3184 Cold, cold, cold, cold feet*

*Nod to Tracy Chapman

Saturday, December 4, 2010

“The squeaking wheel doesn’t always get the grease. Sometimes it gets replaced.”
-- Vick Gold --

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I wear closed shoes and socks only in the winter. I'm back in open shoes, sandals, and bare feet as soon as possible in the spring. The socks I do wear in the winter are the thin "trouser socks".

Man, I'm dying here! It seems so much colder here, even when the thermometer says it's in the high 40s. My hands and feet are freezing constantly!

I think the difference between the new and the old house is the wind, the flatness, the proximity to ocean, the humidity.

The old house was among rolling countryside. There was wind, but the topography directed it high. The tops of the trees would whip, but close to the ground there was usually little wind. Shopping was mostly tucked in valleys.

Here, at the new house, there's nothing to stop the wind. It blows off the water and across the land. This area of New Jersey is so flat. I hate flat, but I figured it would be ok because I can always go visit mountains when I feel like it. I am relearning why I hate flat.

The wind is not only strong and low, but coming off the water, it's damp.

I guess I could buy some wool socks, but it's not that easy. My feet are wide and I have an unusually high instep. It's difficult enough to find shoes that fit well (short, but wide and high) even with thin socks. I doubt that most of my shoes and boots would fit over heavy socks that make my feet even wider and higher.

Maybe I'll have to hibernate for a few months.
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