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Where the wolf has been hiding ....
8 years ago
General
For anyone curious as to where I kind of disappeared to over the last little bit: the last six months have been kind of hellish, as most folks know, then I went home for the holidays, and then the weather here turned nasty.
I moved to Texas partially because I was thoroughly sick of winter and winter weather: I grew up in Canada and lived most of my life in the north-east, I've *never* been terribly fond of cold and snow.
Unfortunately, as most of you are all too aware, this winter has been unusually cold even down here in the south, and Dallas it was particularly bad: Dallas is part of the southwest that's relatively flat, so when the winds come from the north/north-west they are particularly cold. And my apartment faces north.
Add to that, the fact that here in the south, builders tend to skimp on things like insulation, doors and windows that seal particularly well, and my flat has been an icebox lately. It's not helped by the platelet-thinners I'm on, as far as I can tell (makes my hands and feet extra prone to the cold, it appears).
As a result it's been hard getting myself to sit around and finish much art, I'd much rather be bundled up in bed or on the couch.
Happily that cold-snap seems to have broken now. It's not hot out by any means, but it's tolerable and the apartment is somewhat comfortable again, so the flow of art should resume, at least somewhat!
I moved to Texas partially because I was thoroughly sick of winter and winter weather: I grew up in Canada and lived most of my life in the north-east, I've *never* been terribly fond of cold and snow.
Unfortunately, as most of you are all too aware, this winter has been unusually cold even down here in the south, and Dallas it was particularly bad: Dallas is part of the southwest that's relatively flat, so when the winds come from the north/north-west they are particularly cold. And my apartment faces north.
Add to that, the fact that here in the south, builders tend to skimp on things like insulation, doors and windows that seal particularly well, and my flat has been an icebox lately. It's not helped by the platelet-thinners I'm on, as far as I can tell (makes my hands and feet extra prone to the cold, it appears).
As a result it's been hard getting myself to sit around and finish much art, I'd much rather be bundled up in bed or on the couch.
Happily that cold-snap seems to have broken now. It's not hot out by any means, but it's tolerable and the apartment is somewhat comfortable again, so the flow of art should resume, at least somewhat!
Insulation helps in the summer too, ye building-code-writers. And builders install the least insulation they legally can all over, but southern states don't mandate decent insulation.
Regardless, good to hear from you again! I have to admit, I was getting a bit worried.
I'll admit, I'd not have guessed that. .. Mind, my instinctive guess was 'someplace warm and cosy?' so I guess I wasn't too far off, huh?
But, we've had several fairly mild winters in a row lately, so I suppose, statistically, we were about due for things to even out.
Sorry it's been so cold, Wolf! It's been pretty fuckin' chilly over here, too, when the hills aren't also on fire. xD Glad you're back!
Same for me, I'm solar powered it seems, and while I wasn't always happy in Florida it's a damn lot harder to be happy when it's freezing and dark for six months in Toronto.
(I had my own lesson in "Southern insulation" one winter when I was traveling with my parents. We stayed the night in a (Memphis?) motel when an ice storm moved through. Brr! And I'm from "Winter Water Wonderland" Michigan!)
So, when it got really cold a week ago (the low in Wichita Falls was 9F on Jan 17th), it still felt cold in my house, despite it being between 75 and 80 with gas heat going full blast. There's a mail slot in the wall that lets cold air blow into the house, and my computer sits near it. I usually put a towel in it at night and remove it during the day.