No, not THAT s-word, but one that can be said with the same sneering tone -- snow!
Yes, it snowed on Monday. Not a lot, and it was melted by 11 a.m. But it was a shock to wake up to white stuff on the grass and on my patio!
Ugh. You know what that means -- more is coming! Time to break out the heavier coat and maybe
some mittens or a scarf.
But then again, it's SWEATER WEATHER!! I love sweater weather. It means we're past the heat of summer, those 80 to 90 degree days that make everyone sweaty and sometimes cranky. Well, in my house they do. They prompt the debate of 'should we open windows or turn on the air conditioner?'
When we were young we didn't live in air conditioned circumstances. I remember lying in bed waiting to melt while my body finally decided to drop off to sleep. I never enjoyed that. We never had enough fans for everyone's rooms. Sweat tasted salty and the sheets were sticky. Ugh.
I didn't live in a place with air conditioning until I got married and our apartment had central air. What a luxury! Until someone decided that 72 was a good temperature at which to set it! After working outdoors all day long, it must have seemed comfortable to DH. Meanwhile I froze, my fingers and feet were always cold. I wore a sweater and socks, and he always asked "why are you so cold?"
Dude. 72?
Now 72 is touted as the perfect room temperature. Who decided that? I have no idea.
When I worked downtown the engineers loved to discuss the temperature in the office. Our last office had a high ceilinged area, and a low ceilinged area, and the temp would vary by as much as 10 degrees. When my boss was in the same office I was in the middle of the low ceilinged area, the warmest part. Sometimes it was warm enough to make people a little drowsy, especially after lunch!
Once he retired and my new boss was in another state, it didn't matter at all where I sat, so I moved to what was called the High Bay Area. The ceiling was two stories up. There were no ceiling fans and no electric fans (or heaters) were allowed in the cubicles. True to science, warm air rises, and the HBA was generally the cooler spot. It was good most of the time.
The environmental engineers tried to balance out the heat and humidity. Their theory is that 72 degrees and low humidity is cooler than 72 and high humidity. And the 72 degree temp is OK if you're moving around, working near machinery or electronics that give off heat, or are dressed in layers, BUT if you're sitting at a desk in an open area, not moving around, it might be perceived as too cool.
Also, one guy's favorite theory was that women felt the cold less than men. Men liked the warmer area according to his ideas. However, I noticed that a lot of the men wore suits, the jacket of which they removed when they went into their offices.
DH and I have decided that when the heat is on, 71 or 72 is good if we're working. 73 is better for evenings when we're sitting around in our condo, with the ceiling fan reversed in the winter to direct the warm air down. At night it goes down to 64 so I can sleep, and he turns on the heated mattress pad on his side of the bed. In summer when the air is on, it's set at 75 during the day while we're working, then it goes down to 72 at night for sleeping. And whenever possible we turn it off and open windows. However I cannot sleep if it's going to be warmer than 75 overnight! (I told you about the cranky part, right??)
Even with the heat up to 73, he's colder in the winter than I am, because most of the time I wear a sweater. And socks inside my slippers. He goes around in a tee shirt with an open flannel shirt on top. Not buttoned... and he will NOT wear a sweater.
Men.
So the best way to keep warm at my house on a fall evening is to knit or have a cat in your lap.
Works for me...
