laundrycrisis Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Wednesday morning it is predicted to be -26 F and the high for the day is only -16 F. We usually leave about 730 and drive 45 minutes for violin lessons. I decided I will cancel in those temps because I don’t feel safe driving that far from home in that cold when hardly anything is open yet. Is this silly ? If it was local I would go, but it’s 45 minutes away. Edited January 28, 2019 by laundrycrisis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I'd cancel too. We're really hoping DS's university closes because he parks about 15-20 minutes away and walks in. That's too far to walk in those temperatures but there is no parking any closer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 That is our forecast, too.🙂 I would go, but would make sure to have a cell phone and plenty of warm clothes in the car in case of car trouble. I spend a lot of time working outside in subzero temps and find that as long as I'm dressed warmly, I'm okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I think you should do what YOU feel comfortable with. Temperatures vary across the nation and you will get different answers. Of course, you should be prepared with warm gear etc but ultimately you have to live with the consequences of your decisions and you shouldn't feel silly about making a decision one way or the other. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 My fear is having car trouble and not being able to run the engine for heat, and not having anything open that we could quickly walk to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 1 hour ago, laundrycrisis said: Wednesday morning it is predicted to be -26 F and the high for the day is only -16 F. We usually leave about 730 and drive 45 minutes for violin lessons. I decided I will cancel in those temps because I don’t feel safe driving that far from home in that cold when hardly anything is open yet. Is this silly ? If it was local I would go, but it’s 45 minutes away. If you have concerns, then cancel. Not silly at all. Most newer cars have synthetic oils that are okay in colder weather but who knows. Why take changes? It’s a good idea to keep your car’s gas tank more than half full if by chance the tank might have some condensation, IIRC. At least, this is what my husband says! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, laundrycrisis said: My fear is having car trouble and not being able to run the engine for heat, and not having anything open that we could quickly walk to. Especially if you have an older or unreliable car this makes sense. Don't feel silly about it. P.S. This is coming from an Alaskan who has traveled the Al-Can in -50F (real temps, not windchill) and lived in a place where we got excited when it got above -40 in the deep winter months. Gear, reliability of vehicles, empty roads with stores closed, and young children are all perfectly valid reasons for skipping lessons. Don't let anyone make you feel silly. It's violin, not losing your chance at a kidney replacement. 🙂 Be free! Enjoy a day off. Edited January 28, 2019 by frogger 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I wouldn’t go. It is true a lot of people would, but I think it is fine to cancel with proper notice. If you lived somewhere that it was that cold all the time, it is true you wouldn’t be able to cancel every time it got that cold. But it doesn’t sound like you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Well now I feel like a weenie. I was also hoping to get out of driving to violin lessons on Wednesday, but it’s going to be a balmy 0F here (with wind chills reaching -40F). 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 That level of cold isn't good for the violin. I would probably try to re-book the lesson. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 If you are not used to such cold weather, you are going to be anxious and miserable all the way there, through the lesson, and all the way back home. Your kids may or may not pick up your anxiety; if the student does, the lesson won't go well. Under your circumstances, I would stay home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I would cancel for violin and wouldn't feel silly :-) !! Do what works for you. Sounds like a good day to stay home and do school in PJs!!! Here, we are not that cold, but we are getting some rain/snow tomorrow afternoon/evening and it will feel like 4 F on Wednesday morning, so all that wet will be frozen. I have just cancelled my dad's PT appt because I'm not risking a fall. If there is a chance of any ice on the road where you are, I would be cancelling for sure! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) I personally wouldn’t cancel unless the cold is paired with snow and high winds. I would make sure I had a full tank of gas and a sleeping bag in the car just in case I had car trouble. I do that in the winter anyway though. I’d wear a warm coat, head covering, and gloves and while I don’t normally follow up to make sure my kids have appropriate cold weather clothing in the car with them, I would for extreme cold temperatures. Edited January 28, 2019 by Rachel Clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 If it's going to snow too I'd cancel. But I'm a snow driving wimp. We usually have a few days like that in VT every winter and people typically just start their car a little earlier and grump more. But, if you don't want to and would prefer hiding on the couch under blankets with coffee, I am all for that plan! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I wouldn’t cancel unless the drive is remote and cell phone service is spotty. Ultimately, do what’s right for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 It is good to cancel if you don't feel comfortable with it. I would be fine, but I've lived in Michigan all my life, and am pretty confident. My mini van is packed to survive "The Long Winter", LOL. But, there is one route that is off limits when there is a lot of blowing. It is miles and miles without windbreaks, just open fields. The drifting and visibility is quite bad whenever it is snowing. So if I had an appointment that pretty much dictated I take that route, I would cancel. I really don't want to put this mini van that I love in a ditch and end up with the insurance totaling it out. I am in NO mood to go car shopping. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Arctic Mama said: Honestly I think it’s silly. I can’t imagine canceling for a cold drive unless there was major ice or snow going too, but I would definitely pack everyone’s snow pants and blankets. Do you have some compelling reason to believe your car would suddenly die in the cold, like an old battery or unreliability? And then are you remote enough that winter gear, blankets, snacks, and a tow aren’t a thing? Because there are some locations and drives I’d cancel in truly dangerous conditions, but I’d have to be very distant from any sort of help. City or suburban driving in the chill wouldn’t do it unless I knew I had a temperamental vehicle. I do definitely advocate packing the car with stuff in case you DID need to wait or hike a ways, but that’s for warm weather, too. It’s always a good idea to not go driving without proper preparation for if the car breaks down and in winter that means some extra supplies, but that should be a thing even in your normal winter temperatures 🙂 She already mentioned her fear is car trouble. If her car breaks down her kids can layer up. That won't help the violin. It could easily crack. As someone who has lived in places that were routinely below -40F and who loves when people are told to stay off the roads because of ice because then you don't have to deal with traffic. I would not want to transport my daughter's harp below zero. I actually won't transport it below +20F unless it's for something important. Period. Of course, sneaking a violin quickly into the car is easier than the slow carefully getting a 100+ lb harp down icy stairs and the vehicle cools while the doors are open to load it but still why risk losing an expensive insturment for the cost of one lesson? Diesels are difficult to heat below 0 also. When we traveled through the Candian wilderness the vehicle never really warmed up. We blocked the radiator with cardboard and never once turned it off because we knew it might not start again. It's great you feel so awesome about your ability to deal with weather but it's really irrelevant here. Why would she waste a lovely day at home to do something she doesn't really want to do? It would be different if it were a big concert and an entire orchestra was depending on her but an individual lesson. Nah. Life is short. People need to do what's best for them and not worry about what others will think. Edited January 28, 2019 by frogger 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Low temps can affect the viscosity of oils and lubricants although the synthetic oils are much better. Our flight in Chicago was delayed about 45” a week ago for this reason — the oils needed to warm up a bit more before takeoff. They had to refuel as a result. Batteries can be affected, too. Tow drivers aren’t necessarily immediately available to help if they’re busy. You could be waiting awhile in very cold weather. Not fun. I grew up in Montana which has the coldest temps in the continental US and was just a tad colder record-wise than even Alaska. (My brothers worked in Barrow for about 20 years.) OP, do what is right for you. The last thing I’d want to deal with is a car that has stalled or slid off the road with my kids in it. No thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Where I live, music teachers get paid whether you show up or not. My canceling would actually allow them to double book and make more money or take paid time off. We wouldn't be hurting the music teacher. Edited January 28, 2019 by frogger Crazy autocorrect 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 One of our music teachers had a very liberal cancellation policy, but if I cancelled for something other than sickness or an unavoidable emergency, I paid for the lesson anyway. So if I were the OP, I would cancel without shame, but pay for the lesson even if not required to do so, so the teacher isn't losing money. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 5 hours ago, BarbecueMom said: Well now I feel like a weenie. I was also hoping to get out of driving to violin lessons on Wednesday, but it’s going to be a balmy 0F here (with wind chills reaching -40F). 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 34 minutes ago, BeachGal said: I grew up in Montana which has the coldest temps in the continental US and was just a tad colder record-wise than even Alaska. (My brothers worked in Barrow for about 20 years.) OP, do what is right for you. The last thing I’d want to deal with is a car that has stalled or slid off the road with my kids in it. No thanks. I shouldn't side track the conversation but the record for the US is actually -80F in Prospect Creek Ak. My father had a gold mine a couple hundred miles away from there but temps were similar. I wasn't there that year though. 😉 Barrow actually isn't the coldest part of Alaska. The interior is colder. I think Montana's record is -70F but pretty close. After -50 who cares right? You just stay safe. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. Carry on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 You’re right. I meant to say Alaska was colder but not by much! All too cold for me. 🥶 I'm in Maui right now which is experiencing a cold snap. Some people are walking around in parkas. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Thank you all. I’m canceling for Weds morning but I expect to still pay. She is going to teach one kid here in town on Tuesday afternoon when she is up here anyway so they won’t both miss. The car is good but the area has a lot of accidents even in good weather. I’m not sure about the wind that morning, but we have a lot of snow right now so if there is any wind, there will be drifting snow. The aspect of the car I worry most about is electronics. Update - co-op is cancelled for tomorrow, but we will be at her place at 5 pm. It's around zero then which is normal weather here. We can get the lessons done before we go into the -20 to -30 zone. That is not normal weather here. They are predicting we may break local records here on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but we will be off the road before that starts happening. Edited January 28, 2019 by laundrycrisis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Margaret in CO said: For all the moms of violinists in cold country, check out dd's business! www.sarahsviolinbags.com Sorry, couldn't resist! My dd has one of her violin bags and it is gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Our strings teacher just told my kids to not bring their instruments outside on Wednesday. Since we have Monday and Saturday lessons, I’m not sure if she will be canceling her Wed. classes. If the teacher cancels, she will provide a makeup lesson. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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