Winter Woes

(Photo credit: @globalfarm on Instagram)

This week, it finally got cold. I know, I know. Brisbane is only truly "winter" for about 6 weeks of the year, but we like to make a big deal of it. 

For example, today I pulled my winter coat out of the wardrobe for the first time in 10 months. I silently congratulated myself on remembering to get it dry-cleaned and immediately accessorized with a scarf. 

It occurs to me for someone who lives where I do, I have a lot of scarves. Oh well. 

I've probably written before about how I dislike cold weather. The pic above was taken at my parents' farm on the Darling Downs last week, where they are already getting frosts and hitting zero. I have less than fond memories of walking to the school bus in minus temperatures. 

Here in BrisVegas, the first bite of winter means running noses and endless, bronchial coughing on public transport. But it also means lovely things like coats, scarves, boots and wooly hats. And fireplaces (if you can find one) and snuggling under a granny blanket in front of the tv at night. With a cup of hot Milo. Or is that just me?

My British workmates LOVE it. Winter here is normal temperatures for them. Weirdos. 

And so, I reserve the right to whinge about the cold all the while secretly loving being cosy. I think I'm going to need a few more pairs of fluffy socks this time around. 

Winter - love it or hate it?

I could never live in Canada

Not that there's anything wrong with Canada. Land of sexy Mounties and yummy maple syrup, I'm sure it's great. But not for me - I couldn't stand the cold.

 

After a few decidedly chilly mornings last week it was with relief this AM that I actually took off my winter coat upon arriving at the train station. Not needed, huzzah!

No woolen scarf or gloves required either. When they are deployed, I know I'm too cold. 

It's ironic really, because I was brought up in one of the coldest places in Qld. Winter mornings were regularly below zero and we often walked the kilometer to the bus stop against what could only be described as Arctic winds. We put our clothes on or next to the wood heater to warm them before dressing. Sometimes the pipes froze. 

It was a few weeks in South East Asia's heat and humidity and returning to a Darling Downs winter that influenced my decision to move to Brisbane, and my family now teases me about being completely acclimatized. 

I don't care. Three or four truly cold days a year is an ok price to pay for "Beautiful One Day Perfect The Next" weather for the rest. 

Do you love or loathe the cold? Has weather influenced where you live?

Avoiding colds and flu - thank-you Kate Winslet

I'm hardly an expert, but I will say after changing a few simple habits last winter I escaped both colds and the dreaded flu for the whole season. And I have Kate Winslet to thank for it. 

Let me explain. 

Did you ever see the movie Contagion? It was a film that made you feel like never leaving the house again for fear of deadly viruses. Anyway, one scene stuck in my mind. The characters are talking about disease vectors and how the titular contagion spreads. She explains if people would just stop touching their faces, the virus wouldn't have as good an opportunity to enter the body. 

So simple. After that I made a great effort to stop touching my mouth, nose and eyes so much, particularly during/after being out in public. 

The one other thing that I started doing was paying attention to hand washing. Really. I now wash my hands whenever I enter a new building or before eating, in addition to post-lavatorial visits. 

And I wash them properly. Not doctor-level fussiness but I take at least ten seconds to scrub with soap (or just water if no soap available- I'm told it's nearly as effective?). And then I take the same amount of time to rinse. Dry thoroughly. Damp hands are not hygienic, probably. 

Thus it is I am now horrified when people literally dash their hands under the tap, shake and leave. 

Anyways, there are of course many other things you can do to help avoid the winter lurgy and stay healthy, most of which I'm sure you are aware. 

- Eat heaps of fresh fruit and veges. 

- If you need to sneeze, do it into a tissue or the crook of your elbow. 

- Minimise contact with door handles if possible. 

- Cover your mouth when you cough (and don't touch your face after!)

- Get the flu shot!

As I said, I'm no doctor but I was very surprised the difference these simple changes of habit made to my health in winter, am I'll be doing them again this year!

What do you do to avoid colds and flu?

Sochi Problems

[Image source]

I have never been a sports-type person. Sure, I watched footy with my dad, played netball and softball at school, and cricket was the soundtrack to every summer of my childhood. I know the rules, vaguely who the players are. But I don’t follow it. I don’t care who wins, except that Queensland beats New South Wales in the State of Origin (that’s some kind of genetic Queenslander thing, I suspect).

So every Olympics, I try to tell myself I’m not interested. It’s not like these elite athletes are curing cancer or anything, after all…

But then I get sucked in. Because humans doing stuff they’re good at is always something to marvel at. You don’t need all a slow-mo montage set to sweeping orchestral strains to do it, but it does help.

What has really drawn my attention to the Sochi Winter Olympics this year has been, of course, Russia’s controversial human rights record (a whole ‘nother blog post to be written by someone more knowledgeable than me), but also the plight of the poor sports journalists who have arrived to find some facilities not yet completed. Some might say that they should stop whining about your First World problems, but when you’re hosting an event that has the eyes of the world on you, perhaps it is best to try to keep the reporters happy?

Anyways, I won’t be staying up until the wee hours every night to watch the snowy goings-on, but I will be watching the nightly recaps. After all, it is a good feeling when your team wins.

 [Image source]

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE ETC.

Will you be watching the Winter Olympics?

How I know winter is coming

Trying not to sound too much like Ned Stark here, but winter IS coming. You know how I know?

This morning, I was sent this, from up on the Darling Downs:

 

[source: globalfarm's instagram]

Yep. The first wood fire of the year up there. A bit nippy, I'm told. 

Also:

- my winter PJs are out of their storage box and have been washed in readiness

- I've worn a scarf

- I'm starting to covet ankle boots

- I now loathe the Artic temperatures of train airconditioning

- It's dark when I get home from work

- I'm drooling over soup and slow-cooker recipes

What do you love/hate most about the colder months?

Winter sucks

[image source]

I don't like the cold. I'll admit, there is some satisfaction in curling up on the couch with the heater on and my Snuggie keeping me cosy, but all in all I do detest cold weather.

In fact, it is one of the main reasons I moved to Brisbane. You see, I grew up on the Darling Downs near Toowoomba. We lived on a farm, and the area frequently competes with Stanthorpe every year for the lowest temperatures in the whole of Queensland. Many a morning did I layer up for school in pants, jackets, gloves and beanies to walk the 500m to our front gate and catch the bus in temperatures less than 5 degrees.

I think I only realised just how cold winters were there when I went to Thailand. I travelled there in May, and reveled in the 34 degree days with crippling humidity (all part of the holiday experience, you understand). But then I had to come home to June on the Darling Downs, and the change in seasons was nothing short of shocking!

I had visited my friend B in Brisbane over the years and certainly it didn't even seem to get cold there. Yes, the summers were hot and muggy, but winter barely seemed to call for more than a pair of jeans and a serviceable cardigan or winter jacket.

So I made the move when the opportunity arose with my work to move to the Big Smoke, and I've never looked back. I own one cardigan and one wool trench coat. One pair of jeans and one pair of track-pants. And I don't seem to ever need anything more than that. I still keep a pair of gloves and a scarf for when I visit my mother though. These will be coming out of storage this weekend – I'm going to a scrapbooking camp up at Lake Perseverance, and it's going to be BLOODY COLD. All part of the experience, though, you understand.