Embracing the Cold

One of the biggest things I was worried about with our move here was how I was going to survive the cold, dark winter.  Apparently expats here don't ask how many years you have lived here but how many winters you have wintered.. and I'm assuming, implied, "survived!" 
Well, I am happy to report that I have yet to be freezing.  That is a big accomplishment given that it is already mid November (how the heck did that happen so fast?) and we are just 5 weeks away from the shortest day of the year and then slowly but surely the days get longer, even if we won't notice the change until probably February.  I did have to start turning the lights on around 3:45 the other day which gave me pause but thankfully we have lights and once the lights are on you barely notice the dark... OK, I would totally notice the dark because it is pitch dark by 5PM already but I'm choosing not to focus on it.

I have yet to bust out my warmest coat (well, I did once on Halloween because Josie wanted to wear my next warmest because it was black and she was a black cat) and I was too warm. 

Always a good thing for me.  So, I know I still have one last level to go and I haven't needed it yet. Yay!  I know this gloating is going to come back to bite me come January but honestly every day that I don't freeze my butt off is a huge deal for me.  And I'm paying attention.  I'm thankful. 

Another reason we don't get as cold here is because when we are out we are constantly moving - walking or biking. And everywhere inside has the heat cranked up to factor 10.  The buses, every restaurant, every store.  It is almost suffocating the amount of heat they use here.  Biking has become quite cold, though.  The air blowing by is icy and a bit like being in a convertible.  Gloves and hats are a must now but our hats or hoods don't allow for a helmet so we all got neck warmer/head covers for biking and I must say they work quite well.