Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Winter Is Here

Winter is definitely here now, even though the official date on the calendar hasn’t arrived yet. This morning we woke up to a frosty world outside. The grass had a layer of frost over it and the trees and bushes were iced up also. Here’s a photo of a bush at the edge of our yard. The spider web was frosted over. It looks kinda cool.



Now most of the frost has melted and the sun is shining. As the frost melted off of the fence out back earlier, there was steam rising up from it, like the fence was on fire. Nature is an amazing thing.

Another by-product of winter, and a sign to me that winter has checked in, is the effect on my hands. For the last couple of years, my sensitive little Georgia skin ;-) has been trying to get used to the colder weather here and I think that the cold has been winning the battle :-) But bit by bit, I’m acclimatizing to the much colder weather, but it is taking me a while :-)

I’m gonna share a photo here that shows what my hands are looking like today. I hit a definite point last night when the skin on one of my fingers split open while I was just sitting here watching television and it bled on my shirt. Eek!!! :-) My hands are so raw and sore right now. I have got to start on an intensive hand care treatment pronto.




As you can see, my hands look parched and a bit scary. I decided to put on one of my rings to save you all from the full brunt of my prickliness. LOL. My wannabee fashionista inside decided to spruce up the photo a bit to spare you. LOL.

My hands don’t usually look this way. I usually moisturize, but now I’m gonna have to ramp it up big time. Wish me luck… :-) Hello Winter!

20 comments:

Elizabeth Harper said...

I am so missing England! Seeing your weather update makes it worse.

As to hands, mine are looking really bad right now and you know I have a little event coming up next month where someone might notice my hands.

Love the ring you're wearing! You should see my new ring....

Bob and Jenn Peacock said...

I am missing England too right now! I had a hard time with dry skin in England and now here at home in Utah. There isn't enough lotion in the world for my dry winter hands.

Unknown said...

Dori I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. It is cold here too, burr.

Jodi

Courtney said...

Good luck on helping your poor hands, Dori. It's cold here too, but luckily, my hands haven't gotten all chapped. My face however, is a different story!

Alicia aka "Fashiona" said...

Wow, that looks painful. Try some Johnson baby cream. That is what my mom use to slather on us before we went skiing in the Alps. It really protected us from windburn and chapped skin.

A Valdese Blogger said...

I've never made my peace with cold weather. It finally warmed up here today - around 60 or so, almost normal. But it's gonna get cold again. Sorry about your hands.

Kathy said...

Winter is here too. The roads are awful and it's too cold in the morning to walk the dog. Her little feet get too cold. Take care of those hands.

tahtimbo said...

Great pictures. I know what you mean about cracked hands. Mine get so bad that they crack and bleed. I really don't like using moisturizer (I guess it's a guy thing), but I usually break down and use it. We are expected to get snow by Friday:)

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

I love that spider web frosted over!! We get lots of ice and snow in Kansas (snowed last night) but I have never seen a spider web like that. Your hands look like mine right now and yes it HURTS! Cute ring though!

Duni said...

My hands look much the same. I moisturize every two hours, which is a chore! I'm not much of a winter person...

Martin MY said...

I keep an eagle eye on the weather in England, so I know what it's like right now. I think a pair of warm gloves would be perfect for your hands, but not before a good massage with hand cream to bring them back to life.

Winter is a time for hibernation indoors looking out of the window, unless you have to go out to work of course.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dori,
I bet olive oil would bring those babies back to life, especially after you have slid on some thin plastic gloves. I hate dry skin, it makes me feel like an alligator.

We don't have the cold, cold, weather yet...just lots of rain so far, which I love.

Oh, btw, I love the spider artwork!

The Fitness Diva said...

Wow! Sorry to hear about the skin problem. Find yourself an aloe vera based lotion or cream and that should help.

Lovely pic, and yeah, it must be hard for a Georgia girl to get used to the UK climate! OMG!

Just make sure you keep warm! ;)

Anonymous said...

Get E45 from Tesco or Boots, that helped me when I lived in England! SY

Ivanhoe said...

Stay warm, Dori. And get some moisturizer going for your poor hands, k?
I keep lotion at work as well and use it after every time I wash my hands :o)

The Silver Age Sara said...

We're expecting 6 to 8 inches of snow here tonight so winter is definitely here too. I loved seeing your photos.
As to your hands, they sure do look like they are suffering from winter cold.
Here in Vermont, we use a home grown product called "Bag Balm." First was used on cows but it's the greatest thing in the world for keeping hands moisturized. I think you can find it online.
I hope you and Brit Boy and Trevor have a great weekend!

Blogger said...

I have a friend of Indian descent and she makes her own lotions in the winter. I don't know what the heck she uses, but I wonder if you could google and find a holistic sort of remedy. I swear she uses Rose Petals as one of the ingredients.


Good luck!

Bella

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for dropping by at my blog.

My hands look like that when soaked in cold water for so long like during washing clothes.

I am sure that it would be smooth again.

Unknown said...

Winter is harsh on skin. You get all scaly, itchy, and leathery. Every year my whole winter skin care routine has to change.

Dori said...

Elizabeth,
Congrats on your upcoming event :) The ring I'm wearing is one of my faves. I'll bet that new ring you have is awesome. I'm so happy for you :)

Jenn P,
I know what you mean about there not being enough lotion. I feel like I ought to just submerge my hands in two big vats of lotion all winter. LOL

Jodi,
Keep warm and have a great weekend :)

Courtney,
Thanks about my hands and I hope that your face gets less chapped. Have a great weekend :)

Alicia,
Thanks. I will have to give that a try. I am now into trying it all :)

Valdese Blogger,
You and I are alike. I'm not crazy about winter and I'm not crazy about summer either...I like the in-between of spring and fall :)

Kathy,
Aww, your poor little doggie. Take good care of those feet :)

Tahtimbo,
Glad you liked the pics. Yeah, I've had the cracking and bleeding. Oh now see if we got a bit of snow for the weekend I would love these chapped hands. LOL. Have a great weekend.

Health Nut Wannabee Mom,
Yeah, isn't the spider web cool :) It was so beautiful. I have never seen one like that either. We can have the winter hands sisterhood since you have these hands too :) The ring is a fave of mine...it is carved wood within this resin :)

Duni,
I'm not a winter girl either :) I know what you mean about re-moisturizing being a chore.

Martin,
I will have to get Brit Boy to work on the hand massage :) And I may put on another pair of gloves on top of my regular ones. And it would be great to hibernate all winter :)

Jacqueline,
Ooh, I may have to try olive oil too. I have been definitely feeling like an alligator lately. LOL. Glad you like the spider web. It was so unexpected :) Have a great weekend!

Fitness Diva,
I will try the aloe vera lotion too. I figure all this great advice is too good to pass up. I will definitely keep warm...I'll see what Brit Boy can do :-)Have a great weekend!

Golden Prague,
I bought some E45 yesterday, so wish me luck :)

Ivanhoe,
Yep, I'm getting all moisturized-up. My hands are feeling a bit better today. I've been putting moisturizer on these last few nights and then putting on gloves. So hopefully I'm on the way to my normal hands somewhat. Have a great weekend :)

Mountain Woman,
I'll bet the snow will be beautiful. Glad you liked my photos. I love seeing yours too. Thanks for the tip about bag balm. I will check it out. I hope you have a great weekend too :)

Bella Casa,
Thanks for the tip. The idea of rose petals just sounds so lovely and romantic. I will have to do a bit of research.

Anna,
I probably have a touch of dishpan hands :) Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Regina,
Yeah, winter is tough. You get prickly being in the heat inside and then outside you get windburn. That's why spring feels so good :) I will have to adapt my skin care routine better too. Can't turn alligator :) Have a great weekend!