672nd Friday Blog Roundup
I got a winter coat. I’ve been getting by with a Polartec pullover for the last 20+ years. When I say “getting by,” I mean, not going outside because it’s too cold. But here’s the thing: I also didn’t believe that a coat would make a big difference. You see those pictures of scientists working at the South Pole and they are all wearing coats but look very cold. Like ice-crystals-in-their-beard cold. Even with a coat AND a hat.
But I’ve had my mind changed by currently-nameless-but-you-know-I’m-going-to-name-it coat. It’s ultralight and silky. Like I’ll be talking to people and the Wolvog will point out that I am mindlessly rubbing my hand up and down my arm because it deliciously feels like I’m wrapped up in a wearable sleeping bag. And it’s warm! I guess I forgot that DC isn’t as cold as the South Pole so the average coat probably does keep a person warm in this climate.
The best part about my coat? It has this zipper that you open on the inside of the coat, and that pocket turns into a little pouch. When you enter a building, you can stuff your coat into the attached pouch and the whole thing becomes small enough to throw into your purse.
I’d like to apologize to my mother for agitating her for the past 20 years by showing up in a Polartec pullover. I’ve been converted. I’m a coat-wearer now.
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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.
Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.
As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.
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And now the blogs…
But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:
- “Don’t Make Me ‘That Story’” (Unpregnant Chicken)
- “Winning the Pain Olympics” (Searching for Our Silver Lining)
- “What Stoicism Is… and What it Isn’t” (Too Many Fish to Fry)
- “This is What Grief Feels Like Now” (By the Brooke)
- “Being a Childless Mother” (Still Mothers)
- “Taking Other People’s Bad Days” (Stirrup Queens) — thank you, Jess!
Okay, now my choices this week.
If you only read one thing this week, please let it be this essay in the Washington Post about the loss of a child from an accidental overdose. Did you know that time-release pills will slowly continue to affect a person even if she throws them up? I didn’t. That due to the nature of the pills, the person could look fine for hours and no one would suspect what happened? I am a careful person — an overly careful person — but not when it comes to medication. Until now.
Not a Wasted Word has a post about the weight of words unsaid. She writes, “I cried, and I felt ashamed for the tears I shed. I hadn’t realized the weight of so many things left unarticulated. There is much I don’t say, for fear… of what exactly I do not know. The fear you cannot name is the most terrifying of all.” It’s a well-said statement of words released.
Lastly, No Kidding in NZ was interviewed last Saturday in a newspaper magazine feature as well as an online copy. It’s a fantastic magazine cover, and if you click over, you get to hear Mali’s accent. What? Is that shallow that I relished the important message of the piece AND her accent? In any case, it’s a very well-written article.
The roundup to the Roundup: Coats really work! Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between December 1st and 8th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.
13 comments
I need a new winter coat. Your’s sounds wonderful. Any thoughts on other brands (REI, Patagonia, etc)?
My picks for the week:
https://www.stirrup-queens.com/2017/12/batna-and-watna/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/this-life-her-child-died-and-now-she-heads-a-club-that-most-would-rather-not-join/2017/12/05/01240e89-c28f-4698-a50a-7b401aa681fd_story.html?utm_term=.68665d4fd10d
http://mypathtomommyhood.blogspot.com/2017/12/microblog-mondays-walking-away.html
Your post about your coat cracked me up! I live in Phoenix, so a winter coat isn’t really necessary here: we only have 2-3 weeks cumulative of days with high temps under 70 degrees. 🙂
I have one of those I got at Costco a few seasons ago. LOVE IT! Feels so good, keeps me warm, and it packed up nicely for our summer trip to Ireland.
Off to do some reading….thanks for doing this for us each Friday.
Heh heh! You do know that you’re the one with the accent, right?
I know that DC is colder than Wellington, but I’ve always worn a coat! In Iceland though I discovered the benefits of a fleece jacket with a windproof outer layer. Snug and cosy. I’m glad tippy are warm this winter.
I got a new coat this year too – but I’ve always had coats because I can’t tolerate wind. I used to wear my dad’s cashmere overcoat in high school. Then I went through a couple different varieties until I ended up with a (probably) 20 lb leather jacket worn by the Chicago police. That was nice, but soooo heavy. Then I got a nice leather jacket with thinsulate, which also worked well. It wasn’t terribly flattering, though, and my husband didn’t like it. After my daughter was born, I bought a suede/faux fur jacket, which I’ve worn for 11 years. Also very heavy. But this summer, I found a Columbia jacket with some sort of reflective lining that’s supposed to keep heat in. It’s lightweight and very nice so far. It doesn’t always get really cold here, but I have to prepare for the worst! I wish I could wear a puffer coat, but I’m allergic to down, so those are out. Yours is very cute.
I was at the store the other day, and there was a Coach shearling coat for sale. I had to try it on, and it was nice and warm…but it felt like I was actually wearing a sheep, it was so heavy. It was a Ross store, so the coat was deeply discounted to $450 – I assume I can buy an actual sheep for that price!
Coming in to recommend Infertile Phoenix’s post about what she wished she had known, and regrets/no regrets. https://infertilephoenix.blogspot.co.nz/2017/12/dont-count-on-ivf-or-adoption.html
The idea that you could get through winter wearing just a pullover… all I can say is you obviously don’t live in Canada (with the possible exception, sometimes, of southern British Columbia/Vancouver Island). Although thanks to global warming, I was still able to get away with wearing my denim jacket just a couple of weeks ago, although it was just to dash from the car through the parking lot & into a store… no extended time outdoors.
Because the winters HAVE been milder lately, and because my winter coat is about 10 years old and pretty heavy (great for standing on train platforms in January when I was working & commuting — not so great for walking through malls), I decided I wanted something a bit lighterweight for running around town and going to the mall, etc. I found one a lot like yours — it’s a lightweight packable down-filled jacket. (Mine has a snap-on hood.) It’s really cute & looks great on me. 🙂 The downside? Down, literally. Little feathers everywhere all over our (black) car seats. I thought maybe once I’d worn the thing for a while, it would stop, but nope. They seem to be working their way out of the stitching holes. This is the first down jacket I’ve ever had so I don’t know if this is an aberration, but I certainly hope your coat is shedding less than mine…!
https://www.laura.ca/en/petites/clothing/outerwear/nuage—lightweight-packable-down-coat/4030225-0001.html?start=1&dwvar_4030225-0001_color=010&ccgid=petites-clothing-outerwear-down-coats#size=82&start=37
I just bought a coat, too! We sadly just moved back from the Caribbean, and I do not have many appropriate clothes, at all!
Winter-appropriate, I mean. 🙂
Infertile Phoenix wrote a good post, “Don’t count on IVF or adoption” https://infertilephoenix.blogspot.de/2017/12/dont-count-on-ivf-or-adoption.html
I have the same jacket and LOVE it.
I just read the essay in the WP. Thank you for sharing. As a parent, that is an important read and something to think about, not just when our kids are young.