THIS IS THE TIME of year when I get really tired of winter.

Oh, sure, in October and early November it's kind of a thrill to feel that first chill in the air, to get that adrenaline rush when the first cold breeze or two wraps around your shoulders.

But by now I've had just about enough of cold toes, a frozen nose and four layers of clothes.

It's time to fantasize about a beach in Jamaica, with sand so hot it burns your toes.

Though we've not had the gobs of snow this winter that we did last year--knock on wood, it could still come--we've still had more than our share of cold weather.

According to one online weather site, the average high temperature here for December is 48 degrees, and the average high for January, our coldest month, is 43.

In December there were only three days when we hit the average high temp, with 28 below it.

Through Thursday we've made the average January high on only four days, with 16 below it.

And we've seen more than our share of days when the thermometer didn't climb to or far above the freezing mark.

Sure, it could be worse. We could be in Minnesota or Jackson Hole, Wyo., where my brother spends much of his time. There, he said, you learn not to touch metal when the temperature is 20 below because you'll leave skin on it.

Here, in winters like this, it's not the extreme cold that gets you. It's the bleak, can't-stop-shivering, constant cold that starts wearing you down after a while.

To save money and be environmentally conscious, we've turned down our thermostat at home in recent years.

I was once the thermostat Nazi, making sure it never dipped below 72 or so, even at night.

But these days we let it slide to 63 at night, letting a programmable thermostat slowly raise and lower the temperature when we're at home or at work, sleeping or getting up in the morning.