iPhone Battery and Cold Weather

We walk every morning. And in order to keep my photo blog, Instagram, Facebook art page, and Tumblr site updated I need photographs! So when I pointed and tried to click on a squirrel who was scavenging the garbage can by the American Indian Museum yesterday, my iPhone froze. It's happened before - while the Christmas tree was being unloaded in front of the Capitol - and is very irritating! So I read about it at that time and understood the problem the be the cold weather. And apparently keeping the phone inside your coat pocket isn't good enough. We even had the battery checked at the Apple Store, and it was "okay." So I searched again to see what other factors contribute to reducing battery power and came across an article by David Payette. I read along and followed the instructions to shut off this and that. Someone else suggested that you keep your phone in it's cover/holder - just like wearing a coat. I didn't try taking photos today because it was just too darn cold to move - except to keep walking in three degrees and wind. But when I got home the battery reduced to 67% rather than 2%. Unfortunately I missed the clever squirrrl and am running out of daily photos. So I will need to attempt some new photos and see if these measures really do work. There will be plenty of opportunity over the next many days. I feel like I am living back in the Midwest. Thank goodness we don't have any ice or snow - at the moment. 

Space Heaters, Old Buildings, and Major Inconvenience

It happens every year. The heat in this old building is turned off and the temperature outside plummets. That leaves us with few options but to deal with space heaters or anything else to stay warm. For most of the winter I have been using my Venture heated clothing "blanket" in the evenings. You wear it like a bathrobe, and it has a plug in feature that acts like a heating blanket, but I have never used that option. But without central heat in the room, it gets quite cold. The poor little Betta fish has been shivering all week. Of course, the newest "silent" model heater doesn't work. So we had to drag out the loud space heater from The Sharper Image that has functioned all these years. We also have a small heater from Frager's in the bathroom because you can't install a decent modern day heat system in this charming old building. On top of that, we have to sit around all day and wait for the repairman to come and fix the leaky bathroom sink...this will be the third attempt. The building is also having maintenance work that requires us to be in our apartment in the afternoon. Usually none of this is a big deal. But my schedule just changed to part time after forty years of working full time. Most of these house repairs occur when I am at  work, because my husband is retired and available. But not today, on a Friday. We are trapped here and I am very annoyed. On days Iike this I miss my modern 1950's nicely renovated home with central heat in Wisconsin. Charming Capitol Hill doesn't cut it. 

Capitol Hill Feels Like Milwaukee

We left Milwaukee thinking it would be less cold in winter and to enjoy four seasons here rather than one long winter there. Based on that thinking we left behind a lot of heavy duty winter clothing including the typical lumberjack ear flap hats and several more winter coats. Thank goodness I kept my favorite winter jacket that has fur lining that can be removed and a hood with fur trim that can also be removed. But that wasn't even enough today with this dreadful cold and wind. So I felt like the kid on A Christmas Story by layering all the additional garments - stockings, pants, rain pants, long underwear shirt, turtleneck, north face rain jacket/ wind breaker, fur scarf, fur lined coat, lined snow boots, and gloves. It takes forever to put all this stuff on and take off, especially since I walk home for lunch. I suppose it beats freezing, but I would much prefer not going out in it at all. I have come to realize that it isn't necessarily the weather that's so bad- just that if you have to be somewhere - like work- it's the pits.