First Flurries!

As I set the timer on my camera
and jumped into the frame to
pose for these shots, the
thermometer registered a mere
35 degrees outside.  Brrrrrrrr!

The Baltimore area of the mid-Atlantic was treated to its first snow flurries of the season this morning. Of course such inclement weather would appear just as I was about to embark on my long commute by car, foot and subway train from my home in Baltimore County, Maryland, to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. for a day of research on behalf of my longtime employer.  Of course.

As swirling snowflakes were buffeted this way and that by gusty winds outside, I praised my luck and jumped at the chance to pull on a gorgeous pair of buck-colored knickers by leather fashion mogul Margaret Godfrey, a treasure in a box of hand-me-downs I received from my best friend, Kari’s, mother, Joyce, in Spokane a few weeks ago.  I don’t typically need a lot of insulation or heavy layers in my clothing since my internal thermostat runs pretty hot most of the time.  I knew these pants, with their genuine suede exterior and smooth satin lining, would be way too warm for me to wear comfortably on any but the most frigid day. The arctic cold front which ushered in today’s fluffy precipitation brought with it temperatures that would not exceed 39 degrees Fahrenheit all day. And with the brisk wind chill factored in, the forecast warned of “feels-like” temps in the 20s.  It was a perfect day to try out my new britches!

I topped the cropped trousers with a silky brown sweater by Joseph A – Qu’est-ce que c’est? which I purchased at Macy’s over a decade ago, and capped the whole thing off with a textural knit stole designed by Barbara Bass of Creations by B, which I found at a Sugarloaf Craft Festival last fall.  I tugged warm leather boots by Wendi from Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) over thick ski socks, buttoned up a leopard-print jacket from Fabulous Furs that was a gift last year from my dear friends, Robert and Jan, and thanked my lucky stars for a pair of toasty fingerless gloves with mitten tops that were a gift several Christmases ago from my dear friend and former colleague, Gaylene, in Dallas.

You can't see the snowflakes because the flurries
came and went, but they sure added a brisk
element to the day!

Out into the weather I went, comfy as could be in my “new” brindle lederhosen. Standing on the elevated outdoor platform awaiting the Metrorail train that would carry me into our nation’s capitol, I was thankful for the density of suede as the wind and flakes spun in a frenzy around me.  The snow dissipated later in the day, and by the time I set out for home only the bluster was left, bone-chilling though it was.

The very last of the colorful impatiens in my window boxes and the luscious fuchsias in my hanging baskets will perish tonight, as the temperature dips into the solid 20s throughout the region.  The icy season is upon us here on the eastern seaboard of the United States. I’m ready!
Cheers,
Lynell