Snowy Mid-December Style. . .

Yours truly earlier this morning on the way to our local quick & greasy breakfast haunt with the Grand Duchess. Eggs, ham, and hashed brown potatoes that are to die for along with a bottomless cup of coffee. And now I will ski some of that off just around the corner and up the road from our house.

A more casual approach to everyday style here recently since the end of classes last week. Just some final grading to finish in the next couple of days, and then posting course grades to the requisite site by the deadline early next week. And then let the peevish, whiny emails from disgruntled students begin! Tiny violins as my wife says.

In the meantime, various corduroy jeans, comfy old Norwegian sweaters (two of early 90s vintage from L.L. Bean and one from Dale of Norway that I've had since Christmas of 2000), ski socks, and the ol' trusty L.L. bean duck shoes have been getting a lot of wear here at home. The scarf in the photograph is an old J. Peterman item given to me for Christmas by Mom and Stepdad about 20 years ago. I wear end enjoy it every year from about the end of October to early April.

The long red stocking cap (actually made in Norway too), on the other hand, is something that I purchased man years ago at an annual winter festival held each February in Røros, Norway not far from the Swedish border. Never, ever have I been so cold in my life as I was on that day. It really was a can't feel your toes and fingertips kind of cold (yeeees, we were bundled up with heavy coats, hats, and gloves). More like Scott of the Antarctic than a fun day out with friends.

Somewhere, there is a photograph of yours truly and a friend with our sock-feet perched on the hearth of a large fireplace, with a lovely warm fire inside, in a bookstore on one of the main walking streets of Røros. We ducked inside to have something to drink and warm up. Well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit on that particular day. And now I am off to dress for some cross-country (Nordic) skiing.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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