More about THIS WINTER

I’ve reached into the back of my drawer for a couple of sweaters reserved for only the coldest of days. They are in rotation currently. They are both horse-blanket type sweaters, thickly woven, one acrylic and the other wool. One was hand-knitted the other from L.L. Bean.

The green one I put on in the morning, right out of bed. As I’m turning up the heat and changing from my wool sleeping booties to shearling-lined slippers, I shimmy into the green one—sort of a throwback to the 1950s, gee-whiz Mrs. Hertenstein, kids walking a mile or two to school kind of sweater—before going outside to shovel the decks. I’m not sure how this got to be my job. Most likely because 1) I don’t want to fall, 2) I’m out there first thing because I need to go to the mothership for something, 3) I actually love doing it. No one makes me. I love waking up and in a sleep-daze go outside into the startling fresh cold air and exercise my arms, back, shoulder muscles. I’m reminded of why people sit in saunas and then run outside to jump into a hole in the ice, though I’m not using switches on the back.

The blue one is more dressy, for good, not exactly a work sweater, though everything gets regulated to work when I get caught up in household tasks. Anyway, I don’t want to get it dirty. Both sweaters do the job of keeping out the cold—and on these frigid days I’ll wear one and then drape the other over my lap while sitting at my desk writing.

 

I see it’s beginning to snow; will have to do a follow-up shovel.