On Winter

I'm back. Again. It's winter here. I'd post a picture, but every time I've tried to take one, it's turned out looking more, "dismal, depressing snow," than, "lovely, pretty snow."

I only have about 10 years of personal history with serious Winter. I spent my childhood being transplanted from one hot, humid climate to another every 2-3 years. My mother, who's from North Carolina, always made sure we were properly outfitted with "warm" coats and boots whenever we were living somewhere that wasn't actually tropical. Once or twice a year we got actual snow (usually 2", but once 2' for Christmas), and had to wear plastic grocery bags inside our shoes to go play in it. The rest of the year was heavily dependent upon freon.

Then, when I was 15, we moved to the semi-arid East (San Francisco) Bay area. No more winter there, of course, but summer was totally different, and I discovered for the first time in my life that there are places on this planet where it's actually pleasant to go outside. (There were certainly negatives - the dryness is hard on the hair and skin, and I'm temperamentally and culturally unsuited to California, and SF in particular, in every possible way. So I have no plans to go back.)

Then I went to central NY for college, and got to actually live in real winter for the first time. I discovered that, for me, everything about New York winter was more tolerable than anything about North Carolina summer. And yes, I feel that way even when it's still snowing in April.

(Let's ignore for the moment that I'm currently living in a place that gets winter and summer with equal ferocity. We can't have everything.)

So, my winter kit:

• Coats. One long (ankle length, on me, so quite long) black wool quite like Wende's; One real US Navy pea coat (impossibly heavy); one parka-like thing. The latter two I've had since 1997. Pea coat came to me second-hand and is starting to rabbit (I think I can repair it enough to make it look acceptable for another couple seasons) and the parka thing is a bit worse for wear but still very much in service. And extremely warm.
  
  
• Scarves. I have a few. I like to make them, since they're easy and quick and fun. My go-to is the one in this picture. It's about 10' long and was made for me when I went away to college in the cold place by my high school best friend, who had lived her whole life in NoCal and Houston, and therefore had never owned a scarf herself. So I guess it also dates from c. '97, though it still looks great. I've decided I'll spend the Christmas vacation making myself a new one in my favorite joyous teal.
  
  
• Gloves. A couple pairs at the moment, brown leather lined with some sort of insulating miracle fiber. If Du Pont can invent something 10x warmer than cashmere, I'm not going to be a snob about it. I'm a chemical engineer, recall - better living through science! They do have to be leather, though, since I have a leather steering wheel and so anything else is too slippery to drive in. And brown, because, much to the chagrin of My Sister the Blonde Artist, I really like brown and black together.
  
  
• Hat. The fleece one I've been wearing since - you guessed it - 1997 is finally so worn it's actually hurting my head to wear. So when I saw the forecast for Wednesday morning was 4*F, I went to find a replacement. I wound up with a camel-colored cashmere cap (approximately what Canadians call a toque) from the men's department at Target - women's hats rarely fit me because I have too much hair (or my head is too big, but that doesn't sound as good). I like it, and it's very warm, but I haven't decided yet whether it's sufficiently all-purpose, or if I'll need something else. Fine for now though.
  
  
• Boots. All I have at the moment is the sort you take off when you're no longer in the snow. I could stand to find something more flexible, but it's not urgent.

• Other bits o' fleece. The ear band. Under the hat. By far the most warmth per square inch of fabric I've found anywhere. Also one of these, when it's really cold. Not sure where mine is at the moment.

ETA: I just decided to ignore the fact that it's 15*F outside and go for a walk, and discovered two things. a) I do, in fact, own a pair of snow - friendly street shoes that I'd forgotten about, and b) I do need a more potent hat for outdoor adventures longer than the walk between the office and the parking lot.