Anyone else already hating the wet, dark cold nights

Greciangirl

I agree with RosesMaw.

Don’t we all just love talking and moaning about the weather.

As previously mentioned. It’s not even bitterly cold yet.
My definition of cold is : icy, snowy, windy conditions.

Stop complaining and get a life.

Stop complaining and get a life.

How unnecessarily rude you are.

This is a "CHAT" forum. Some people don't like the dark evenings and if they want to say so and chat about it - they can.

You can make your point without being goady.

coco12

madeleine what a lovely post. I love your positive thinking and am going to take that on board.

same here

Ziplok

I don’t need “to get a life” thank you very much, I have one, Greciangirl, and if I want to complain about the weather at any given time, I flipping well will do - I won’t be told by you or anyone else, to do otherwise.

Bit touchy that comment eh Ziplock … …lighten up for goodness sake ….wouldn’t want to sit in your company on theses cold dark winter nights …

My partner and I decided to give ourselves a Xmas present last year of a weeks holiday to Madeira in January. We loved it so much, we are going for two weeks next January!! It’s also worth looking for off season trips abroad when prices are low in March. We went very cheaply to Majorca and were surprised by lovely sunny warm days - warm enough to use the pool!

Grandma70s

kittylester

Sorry, but I love it! I love drawing the curtains, putting the lights on and hankering down. I love watching bad weather.

I love it, too. I love that moment when the curtains are drawn and we are all cosy indoors. Listening to rain feels good too, providing you aren’t out in it.

I couldn’t agree more - love it!

madeleine what a lovely post. I love your positive thinking and am going to take that on board.

I love in the coldest winter city on earth (re cities with a population of half a million or more). It gets to -40C or worse.

My daughter maintains that “.THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD WEATHER - THERE ARE ONLY POORLY DRESSED PEOPLE”!

That is my daughter - who loves ice fishing, snowmobiling, etc. I hate winter. I wonder if she was switched at birth!!

Some lovely positive thoughts and sentiments here. Madeleine45 I am a bit of a leaf squeezer too.

I wonder if I'm the only one who enjoys the extra hour in bed and the lighter mornings when the clocks go back? I love the autumn with its beautiful leaf colours and the dark nights lit up by Hallowe'en pumpkins, fireworks and pretty lights. My birthday is in the autumn too so maybe that helps. I always feel excited by the preparations for Christmas.
On the other hand I find January is my low point- Christmas over, a long time to wait for holidays and nothing much else to look forward to. I try to keep as busy as I can to help it pass quickly.

So, the first thing I do after the clocks go back is to change to my autumn schedule. i.e. put appointments where possible to the morning, Ignore whatever jobs you planned to do if you have a lovely autumn morning and go out and enjoy it. whether it is wrapping up warm wearing sensible boots with gloves hat etc and make the most of any parks and gardens whilst they are worth looking at . Scuff through the leaves which I think is a great thing to enjoy and you dont need to stop just because you are over 21! I love the countryside and the coast and again there is a lot of pleasure in going to the coast when the winds are wild and the sea waves large. Not to behave in a stupid dangerous way as we saw that idiot going on a pier with his daughter who nearly washed away. So I take my own coffee etc cafetiere china mug etc etc and enjoy sitting in the car watching the waves , looking through my binoculars at the sea and several rather crazy/brave people surfing on the north east coast!1 Then if you are a member of either RHS or Nat Trust there are parks etc that are worth going to visit. Meet up with friends , share the cost, I can take someone in free with my rhs card, so obviously attempt to find the best days weather forecast but I am from yorkshire and am not so "nesh" that I give up just for some rain or whatever. When we have done a bit of a walk or whatever , back to car and coffee and radio 3 or 4. Sounds simple but making the most of both daylight and friends is worth while. Having done that you then will have jobs and stuff you need to catch up on. I save up my ironing and when it is a horrible cold afternoon, then out comes the board and chair etc and the ironing gets done, keeps me warm doing it and at the end have a good choice of things to wear. I have a very bad back and that makes problems as often I am not able to move quickly which in turn can mean I get very cold and have difficulty getting warm. So I have a years ticket at the swimming pool, go usually 2 times a week but sometimes more. It lets me exercise in a less painful manner, is warm and clean and I finish up feeling better mentally and physically. Right now I am waking about 4,30 which is maddening. If i cant go back to sleep I go to the early swimming at 7am, Much more cheering than sitting here in pain and looking at the dark and miserable weather. If I have a really bad day I CHOOSE to have a day in bed or a day off at least where I do nothing but the basic needs and have a couple of blankets to wrap round me and have a long puffa jacket thing without sleeves but with a hood, bought for a £5 in a charity shop. Have the most ancient falling to pieces old cashmere jumper which is not fit to be seen out but fine to put that on and cover with the puffa jacket, so read, listen to the radio catch up on bits and pieces. After a day "off" I am then quite eager to get going the next day. Dont look ahead too much just see what you can enjoy this week. Plant up some hyacinths - not for christmas but to come out in january and february when flowers cost a lot and it is much more cheering to have them at that time. I also have some scented leaf geraniums, which as the name suggests has little or no flowers but oh press the leaves and you can have lovely scents such as lemon verbena, mint, lemon balk all sorts. Take cuttings of them and then keep one or two pots in every room in your home. a simple squeezing a leaf gives you such cheering perfume. When you are shopping , watch out for things that you see as a treat, so for me when there was some duck legs in the reduced box I bought three, and two of them I have frozen and on a day that just seems rubbish one will come out and I shall make myself a very special meal and have a glass of wine and feel that it has been a treat. I am not a pollyana but do think that housework and jobs that are not the very basic cleaning yourself and your clothes etc can all wait and we need to enjoy whatever there is to enjoy. Be kind to yourself and if you really dont want to go out DONT!! You dont need other peoples permission to live life as you want to . In my view if you do no harm to other people or cause them problems you are entitled to live your life your own way. I am 78 and whatever the day is like, even if I am in a lot of pain I do think it is better than the alternative and carry on breathing!!

A supper group is a good idea, 123ish. You will be sharing the heating and fuel for cooking as well as being company for one another and having something to look forward to.

Not keen on the dark evenings but living in a
Scotland where it gets dark well before teatime you get used to it. Lit my log burner tonight for the first time since moving to this house and it has transformed the sitting room - so cosy. Unfortunately the rest of this Victorian house is very cold as the programmer on the central heating is beyond me and my son thought he has set it at the weekend but then it stopped. Googled it but even a heating engineer stated it was so complicated! So it is several layers for me and a heated fleece blanket if the burner isn't lit. Understand why many dread the winter but have found my SAD lamp has helped.

I get really depressed in the cold, dark, wet months! As others have said its not too bad up til Christmas as we have Halloween, Guy Fawkes night and Christmas to look forward to (all of which I love) but after Christmas the unremitting rain, wind and cold gets me down majorly! I do not mind snow but where I live in the south we only seem to get driving rain, ice and freezing wind😳🥶

I don’t need “to get a life” thank you very much, I have one, Greciangirl, and if I want to complain about the weather at any given time, I flipping well will do - I won’t be told by you or anyone else, to do otherwise.

Doodlebug: The mealworms are dead and dried. I wasn't sure if you thought I meant live wiggly worms.

Hankering down

Me too. Brrrrrr🥶

I Feel the same as you do Optimistic1.

My rescue plan:

I try to get out and about throughout the day getting plenty of fresh air, seeing others etc. even on recent wet days.
I am a member of 2 walking groups. Exercise helps as when I return home as the darkness descends I have at least been out of the house.

I am starting a supper group with some friends. We plan to cook a basic supper and eat together then play a board game.

Similar to other replies I look forward to homemade soups lighting candles in the evenings.

I have started crocheting again and making simple but attractive scarves for Christmas presents.

If I start feeling really darkness twitchy I have driven to my local Sainsbury walked around looking at everything then home again(I live alone)

I have also stopped being mean to myself about central heating. I have worked out a reasonable schedule that will keep me warm enough morning and evening. I find feeling cold in dark evenings depressing. So with the above day plan of action and some warmth in the home I feel much happier and in control.

Let us know what changes you make.

I do a lot of sewing, and in the darker days I use a SAD lamp we have to sew by. It's a great light for needlework, and I'm positive it lifts my mood too, which was it's original purpose some years ago!

Here nor hear!

You are not alone Optimistic. November can be a dreary month and the thought of at least 3 more dark and miserable months ahead can be depressing. I believe in a little walk every day ( if you can manage it ) wrap up and get some fresh air, say hello to every you meet and come home to a comforting hot drink and a little tasty treat. Be kind to yourself and do whatever you enjoy. Spring will he hear before you know it.

I hate the long dark nights

I agree with RosesMaw.

Don’t we all just love talking and moaning about the weather.

As previously mentioned. It’s not even bitterly cold yet.
My definition of cold is : icy, snowy, windy conditions.

Stop complaining and get a life.

Winter evenings, starting at about 4.30pm can be problematic but there is so much entertainment to enjoy. Even if you only have Freeview the number of channels available have increased enormously. I watch lots of interesting documentaries, seen some of Shakespeare's plays recently and caught up on dramas that I've never seen before. (I'm finding it difficult to read because my eyesight has deteriorated.)

What did our parents have to do on cold winter evening in the past? Shiver over a single gas fire, listen to the radio or watch a very limited number of TV channels? I also remember the clack of knitting needles.
I count myself lucky to have so many opportunities to learn new things on cold winter nights.

I hate it when the clocks go back. I do not like the dark evenings. Spring seemed to take ages to come this year, with the cold weather seeming to last for a very long time.