For most of my life I have thought of fall and winter as a large inconvenience. I have a mild case of Raynaud's phenomenon , so when the cold weather hits, I have a hard time keeping my feet and hands warm. Typing becomes problematic and I can often be found wearing fingerless gloves indoors. It's annoying, but not terrible.
For Steve, the colder weather is torture. He started wrapping up in a blanket in the evenings a month ago when the evening temperatures dropped below 70 degrees. With the onslaught of Tropical Storm Lee, he has started wrapping in 4 or 5 blankets.
He wasn't always averse to cold temperatures. Until a few years ago, he would hunt in sub-freezing weather. He was always my heater when things got too cold for me. Since his activity has slowed so dramatically, the cold is unbearable.
Cold weather causes extreme pain for him. His muscles tense due to the shivering which exacerbates the pain. Short of keeping the house at a tropical 90 degrees, there is not much we can do for him. One of the reasons we chose this house when we moved was because it included a wood burning stove as the main source of heat. Steve can sit near the wood stove and warm up and the rest of us can hang out further away. But even he won't start a fire when its 60 degrees outside (thank God!).
Things get a bit interesting around here when Steve starts assuming the kids are as cold as he is. I have to remind him that the kids are typically running around and not sitting still all day. They don't need a long sleeve shirt and sweater unless they are going to be outside for any length of time. Otherwise, they are sweating and uncomfortable.
How's the weather where you are? Are you keeping warm and dry?
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