Is it just me or has this been a particularly tiring and stressful winter?

Dinarius

Politics, the weather, all the bugs going round, etc….

For me it's been a long winter.

Just saying……

D.

Ash.J.Williams

Been thinking that way lately, the world is getting nasty and depressing and people seem to be manufacturing happiness to convince themselves otherwise

orourkeda1

Who gets stressed over politics? If you're letting the Donald annoy you then take a step back and ask yourself why are you letting him stress you out.

The weather is supposed to be bad. It's winter. Besides, it hasn't even been that bad.

Bugs happen. Again, it's winter, it's supposed to happen.

All told and in general, things could be a hell of a lot worse for us. Not perfect but not bad.

boardlady

Oh god I absolutely agree with you anyway! We've had endless bugs in our house .. snow and wind leaving us without power 6 times so far this winter … I'm thoroughly sick of it!

CramCycle

Way better than the winter before. rain every day almost from October until May, no let up, it was misery. This year has been magnificent in comparison.

ELM327

The power outages and bad weather have been particularly draining this year I have to agree.

I have enough storage for about 24 hours at the house but we were nearly a week the first time without power. Then the storm which put 700k people offline didnt put out our power. But I have "doom prepped" enough now that we have enough storage and generator capacity to remain off grid indefinitely.

Ultimately our (as in Ireland's) inability to build a properly sheltered electric grid means you must be able to either live without electricity or prep to have other sources. Since we work from home, the former isn't an option.

watchclocker

Don't know about stressful, but I'm very tired, much more so than usual

Although I am getting older every year!

NIMAN

Spring is just around the corner. Things will be better.

yagan

As I get older I hate the Dec/Jan darkness more and more. Years ago I started booking a week in the Canaries for late January just to know I have it to look forward to. Also there's a good step in the days getting brighter around now so when you get back the longer daylight is very noticeable.

Didn't manage it this year due to various commitments and I'm really dragging myself towards the spring. I like our climate, just don't like the long dark months.

z80CPU

Irish Rail hasn't really returned to its pre COVID reliability. And train services have been affected - been on trains where my reserved seat number is not a table or a window because the smaller carriage was configured to carry more luggage.

Also snack trolley services relaunch on Westport Galway Sligo????

miamee

The stretch from Christmas to now seems to have been particularly long with one thing and another - even though I also keep thinking that it's still January!

tinytobe

I am always a bit careful of an "is it just me" posting.

This statement is not meant as patronizing.

However every time, when I personally think about an "is it just me moment", it is often really just me, when I personally think about it longer.

dairyedge

March is my least favourite month, once that’s out of the way I’m happy. Sun could be shining while theirs a shower of hail stones landing on you. Nationally how can anyone say it’s been a good winter when we have suffered 3 severe weather events, must obviously live in Dublin where power stays on and roads are ploughed if they think otherwise.

_Kaiser_

Have to agree OP.. I'm not normally actively affected by the seasons but I'm drained and generally fed up lately.

Like others I've had the dose that was going and took over a month to shift, I'm expected to go into the office more which is increasingly stressful in the dark weather with all the red light jumping, bus lane chancers who get very put out when you don't let them back in, blacked out cyclists and scooter riders, pedestrians just walking out in front of the car, the disgusting smell of weed on the streets around the office and the accompanying zombies and junkies - and all to sit at a desk doing less work than I can get done at home, and I think the older I get the less tolerance I have for all of it and people in general, and that's without the constant flow of negative news of crime, political idiocy and polarisation, more taxation and laws to make life just that little harder etc..

One of my friends regularly goes away in December on a cheap sun holiday and I've decided I'm doing the same this year for the first such holiday ever really. In the past I would have been happy to stay home and save the money but I increasingly don't like what this country is turning into and maybe some time away from it now and then might not be such a bad thing.

The_Kew_Tour

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123154121#Comment_123154121

Depends where you live. Lot people up west have had no power for 3 weeks between snow/storm. Feel sorry for them.

People who say to get on with it would lose their **** if they went 24 hours without it.

We were lucky where we live, but this winter definitely made me appreciate the more simpler things in life we take for granted.

The_Kew_Tour

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123154434#Comment_123154434

Was on Flordia in December and was great. Like you, as I get older find Winter bit crap, more dark evenings than weather.

Myself and partner were thinking of going on holiday in January instead of before christmas this coming winter, cause we found that when we came back we wanted get away again ha.

Sgt Hartman

The last few days in particular have been cold, wet and utterly miserable out. And everything is muddy and dirty also. It’s a chore even letting the dogs out in the back yard because I have to clean their paws thoroughly once they’re back in the house. February is definitely my most hated month of the year. By February I’m already weary from the previous three months of winter, and summer still seems a long way off.

Markus Antonius

With the exception of the storm, I thought the weather has been great. Spent the weekends chopping wood of the fallen trees.- each *chop* equating to an hour of heat. Very satisfying!

Regarding politics, anyone who relies on this for their happiness is destined for lifelong misery.

I just booked a holiday in Turkey for late march and am enjoying the Rugby and GAA at the moment.

A snapshot of my brain, focus on the silver linings!

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123157763#Comment_123157763

Did Florida once in January, ended up been colder than Ireland at the same time. It's ok but I thought the whole place was trashy and I hate navigating the whole tipping culture.

I used to travel back and forth to oz so I'm done with long haul.

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123158158#Comment_123158158

And every chop also gives you instant heat. They say firewood heats you three times 😁

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123158325#Comment_123158325

Never heard that before, but so true!

yagan

Another consideration is how much light your home gets. We've moved around a good bit and definitely the best places to winter have obviously been houses with lots of south facing windows.

We lived in a lovely house once, terrific free flowing interior, very smart use of space, but its orientation and place in the landscape meant that we rarely got a sun beam in winter. It was so bad that after the big freeze in 2010 the snow actual stayed in our shadowed garden for a whole week after it had melted everywhere else in the estate.

When we were house hunting this time I had an app on my phone that showed me how much sunlight the house would get at any time of year. A lot of older houses obviously took passive heating from the sun into account whereas modern estates are just drag and click plot placements to maximize units without regard to light.

Edit to summerize the difference in winter between that dark house I mentioned and the well lit house house we live in now is like living in another sunnier country.

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123158521#Comment_123158521

Having had a lucky escape with a tree after Storm AEIOUwaaaannnn - we decided to take down 18 trees (all in a row) at the back of our house. The difference in light the last week is night and day. Pardon the pun. And we spend a lot of time outside.

To the OP - I had the WORST flu in early Jan, which had me (46yr old male) in bed for 3 days. 5 weeks later and I'm still not 'right'. Went from my chest to my throat to my sinuses (which I'm still trying to shake). On top of that - Tooth filling. Car problems. Dog recovering with cancer. I'm just glad I'm out the other side of it!!!

Winter 2024/Jan 2025 can go FUC itself. LOL

Thespoofer

Yes. Tough start to the year. Because of a few family matters and other issues things have really knocked me back and I honestly think effected my health.

Looking forward to Spring/Summer now and when I see the swallows around again I know things are ok.

Tony EH

Thought it went by pretty quickly myself. Sure it's march next month.

I did feel the cold this year, though, and I generally don't. But there were a few bitter days out there. I tried to keep up the cycling when the winter weather hit in late November, but some days were just too damn cold. Feet were like blocks of ice on some cycles from mid December onwards.

Generally we're really lucky with our winters here. The worst thing about them is the damp. But I'll take them over a New York winter every day of the week. Or worse, a winter in Russia or somewhere like that.

AllForIt

I quite like extreme weather like the snow and then the storm we had. What gets me down is the constant rain and overcast days. The lack of sunshine basically.

I had a cold that came and went and came for the whole month of December if not longer. That was weird.

I returned to the gym since May last year after a 7 year gap becasue of a knee injury. I go most days, has helped my mood a lot.

mrslancaster

Our winters are generally ok and I don’t mind rainy days but the longer, brighter days are very welcome. We were lucky in Dublin during that storm, as we had zero cuts in our area. Felt so sorry for the folks around the country who were without water, power and broadband for weeks on end. The state really needs to be more prepared for those freak storms.

Tony EH

As an aside, Dublin hasn't seen a single hour of clear sunshine in 10 days straight.

Comhrá

I find as I get older, (late 60s) it's the lack of sunshine, especially in the mornings, that's the hardest part of winter. This past few weeks were the dullest that I can remember for a long time with little or no sunshine for days on end.

It hasn't been a very cold winter or very wet, but there's been a constant wind blowing most days, and this combined with permanently grey skies makes for a very tiresome weather experience.

Mam of 4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185739#Comment_123185739

I was saying this in the TA thread , it's the permanent greyness that gets you down, no brightness to the days at all.

Then this morning there's blue skies and the sun shining here 🌞 Such a lovely change.

chrissb8

….

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185739#Comment_123185739

It has not been in a mild winter, it's been cold! Generally things balance out, possible prolonged heatwave in late summer

raniemis

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z80CPU

A nice enough morning with sun and blue sky but then darkened down and another fooking downpour shower where I am in county sligo