Friday, December 15, 2017

The Saga of the Boots

It all started with a plan to spend Christmas in the snow. We decided to visit Whitefish, Montana, a ski town just outside Glacier National Park that's been named one of “America’s 50 Prettiest Winter Towns” by USNews and one of the “Ten Best Ski Towns” in USA Today’s Readers’ Choice poll.

I don’t ski, and I live in Georgia with little to no need for cold weather gear. While my husband bemoaned the fact that he’d only recently given away his ski pants, I’d never owned any. On my one ski trip to Beech Mountain in the 70’s, I was such an abysmal skier, that I never tried the sport again.   I have a warm winter dress coat suitable for business travel to New York and Chicago, but not for activities like dog sledding.

Though I figured I wouldn’t get much use out of a cold weather wardrobe, I knew I needed to shop for a few basics. We planned this trip far enough in advance that I was able to take advantage of spring catalog sales to get long underwear and a fur-trimmed quilted coat. Serious shopping for a few more key items began in the fall.

Wool sweaters started arriving in the mail; ski pants were available at a local sporting goods store, and warm boots were next on the list. Yes, I have lots of boots, including a black fleece-lined pair that comes out every year to wear in the few inches of snow we get.  They’re warm but not comfortable enough for all-day wear plus I wanted to take two pairs of boots on the trip. Thus started the great boot hunt. I ordered two pairs from Amazon. The first pair seemed promising style-wise but perhaps a tad big and likely not warm enough.  While waiting for the second pair to arrive, I hit the mall.

There I found a pair of short boots, good for warmth but still not perfect. Time was awastin’, so I brought them home in case I couldn’t find anything better. Next, I headed to DSW, where I discovered a perfectly adorable pair of fleece-lined lace-up boots. Now, I had three pairs of new boots at home. The next day, the final pair arrived from Amazon. They weren’t especially warm, but they fit like a dream and were good looking to boot! I was beginning to feel like Cinderella trying on boots instead of glass slippers.

Decision Time
It was decision time. Could I make do with only one new pair? Could I use the old black ones for dog sledding and the new lace-up pair for dinners out and touring the town of Whitefish? Perhaps I needed the last pair from Amazon even if they didn’t travel to Montana.

All it took was my husband’s observation that what I had were two different kinds of boots, and I might need both. Decision made. I am now the proud owner of two new pairs of boots: one fashionable fleece-lined pair for my trip and colder days at home, and another slightly more practical pair to wear with jeans and leggings throughout fall and winter.  Of course, I may have to enlarge our closet to house my growing collection of boots, but that’s a worry for another day.



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