Weather has turned actually cold here in Austin. Which means in the 30's. Last night it actually snowed. I concluded I was actually addicted to my pipe when I bundled up, wrapped my legs in a blanket, put on multiple layers, a watch cap, fingerless gloves, and sat on the balcony smoking and watching the snow fall.
Well today in Chicagoland, I saw a Canadian goose standing on the pond in front of the building I work in. If I want to smoke, while it is cold, I can go to the garage with a heater. But I prefer waiting until the CPCC meeting at 8 to 8 Cigar Shop in Villa Park. The next meeting is on Saturday the 16th.
I grew up in FL. During Christmas of 87, Jacksonville got 1/2 inch of snow and it brought the city to it's knees for three days. Before you laugh, remember the entire city is connected by many bridges. There is a layer of ice under the snow. There is no equipment to deal with the snow. And only 27 people in the entire city know how to drive in snow. Would you go for a drive in these conditions?
I would, but of course I learned to drive in Cleveland, and spent two winters in Fargo. Y'all don't know what it's like to live on another planet until you've enjoyed a North Dakota winter. Taking your kid to school, dragging him on a sled at 40-60 degrees below zero 40 mile an hour winds almost 24/7 The first snow that falls in October is still on the freakin' ground when all the snow melts in April Neighbors who are from Scandinavia and think the weather is just peachy And then there are blizzards: Growing up on Lake Erie, I thought I knew what a blizzard was -- really heavy snowfall and driving wind, right? Nope. A blizzard is you hold your hand in front of your face and you cannot see it. Seriously. I could babble on, but SWMBO is summoning me to leftovers. Ta.
Guess I'm not a die-hard. If it's crappy outside I don't burn one. For me, all the conditions need to be right or I can't do it. Example, I have at least 30 minutes free, it's nice outside, I have a taste for a certain Tobacco, I am in the mood, ect. You get the drill.
@motie2 if you're used to -40 Wow. Did you smoke then or did your tobacco freeze? My wife bought me an electric blanket for the porch, I was using a small space heater under a open square end table with a regular blanket over it piping it to me.
@KA9FFJ@thebadgerpiper you're right on the money about the ability to just leave the pipe for long periods of time. I really miss the mental tranquility of a soft, smooth smoke.
@motie2 One suggestion is to look for a mitten/fingerless glove hybrid. You can move the mitten potion behind the gloves, light your pipe with your fingers, and switch them back into mittens. Even in the dead of winter, I'll use fingerless gloves, just because I like the tactile feeling of holding my pipe with my actual fingers, or to grip a match.
I don't know where you guys live - but here in the Midwest (Gary, Indiana) it got colds real damn fast. Usually at night when my wife is asleep I'll crack the back door open and the smoke my pipe. But it got so cold, so fast that if I open the back door to let the smoke dissipate the temperature in the whole house drops to an uncomfortable level. I may have to rethink where and how I'm going to do my smoking this winter. Seems to me that in the one year since I made my make-shift man cave in the garage that cold weather than I could endure for a short smoke break has gotten harder to tolerate.
I just smoke on my walks with my dogs, turn my pipe upside down is its raining. I don't have a lot of time to enjoy some days so i have to make the most of it.
It was 56 here today and my garage door faces south, so any sun at all I get the benefits. I was able to do a bowl today because 2 clippers are sliding through as I type and the HIGH tomorrow will be around the low 30s and windy. The weather forecast tells me my next smoke will be Wednesday when the temp. will be back close to today...
@ghostsofpompeii So it's related to a Tardis? the main thing to do in cold conditions is: Stay out of the wind, enclose yourself tightly and put a hear source in with you. I dress warmly( Scarf,hat,gloves,heavy pants and coat) and now I use an Electric Blanket for warmth.
@Woodsman Sounds like sound advice for ice fishermen. It's a shame it also applies to many of us less fortunately married guys banished from smoking in the house.
The Town would frown upon me putting an ice fishing shed up. We're due for a stretch of single digit nights for about a week starting tomorrow. It looks as if I'm going to be have to be creative.
I can smoke my pipe inside the house during the day before my wife gets home, provided I can adequately ventilate before she arrives. My only other option is to go to my local B&M, and buy a cigar or two because doing so gives me license to have at least one bowl. I'm good friends with the owner and wouldn't think of doing that anywhere else without seeking permission to do so first. The garage is the last option, particularly on cold days and nights. We're about to encounter a string of 20 degree high temperature days this week, so this clearly won't be an option.
No amount of creativity can counteract the bitter cold we're getting here in Gary, Indiana. So I'm forced to simply wait until my wife goes to bed and I smoke a bowl in the evening. Then afterwards I'll open the back door for just a bit to air out the house and drop the temperature in the house by 60 degrees. Then I'll spray a bit of Evergreen house spray and light a candle for about twenty minutes. That pretty much does the trick and by morning my wife won't detect a trace of my smoking. The only bad thing is it limits my pipe smoking to one bowl a day in the evening. And between my extensive cellar and all the new tobacco I've gotten for Christmas I'll never be able to make a dent in my tobacco collection. Can't wait for spring.
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I grew up in FL. During Christmas of 87, Jacksonville got 1/2 inch of snow and it brought the city to it's knees for three days. Before you laugh, remember the entire city is connected by many bridges. There is a layer of ice under the snow. There is no equipment to deal with the snow. And only 27 people in the entire city know how to drive in snow. Would you go for a drive in these conditions?
Y'all don't know what it's like to live on another planet until you've enjoyed a North Dakota winter.
Taking your kid to school, dragging him on a sled at 40-60 degrees below zero
40 mile an hour winds almost 24/7
The first snow that falls in October is still on the freakin' ground when all the snow melts in April
Neighbors who are from Scandinavia and think the weather is just peachy
And then there are blizzards: Growing up on Lake Erie, I thought I knew what a blizzard was -- really heavy snowfall and driving wind, right?
Nope. A blizzard is you hold your hand in front of your face and you cannot see it. Seriously.
I could babble on, but SWMBO is summoning me to leftovers. Ta.
My wife bought me an electric blanket for the porch, I was using a small space heater under a open square end table with a regular blanket over it piping it to me.
I'm banished to the attic (my mancave)...