Adjusting, Again

Monday, October 14, 2019

It’s in the high thirties, and overhead an almost cloudless blue sky heralds the opening of a lovely fall day. Too bad for me, yep, for I’m scheduled to be inside and working at my part-time job. Yesterday was the same, I missed a beautiful day while envying hoards of customers, watching them fill shopping carts and hurriedly escape to the outside.

The weather forecast suggests that after today we might get one more really nice day before rain starts falling. I’ve much to repair and winterize where the horses stay before real winter hits Central Oregon. Then, it’s nearly impossible to work outside (except to shovel or snow-blow). I’m certain my furnace is operating properly and have a good supply of wood pellets in easy reach.

There’s also the task of swapping out clothes, moving all the cottony summer stuff to the backs of closets and drawers and filling newly-opened spaces with winter items. This process has fun moments, like on rediscovering articles of apparel that I liked but had forgotten. It’s amazing how much several months of no-see and no-use can alter perceptions and opinions.

My biggest conflict in seasonal change-overs of clothing is about cotton. In winter, cotton is bad, bad, bad. Since it’s a fabric that absorbs and holds cold, it’s lovely to wear in summer, but in winter becomes a no-no that must retreat to the backs of closets and drawers. A knawing problem is that clothing manufacturers have learned to make many iterations of cotton clothing, and some garments can look winter-heavy and warm but actually turn out to be 100% cotton. It’s sad to put away really nice and warm-looking items.

Natural products are expensive and so clothing manufacturers are creating more and more artificial fabrics. Many of my newer winter clothes are made from those alternative fabrics. They’re pretty good barriers to cold air, except that when I walk into a freezer at work, there’s a faux-fabric freezing against me.

Please, I say to the sky above, give us another day or two of this great weather! There’s so much that needs doing and so little time.

Dear Friends: We who love the seasons do learn to face these recurring battles. Diana