I AM GOING TO TURN INTO AN ICICLE AND YOU WILL NEVER HEAR FROM ME AGAIN

[highlyeccentric]

The temperature is 9 degrees celcius, the apparent temperature... is not showing on the BOM site for Canberra right now but in Tuggeranong it is 3.2, so here it may be anything between 3.2 and 9 degrees, I guess. Yesterday the apparent temp. got down to -0.7.

IT IS NOT EVEN WINTER YET. WTF?

Ok, facts: I went out last night in tights, knee-high socks, mid-calf boots, jeans, a singlet, a long-sleeve top, a jumper, a jacket (mid-thigh), gloves and a hat. My torso was warm but my legs froze.
People who actually live in cold climates: what do you wear on your legs? Because I have to walk to work at 8am every morning in winter, and I do not want to endure horrible stinging pain every morning when I get to work and my completely-numb legs encounter the building's heating system.

Right. Now I'm going to go and try to cook things, because that might warm up the house (even though by the Rules of Canberra I'm allowed to turn the heater on now, as it's past Anzac day, I don't really HAVE to. It's only Cold inside, not OMGYOUBASTARDFREEZINGCOLD).

Comments

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

People who actually live in cold climates: what do you wear on your legs?

...pants?

When it's cold enough that pants alone aren't going to cut it, waffle-knit thermal underwear is the Best Thing Ever. (Don't get the silk kind, as it sucks.) I used to live in Chicago, which is REALLY REALLY FUCKING COLD in the winter thanks to BEING ON A BIG LAKE, and my trusty thermal undies reliably prevented stinging leg pain.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Clearly pants alone is not going to cut it. I wore pants in SYDNEY. Canberra requires SRS layering, and apparently pants+tights isn't going to cut it either.

Waffle-knit thermal underwear. *makes note* Shoulda gone to the Kathmandu sale, I guess. The number of things I NEED TO BUY NOW BECAUSE IT'S GODDAMN COLD vastly exceeds my budget...

[strippedbare.livejournal.com]

What sort of tights are we talking? I've been wearing thick cable-knit tights and they're doing the trick for me.

In Japan I had to wear thermal longs under my pants. It was just too cold in winter to risk wearing skirts out (for someone used to Adelaide's balmy winters, anyway). I'd normally have the thermal longs, knee high socks, boots, and my work pants. And quite often two pairs of gloves. And ear muffs over my beanies. My students laughed, but seriously, I'd ride my bike home and just be in tears because the cold HURT SO BAD.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

We're talking the warmest tights I could buy a month ago. I saw thicker ones yesterday, but, as I said to angevin2, the number of things i need to buy NOW BECAUSE IT IS SUDDENLY COLD ALL AT ONCE vastly exceeds my budget :s. I had a choice of new PJs, new tights, or electric blanket. I picked the PJs, because thus far I haven't been cold at night so I thought electric blanket could wait a week. I got cold last night. DAMMIT.

[cursor-mundi.livejournal.com]

Denim, winter weight, with thermal undies underneath (I've got a type that combines synthetic materials with silk, so my pants don't get caught on them--they look like running pants, but about 10,000 thicker, and they're almost slippery on the outside. Spandex running pants will do in a pinch, but they're not as effective; you don't pass out 10 seconds after entering a building, though.) and knee-high socks. With lined and water-proofed boots. And a multi-layered parka with sealed seams and vents for when you over-heat. Skirts are NOT an option (pack it in your bag if you have to wear it at work). Nor is existing without a facemask--though those do tend to fog my sunglasses.

Also, this is not what you want to hear but...the legs can take the cold; they're moving and working, and they won't freeze if you keep going. Protect your toes, protect your torso (neck to crotch--lots of heat escapes through the crotch), protect your head. The tingle is good and means you're ALIVE!

So speaketh another who lives off one of the American/Canadian Great Lakes. Which are really only great at producing tons of snow and the coldest winds I've ever encountered--and I've been to Iceland.

[strippedbare.livejournal.com]

I never had an electric blankie in Japan, but what I did find amazing (coupled with flannie sheets!) is those mink blankets ... which you can pick up in some shops for around the $40 mark. Cheaper than an electric and better for your electricity bills, and they feel glorious to roll around in. All my other bedding in Japan got thrown out, but I took that baby home with me.

I'm someone that slips into bed wearing as little as possible - Mum always told me that in the RAAF when they're taught all their survival stuff, that sleeping in minimum clothes keeps you warmer? I know they tell people to do that at those ice hotels and stuff too! But this would mean you need a warm dressing gown or something for when you're not in bed...

[skep.livejournal.com]

You know the app temp last night around when we went to your place? -4.5!!! You really are going to die in proper winter...

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Really? I was prancing around outside with no coat on and no gloves when I went to find the other two....

Ooops. wrong account. deleted last comment.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Can't wear denim to work :s. Although possibly I could get a locker and keep my suit at work...

Looks like I need to go thermal-underwear shopping. And possibly New Boot shopping. And a parka. I've never had a parka before...

My toes spent the winter numb in SYDNEY. This whole protect-the-legs thing is an attempt to keep the circulation moving down as far as my toes, lest they fall off altogether in Canberra.

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Well, I have to say that I get through British Columbia and Boston winters just fine in blue jeans. I have all kinds of horrible memories of being forced to wear long underwear to school on days we were taking ski trips and being so hot I felt sick.

But then, back in the day when I wore nothing but skirts, I refused to even consider tights until it was below -10. These days I wouldn't go barelegged in the winter, but my feeling is that as long as you're moving and the windchill isn't below -20, a winter jacket and mittens are fine. Hats are for when you're outside for a long time without moving or when it's below -20 or with a nasty windchill (some exceptions made for if your hair is wet and going to freeze). Obviously, I am also one of the people who welcomes the numb kneecaps and ears. I don't come from really cold climes, though, by Canadian standards. The worst I've ever been outside in was about -25, and that without any real windchill.

On the other hand, I'm a big wuss when it comes to bedding. In the winters here, I sleep in flannel PJs under flannel sheets, a comforter, a quilt, a baby quilt, a fleece blanket or two, a wool blanket, and a sleeping bag.

As for you and your legs, if you're outside walking in it, you'll probably get used to it soon and it won't be as bad.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

if you're outside walking in it, you'll probably get used to it soon and it won't be as bad.

Experiments suggest that when outside walking in what I think is not really that bad, as cold goes, my legs get progressively number no matter what I think on the matter. My toes are out for the count within fifteen minutes...

I have bad circulation, and I got chillblains in winter in NEWCASTLE (for reference, the max in Newie today will be 20, while Canberra is hoping for 13). I assume after a year here I will adjust a bit, but I'm always going to have bad circulation, and I'd rather not end up with Reynauds like my brother's got...

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

Thermal underwear and a good swig of something strongly alcoholic are my suggestions. Surely this is how Average Canberrans endure the frozen wastelands in which they live? That or they're descendants of an Australian breed of frost giants... but my money is on the booze. And I speak from first hand outsider experience - when I went down time before last, it was the end of spring/beginning of summer, and the city I had to sledgehammer my way through was certainly not full of flowers and warm sunshine. Brrr. If only they had thermal neck-based underwear; I had to sing that day.

[iremos.livejournal.com]

Actually, silk underwear is better at retaining warmth and less bulky.

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Eep, things tending toward Reynauds are different! Ignore me being flippant and Canadian - it's not like I haven't had bad experiences with my feet being so cold I wanted to die (and taking hours to stop aching once I got warm). That's usually come from standing around outside in the cold for a long time, though. I second everyone who says hats and thermal underwear - I find that how cold my feet get has a lot to do with how cold I am globally. Maybe a long-underwear suit, with a top as well? You might have to change when you get to work to avoid suffocating from the heat, although maybe in Australia you don't have as much of an issue as we do with overheated buildings in the winter. How cold does it get in Canberra? You could also try stomping a lot, if your feet are going numb... if your hands are a problem, I've recently discovered that flailing your arms, windmill-style, forces blood into your hands.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I haven't SEEN any silk anywhere around here, so it could be a moot point...

[iremos.livejournal.com]

landsend.com

The best quality winter gear you can get. Amazing and indestructible.

[tranquillita.livejournal.com]

I fling my plush dressing gown (y'know, the really really lovely soft ones) over my doona before I go to sleep - it seems to trap heat. It doesn't work as well when it's UNDER the doona (or if I'm wearing it under the doona) though.

Re: Ooops. wrong account. deleted last comment.

[cursor-mundi.livejournal.com]

If you get a particularly slick type of thermals, they will fit easily under dress slacks--though it helps if the slacks are not super tight. :) Good thermals essentially give you an artificial layer of blubber, so if your pants could fit were you to gain a bit of weight, you're fine. If Canberra's winters are notorious, department stores should have a wide selection. I have several pairs of wool dress slacks that are lined, both because I am deathly allergic to wool and because the lining holds the heat in beautifully.

The shoes are super important--lined is best, and water proof is essential. I have some with Gortex, and they double as summer hiking boots (good tread for ice and snow); my lined boots have synthetic fur in them, and they line the toe bed as well as the leg shaft. Tuck the pants INTO the boots--it prevents snow from getting your hems wet and it also conserves more heat, and your pants won't ride up oddly, too. (They say dress slacks are boot cut and they LIE!)

For the parka, and most of the gear, I'd recommend going to a sporting goods store. Do you have REI in Canberra? I marched into one in Washington, DC, and told them I was moving to the Canadian border and that I chilled very easily and WOULD THEY PLEASE HELP ME NOT DIE, and they recommended stuff for ice-climbing and whatnot. Flexibility without turning into an insulated cream-puff. My parka (the brand is North Face, and they're good people) has a detachable liner, which means an extra layer of air insulation between the shell and the liner, and also it can double as a rain jacket when I no longer need the liner. It's pricey, but worth every penny. Gloves with grip and with insulation are key, as well. A good wool peacoat or greatcoat, lined, is very important as well--I wore mine most of the winter here, and only switched to the parka when it was supposed to be really wet snow, because the wool does soak through.

Also, you'll adjust. I thought I'd never be able to bear it, but after moving to an apartment that didn't superheat during the winter (the first one was horrible--you could wander about in shorts and a tank top in the dead of winter), I've done fine in the last two winters. Resist the urge to superheat, and you'll adjust more quickly. And layer, layer, layer.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. My brothers' Reynauds is supposed to be non-genetic, but I noticed when I was out in the early mornings in Sydney that my hands were going white with orange spots... so promptly re-arranged my schedule so as not to go out before 10am! That's no longer an option, and since I do actually want to study overseas I have to learn to Deal With The Cold...

I'm sure I'll adjust... I'm just freaking out because it's *not even winter yet*. I don't know how cold it normally gets, because my workmates like to tease me and tell me horror stories.
*peers at the BOM* ok, for some reason the climate averages are all calculated 1974-1988, but whatever. June-July August the mean 3pm temperatures are apparently 10-12 degrees, and the 9ams are 5-6 degrees. September and October pick up a bit, but they're also ski season and I'm informed that the windchill off the snow-slopes in September can keep the apparent temp. below zero all day.

Basically, NOT VERY COLD on a global standard, but FECKING IMPOSSIBLE compared to nice just-south-of-subtropical coastal cities such as I am used to.

[kayloulee.livejournal.com]

You needed the sort of scarf that skiers buy - it's basically a woolly elastic doughnut, so there's no dangly ends to get caught in chairlifts. They're fantastic. My mum used to ski a lot when she lived in Banff (Alberta, very pretty, very COLD) and she's got two of them.

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sure once you get proper gear it will all be fine. I've never lived anywhere where winter doesn't involve four or five months of snow and rarely getting above freezing, so these are things I've never thought about - winter clothes were always just there, and my mom brought them up out of their plastic bins in the basement every fall. My grandmas must have knit hundreds of pairs of mittens (and socks and scarves and tuques) between them...

On the other hand, I can't handle humidity at all. Give me 40 degrees in the daytime and I'll be warm but content - but 25 degrees and humidity and I'll be homicidal.

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Oh, and everything you've heard about Canadians loving to talk about the weather is totally true.

Also, if you can wear wool, wear it. It's more snuggly and delicious than anything else (providing it doesn't make you want to scratch your entire skin off). I'm a big fan of smartwool (www.smartwool.com) if you can get it - I have a pair of smartwool tights and I find that they're enough to withstand cold mornings on their own.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I think I need real wool socks, but where to find them I have no idea... We used to buy a couple of pairs of sturdy wool socks every so often from a Sock Drive (like a chocolate drive or a doughnut drive, but socks), but the company which ran them shut down... :( All the socks I usually buy are polyblend, which is clearly Not Good Enough.

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

And yet she didn't let me borrow even one. What. Ever.

Re: Ooops. wrong account. deleted last comment.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

For the parka, and most of the gear, I'd recommend going to a sporting goods store. Do you have REI in Canberra?

Nope, but i just missed the Kathmandu sale... oops. My bosses made my buy thermal undershirts there in, oh, february because I was cold THEN.

Also, snow in the boots is not an anticipated problem. Nor rain, much. It almost never snows except on the mountains, and we're in a drought ;).

Boots. Bah. I bought new boots three months ago. As my feet are currently cold while wearing said boots inside, I clearly chose poorly ;).

[strippedbare.livejournal.com]

http://www.sockdreams.com/_shop/edit/index.php

I just did an order with another friend in Canberra to cut back on shipping costs, if I'd known you'd be desperately seeking Warm Stuff I'd have tipped you off!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

'M gonna try to find a pure australian wool sock company somewhere and order from them...

[ahsavka.livejournal.com]

Everyone already said thermal underwear, which is the way to go. You might find it listed as "long underwear". My People do not call it 'thermal', we just say 'long'. (I think this might be a hick thing)

Usually I just wear jeans when I can, though, nothing underneath. I think if you find you really get your torso warm, and your feets, your legs will be fine unless it's mega windy.

Buy exciting, fuzzy, cute socks!

Also I'd never heard of chilblains. They sound terrible. It's dry as hell here in the winter, humid as it is in the summer ... so we go straight to frostbite most of the time, I suppose.

[daiskmeliadorn.livejournal.com]

... i listen obsessively to weather reports on radio national and thought of you when they mentioned the temp in canberra these past few days :(

i still reckon canberra-in-winter is better than canberra-in-summer though! that weekend i visited you was MADNESS.