Question of the Day - Monday, November 1, 2021

[MoochNNoodles]

It's November 1st and our weather is suddenly cooler. Mooch is extra cuddly again and my little inner Christmas Elf has been crying to be let out for weeks! We always put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving but some years it's harder to wait. Fortunately my house is covered in fall stuff and we usually host Thanksgiving; so I've been able to keep myself in check. We do hang the outside lights early; we just don't turn them on till after Thanksgiving.




What does the "weather change" mean for you in the cooler months?




I feel like since my kids were born it starts early with making sure they have clothes that fit for fall/winter. Then it moves to coats for fall...and then winter. Then do they need boots and snow pants? It's one thing after another!

Then comes in the final clearing of the gardens and my potted flowers. They are blooming extra long this year and I've loved it so I've been slow to pull things. I'm sad that we might get close to freezing this week; but it is nicer to do outdoor work without getting sweaty. Hopefully the day we get the Christmas lights up will be mild. DH's hands always get cold and it's easier to do without gloves on.

Everyone has already dug out their fleece robes for the mornings. (A hoodie for DH.) Somewhere in there everyone gets flannel sheets on their beds and blankets added. We all seem to have a different preference for when we are ready for those. I'll probably have to turn the heat on at some point this week.

One of the best things is getting to do smores and hotdogs over the firepit with the kids. It's just too hot in the summer for that; but when it's colder it makes standing by a fire nice and they love it.

And last but not least; the cool weather change means plugging Mooch's heated bed in and watching her melt.

 

[Kat0121]

Fall: It's still summer
Winter: Mostly fall-like. I can shut off the AC and open windows. Gets chilly in December-Feb but only at night or early morning. A light jacket or hoodie is needed until mid morning when things warm up.

 

[strider rose]

for me it means that it gets cooler in michigan and time for hoodies, sweaters and jackets

 

[NY cat man]

It means that now I have a semi-permanent case of the sniffles until warm weather returns some time in May- I hope.

 

[susanm9006]

Cooler weather here means it could be winter any day and there is a whole lot of work to be done to get ready. I will mow leaves every couple of days, roll out the heated walkway mats, plug in the heated birdbath, give the hedges a fall trim, put away all of the yard ornaments , make sure the snowblower is working, make sure I have sidewalk salt, put away all everything in the garage that has been pulled out all summer and stock up on bird and squirrel food. The reward for all of this is actually snow and cold, where the only outside thing I have to do is clear snow, and sometimes you go weeks without having to do that.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Fall: It's still summer
Winter: Mostly fall-like. I can shut off the AC and open windows. Gets chilly in December-Feb but only at night or early morning. A light jacket or hoodie is needed until mid morning when things warm up.

Every year I get a little more jealous of your "fall/winter" to-do list. But you can keep the Florida creepy crawly slitheries.

 

[Jem]

Well, the first thing...I sigh and get sad/mad anticipating the first snow fall. It snowed last week already...although it didn't stay.

We put our winter tires on, get our oil changes and hubby switches the sheds around to make the snow blower and shovels more accessible, putting the lawn mowers off to the side after one last grass cutting/mulch...He also does a tune up on the snow blower and preps the lawn mower engines for their hibernation. That was done last week.

Hubby will also check the heat trace on the roof and pull out the extension cords for it. (We get ice dams on one section of the house due to our skylight so the heat trace keeps it melted.)

We take out the vehicle winter accessories (scraper, brush, etc...) and buy new of needed.

The last of the yard cleanup will happen, the bulk of the patio furniture, pots and outdoor décor gets put away. We usually keep a couple folding chairs available for those nice days.

I go thru the closet to make our coats, boots and warm accessories more accessible, and check if they need laundering. I usually start wearing gloves at this point as I have Reynold's Disease and my hands become freezing.

The fireplace stove in the basement gets turned on and some of our heaters will get turned on, at lower temps, just to keep the damp chill out of the air when the temp drops on those dreary days.

It also means the prep towards the prep for Christmas....Getting lists together, getting a feel for plans and starting to watch for sales on baking items for all my Christmas baking...I've started baking as early as October some years. I also try to get a handle on Christmas gifts as well.

The flannel sheets get put on the bed, and the flannel PJs get pulled to the front of the closet. The electric blanket will usually get put on a little later, although we do have our little heating pads to warm our tooties before crawling into bed.

.......that's all I can think of right now....unless you also want to hear all the griping I do along the way! LOL!

 

[Winchester]

• Flannels and heavy comforter are on the bed
• Watch the cats get furrier. I swear Mollipop turns into a mini Maine Coon at this time of year!
• Clean and vacuum the electric registers in the rooms, so we can turn on the heat
• Close the pool
• Rake, rake, and rake some more
• Bring the lawn and deck chairs into the basement
• Sweatshirts and sweatpants
• Soup and fresh bread
• Start getting ready for Christmas (this weekend!)
• Put the snow shovels on the porch and the deck

I used to do my yearly complaints about driving in snow and ice. Amazing how being retired changes my attitude. If I don't need to drive in that crap, I won't!

 

[Kat0121]

Every year I get a little more jealous of your "fall/winter" to-do list. But you can keep the Florida creepy crawly slitheries.

They aren't nearly as bad as people think. I've been here 20 years. Have yet to see a gator. One or 2 snakes in that time. Both black racers which are harmless to humans. We get a lot of lizards but they are little. Most are tiny. Some are 6 inches long at most and they run for cover if they see people. I'll take our lizards over snow and ice any day.

 

[neely]

Winterize the house inside and out. Maintenance check on the furnace, caulk any cracks, put peppermint oil on cotton balls in areas where mice might try to sneak in (they don't realize we have a cat ). Cover the patio furniture, put smaller garden items in the shed, cut down perennials and rake over and over again then clean the gutters.

Apply a full coat of wax to the car before winter, check the tires and make sure I have a scraper in the trunk.

I bring out the flannel sheets, warm pj's, Smartwool socks (my favorite), winter coats, gloves, hats and scarves.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I don't do too much. I'll clear off my deck or put some things away. Yesterday I removed one chair and put some folding chairs against the side of the house and also (finally) cleaned up the paint supplies from when I painted my deck in September (I'm kind of lazy). Some things I need to do soon will be moving my lawn mower to the shed in the backyard so I have more room in my garage to put a snowblower that I will hopefully have before it snows. I don't do too much else, but once it starts getting colder, I'm almost always under a blanket whenever I'm in my house. I like keeping my house cool, so I usually keep it around 63*F during the winter.

 

[lizzie]

We've already got our heaters dusted and cleaned...one is ready to go and the other has been going on low for awhile since it turned chilly here,garden is put to bed (last quart of pickled banana peppers in the fridge,last of the green peppers chopped and in the freezer,and tomatoes ripening day by day in my cabinet),winter clothes have been rotated in the closet (we only have 1 closet in this house),air conditioners come out tomorrow to be put away and the house will be set for whatever comes.Kitties and pooches have extra blankies on their couch,in their chairs,on their benches,in their beds,and I put an extra blanket on our bed...not time for the flannels yet.

 

[Norachan]

Around about now I have to start thinking about how I'm going to survive the winter. It's going to get really cold, we're going to have at least two months of snow and I'm probably going to get snowed in for a couple of days at a time. Are all the outdoor water taps turned off completely? Are any repairs that need doing finished? Do I have tarps over the cat shelters to keep the snow off?

Got to make sure I stock up on enough supplies to last me through the colder months. I make sure I have at least two weeks worth of cat food, extra cat litter and everything else they might need. I buy some extra canned and bottle goods for myself and make sure I have enough tea, coffee and wine to see me through. I can survive on canned tomatoes and pasta for a few days as long as I have enough caffeine.

Also, I make sure that I've got the snow shovels and the sacks of salt out of the shed and put them right outside the front and back doors. Struggling through knee deep snow and then having to dig the shed doors open with your hands before you can get to your shovel is just silly.

I was really hoping to have a wood stove by now, but that didn't go as planned. That means I have to make sure I've always got a spare tank of kerosene for the heaters. Mr Husband often gets snowed in at work and has to stay there for a few days. I don't mind being on my own at all, as long as we have everything I need to keep us warm and fed.

Thanks for the reminded, I need to start preparing for winter this month.

 

[Maria Bayote]

It means I have to finish wrapping all those christmas gifts so I can send them asap to my family back home via air package.

 

[Mia6]

Wash coats, throws, blankets, scarves, gloves. I keep it cool in here never above 65 daytime nighttime about 62.
I always rug up when it's really cold.