I had to drag out my down jacket today - I get to wear it maybe once a year and today was it!! lol

I do not think I would last living in Alaska! After being in NM for over 24 years. I'm getting colder and colder. Prob from getting older and older!

I know what you mean, Di!

Back in my teens and 20s, living in Madison, WI, I was never really THAT cold in the winter. I remember in college walking a few blocks to a winter formal dance wearing strappy heeled sandals, and a thin evening dress, and not being excessively cold, even though my feet were partially bare. (I probably had some sort of wrap on my body, but I don't recall the specifics.)

In my 30s when I met Steve, I often skipped wearing a coat in the winter, especially if I was errand-running or traveling to and from work. (Oh I'd put the coat in the car, in case I got stranded and had to walk and/or push the car out of a snowbank, but I didn't WEAR it!)

That ability to withstand the cold lasted through my 40s, but it's gone now. These days I wear a coat, hat and gloves - and sometimes even a scarf -- just to walk down my driveway to the mailbox! I turn on the gas fireplace or sit under a blanket to watch TV at night, and I sleep under more blankets than Steve does.

And let's not forget that I can't get to sleep at night unless I have first gotten myself nice and warm with a hot bath!

I don't know what happened to my ability to tolerate cold. Must be a menopausal thing, I guess.

Di, I also meant to mention that NOT ALL parts of Alaska are that cold.

Anchorage, for example, is really never colder than it gets here in the Midwest. Though their summers don't get anywhere near as hot as we have them.

Here's a chart of average temps in Anchorage. and here's one for Chicago, Illinois.

As you can see, January in Anchorage averages a low of 9 and a high of 22; while in Chicago, we're only a little bit warmer with an average low of 14 and average high of 30.

Right, Anne. I find that the older I get, the less I tolerate temperature extremes. I don't think it's just menopause though as my partner is having the same issues with temperature extremes. (Do men go through womenpause??)

DH is getting to where he cannot tolerate the cold like he used to either. We now where insulated bib overalls...in winter...in New Mexico!

Warm! I need anything warm, today! Tomorrow the high temp is suppose to be less than 20 degrees. Burrrrrrr...

Yikes that's cold!!!

Yes. And yesterday afternoon I came down with the flu. Feeling miserable all over. When I got up this morning, the temp was
13 degrees above zero. Now it's 11 degrees above zero. It snows on and off and the wind is high. But the temps are suppose to
moderate in a couple days. Looking forward to that!

Sorry you're ill,jabber.Take care of yourself and feel better soon!