So I've told you before that I don't own a coat. That's fine, I got through even an unseasonably cold winter here without one. But a couple of days ago it occurred to me that I'd better get one! Girlfriend Getaway is almost here, and Lyric and I are hoping to go on a whale-watching cruise one of the days we're in Washington. The Puget Sound waters are c-c-c-cold in March and I'm not about to get trapped on a boat full of parkas with nothing more for protection than my Lands' End drifter!

Oh. Wait. This is San Antonio, where coat-selling season lasts just under five days and then the swim suits come out. Aah, no problem, I'll just set out early Saturday morning and I'll find something. I should be able to find a great sale on coats at this time of year!

Old Navy......Ross......TJ Maxx......Dress Barn.......oh, no, am I going to have to actually go to a...a.......mall?.......Target......Kohl's......all these people are looking at me like I've lost my mind......I'm wondering if I should chance it and buy one AFTER I get to Washington......deep breath, Cathi, where do you buy off-season coats? I called Lyric from the Target parking lot and said "Quick, Google 'Burlington Coat Factory San Antonio' for me and find out where the closest one is!" Oh....The closest one is at a..........mall. Okay, well where's the farthest one? (There are only two.) Halfway across town, but that's okay...by now I'm on a mission and I WILL find a coat and that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Turned out to be a good plan and I wish I'd gone there first. Now the problem was, which one? Jacket or full-length? Parka good only for northern climes or a lighter one that I could wear here next winter? Hooded or not? Down-filled or wool? Red or black? Plain or with lots of bling? Maybe I *should* wait until Washington...maybe they'll have fewer choices to confuse me?

More than an hour later I did leave with a coat. Now I'm looking at it and wondering if it will be warm enough and maybe I should exchange it for something heavier and then maybe I'd be sorry because it would hang in the back of the closet until some winter when I go visit Annie and Kristen and how wise is that and does it look too big on me but if I didn't get a really big one I wouldn't be able to layer sweaters under it and be comfortable and run-on sentences really bug me but this is how my brain is working today and do I really look that good in black but any other color might clash with my clothes but then even black wouldn't look good if I decide to wear brown shoes.....

Can you tell I don't do this very often? As in maybe once every fifteen years? I'm worn out! It was easier when I MADE my coat! And yes. I did. A couple of times.

And maybe it really wouldn't be the end of the world to get trapped in a cold wind for a few hours with only a drifter?

Labels: Clothes, Weather