Winter is with us, this first day of February! It was cold last night, the wind chill was -27C. Attila and I went out for a stroll. It takes a lot of effort to dress warmly for this kind of weather, particularly if you are assembling an outfit with pieces not designed for the challenge. It takes more time to gear up to go out for a walk, than it does to take the walk. It is well worth the effort though, and we enjoy it.
My winter boots from last year damaged my feet this year, blisters on blisters. I tried an older pair of lined rubber boots, and although they are warm, and comfortable, they aren’t meant for walking any distance. They make my feet tired. It was time to shop for boots.
I tried on a great assortment of footwear in the women’s department of a big box clothing store. Every last pair was uncomfortable, with pressure points, which would cause blisters. Finally I gave up and wandered into the men’s footwear department, where I found a pair of comfortable boots which the manufacturer deemed “unisex”, only available in the men’s department. They are so very comfortable, I can walk miles in them. They keep my feet dry, warm, and comfortable. They are made by Keen, a brand I find very comfortable.
The only drawback of my new boots, for me, old girl that I am, is that bending down to get them on and lace them up is a bit of an ordeal. I have a high instep. I decided to buy a shoe horn to help me out. I found the last one at the dollar store, $1.25. Never having needed or used a shoe horn before, I was not a discerning shopper. The shoe horn I bought is very long, meant to be used while standing. Oh my the contortions required to use it comfortably while sitting. I’ve ordered a much shorter shoe horn through amazon. I am hoping the shoe horn will prevent wear on the back of the inside of the boots, which is what wears out due to my high instep.
For the walks in the winter I wear my knee brace, which requires that I remove my pants to pull it up my leg and over my knee, then put my pants back on. The knee cozies my Mom knit for me go over that. Over the knee brace and pants and cozies go a pair of waterproof/windproof snow pants, which really helps to keep my knees warm. Then comes the thick jacket. Then I put my keys and flip phone in the pockets of that. At last I am ready to head for the chair near the door, struggle into my boots, put my hat on, and my scarf. The parka comes next, hood up over the hat. Last the gloves. My gloves are years and years old, and are fabric and do not keep out the wind. This has meant that on winter walks I need to keep my hands in my pockets.
When I go for walks in the winter I am a big, round, waddling ball of fabric.
About the gloves. I finally decided that it is very hard to walk any distance with my hands in my pockets. I looked at new gloves, good grief the warm ones are expensive! Attila found a bag of my old gloves from before we met, in the basement, in a box. Mildewed of course. There are some very warm gloves in that bag. I’ve washed them with soap, but they continue to smell of mildew. They are drying on the clothes line on the back porch, frozen solid for the moment. I will bring them in and soak them in a water and vinegar solution, then wash them again, hopefully that will control the smell of the mildew.
In the meantime, Attila found an old pair of leather mittens he wore at the lumber yard. They are battered and dirty, not pretty. But they are warm, and fit over the old gloves I’ve been wearing all winter. So I am setup now.
I am quite a sight when out for my walk. Now that I have my hands out of my pockets, I can happily wave at the people who stare!!
Worldly
Weather
-12°C
Date: 1:00 PM EST Saturday 1 February 2025
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 103.0 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: -11.7°C
Dew point: -20.4°C
Humidity: 48%
Wind: N 9 km/h
Wind Chill: -17
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause; He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws.”
Sir Richard Francis Burton
1821 – 1890
Although the sentiment is one I agree with, I feel Sir Burton has erred in the extreme in clothing the thoughts with words like “manhood”, “he”, and “his”. And I believe the language does reflect an attitude that regards women as other. I don’t feel it was meant to represent humanity in the common usage, but meant to represent men’s perspective at the exclusion of women. Having spent time with a lot of “successful” men, I am led to this conclusion, and I don’t think it has changed all that much.
One of the great things about getting older is that we get to prioritize comfort over appearance. It’s nice when those two things come together, but it’s no longer required.
The exclusion or diminishing of women by the elites seems to be a thing now, in many areas of the world. The only good thing about that is under-selling women means they won’t have the help of some often greater minds in their activities.
I too have a motley assortment of cold weather clothing. Some items are well over 20 years old. I had stopped wearing some of them because they were at times getting uncomfortably tight, but having now lost several sizes due to the colon issues I should try them on again.
I’m doing much better than I was a few weeks ago. I’ve now been adding in regular foods for more than 2 weeks, going from a liquid diet to a regular diet one food at a time. The only foods left to add are raw vegetables. I just added my first one, raw cucumbers, today.
It seems the twisted colon has settled down and I’m simply working with reactions from food sensitivities now. It looks like I may not be able to eat eggplant, but I’ll give it another try some time in the future.
Darn it. I lost my cookie again, I guess. That was me positing as Anonymous.
Wendy, how right you are! I remember as a teenager in high school, when mini skirts were all the rage, walking 1 1/2 miles on cold winter days with bare legs, all for fashion. Sometimes the stars align, and comfort and appearance meet, always a bonus. I compensate for the rarity of this miracle by actually thinking I look great in all these costumes I come up with, lol.
Teri, I recognized it was you right away!
That is the silver lining to the misogyny, the great female minds are not contributing to the insanity, for the most part.
So glad to hear the colon issue is settling down, what a painful and intrusive issue! Losing the weight is a silver lining in that cloud, certainly not a sought after method of weight loss though.
The surgeon told me I have a “difficult colon”, although I didn’t get any details as to what was meant by that, because they talked to me about it as I was waking up groggy from the anaesthetic. Will have to ask at the next appointment, years from now.