"You can't be wearing high-heel shoes with your toes in nylons"

Well, duh!

That's a part of the helpful advice from the medical director of emergency services at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, as reported in this article that showed up in the Seattle newspaper.  Perhaps he is new in town or just very busy and hasn't noticed that high-heels aren't commonly worn on the icy sidewalks of the Twin Cities.

This year, I have no picture of deep snow by the mailbox as part of my last Minnesota post before we head out to Egypt.  We do have a few inches of snow as this early morning picture of our neighborhood shows.  (No, that's not a school-bus - it's the party bus bringing home the owners of all those cars around 1:30 a.m.)


But this year the story is the cold.


We failed to get out of town before the dreaded "polar vortex" descended upon us.  I could see this coming during the summer when we returned from Tanzania.  I took several pictures of the ice as we approached North America.  It was pretty clear that we were going to have real winter this year.

Minnesota's governor closed all of the schools yesterday and most remained closed today.  What's anyone going to do with the schools closed and weather so cold that it could kill you in minutes?  Go shopping, of course.


And why not.  The parking lots have plenty of room.


And it's certainly not too cold to go outside for a smoke break.


But with today's noontime temperatures around zero, I noticed that no one was wearing gloves, much less the recommended mittens from that newspaper article that I referenced at the beginning.


Admittedly, the wind was calm, the sun was out and the temperature had risen to a more hospitable level.