Are you ready boots? Start walking!

In case you haven't heard, it's pretty darn cold in these parts. To illustrate, it was -18°F this morning, which is apparently cold enough to close all the schools in the area. Yikes. We've also had more than our fair share of snow and sleet this winter, so it should come as no surprise to hear that the sidewalks, driveways and parking lots in town are, for the most part, covered in snow and ice.

Wearing appropriate clothing is the key to staying warm in this weather. And since remaining upright while walking is always preferable to the alternative, boots are an important part of the clothing equation. Alas, since my current boots are cracked, this week I decided it was time to fork over the cash for a new pair.

Unfortunately, buying winter boots in January is easier said than done. I went to five different stores and the "pickins" were slim, to say the least. Four out of the five stores were completely out of my size, which is saying something considering the fact that I can wear a women's 7 or a kid's 5.

There were basically no kids boots left anywhere, and the the sizes remaining in the women's section were all too big, with a lot of size 11 and 12 left. I imagine they over-ordered this category not taking into account that a portion of the "women" wearing size 11 or 12 women's shoes, are actually men, to whom snow boots are not a huge priority. The store that did have my size actually had a whole stack of women's boots in a variety of sizes. Which would have been great, except for the fact that they were all priced over $100. Which honestly seems a bit steep for my purposes. I mean seriously, am I competing in the Iditarod or something?

So for the time being, it appears that I'm going to have to make due with the cracked boots that I have. Which might not be so bad. Well, assuming they make black duct tape...