2025, Family, Food, Games, Gatherings, Travel, Uncategorized, Weather

Fear And Cold

32 Comments

We have been at our son’s home since Friday, and the cold weather has made for a great deal of family time. Son, Daughter in Law, Daughter, Husband, me, and Grandson are all here together. There has been lots of time playing Uno, putting together jigsaw puzzles, doing art projects with grandson, cooking big meals, watching the first two How To Train Your Dragon movies, playing with the Westie and the cat and sleeping late.

I have been a nervous wreck since before we drove here on Friday. The cold frightens me more than it used to. I have developed great anxiety anticipating driving in this cold weather, mainly surrounding the van breaking down in the middle of nowhere and then freezing to death.  We were supposed to go to see my 93 year old aunt yesterday in Watertown, SD, about 40 miles north of Brookings, and I was so relieved when she phoned in the morning to say she had a cough and a fever and we shouldn’t come. Husband has been going out to start the van at intervals and even drove it into town yesterday, so he is keeping the engine warm.

This cold weather is unprecedented in my experience, and I am really worried about the trip home on Tuesday. The subzero windchills aren’t supposed to let up until Wednesday, and I might try to convince Husband to stay another day and leave on Wednesday. We have lots of blankets in the event of a breakdown. The van is working well, but you never know!

What do you have in your winter survival kit in your vehicle? How are you coping with the cold? What are your favorite indoor family activities?

 

32 thoughts on “Fear And Cold”

  1. I don’t really have anything in the car that could be considered a winter survival kit. Which seems like I should be ashamed to admit in Minnesota. But I do think about how cold it is outside and the fact that I’m often going out with a sweatshirt and a scarf, but maybe not a coat. However, in my defense, I rarely drive anywhere that’s not within a very short walking distance of either a retail establishment or house. My normal radius is pretty small. The farthest away I’ve driven in the last month was twice to Bill’s and once to Krista’s!

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  2. It’s cold, but no colder than it has been many winters, especially if one looks beyond the last couple. Things may be different in North Dakota. Like Sherrilee, we don’t carry special equipment for the winter, unless you count the hat I keep in the car. Also like Sherrilee, most of our driving in the winter is close to home. When it’s not, we have cell phones and AAA and we keep our cars in good repair and the gas tanks filled.

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    1. When I wrote this, I didn’t realize that at the time it was -14. It looks so nice and sunny out. I guess that’s when you get the coldest temperatures. It’s been this cold and colder before. It never lasts.
      I’ll have to fill the bird feeder for the birds and squirrels this morning. Calories are how they keep from freezing.

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  3. I’ve become derelict in emergency gear in the car. Maybe just too much trust in the cellphone to call for help. One thing I’ve done for a very long time is to fill up the gas tank when it reaches half.
    At home, I do have a complete emergency evacuation to-go bag. Food, soap, bleach, batteries, sleeping bag, cash, etc. Travel cages for The Birds.

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  4. We live in the middle of the city, and don’t go very far, partly because the car, a Bolt, doesn’t hold much of a charge in cold weather. Our supplies in the trunk are mainly what’s needed to get out of the snow, should we become stuck. There’s a 40 pound bag of birdseed in there, too, because the barrel where I keep it for doing the feeding has no room, and there are mice in the garage, so the seeds stay in the car.

    I help out a few nights a week, staying in the gym of the local Methodist church, where 40 to 50 unhoused people sleep on the floor. They’re warm and safe, and so am I.

    As for my favorite indoor activity… this is a family site.

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  5. I have great respect for frigid temperatures. I wouldn’t dream of driving in winter without wearing a coat and sturdy footwear of some sort. Depending on how far I’m going I may not be wearing them, but a scarf, hat and mittens would be on the seat next to me.

    In my glove compartment I have several Mylar thermal blankets, so-called space blankets These are inexpensive and take up very little room, and they can come in handy in many an emergency; I really recommend having at least one in your car. In the back seat I also carry a wool blanket.

    In the trunk are my jumper cables, and various implements for scraping the snow and ice off the car.

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    1. I also always wear a coat/jacket and warm footwear when driving in winter weather. And if I am not wearing a hat/mittens or gloves/scarf, they are in the car with me. I always have a small shovel in the trunk along with a box that contains a space blanket, candle/matches in a tin can, a container of grit (for traction), and a flashlight. Chemical toe and hand warmers are in the glove box. The snow scraper/brush is sitting on the backseat. Having a charged up cell phone is also very handy.

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  6. I usually stay home when we’re experiencing severe weather of any kind. I have an emergency tote box stored in the basement in case power is out for an extended period of time, but I don’t put it in the car. Like others, I rely too heavily on a well-charged iPhone. I also have good insurance. When I do have to go somewhere and the weather is scary, I pack a lot of stuff: snow overalls and a parka; a quilt or blanket; energy bars; containers of water; a flashlight; and a small emergency kit I got in a hardware store that has flares in it; and a large, black yard waste bag.

    I think staying put until the severe weather warnings are over is the best option. I don’t know when I changed, but I don’t do scary stuff very often anymore.

    I’m feeling pessimistic about a lot of things these days. I’m afraid that soon we won’t have a National Weather Service to alert us to impending storms or other kinds of severe weather. The scariest thing right now is our country being dismantled, unilaterally, by only a couple of men. And nobody is stopping it.

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    1. There are already private weather forecasting services. They want to eliminate any competition from the government. When the NWS is fully privatized, we can pay Musk a monthly fee.

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  7. Echoing most folks’ sentiments about driving in the extreme cold. Around town, no big deal. But on any long winter trip, especially through rural areas, we carry a scraper, heavy winter coats, sorels, a sleeping bag, jumper cables (should invest in a portable starter instead), hats, mittens, and a tin with a candle, matches, TP (I think). IF it’s snowing, I might put a small shovel in the trunk too. We always have a water bottle or two in the car. If we’re driving all day, we might bring some snacks along.

    But we have the luxury of not needing to drive in bad winter weather, so the default is to stay home.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  8. I am out and about this morning and being heedful of today’s topic, I did wear a coat and I pulled my fat mittens out of the closet. The problem with the fat mittens is that I can’t do anything while I’m wearing them except drive. But I can’t deal with the car keys, can’t deal with the car lock, can’t even easily open the back door. So I suppose for every day life fat mittens aren’t too useful.

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  9. We don’t drive out of town in very cold weather at this point, but still… I can see I should get some of those compact Mylar blankets PJ mentioned. I have thermal Toe Warmers that you can put in your shoes or boots – I guess I’ll put some of those in the car!

    I do always keep water bottles in the car – right now they are frozen, but I always bring a fresh bottle with me. Yep, time to get out the biggest, unwieldy mittens.

    Indoor: Cribbage, Mexican train, reading aloud, watching funny stuff like Resident Alien (I just noticed there’s a new season available…). And baking – may try applesauce muffins today..

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  11. FYI.
    Today is the last day of the Great Backyard Bird Count.
    As a side note, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in uncertain waters as Presidents Musk and Trump search out programs and grants deemed by them as “woke” or fraudulent or something, something.
    To the best of my knowledge, no tax dollars are being used for the Bird Count but since the current administration seems to me to have little regard for the environment, I have determined that my Count today is part of the Resistance.

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    1. I counted yesterday and a little today. I have mostly juncoes, chickadees, and sparrows at my feeder now though, so it’s boring to count them over and over. I did see a rough-legged hawk yesterday, and a bald eagle, some wild turkeys, and pheasants.

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  12. Better Late Than Never, Baboons,

    I am home now from getting a cortisone shot (2nd one) in and around my left hip. My orthopedist is trying to find the source of the pain I have. I fear these small procedures, but really, these pain Docs have the procedures down. Aside from several pinches I felt very little.

    I am a big believer in winter survival kits in the car, but then I learned to drive in NW Iowa where blizzards and snow can be life threatening. And help can be distant, even with the addition of cell phones. I always have blankets, towels, and a pillow in the car, as well as a coffee can with a candle and matches. A full gas can is sometimes wise, as well. The coffee can is used for peeing or for holding a lit candle that radiates some heat. I know I have told this one before, but in my young, foolish days I was caught with the wasband who wanted to brave the storm, and baby boy in a snowstorm in NW Iowa in which we needed these items. During that incident I had to pee, but did not have a coffee can, but rather a smaller one. And I overflowed the thing. Ugh. We were stopped for several hours on a highway. Finally, a snowplow came through. We followed it to our destination in LeMars, IA, being no worse for the wear because we had the extra gas, blankets, and can and candles. It was scary.

    Coping: my skin and throat are constantly dry. This kind of cold takes a lot of lotion, as well as hydration and cough drops.

    Family Activities: Games with the right people.

    This coming weekend we travel to Iowa for my niece’s baby shower. I will have the travel kit assembled for the trip.

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  14. I don’t have a survival kit, but, like vs, small radius. I usually have earmuffs in the car.

    Cold frightens me, too. I don’t go to far from home, and I worry a lot about freezing pipes and failing boilers.

    The weather forecast says the cold should leave us by Friday or Saturday. I’ll be very happy about that.

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  15. i carry gloves and boots and a coat in case i put it in the ditch
    a little car jumper battery
    i dont feel cold unless im out a long time or its a strong wind. sports coat and maybe a vest if its cold.
    indoors i cook, eat, watch tv, soak in a tub, play guitar, check my phone, read a book, check 3 items off my to do list, at family gatherings we do charades, password, uno or card games like cribbage or golf, backgammon, checkers and chess with gradkids, i have a backlog of movies recorded and its 31 days of oscar on tcm so i record more of the old classics

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