this in between weather ? what should i wear

We're at the other end of the world and suffering the same thing. It's spring here and some days are really hot and others are cold. I can cope with the dressing in layers stuff but what really annoys me is the bedding. Some nights we are too hot in a light blanket and others we are cold in a quilt and it doesn't seem to matter which one we start off with, we need to change through the night! If we're heading to summer then let the weather be warm. If it's a slow spring then the weather should be cool! Not this chop and change stuff.

It's like that here all the time! When the sun is up, it gets warm, even in winter (if there's no wind or you can get out of it), but as soon as the sun goes down or the wind comes up, it's c.c.c.c.c.cold!!! So, yes, we dress in layers!

My daughter's school is always either too hot, or, more likely, too cold. She wears arm warmers that I made for her of some power stretch polartec. They keep her warm enough that she can still wear her cute short sleeved t-shirts and sleeveless tank tops. They are also convenient because long sleeves of any sort are banned in shop class so she can just pull them off and stash them in her purse for that hour, rather than having to change her shirt.

Layering is the trick here... And a handy tote in which to carry the discarded layers! Or to carry those you might need later... ;)

Hmmmmm....been having that bed cover problem for...uh....about 20 years now, except that when I'm throwing off the covers, DH is shivering and huddling under what he can grab. Guess I can generate a fair bit of heat from time to time. ;-)

Have you perfected your sheet-flapping-in-the-middle-of-the-night technique yet? ;-}

Beverly

It's hard to shop by bike in the dead of winter: one pannier is full of clothing I might need, and the other is reserved for clothing I might take off!

I need to get panniers for my recumbent. So far I've been making due with an old backpack zip-tied to the back of my seat. Cheap, but sub-optimal for something like produce runs.

There's some "ready-to-wear" panniers for recumbents that sling under the seat on each side.

What model recumbent do you have?

I agree that recumbents present a special problem. I can no longer wear a backpack when I ride. That complicates the hell out of things.

Down to a science! Not letting the cats in the bedroom at night helps, too. How can such small bodies generate so much heat? Especially while perched on top of me?

We used to allow the dogs to sleep on our king-sized bed, and they curled up next to DH's legs. After DH died I downsized to a full-size bed and the dogs got their very own beds on the floor. It took about two weeks of firm reprimands before they gave up trying to sneak up after I fell asleep.

How are your "new eyes" doing?

Beverly

Seeing well, enjoying the clarity and color that I now have. Just picked up new glasses yesterday. Lineless bifocals with transition lenses, and so far, they're good. The people in the shop were excited about a new lens they used. Somehow it is supposed to do the transition from close to distance in a better way - not really bifocal or trifocal, but multifocal. I can actually use them for the computer and reading, if I want. Never had much success with my old ones that way.

Congratulations! I was also very happy with the improvement in vision following my cataract surgery.

My HMO allowed me two pairs of glasses made after my surgery (one for each eye that had surgery, so one pair is sunglasses) and after a couple of false starts I settled for no-line bifocals. They are satisfactory for most things, although I'm unhappy with how badly they have scratched in just under two years. I am coming up on eligibility for a new pair, I think I'll see if I can get glass lenses instead of plastic. These have a 'non-scratch coating' (yeah right!) but they scratched anyway, and they are impossible to get really clean.

I do miss the "built-in loupe" my severe myopia provided.

Beverly

I also ordered two pair - using frames I already have. I figure I need a spare pair to wear when I can't find my glasses, so I can see to search for them. One pair is covered by Medicare as part of the post-op for cataracts. We submitted the second pair on my regular vision insurance. I'll still have to pay something (quite a bit, actually) but not full price.

Before you go to glass, check out some of the new plastics they've developed. It might not be as big a problem for you as it was for me, but my old glass glasses were thick and heavy and after a couple of hours, my face and ears hurt. These glasses I have are a special plastic the name I don't recall, and titanium frames, and they're super-light.

Yeah, I know, but I've been trying to make due without shelling out the bucks.

It's a Trek R-200, had it since 1999. Kinda clunky but it's served me well.

Yup. And no Camelbak, either, and the two bottle brackets are small consolation. However, zip-ties are my friend. You can hang all sorts of things off the back of the seat back, and just snip 'em loose later.

Which is why I don't grok the duvet. I slept under one on the Ghan shortly after the track was completed, and it was miserable: the parts of me under the quilt where sweating, and the parts that weren't covered were blue. But of course in a bunk that's the best you can do; multiple layers such as I sleep under at home would have ended up on the floor far below.

I make my own blankets out of wool flannel, as the ready-made ones are way too thick to suit me. And, because I use clearance flannel, they are a teeny fraction of the price, even though I use two or three in place of one.

Joy Beeson

I prefer wire panniers to fabric panniers on my diamond-frame. They are a tad heavier than nylon, but canned goods don't wear through the bottom, there are a zillion places to hook bungee cords, and I don't squash things when I lean the bike against a wall.

Fresh bread is a problem! If I can't give a loaf a pannier all to itself, I'll put it in one of the plastic grocery bags I carry for just such an emergency, and tie it to the outside of the basket.

Or balance it on top and tie the handles of the bag through the basket or around a bungee to make sure it stays there.

Joy Beeson