Winter is here

(note...photo above is not of Perth, but of lovely hometown of Albany...feels like a comparable temperature today and the wind is still strong!!!)

Brrrrr!

Well, the strong winds and driving rain appear to have moderated somewhat. Still windy and still rainy, but not as much as it has been (and certainly - I am sure - nowhere near as bad as in Qld and NSW). Mind you, we did commiserate with the loss of a local Perth landmark in the form of the old pylon at Cottesloe Beach. *sigh*

But BOY! Is it cold today or what!! Or perhaps this city living business, with its airconditioning and climate controlled whatnot has softened me up. I am after all from Albany down on the Sth Coast of WA, where it's pretty much cold all year round, but more so in winter. Took an ex-boyfriend down there in February for a friends wedding (which is still summer peeps) and all he could do was b!tch about how cold it was...

I don't know if I've got soft or not - I've never been particularly fond of cold weather per se, but could always live through it with appropriate heating - but my house is like a freaking barn. It is a reasonably large house, and there is really only one door that can close off any part of it (not a particularly energy efficient abode much to my chagrin). My lounge / kitchen / dining is MASSIVE - probably about the same size as the average 2 bed 1 bath apartment - and luckily can be closed off from the rest of the cavernous house.

But...I am without heating of any description at the moment. (The gas heater belonged to my ex, and obvy he took that with him when he left).

I had thought that maybe I could tough it out for the time being, given that I am looking for a place of my own to buy and didn't want to pay out good money on something that I would have to a) cart around with me, b) might not suit where I move to and c) I am pretty cheap regarding paying good money for electricity and gas when I don't have to.

Sadly, I am not sure I am going to be able to hold out!!! My hands are so cold right now that I am actually having trouble typing!!!

Usually, I shut the interior door and then open the vertical blinds and let the sun stream in through the massive floor to ceiling glass windows (or as I like to call them in winter, The Freezer Panes because obvy they also let the heat escape) and the glass sliding door.
This has the lovely effect of warming the air and raising the ambient temperature without wrecking my wallet or the environment, but also warms the floor tiles to the point where my room-mate actually asked me if we had underfloor heating! (HA! As if!).

Sadly today, there is very little in the way of sun peeping through the clouds, which is rendering it somewhat chillier than I envisaged. I am currently snuggled up on the couch with a quilt and laptop on my lap (the heat generated from the laptop is quite cosy...) wearing socks and three tops.

Would adding a beanie to the mix be taking it too far or should I just buy a heater....
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Day 23 of 31 (or 365) - doing a 10km 'Fun Run' tomorrow. Have always thought of that term as a bit of an oxymoron and given that rain is forecast tomorrow morning I don't think it's going to be too much fun...oh well. For a good cause in Appealathon at least.