The house should get some sympathy, it has been abused. The occupant, not so much.

Exactly. We do minus 20-30-40*C here.

@Lilac-JadeCanada I can't even fathom that people can exist in such a climate!

@MsDemeanour It is amazing what you can get used to when you have to.

@MsDemeanour We have the right clothing, plus we don't go out unless we have to at our age, & do it on a limited time too.

My husband often had to work outdoors if a job required it, but he's been retired for over 20 years so we can pick & choose when we have to go out in winter.

@Lilac-JadeCanada Multiple layers of clothing is better than one thick one.

@Betty We know.

@Betty When I used to nightshifts on the railways here I always wore a set of thermal underwear, a pair of "adapted" pantyhose, 2 pairs of socks, my overalls with a thick winter shirt on, a pull-over, a pair of thick cotton gloves and a pair of heavy leather ones and a duffel coat as well because the winds howling their way through the Shunting and Marshalling Yards could, and I am NOT joking, easily freeze the balls off of a Brass Monkey.

@Triphid With that outfit you could easily visit northern Canada. lol You should be as snug as a bug.

@Betty Except the Rail yards were built on a North-South axis and in winter here, the winds mostly come from the south, straight off of the South Pole mostly.

@Triphid Brrrrrrrr! No thanks. lol

@Lilac-JadeCanada. It's winter where I live and my house is really not suitable. It's an old draughty house, built for hot summers, to capture the breeze. In fact, during the day it is colder inside than out.

My youngest, who has never even seen snow, is off to Canada for two years. He's a surfer and wants to try snowboarding. I'm thrilled for him. His grandfather has given him strict orders not to visit the USA (because he will be shot or abducted!). Not sure that David will agree to that but we all feel he will be safe in Canada albeit a trifle cold.

@MsDemeanour Depends where he goes.....we don't all have snow here.

@MsDemeanour This was our property this winter, but not everyone gets this.....

Neighbours helping keep us cleaned.

@Lilac-JadeCanada WOW. lotta hard work. It's so beautiful tho.

@MsDemeanour As I said, it depends where your son goes.

@Lilac-JadeCanada He's going first to Banff and has a job lined up. Apparently the place is full of Aussies but he hopes to meet some locals.

@MsDemeanour Yes, many Aussies are here. We even have some in our emergency room at the hospital, & we're very small.

Banff is beautiful.....we honeymooned there almost 56 years ago.

@Lilac-JadeCanada I'm quite sure my son will grace your hospital with a visit. Hopefully just a broken arm or some such. I have a nugget of a notion of popping over to check up on him (in summer of course).

@MsDemeanour We are a long way from Banff....8 - 9 hours drive time.