Getting Out the Door

February in Moscow in the coldest month of the year. It seems that the Russians have it figured out--unlike the Texans. In the winter in Irving we used to put a coat on in the morning (and maybe a hat and some gloves), but by noon it had warmed up, and the kids would forget to bring all the coat stuff home in the afternoon after school. So the result was that when it was cold in the morning, we always went without enough on to really be warm, even in those mild winters.

I will describe how to be warm.

This is typical of what I wear in the office, so I put it on and come out of my room to eat breakfast with the sisters.

Then it is time to leave, so I go to my room, and I put these things on under my clothes.

Then I go out to the hallway where all the coats are hung and the boots are stored, and I put these things on.

Yes, I know it looks like I have four hands, but what I am trying to show here is that since it has gotten below freezing, I wear glove liners under the leather gloves.

Then we go outside as quickly as we can because as soon as all this stuff goes on, it's too hot for indoors.

As soon as we are outside, the snowy cold greets us, and the coat with the fur lined hood, the scarf, the two sets of gloves, and the boots make me feel warm and comfortable.

Here are the sisters. We have all dressed enough to be warm.

Here is a picture of the snow on the walk to the building where we work.

This is a good day, because there are some days when there is more ice than snow. We link arms, and it is so helpful--we don't slip as much. I would have thought that it would be more likely that I would slip and bring both of us down, but the other sister helps me to stay standing. Amazing.
Here is a picture of one place where there is a yellow building on the left:

And snow covered bollards going down a street on the right of the sidewalk:

Then we get to the building, and as we open the first set of doors, there is a blast of hot air to greet us. It feels nice because our noses are just a bit nippy. We greet the guard and go up the elevator to the third floor.

By the time we get there, we are starting to get just a bit too warm, so it is nice to take off the coat with the hood, the scarf, the boots, and the two sets of gloves.

We do this in the coat and boot room. We can hang the coat on the rack, and there is a bench to sit on to take the boots off. The shoes that I wear in the office are left there from the day before, so I put them on over the socks.

But I am still warming up too much, even with the coat off, so I go straight to the lavatory to take the under layer off.

This stuff is not needed. I switch to regular hose that go with my shoes.

Then I emerge wearing my regular clothes.

When we go to lunch, we stay in the building; there is a nice cafe there. So I stay in these clothes all day long.

Then it is time to reverse the process.

I go to the lavatory, and put these things back on under the regular clothes.

Then I go to the coat and boot room, and I get these things on for the walk home.

As soon as the coat with the hood, the scarf, the boots, and the two sets of gloves are on, it is time to go down the elevator and out the door, because I get too warm rather rapidly.

We say good-bye to the guard, and walk out of one set of doors. Blowers are blasting warm air, and then we open the next set of doors, and the wind is blowing refreshing cold air, and snowflakes are gently falling. It is fun to be out in the cold because it is warm inside all the layers of clothes.

This Texas gal is really enjoying the coldest month of the year in Moscow!