Brrr...I'm a wimp! Photo credit: SlowTrav.com

Living in sunny, warm, Southern California my entire life has thinned my blood. If the temperature drops below a balmy 72 degrees, I freeze! I own a few winter-type jackets, but nothing that would ever suffice in the freezing temps of cities like Chicago, New York, or Denver. My winter wardrobe consists of a few sweaters, a couple of scarves, a hat or two, a couple of thin jackets, and some gloves (that I only were when biking!)

This week a big, cold, gust of wind blew in from the north and chilled my bones! With temperatures dipping below 55 degrees at night, I’ve had to crank my heat. A warm, 76 degrees (okay, it’s really 78!) on the thermostat makes me feel a bit more comfortable. I also snuggle up with warm socks, a sweatshirt with a hoodie, and some hot tea. Last year, we received our highest gas bill due to similarly cold temperatures, a whopping $176.00 for one month.

Since we are nearing the end of October, and cool weather has sunk in, at least for a while, I can expect my gas bills to go from a measely $15 a month to over $150. This means, however, that our electric bill will drop significantly since we aren’t running our air conditioner, a more expensive comfort. The price difference basically will transfer from a savings on my electric bill, to an expense on my gas bill, give or take a few dollars.

I feel luckier than most that I don’t have to run my heater all winter long, as we often have warm spells between now and March. Frequently, we can expect a week or so a month to reach the low- to mid- 70’s, allowing us to turn the heater off. Last Halloween, for instance, it remained in the mid-70’s far into the evening. My husband and I sat out on our porch giving little trick-or-treator’s their pencil or candy (my husband, of course, scaring them in his leafy-camo suit!), and I didn’t even need a sweater. This Halloween is forecasting a similar temperature, so I should again be able to forgo the sweater.

My father, on the other hand, lives in New York and frequently complains about how expensive it is to run his boiler and how long he has to keep it going. He normally turns it on by early November and doesn’t turn it off until early April. Last year, in particular, was unusually cold in the east and his boiler ran many weeks longer than normal, much to his chagrin. Hopefully, for both our sakes, this winter will be pleasant. I’m just hoping we get some rain!