35 plus winters

Alan and I have lived in the Cincinnati, Ohio area for 35 and 1/2 years and have lived through 35 and 1/2 winters. And this winter is really not much different from the first 35.

On the third weekend of January we are blasted with cold, cold air, and usually snow. Sometimes it's a lot of snow, usually, just enough to be a nuisance and a school-closer for one day.

This year is no exception. It's cold outside, and therefore, it's cold inside. You see, we have a heat pump and heat pumps are designed to work most efficiently (I am told) between 25 and 85 degrees F). Forget about 0 degrees or even 10 degrees. So, we have small space heaters and they are keeping us warm in our offices and our bedroom.

I remember when we first moved to Cincinnati, and were going through our first winter, I was amazed when I went to church on the third weekend in January and was told that the outside temperature was nine degrees below zero and would be warming up to three below. I have never been in below zero temperatures before, I don't think. Maybe once. New Jersey from whence I came, didn't have Winters that cold. New Jerseyians complained when the temperature got below 20. But this winter (1975) was the first winter we experience such cold, and then the next few winters were even colder.

In the mid-'80s global warming hit and we didn't get much below 10 degrees above freezing. A real balmy winter. Then again in the early '90s we went through another spate of below zero days. This year? It's [the tempearture] hovering around the zero degree mark and has been for many days since the beginning of December. Tonight? We might get down to below zero. But the wind child is way down there already.

Fortunately, I can stay inside and keep my heater pointed at me in order to keep warm.

Right now I'm going to get into bed with a couple of down quilts on top of me. I'll be really warm for a while, anyway. More snow on its way for tomorrow, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. That's as far out as they go with our weather future. Yippee!


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