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Friday, September 11, 2015

The Northern Mind; or Now Where’s My Mittens?

I put on my socks today.

A small thing, you say?  Nein, liebchen.  In the Great State of Minnesota, this is known as the Beginning of the End.

Next thing you know, I’ll be looking for my hat.

There’s a nip in the air.  Mother Nature, having done her best to steam us into submission over the last few months, has taken another tack.

She will kill us using her favorite northern weapon:  Canada. 

The winds have shifted, and one’s mind turns to winter-weight oil, shovels and the heavier ales. 

And now there’s nothing to do but look for the sweaters, the corduroys, the thick-bottomed shoes.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s all comfortable now, despite the need for socks.  The sky is blue, the teenagers still run amok with little else but their hormones to warm them, the odd ant still creeps into my house in search of sustenance.

Nevertheless, I will soon need a hat.  And having recently moved, many boxes still unexplored, I can now legitimately use my only other German phrase – aside from the necessary “bier, bitte”.

Ich habe keinen hut.*

Perhaps I should open those last boxes.




* “I don’t have a hat.”  Learned this little bit of happiness at a “Crazy Hat” party given by a local German group, the Spielmannszug.   Silly Germans.

29 comments:

sage said...

Last winter, my parka was only worn once--when I lent it to a friend who had a business trip in January to Iowa... Oh, the changes of having moved back to the southeast

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Strewth, Pearl, I'd give anything to NOT have had to be wearing my bedsocks and shawls all 'summer'..... Oh, and don't I know all about boxes. I swear they multiply the more we try to empty them. Deep breaths gal, you can do it! YAM xx

jenny_o said...

It's true, the sweet spot between freezing and cooking is elusive and sock/hat dependent. Do you think our closets would be more orderly if we didn't have so many seasons?

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Nobody chronicles these things better than you, Pearl! I have a basket where I keep my everyday gloves, scarf, and hat all winter so I can grab and go. Right now the basket holds a straw hat and a visor. (And a pair of sox for tap dance class but that's beside the point.) I am NOT ready to put the summer hats away! (Funny, the one sentence I remember from a German-for-tourists class is this: Mein hut ist auf dem tisch. (My hat is on the table.) Cheers.

The Bug said...

I taught myself to crochet a few years ago & now I have hats out the wazoo. In fact, since most of my relatives live in NC (I'm in Ohio), I'm kind of overrun with them. Does no one need a hat? Oh! Pearl does! If you can't find one in time, let me know - I can hook you up. :)

Geo. said...

Enjoyable post! My problem with socks is I get them mismatched or inside-out. Strangely, my hat gives me no such trouble.

Jono said...

Went out before dawn with the dog this morning and my earlobes were foretelling the future. I think they call it "crisp".

Buttons Thoughts said...

Darn that Canadian cold sneaking up on you like that. You could use a Canadian toque:). Glad to see you back Pearl, I need the laughs. Hug B

Catalyst said...

All that talk of German and cold weather and heavier ales turned my mind to German food! Lefse. Meatballs. Spaghetti. All of those wonderful German dishes.

Anonymous said...

Sad but true....I'm starting to think about soups and stews, casseroles and roasts.....I've looked into my hat/scarf/gloves basket and organized it......it's horrible but true......its time to dig out the mats and boot trays. Darn.

Elephant's Child said...

This post reminds me that our sweaty season is looming. Sigh. How I would love to skip summer.
We need to be able to do weather swaps...

Gigi said...

No. I'm simply not ready for socks!! *sigh* Fine. I'll go look for them but I can't promise I'll wear them.

Linda O'Connell said...

Canada is the weapon? I think arctic air can stay there. I am not ready to put away my flip flops, and nobody can make me.

Should Fish More said...

Hard to know what this next season(s) will be; spring and summer were so much warmer than normal, then there was the snow in the surrounding hills three weeks ago. Go figure.
Apparently El Nino is going to happen, and that usually means warmer and drier for the Rockies. We'll see, I guess. My winter coat, gloves and hat are still on the guest bed where I tossed them in April.
Cheers,
Mike

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

As Mr. Bill used to say, Oh No! I do date myself with that remark.

Jocelyn said...

I love that I can nod knowingly--HEY, THERE'S ONE THING I KNOW!--when I read your weather posts.

Signed,

A Woman in Socks, a Hoodie, and a Fleece Blanket

Rose L said...

Seeing that it was in the 90s today, I cannot even imagine donning a shawl!

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

What can I say but: We Canadians love to share! Join us during flu season. :) Gentlemen! Don your mittens!

the walking man said...

Yep Pearl you're right we've had our 5 months of winter, our two week transition to spring month and then BAM! like a flatiron came the heat and humidity and unrelenting weather misery of being surrounded by all this fresh water--and now, in a single day and a thirty degree drop in temperature, as if it's all magic, comes our three weeks of Autumn and then comes the "I wish I could be as naked as the trees" season again.


If you can't find a hat let me know--ball caps, knit hats, yarmulke's whatever you need I have them at the ready--after all i can't change the climate but I can climb it to the change.

River said...

The box searching could take you well into next summer. just buy a new hat, then the old one will miraculously appear and you'll have two.

River said...

The box searching could take you well into next summer. just buy a new hat, then the old one will miraculously appear and you'll have two.

savannah said...

i'm still wearing flip flops, sweetpea! i did, however, LOOK at my sweaters and now know that i need not bother to replace them. :) by the by, i also tried on my (very expensive) winter coat that i've only worn during a vacation in a far off land during a weeks stay during winter FIVE YEARS AGO. i should come for a visit! xoxoxox

Sioux Roslawski said...

Unlike Linda O'Connell, I'm way overdue ready for Fall. We got some cool weather today.

I.

am.

thrilled.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Love your view of the first hint of fall and coming winter, Pearl! Life with seasons has a rhythm we miss here in the Southwest. It's still hot here with monsoon mugginess. The week before last, a violent storm took out almost 700 trees in my neighborhood. We're not without our weather drama, to be sure, but those subtle hints of changing seasons and seasonal rituals aren't part of our lives. It's nice to hear about them. (And I love your comment about teenagers "fueled by hormones": when I lived in L.A. where winters could be chilly and rainy, I'd always see teenagers wandering around in flip flops and wonder how that was possible! Now I know!)

Bill Lisleman said...

get your socks on, sing German songs, drink German beer - after awhile of that you'll knock your socks off.

Anonymous said...

It IS the beginning of the end. I wore gloves to last night's football game. It's coming. Ugh.

Leenie said...

Oooooh, the Alberta Clipper, the Polar Express, the Canuk Killer. Who says Canadians are friendly and well-mannered. Yes, we of the northern tier know that weapon well. First, it's just socks, then hats and gloves and before you know it we're up to our eyebrows in drifts. It happens every year and we never learn.

Connie said...

I wore long pants yesterday for the first time in weeks. I understand the need for a hat. The trees are all still green here, and it's a sunny day, but I know you are right about the shift. I feel it too. Wishing you a happy week ahead, Pearl.

Launna said...

I live in Canada... I am fighting the cold for as long as I can, I am still wearing sleeveless shirts and light dress pants... it just makes me walk faster to keep warm... lol... I am not looking forward to wearing hats or gloves and my least favorite boots... I want Winter to slow down before it gets her and to move quickly once it does arrive xox