Only funny looking back...

It is cold here. It is really cold here. How cold you wonder?? Seriously cold.

There is something different about British cold. I have lived in cold before, but Minnesota cold is kinder. Minnesota cold goes away with heat. London cold is brutal; you can't get rid of it. I knew all this was crazy when I was doing it.... but it is only funny looking back. It is March and finally warm enough that all this is funny.

Here is my typical routine when I got home from work:

1. Make sure the heat is on. Check that it's high enough.

2. Close the door on the living room so all the heat stays in.

3. Close the wood shutters over the windows... so all the heat stays in.

4. Put on slippers and wool socks... so all my heat stays in.

5. Wrap up in the super warm and cozy blanket that Mia made for us.

Some days, the first five steps were enough as long as I stayed under the blanket. But..... sometimes it wasn't enough. Those days I had to move on to step 6 and 7~

6. Put on a shower cap and take a scalding hot shower or bath until I raised my core temperature. (This is the magic step. Works every time!)

7. Put on silk long johns from REI-- top and bottoms!

On those cold nights (basically every night November through February) I would also do the following....

8. Sleep under an extra blanket.

9. Wear a hat to bed.

With all of the above steps.... I could usually keep the cold at bay. London's cold is wet and seeps into your bones. It hurts it's so cold, and that is when you are inside the comfort of your own home. Strangely, is doesn't feel as cold outside. Is that God's way of getting Londoners outside all year?

As you can clearly see ~ I am not the only one who thinks it is cold!