We can stand by the windows of our house and feel the cold air falling down. We have good storm windows but the large cold surfaces exchange enough warmth for cold that we can feel it. I don't know if a 150 year old Victorian house can ever be made immune to the outside temperature.

Walking in the cold, though, is super fun. The motivation is high to keep hustling to stay warm.

My house loses a lot of heat through the windows and the sliding glass doors too Bill. I didn't have the money to replace the windows or doors so I bought "thermal" curtains which we close in late afternoon/evenings. They seem to help a tiny bit.

I am not going to enjoy being out this afternoon as the wind will continue to rise and the temps to drop. This morning will be OK so I'll have to try to retain that part of the day in my mind as things get worse..

I have an evening walk to do as well - always a challenge as I'm at my lowest point at that part of the day. I'm taking Trixie along for that - help boost my morale.

Dagmar

I'm watching the condition of the sidewalks through my long French doors, since I'll have to manage the walker across them later today to get to my physical therapy session. It's a 10-minute drive, but I have more faith in the highway departments salting the roads than I do in our building complex for clearing the walkways.

At work, originally I'd requested this week off for disability and no more, planning to restart my job on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, which isn't a holiday for my company. Now because I am still non-weight-bearing, that seems like a bad idea. So I have to figure out how to come up with a new estimated start date, and how to present that. That means a call to the lawyer and the doctor's office, at the very least. That's my big preoccupation this week.

The only sweet thing for today is getting to watch more of Season 3 of "The Wire," which has been as good as a really good novel.

Bill, we have just the opposite problem here with windows. And it's funny how some people just don't realize how much heat gain (or loss) you get with windows. Buildings have to meet Title 24 requirements and that is done with the correct windows and proper A/C. When we built our house, we had to have three A/C units installed to meet the requirements. Basically that means that the house cools a lot faster and the units don't have to run continually so it is more energy efficient. When it comes to keeping the heat out it is actually more beneficial to have a drape on the outside of the window (we have them on a couple west windows and use them only in the summer). Anyway, we're bidding a restaurant here and the specs call for dual pane curved windows (which are VERY expensive and there are few manufacturers). Several of the other glass shops bid the job using laminated curved glass which is more readily available and less expensive BUT it won't meet the Title 24 requirements, so if it is used, that restaurant will have a very hard time keeping cool in the summer. Good thing the Koch brothers are the financial backers of this--they can afford to pay exorbitant electric bills in the summer which will happen if the wrong glass is used.

Wishing it were another 4-day weekend here. The past two were so restful and I really don't want to go to work today.

saef, good idea to talk to doctor and lawyer. You don't want to set any dates without their input.

Our manufactured home has double-pane windows, and they do make a difference. In our case it has to do with heat in the summer, not so much cold in the winter. But still. It's forced-air A/C and heating, and once the house gets hot or cold, you can feel the difference inside.

This is going to be an easy week. Since retiring from my tax practice, I suddenly see pleasant, stress-free winters and springs ahead.

Thinking positive thoughts for you, Saef, as you continue your journey.

And thinking warm thoughts for the rest of you. I won't complain about my 39 degree Cali weather when I know it will warm up nicely later.

My dd is on the way to the airport back to Arizona. Once she gets there, she will have a 2 hour drive back to Tucson. I won't relax till she is home. She may be coming back again in February but we'll see.

I have a BIL in Hong Kong who loves to be difficult. The world revolves around him. When we lived in Africa, he kept hounding us to visit but we had young kids and didn't want to pay for 4 tickets. Eventually we went. Right after we went, he announced he was getting married and wanted us to fly back again in less than 6 months. Three of us went again....
His wife doesn't like Houston so they didn't come for Christmas where the rest of the family met. Now (all of a sudden mind you) he is talking about coming our way for Chinese New Year. He expects everyone to drop everything and show up (hence why dd may be coming back). If it wasn't for the fact that they have a new baby (my niece) I haven't met, I'd be even grouchier. I think they'll stay in the Napa area and my in-laws may or may not come (I really doubt it since MIL just got out of the hospital and is still on IV antibiotics). Then we will probably "just" drive up there to see them on the weekend or such.... who knows....

Sorry for the grouchiness! I'm off to work-- busy Monday here!

We have quite a bit of glass facing south. Works great on a sunny day in the winter time; unfortunately we don't get a whole lot of those in Michigan. Today's one of those gloomy gray days. :P From what I see on TWC, it won't be as warm when I leave as it was this morning, meaning all that lovely slush that the road salt created should be frozen into a sweet skating rink for the ride home. Yippee ...

Saef, I'm glad you found a bright spot on TV. I found myself sucked into the new series "Empire". I think it's Tuesday or Wednesday night. It's about a family-owned record company and it has all sorts of big characters doing interesting things. I may have to turn it into a carrot for getting some other things done (exercise). I hope that your employers will understand how critical your healing is to your future productivity, and will honor the recommendations of your doctors without too much fuss.

JayEll, hooray for mellow weeks! I'm taking back our taxes now that DH no longer has small-business complexities. While I totally get that some tax prep can be incredibly consuming, ours is now back to a level of merely mind-numbing. I'll think of you when I'm cussing at the numbers.

Michele, perhaps BIL would enjoy the trip back to the States more if they had the opportunity to travel extensively by car and visit all the folks they've forced to visit them ... ? Your strategy of a finite trip sounds like the best option to me. You always have the option of leaving early.

The only unusual item in my week is emptying our bedroom in preparation for the new hardwood floor going in next Monday. We volunteered to take up the old carpet, move all the furniture, and do the floor prep - DH is on the warpath against a squeak we've had since 1991. It's been good for providing the opportunity to empty out all the drawers and take a deep look at what's in there. The garage sale pile is growing ...

I will not complain about being cold, because so many of you are dealing with *actual* cold and I'm just dealing with, you know, CA cold. The house is extraordinarily well insulated, though, unlike the old one.

This week is busy....lots of choir rehearsal for a concert next week, and Sarah is leaving on Thursday to go to LA and help with childcare for her little siblings (7 months older than Spencer) while her dad is on vacation. My mom will take the baby while I work. So it's about getting prepped for that and trying to fit in gym time in an otherwise busy work week.

I do have to get some coffee in me and get ready to go to shoulder PT, though.

Amada~good to hear from you! Your little guy is so cute!!! Are you still suffering the effects of your elliptical accident? That was a long time ago!

The only time I'll complain about the cold in California is when I have to cover my garden at night (as I had to last week). DH put some Christmas lights on the plants and we'd cover them with a sheet at night. It's probably not going to get that cold again this year so DH took the lights off and he knocked a jalapeno off the plant. I guess it's my first "harvest." I'll be adding the pepper to my dinner tonight to spice it up a bit.

Allison, I'm jealous that you can expect not to have colder weather. Our worst is likely still ahead, and I am jonesing big time for a fresh tomato. I have been eyeballing our unheated sunroom and wondering how inexpensively I could turn it into a greenhouse. The new hydroponic systems are pretty cool.

Mandalinn, welcome back!

This IS still the shoulder accident. After five years, I got what I hope is "the answer"...when I fell off the elliptical, I dislocated the shoulder and tore my labrum half off the shoulder socket...that's the ring of tissue that keeps your humerus firmly in place in the socket. Tear that, and your arm is unstable. It is looking like the pain was mostly due to the muscles in my neck and shoulder and chest (everything attaching to the shoulder, basically) all seizing up to try to keep my shoulder in socket. That led to severe muscle dysfunction and pain, but did keep me from tearing further or tearing the rotator cuff. So I had surgery in Sept to sew that tissue back on, and I'm only today cleared to start rebuilding muscle (it's a pretty simple surgery, but a 6-9 month recovery time).

I can't complain about the weather here in FL, until the summer when it's terrible. This morning I jogged at my usual 4:30am (yeah, I know, crazy) and it was already hot and humid. Came home dripping wet from humidity. But again, at least I can go outside.

My DD flew back to NYC yesterday for her final semester! She doesn't start for a week but she wanted to get some hours into her work/study so she has less work to do the rest of the semester. She was running with me a lot the past 3 weeks and now she's not sure how she will run because it's so cold and slippery. I told her do the treadmill - they have one in the dorms. We are going to do a 10K in March when she comes home for spring break. I can jog 4 miles but I need to work up to 6.2 in 2 months. I'll be fine - it's not like I'm trying to win anything. I can walk if I tire out.

Saef - glad you are involving doctor and lawyers. Still unbelievable that happened to you. Be careful on the slippery streets.

Michelle, I know just what you mean about worrying until they get there. Especially if they are driving. And I never text them when I know they are driving! My DD flies back and takes a cab or Uber to her dorm and strangely I worry much less with that than I did when DS drove 2.5 hours north on the very dangerous interstates here in FL. I've been worried about her getting hit by a car on the streets of NYC ever since Saef got hit. I held back and didn't tell her my fear!
When my kids were growing up I would hear about strange stories and always warn them (for example, the choking game, putting marshmallows in your mouth, the cinnamon challenge, getting addicted to video games, etc.) They were both such great kids it was really ridiculous I would warn them of these things. They would look at me like I was crazy! Why would we choke each other?
So my DS and DD used to joke with me that they were playing a video game all night, while eating as many marshmallows and hotdogs as they could, while playing the choking game and while putting cinnamon in their mouth. Now that they are both adults I try to hold my warnings/fears to myself.
I sound neurotic, I realize, reading this. But really, I'm pretty laid back, lol.

-10 at the house this morning! Even this treehugger let the car warm up - heated seats can only do so much.

Big weekend for DS; he's singing "The Prayer" at both services on Sunday. It's a tough piece and it will cover his whole range; fortunately he has a gutsy talented partner who can also do it justice. I think I'm more nervous than he is, .

Sharon~what is it with kids? My kids would do the exact same thing! So glad they both turned out to be good people! But even now they'll come home and find something to tease me about.

I didn't feel too well yesterday. Ended up coming home and going to bed for an hour and then attempted to do my chores (feed the animals and clean up and get dinner going). While I managed to do it, I felt worse after dinner and went to bed at 7. I slept reasonably well. I thought I'd wake at midnight and not be able to get back to sleep but that didn't happen. My stomach is still a little iffy this morning but I think I'll be fine.

Still looking for an estimator to replace the one who quit last week. He's been with us for over 20 years so it's going to be rough on DH to get a new one hired and trained. I try to do what I can but I really don't like that part of the job and I feel like I'm not doing it well anyway. I should hire a replacement for my assistant and I have an application but she wants full time and I only need part time. We'll see what happens.

I just wrote up an email, setting up the working vs. non-working dilemma for the lawyer. Meantime, I'm going to talk with my manager at 1 PM today for my year-end review, which I agreed to do, because I can certainly handle a 30-minute phone call.

It's 25 degrees outside and that now feels normal. But I've been home-bound, so I haven't borne the brunt of the winter cold, unlike the workmen outside my apartment building who are digging trenches that will ground the flood wall for my apartment complex. Yes, after four years of lobbying, we got all the required approvals, and construction started six weeks ago. The work stops and starts, depending on temperature and whatever precipitation is falling from the sky. I'm glad it's happening, but the fight for it left me weary. Have you ever waited so long and worked so hard for something that when it finally happened, you just didn't have energy anymore to be jubilant? There is just a flat-line, quotidian feeling of, "Oh, good, it's about time." Because my leg and my health is what's preoccupying me these days.