Wearing a skirt outdoor in wintertime ???

[Sasquatch]

It was 80 F here today, and we're so dry the swamps are catching on fire.
Sasq

[Peter v]

My My sapphire, you seem to live in a very nice area. It is only a shame that those natural areas of beauty seem to be some of the most difficult in bad weather. That weather is certainly not so suitable for skirts, but if they are long, and worn with thick tights, socks, boots, then it should be ok.

Fime that the cat is OK>

Peter v.

[sapphire]

We will be facing a challenge to skirting tonight and tomorrow. We are expecting up to a foot of snow!.

Actually, I love Massachusetts for al of its diversity. I just find Petersham (the village where the opthalmologist lives) a bit spooky,

If you were to look at a map of Massachusetts, to the west you would see a very big "lake". That is the Quabbin Reservior, the main water supply for Boston. The Quabbin was created by daming the Swift River and flooding the valley. In doing so, four villages were scarificed.. THere is still a great deal of resentment in that area about the Quabbin project and folk tales abound. A large area of forest surrounding the water was set aside as a wildlife preserve.

[crfriend]

We will be facing a challenge to skirting tonight and tomorrow. We are expecting up to a foot of snow!.

The unfortunate upshot of that is that I'll be shovelling snow in the morrow. We'll see whether I wear a skirt or not....

If you were to look at a map of Massachusetts, to the west you would see a very big "lake". That is the Quabbin Reservior, the main water supply for Boston. The Quabbin was created by daming the Swift River and flooding the valley. In doing so, four villages were scarificed..

The Quabbin project was the second time that Boston did that to the folks to the west. At the turn of the 20th century a large dam was built in Clinton to block the Nashua River and create the Wachusett Reservoir. In the process, what was West Boylston, and parts of three other towns, was drowned under some hundred-odd feet of water. Unlike the unlucky hamlets that were dis-incorporated and innundated beneath the Quabbin, West Boylston managed to survive, but only really as a "bedroom community" for neighbouring Worcester; all the local industry perished as the Wachusett filled.

Wikipedia has an article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachusett_Reservoir.

H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour out of Space" (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lo ... fspace.htm) was written at about the time that the Quabbin project was ramping up in earnest but the timing in the story is closer to the initial surveys for what would be the Wachusett. It's a good read.

I have no idea whether H. P. ever wore a skirt...

[JRMILLER]

Carl,
I have it on good authority that H.P. did in fact wear skirts, but only in the presence of mighty Cthulhu!

[sapphire]

The snow started about 2 hours ago while I was getting. EVERYBODY was on the main street. I think some cars had been imported to add to the effect.

While scraping my car off after having purchased some libations for a winter's night, a chap came over and chatted about his experiences in the past hour (The weather had gone from cloudy to snowy and half an inch of snow had fallen)

I was sort of curious. There were other women going in and out of the liquor store and chose to speak with me.So I asked him, why me? His reply?

He said that I was th only one who was dressed sensibly for the weather, but still feminine enough to wear a skirt and looked like I could take caare of myseslf.

Trust me, I was no glam queen, but from what he could see , I was wearing a long, heavy skirt, non slip flat shoes, tights and socks, a hoodie, a hat, scarf and gloves and comfortable enough to be driving an 11 year old car.

The other ladies were in high heeled boots, no coat, no hat and brand new SUVs.

Waiting for Carl to get home

[CJFMix]

I have a condition of a snapped ligament in my left knee , resulting from
a motorcycle accident , many years ago ...
Well , last week , I slipped on a ice patch and severely twisted my knee !!!
Now , I have to wear a knee brace !!!
For now , I can't walk to much , can't go to work , can't go to far !!!
But , I still wear my skirts , even more then I used to !!!
I think it looks strange having to wear a knee brace !!!
All I have to do , is being patient , see after 2 or 3 weeks if I'm able to walk without the knee brace ...

[Skirt Chaser]

Well CJF, I believe cosmetic skirt wearing is a new benefit I had not previously associated with skirts for men. A knee brace is probably much easier to disguise under a skirt than pants. Hope your knee heals smoothly!

Quiet Mouse

[sapphire]

It is mighty strange wearing braces. I wear ankle braces, but also need to be fitted for knee braces. Strangely, I feel better in a skirt than in pants with the braces on. No worry about the fabric getting jumbled up

[BBB]

It was cold and frosty this morning when I went for a kilted walk. It was still more comfortable than trousers.

[crfriend]

The snow started about 2 hours ago while I was getting. EVERYBODY was on the main street. I think some cars had been imported to add to the effect. [...]

Waiting for Carl to get home

It was a long wait -- I never made it home last night because of the weather and the traffic.

I work almost exactly 30 miles from home, and the drive usually takes me 40 -50 minutes one-way. I left work yesterday at about 13:00 and finally gave up in exasperation about 20 miles from home at 17:00. Traffic was positively insane; I left first gear only twice while I was on the road. I also go very badly stuck on an up-hill about 6 miles from work and the best I could do was to get stuck as far out of the travel lanes (such as they were) as possible and offer an occasional manual push to folks who were still moving. A chap from the locality's fire department was trying to help out and finally dug me out and pushed me on my way.

The Interstate highway was no better, and with failled windscreen wipers and the prospect of another couple of long uphill grades forced my hand to take refuge in a hotel for the night. And it took me no fewer than six shots, getting stuck each time, to get into the hotel driveway! At least the hotel had a good bar.

I 'phoned home just after checking in to let Sapphire know that I was (1) OK and (2) out of the cold and out of danger, padded down to the bar, got supper and enough beer to take the edge off my stress, then watched a co-worker of mine win on the US television game show "Jeopardy"!

What's this got to do with skirts when the weather is positively awful? It was so bad in the hotel parking lot at 08:00 that the hotel's general manager was out helping shovel peoples' cars out -- wearing ankle-boots, tights, and a long coat; so there must've been a skirt under there!

All in all, we got about 10 inches of snow -- this is deeper than the ground-clearance of my car. I suspect I made the right choice in seeking refuge....

[PatJ]

I'm glad you did the smart thing and sought shelter.

But, if what I saw on the news today is true, you're in for another one worse than the one you just had.

Here in Wisconsin, we have more snow than at any time in the past 30 years or so, and it isn't even Christmas.

It won't stop me from wearing my kilt while I run the snowblower.

Best wishes, and happy holidays.

PatJ

[CJFMix]

We're happy you made it back safely crfriend !!!

But I think , this year's winter promises to be a wild ride ...
Might as well get prepaired mentally and physically for the next couple cold months !!!

Sapphire , you have such a delightfull pen , I got sad when I read you had to wear braces , If you don't mind , explain just a little more your condition ...

To both of you especially , and to a great bunch of people here , I wish you all the best of this world , for this coming season and the new year !!!

[prof]

I know what you both mean CJF and Sapphire.

I have always used a full length brace on my right leg, and a below knee one on the left. They're the old type, metal ones, but essential.

Wearing a skirt makes things easier - trousers are often a problem (my braces are fixed into bulky shoes, so are awkward to get on and off), a kisr tmakes that MUCH easier, as well as manipulating the knee lock on my right leg.

[crfriend]

News flash: Some skirts are better than others in IMC

Well, I'm fairly used to wearing skirts out of doors in wintertime, but today was the first time I experimented a little bit. The results were instructive: Simple A-line skirts of heavy fabric are vastly superior to wide-hemmed tiered skirts in positively rotten weather.

Here's the scene: sub-20 (F) temperatures, a whipping wind, and a light freezing rain; experimenter in medium-weight opaque tights, lower calf-length tiered skirt, regular dress shirt, moderately heavy waistcoat (vest), windbreaker jacket, hat, gloves, and normal mens' shoes.

The results: The wind kept getting under the skirt and blowing it hither, thither, and yon; this let lots of cold air up underneath, and even though the tights helped a bit, the whipping of the hemline in every possible direction assured that the lower part of the skirt got fairly wet, and this translated onto the legs. One word: "Yuck".

In conclusion, I find that heavyweight cotton-knit A-line skirts (those that Sapphire describes as "everyday skirts") work vastly better than my tiered number. The "everyday skirts" come to just below my knees; I suspect a garment constructed from the same material but about six inches longer, with a slightly narrower flare, would make for an ideal "winter skirt" so long as the hem can be kept dry.

I'm just glad I'm back inside now. I hate winter....