings warmish days every week or so.
jeans, boots and sweaters!

yes, winter is a wonderful respite from summer heat - it will be here by May along with hordes of visitors to the beach!

yes, by March, I'm ready for some warmer weather. and by the time I'm tired of the quiet and the short cold days, spring arrives and with it comes a whole new kind of beauty and wonder.:wub:

I love how each season offers unique weather, holidays, special occasions and traditions.

Please remind me of the beauty and wonder of high summer in SoWal when July 4th rolls around. sometimes the heat and the traffic and all the crazy stuff happening around here can make me feel overwhelmed. But, its wonderful in its own way too.



Winter 2008 (January) - oh gosh the kids were tiny babies!!! (and it was not warm that day -kids don't care!)

post your winter activities and/or pix here.

Edited

Replies

127
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#27
oh, I love winter sports! as long as I'm on the sofa watching...
kathydwells avatar
Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname
#28
I will not sugar coat this in any way! I do not like winter at all. I like nothing about it, do you hear me? Nothing. I hate cold. I hate it. Supposed to snow here Thursday and the low on Saturday is 8 freaking degrees. I have to pray for strength to get through these winter months. I wish I was a bear and could hibernate. What I am is a grumpy, old fart that just wants Spring to get here PRONTO. :wave:
Lynnie avatar
SoWal Insider
#29
If you came and spent the week with me in my house, we would have a damn blast and you know it. fireplace and hangovers. and comfort food. and quick drives out to the Red Bar and the beach just to get out on the weekend. admit it.

okay - we're all kind of suffering in this severe cold. I admit I hate not being able to stand being outside for 2 minutes. today it was a little warm on my back porch and I worked out there packing away christmas. but that was only a brief period of warmth with the sun shining - early afternoon.

too cold for me right now.

Lynnie - I would adore the 2 day snow too. unfortunately (or fortunately) we don't get an hour snow here!

Two Day Snow this Thur! Bring booze, screw the eggs and milk! :lol:
Lynnie avatar
SoWal Insider
#30
I will not sugar coat this in any way! I do not like winter at all. I like nothing about it, do you hear me? Nothing. I hate cold. I hate it. Supposed to snow here Thursday and the low on Saturday is 8 freaking degrees. I have to pray for strength to get through these winter months. I wish I was a bear and could hibernate. What I am is a grumpy, old fart that just wants Spring to get here PRONTO. :wave:

:wub: How's your tooth?
Sheila avatar
SoWal Insider
#31
My fireplace, portable heater, higher numbers on my thermstat and pi$$ed I don't have a remote for it, two schnauzers to snuggle with, a warm afghan knitted by fbb's late grandmother, wondering why the hail I don't have a cabana boy to bring me a steamy bowl of soup and a hot toddy, flannel pj's and wool socks, a seat warmer in my trucklett, gloves,scarves, fur lined boots. That is all.
Minnie avatar
Beach Fanatic
#32
Two Day Snow this Thur! Bring booze, screw the eggs and milk! :lol:

Well my car would not start so I had to give up on the eggs and milk but I do have Jack Daniels in the house. :clap:
Minnie avatar
Beach Fanatic
#33
:clap: YAY party at Toot's house!
I love my new Christmas present from my kids...it helps make the COLD nights bearable...a electric blanket!!! Thank you, Tootsie, for putting that bug in their ear! I don't know how I got along with out it...wonderful getting into a warm bed!

I walked on the beach Saturday morning and the sand sounded like snow under my boots...felt like the best of both worlds...it has gotten even colder since then.

My checkbook is ready for warmth... electric bill, I don't even want to see it next month :eek:

I love a fire in the winter, and thats about it :blush:

That was my 25 year old's comment last night, "Mom how did people survive before electric blankets". :lol:
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#34
:lolabove:oh lordy. I feel for ya'll. the misery of winter! Darlene - sugar coating is just not even the way its done around here - so thanks for ranting and raving! we hear ya. and lots of people are so with ya!

we're hearing a lot of stories from you all on the other thread about winter conditions. keep 'em coming. share the pain and the love.

we are experiencing our real winter in SoWal right now - almost froze to death driving 3 miles to Publix this afternoon (mild exageration) - and its too dam cold for any living creature right now!!! If I had to live in this for very long I would be saying the same things you all are saying - I think.

winter weather here can be really nice (and also cold and dreary).. but I guess my whole thing about winter is that it just isn't about weather - the weather is fine, its not harsh, its just weather... BUT this town in winter is so different. hard to explain... its a good place to just be for a while. just for a while. but that is just me and a few other buds who have always enjoyed the quiet time to just kick back and go to lunch at Red Bar and talk about how things used to be. guess what - things are pretty much still the same. but only in winter. its the reason I love these precious few months.:wub:

but spring time always brings so much beauty and wonder its hard to want to stay in winter for very long...

baby its cold. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................ stay off the roads, watch out for ice and stay warm everyone!:wub::wub:

oh and as MissCritter said sometime earlier - don't forget to protect your domestic critters from the cold.

Edited

Sheila avatar
SoWal Insider
#35
Some Red Bar and Dread would make it better for sure!
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#36
Some Red Bar and Dread would make it better for sure!

oh, its a long long winter tradition. let us know when you plan to go. hopefully the weather will be fine for a walk on the beach. makes for the perfect day.
Sheila avatar
SoWal Insider
#37
I will for sure! Probably towards the end of the month. I'll give y'all a holla.
Bob avatar
SoWal Insider
#38
the dog doesn't want to go out every half hour
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#39
Some Red Bar and Dread would make it better for sure!
I agree. I had planned on spending January at the beach, but until hubby gets better, that's not in the cards. Stuck in the house at the beach in the cold weather is better than stuck in the house here.

Tootsie, I'll have to google netti pot.

Bob, our poodle wants to go out and hunt every fifteen minutes. She is stalking the birds and chipmunks outside. Every time I let her out, a blast of cold air comes into the house. Argh!

Edited

Minnie avatar
Beach Fanatic
#40
the dog doesn't want to go out every half hour

Same as BR, I have the opposite problem, mine loves the cold weather and wants to go out every half hour. :lol:

Its so cold I don't want to open the door. Right now its a frigid 19 degrees. :blink:
scooterbug44 avatar
SoWal Expert
#41
I like it when it's cold because I get to wear all of my snuggly clothes (god bless the inventors of fleece) and eat all the yummy cold weather food (and then the snuggly clothes hide it all). :blush:

Add not sweating through my clothes and makeup w/in a minute of walking out the door or while drying my hair, a lack of tourons, no humidity, no sand in the sheets, and a total lack of guilt about staying inside/indoors.

Though this cold weather makes me REALLY want a fireplace ........... and better insulation.

And I cannot HELP but be really excited about the idea of snow in FLORIDA!!!!

Edited

Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#42
Same as BR, I have the opposite problem, mine loves the cold weather and wants to go out every half hour. :lol:

Its so cold I don't want to open the door. Right now its a frigid 19 degrees. :blink:
I hear ya. 23 here. At least I'm not a koi in our koi pond.:eek:
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#43
I like it when it's cold because I get to wear all of my snuggly clothes (god bless the inventors of fleece) and eat all the yummy cold weather food (and then the snuggly clothes hide it all). :blush:

Add not sweating through my clothes and makeup w/in a minute of walking out the door or while drying my hair, a lack of tourons, no humidity, no sand in the sheets, and a total lack of guilt about staying inside/indoors.

Though this cold weather makes me REALLY want a fireplace ........... and better insulation.

And I cannot HELP but be really excited about the idea of snow in FLORIDA!!!!

you said it soul sistah.
sunspotbaby avatar
SoWal Insider
#44
I will not sugar coat this in any way! I do not like winter at all. I like nothing about it, do you hear me? Nothing. I hate cold. I hate it. Supposed to snow here Thursday and the low on Saturday is 8 freaking degrees. I have to pray for strength to get through these winter months. I wish I was a bear and could hibernate. What I am is a grumpy, old fart that just wants Spring to get here PRONTO. :wave:

Need I say more? :wave:
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#45
Need I say more? :wave:

of course! but remember - no sugar! let it out!

Edited

Minnie avatar
Beach Fanatic
#46
of course! but remember - no sugar! let it out!

:floor:But then I always feel like Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail"

On the other hand, I must warn you that when you finally have the pleasure of saying the thing you mean to say at the moment you mean to say it, remorse inevitably follows.
scooterbug44 avatar
SoWal Expert
#47
I've decided the problem with southern winter is that you get all of the bad (cold, heating bills, chapping, frozen pipes, ice, dead plants and brown trees, dry skin, cold toes) w/o any of the funn (sledding, snowmen, snowball fights, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, hot tubs, ice fishing, sleigh rides, roaring fireplaces) - you need a balance.
SoWal Insider
#48
I like the silence of winter but prefer a nighttime southern summer cacophony of crickets and frogs.
I agree 100%.

I enjoy winter days. Some are like a time warp where all one sees on the beach is sand and seagulls. (I want to tell johnrudy that I love the bridge avatar - cello?)

Winter is a great time for concerts and other cultural events.

Snowbirds have it figured out.
You would be correct. ;-)

I will not sugar coat this in any way! I do not like winter at all. I like nothing about it, do you hear me? Nothing. I hate cold. I hate it. Supposed to snow here Thursday and the low on Saturday is 8 freaking degrees. I have to pray for strength to get through these winter months. I wish I was a bear and could hibernate. What I am is a grumpy, old fart that just wants Spring to get here PRONTO. :wave:
Couldn't have said it any better myself! :lol:


It is 12 degrees here in Chicago so we are all experiencing practically the exact same temps! Hope you all stay safe & warm. You'll be back to more tolerable temps soon! :clap:
Minnie avatar
Beach Fanatic
#49
It is 12 degrees here in Chicago so we are all experiencing practically the exact same temps! Hope you all stay safe & warm. You'll be back to more tolerable temps soon
! :clap:

But that is normal for you, I never signed on for temps this cold. :floor:
SoWal Insider
#50
! :clap:

But that is normal for you, I never signed on for temps this cold. :floor:

Yep. Sometimes I wonder why I moved here. :lol:
And mark my words, my BD every year usually breaks some kind of a weather record! :lol:

Edited

JOE who avatar
Beach Lover
#51
my fav about winter is SPRING!!! as a new resident (year or so) to ohio from SoWal I have grown to love seeing 4 seasons, something not seen in the south... But...

i do like to see a fresh blanket of snow on the ground,
snuggling with my honey,
watching the dogs play in the snow,
sledding,
how mother nature seems to pause when a gentle snow falls,
and last but certainly not least the excuse to eat comfort (aka fattening) food

When i lived in SoWal i like the 'quiteness' winter brought, no vacationers and the beach was to myself... the deals the stores gave locals...

enjoy winter... it's 0 outside as i type this...

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