That’s right, this coat has a name and few people have ever seen it; I can think of five including myself, Erin Lee, Meghan Lee, the original owner and her daughter, who is no longer with us. It is ugly, which is one of the reasons it ended up with me 🙂 An old friend who dislikes brutal cold even more than I do had purchased it years ago, then was forbidden by her daughter to wear it in public. When I moved out here to the Homestead, my friend gifted it to me figuring that living in Shawano Country, it probably didn’t matter how ugly the coat is, it may well come in handy. My daughters rolled their eyes, and the coat became an annual joke. I comment every year when the coat comes out; it’s my temperature gauge and for it to come out means it’s fairly cold. I should keep track of the date each year.like an almanac of cold; haven’t done it so far, but today it’s going in the planner, to be transferred on New Year’s Day to the 2014 planner for future reference 🙂
How ugly is it, you might ask? I’ll try to explain in words and a visual just what it’s all about.
It is big, HUGE, puffy, doesn’t all fit in a single photo and full-length That’s right, no short little thing that leaves your behind exposed. This comes right down to the top of my boots, even has a hood and large sleeves that allow for several layers. It’s so heavy that it has to go in a closet on a double hanger. I tried hanging it with the others on the back porch coat tree, but it tips the whole thing over. I”m one who collects jackets and coats, the fact that this one item outweighs all the others combined should give you some idea 🙂
Thinking about that, I could wear it around the house for exercise, maybe it would act as a full body weight instead of the girlie wrist and ankle weights I use; perhaps it could be like a personal sweat coat. Who knew that it could be multipurpose, all the while in the house where no one but Soleil can observe and he promised never to tell:) As far as I know there are no photos of this coat being worn because even here in the country, I’d be hard pressed to wear this into town. It has not yet been that cold, even in Wisconsin and I do have a fur that is much more attractive. Either way, the outfit is completed with my ancient white Sorels – big, insulated, waterproof, you know the kind that last forever, you just update the liner occasionally and yes, they are very white. I bought new gloves a few weeks ago, supposed to be guaranteed to keep hands warm and dry to -30º, we’ll see :). Now that The Ugly Coat has been taken out of storage, I’m ready for for whatever.
And there’s one more thing – the ice cleats that go on your boots. Used to have a pair, lost one and found out the hard way last winter that one is generally insufficient to keep a person upright. In the interest of staying on my feet and avoiding another concussion, when the back steps were slippery yesterday morning, I went on the hunt for a PAIR of cleats, which I found and now own. That said, now I may be ready for whatever.
As good ol’ King Solomon said back in the day, every season has its time. I’m not so sure I’ll ever agree that there’s a time for brutal cold, or even just regular cold, but I am as ready as I can be now that The Ugly Coat has shown up again. Stay warm, be blessed!!