Hey, BeeGee...
Since you and I are dealing with the same temperatures here, here's what I have been thinking lately (granted, I benefit from having a dedicated brew-fridge in the garage, but....)
Have you ever noticed that a jug of iced tea (with ice cubes in it) in the fridge will sit there for several days before the last of the ice cubes actually melts? This means that the ice and tea mixture is maintaining 32F the entire time the ice is still present. Only after the last of the ice has melted will the temp start to go above 32 degrees.
If it drops and stays below 45 degrees here in the winter, I think that lagering at 32F would be pretty easy to do if the fermenter is kept in an ice-water bath in the garage (or in a fridge.)
Sure, you would have to add more ice from time to time, but if you have a half dozen empty milk jugs, you could rotate them out; three in the water bath, three in the freezer. When the three in the bath melt, swap them with the three in the freezer. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Seems like we could lager, even if the outside temp is in the low 40's.
-walker
disclaimer: I have not yet spent a winter in North Carolina, so I don't know if the temp will be in the 40's or not.