Brrr… Baby It’s Cold Outside: Things I Can’t Live Without (Part 6)

Beth created image using ChatGPT

The first winter we lived in Minnesota, in 2024, I bought a heavy duty winter jacket. I wore it once. Most days I grabbed a flannel jacket I had picked up at Costco because I liked the style, or I wore a sweater instead. The same thing happened during the winter of 2025. That heavy duty jacket mostly hung in the closet.

This winter is a different story. That jacket is finally earning its keep and getting plenty of wear.

I also bought heavy duty snow boots, which I have yet to wear. Still, it is comforting to know they are there if I ever need them after a heavy snow. So far, my system has worked just fine. I stay home, or Joe and I drive from the garage to wherever we are going. I wait in the car while Joe shops, then we drive home and back into the garage. Voila. No trudging through snow for me.

As for gloves and mittens, I have plenty. They live upstairs in a drawer and are remembered maybe two or three times over the years.

All of this is to say, I am keeping all of my winter outdoor wear.

The updated list of things I can’t live without:

1. Vehicle (KEEP)
2. Cell phone (KEEP)
3. Computer (KEEP)
4. Printer/Copier (KEEP)
5. Kitchen “stuff” (KEEP)
6. Sentimental keepsakes (KEEP)
7. Pets (Live without, eventually)
8. Plants, garden and inside house plants (KEEP)
9. Beans (KEEP)
10. Winter outdoor wear (KEEP)

Winter outdoor wear is the tenth and final item on the list, so tonight I am officially wrapping up this series. Now it is time to come up with something new to write about. Hmmm. Maybe five personality traits that aggravate me. Other people’s, or my own.