Greetings,
I work all year long and miss no days due to the cold. South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Upper Peninsula Michigan. I am familiar with the elements of the Great White North during the season of Death and Cleansing.
First and foremost is general health. Drink extra water, it takes more water to generate heat in your body then it does to cool it. Try to lay off the alcohol, for those of you who are able to. Not only will the stuff de-hydrate you, it was intended as a physical medicine. If you can't lay off the stuff at least drink only the alcohol made from fruit, this is the medicine intended for emotion and Spirit, alcohol from grain is for puposes altogether different than human internal consumption.
During the months of extreme cold it is a good idea to buy a bottle of Children'a Aspirin. I think they are 81 mG and are exactly the prescribed amount they suggest heart patients ingest and this is to keep their blood thinner, thin blood requires less effort and energy to pump the blood throughout the body, less work on the heart when it doesn't have to force sludge through the viens and arteries. It is amazing to notice how the numb toes and fingers revive after taking an aspirin and drinking water because NOW the blood is thin enough to also reach the ends and extemities of the capilaries!!!! It is not nearly as cold as you think out there....your blood is just to damn thick to reach the ends of your fingers and toes!
If you can aquire these habits I have just mentioned then you will be able to put much less time and effort into dressing. The secret of dressing in the cold is to be dressed equally and not abundantly. For me, I am cautious to keep the clothing equal, I have found that any area that has fo much clothing will make the thermostat cause my heater to kick off. Even though I am not warm, there is a part of me that is in danger of over heating. I wear Two pair of socks, all year through. With proper wax on my boots they breath correctly and provide a dry warm climate for my feet. I have seen less then three out of one hundred linesmen who have taken proper care of their boots. I wear boxer-briefs, tanktop undershirts, long-handle long underwear, Levi jeans and Wrangler or Carhart denim work shirt. On really cold days I wear insulated Bib coveralls, and less drastic weather I wear regular bib coveralls. I buy a good hard-hat liner, usually one that covers my neck and upper shoulders plus the shorter one that covers my head down to my ears. My gloves are kept well cared for with wax also, and in weather slightly warmer but yet still very cold they tend to get wet so I rotate between three pair ofr gloves and that has always kept me dry and warm. In really wet weather and if I wear full fingered gloves then i sometimes wear laytex gloves beneath the leather ones to keep dry. Keeping dry is over half the battle of staying warm. I work all year and do not have days off because it is too cold. I am always comfortable and reasonably warm. This is how I do it and I hope I have offered some suggestions here that will help others during this season, there is nothing quite as miserable as being cold or numb from it, in my opinion.
Later, Petergunn
