The Zippy Effect isn’t all that evident in this photo but trust me, that’s pretty much who I look like in this thing. Good thing it’s usually dark when I wear it, although I did take a little hike over to @PlumMarket yesterday afternoon. Hopefully I didn’t scare anyone too much. I think I’d rather look like Zippy the Pinhead than Darth Vader though. Take a look at some of these balaclavas.

Anyway, this is number one out of hmmmm, three or four posts, on how to survive The Polar Vortex winter in the Great Lake State. First of all, it is bitterly cold this week (after a very warm and frequently sunny December) but. We are getting snow but not tons (yet). In other words, this is NOT like LAST WINTER. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges. My Mouse didn’t exactly dress for the [bitterly cold] weather *going* to work today but she definitely dressed up for it going home

She does know how to dress for “weather” (despite some interesting events during her childhood) and this post isn’t meant to call out any shortcomings. I mean, look at what she improvised!

I’m more irritated about the crap guidelines that various “authorities” post. There were a lot of posts about frostbite and how to avoid it. Nobody wants to get frostbite but mostly we don’t get it if we are going about our normal routines and taking short-ish walks to get to work. I used to walk a half mile to school in Sault Ste. Siberia and despite some very low temperatures (like 25 below zero, but no windchill) and inadequate clothing, I never got frostbite. I wasn’t out there long enough and I was MOVING FAST!

I didn’t exactly dress for the weather going to work today but I was warm enough (keeping my fingers crossed that I didn’t land in a ditch along the way) and I was definitely dressed well for my 0-skunk-30 walk this morning. I was warm and I howled at the moon and was it Venus hanging out by the moon? I dunno but Oh Venus.

I was *layered*. I am the Queen of Layers. Actually, Our Northern Correspondent may trump me on that but I am pretty good. So layer. Me? Tights under leggings with a long wool skirt over both of those. Ski jacket over polartech jacket over turtleneck sweater. Doubled pairs of cheap little KMart/Walmart/Meijer glubs. Balaclava. Smartwool socks over the aforementioned tights inside LL Bean winter tennies with YakTrax.

Sigh. I am Home Alone this weekend. The GG is going hiking with the NCT folks this weekend. Our xmas tree is still up. I kind of wanted to get it down the weekend after New Year’s but we weren’t here. Will we actually keep it up until my blasted birthday? That would be a first. I think I will do my best to take it down. It’s time…

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