It was dark and stormy night...

Well, actually, it was a foggy, groggy morning, but who would know besides the cows (my neighbors) and myself? Okay, El Husbando, who has to drive off to work, through the fog (although he left the "grog" part at home, with me), he knows...

My geese are honking as they do their morning pre-flight checklist. Stretch, flap, stretch, honk honk honk...and then they take off down the run way, pull up short, slam on the brakes, and decide it is time to go to the O Club for a drink and a little hen chasing. This is their twice daily routine, except in real inclement weather, when all flights are grounded until the weather clears. Fog is not, apparently, inclement weather, lol.

If I can get the girls through with their chores and schoolwork early enough, I may start work on the flannel backed satin slips I want to make them for this winter. It is actually something rather ingenious a lady (whose name I cannot remember) on one of my message forums came up with a few years back. One of the main problems with skirt wearing in the winter time, is the simple fact that many slips are made of manmade fabrics. Well, that's okay, the skirt materials will slide over it. But those materials get C-O-L-D in the winter time, and who wants to be wearing a sheet of ice next to their skin? Not me, even though I am all for modesty and wearing the proper undergarments! Many ladies opt for lined skirts and tights, as a result. Some ladies, trying to layer and keep themselves warm (esp when they are wearing unlined skirts), try to wear flannel slips, or underskirts, under their normal, outer skirts. Not a bad idea, except that the outer skirt doesn't glide over the slip, it hangs and snags, and gets 'stuck' on your body. Not exactly the look many of us are trying to achieve. But there is a solution, I am happy to tell you!

There is a wonderful kind of material known as flannel backed satin. Used a lot for robes and pajamas, it is ideal for slips. Put the flannel side next to your skin, and the satin side out, and you end up with a warm, slippery 'slip', to keep skirts from getting caught on your body, while you still stay warm. No, this material is not the cheapest out there. But, this isn't silk or wool we are talking about, that has to be dry cleaned. It can be tossed into the washer with the rest of the clothes. And a half slip would be adequate for most ladies, as we usually end up layered up top, anyway, with turtlenecks and sweaters, or long underwear and a sweatshirt. And a half slip is not terribly difficult to make, even for a beginning seamstress.

I was fortunately able to buy a good quantity of it on clearance a few years back, a nice solid peach color. I will warn you, if you go looking for this fabric, bear in mind that, being used mainly for pajamas, it isn't in the most...mundane...of colorways. I was fortunate to find the peach. Many will have prints and designs that are not....oh, mercy. Let me just be up front and tell you that the patterns were gosh-awful, something I know I couldn't sleep in because of the busy-ness of them. But, remember, it *would* be under your clothes. Not something most would be seeing, barring a really strong wind (which we do get here in Oklahoma).

So for those of you ladies who are concerned about wearing skirts and dresses in the winter, might I suggest the making of a simple slip? It adds to the warmth level immeasurably, and combined with a winter-material skirt (corduroy, wool, heavy weight cottons, etc), and a pair of tights (there are reasonably priced cotton and wool options, even for the harder-t0-fit), perhaps a pair of boots when going out, and you are good to go. Skirt wearing doesn't have to be a spring/summer-only thing, even in colder climates. A little proper prior planning helps immensely. Check out the clearance racks/tables, shop the fabric store sales, and keep your eyes open at yard sales and thrift stores. Folks are always getting rid of things you can use, or repurpose...

Which brings me to my next "Blogging Diva of the Day" (and you thought I'd forgotten!)....

Ah-ha! It's.....

Diane, at Tomato Soup Cake.....!!!!!!! (she doesn't even know she's on my blogroll, lol).

Please, go pay Diane a visit. She's a single mother, homeschooling and raising her beautiful family. And doing a fine job of it, too, from what I can see. She's a real inspiration to the rest of us out here, when we think we've had a hard day. I can't imagine doing my job without my darling El Husbando to come to my rescue in the evenings. She's a dress-wearing, Christian lady, with lovely long hair, a penchant for thrift store shopping, two little kittens (Tilty and Puff--see her archives for their stories), and a great reliance on the providing hand of God. And she has such a delightful sense of humor about it all. Go read about her sweet children--especially her ballerina girl, Millen, and her sweet son, Noah (who is, like many a young man, keen on dragon slaying these days). And don't forget to read back, cause she's got an interesting couple of posts on wearing those old-fashioned undergarments of yesterday, corsets...lol....(if *that* doesn't lure you in, I don't know what will!).

For now, dear reader, I need to be about my day. Laundry and dishes and schoolwork and little boy monitoring....just another wonderful morning around here...I do hope your day has started off as nicely, and if not, well, prayers for you and yours (once a 'hard day' starts, it can be well nigh on impossible to get out of it. Been there, done that, got the teeshirt. Many a time...).

So, get on with your day, but first, go check out Diane's wonderful online home, maybe post a comment or two, just to let her know you were there. You don't have to mention me, really. But I know how neat it is to follow someone else's blogroll and come to find some really wonderful bloggers I never knew existed. Toss a load of laundry in, maybe switch the dishes over, get the children working on their math, and settle in for a cup of tea and a little piece of Tomato Soup Cake...