Usually I wake up before my radio turns on at seven every morning. This morning it woke me; the announcer said it was 9F out; I went back to sleep and did not get out of bed until after Morning Edition ended at nine. I don’t remember much of what they said either. I think I slept through it all. I don’t know why the outside weather affects me so much. I keep my apartment at 68F during the day and let it drop to 58F at night. I like sleeping in the cold. But when it gets this cold out my body knows it and sends all kinds of nasty messages. I obviously have arthritis in my left hip. Mostly, it only bothers me when I’ve been walking all day. In this weather, it bothers me at night, and I wake up in great pain. How do my bones know it’s 9F outside?

I don’t like to make it warmer in the apartment because I suffer from the lack of humidity, even with three humidifiers going. Sometimes I feel like I spend all winter schlepping water. In fact, I have to stop now: I’m feeling the need for moisturizer on my hands and face.