Friday Five: Brrrrrr!

NaBloPoMo 2011 may be officially over, but I'm hoping to continue the trend of blogging a bit more frequently, now that I'm more inspired and have gotten into the habit. It actually felt strange last night, knowing I didn't have to sit at the computer and churn out a post before the day was over. Of course, I say this same thing every year, and then I wind up petering out, posting MAYBE once a month (if that) before gearing up for another 30-day flurry. Ah well. New Year's resolution, perhaps? (not that I believe in them)

So let's start things off easy with another round of Friday Five! Today's theme? The cold weather!

1. What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?
2. Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?
3. When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery? (I said what, not whom!)
4. What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?
5. Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?

1.Um... nothing?? That's why I live in Southern California, and in particular, Santa Barbara, with its Mediterranean climate yielding nice, mild temperatures all year round. It's especially satisfying when I read the FB statuses of friends who live in less gentle climes, fretting about snow and ice and sub-zero temperatures, and I can serenely look out the window at the beach and the sun-kissed palm trees ;-)

2. The reason soup and hot chocolate or tea works so well is precisely BECAUSE it's heat in liquid form, and therefore spreads the warmth faster! I can't really think of anything else that would do the trick quite as well or as efficiently. Maybe piping-hot fresh bread?

3. I don't add anything to the bed (since I use the same medium-thick comforter all year round-- like I said, stable, mild temperatures!) but when there's a chill in the air, I will switch out pajamas. In summer I wear short-sleeve/short-pant pajamas, in cooler weather I'll wear flannel pajamas, and in winter? Time to break out the fleece pajamas!

4. Gardening. I enjoy working under the sun, tending to my garden. But overcast weather makes that less enjoyable. Not to mention, it's harder to dig weeds out without uprooting my whole garden when the ground is moist.

5. My husband :-P Seriously. The guy will wear shorts on all but the coldest of days. If I see him wearing his jeans, socks and shoes, and his light jacket, I know I'd better bundle up in multiple layers, scarves, gloves and maybe a balaclava hood

How about you?