Channeling Bernie here in the Mitten State #Wordless Wednesday #Sick of Winter – you too?

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Linda Schaub

#Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

[Mitten State image f/Pinterest]

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each and every post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things I see on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, and so my blog is peppered with folks I meet, or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post that day. I respect and appreciate nature and my interaction with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. My career has been in the legal field and I have been a legal secretary for four decades, primarily working in downtown Detroit, and now working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in print journalism in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met and shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing once again in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy – hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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79 Responses to Channeling Bernie here in the Mitten State #Wordless Wednesday #Sick of Winter – you too?

  1. J P says:
    February 17, 2021 at 5:34 am

    I must confess that I am a glove guy and not a mitten guy. But those certainly look warm!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 17, 2021 at 7:20 am

      JP – for the most part, I am a glove gal, if for nothing else but the dexterity they offer, but I made an exception this year and treated myself since we’ve had, and continue to have, such a brutally cold Winter.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Barbara Rodgers says:
    February 17, 2021 at 6:49 am

    People keep telling me mittens are warmer than gloves but I keep forgetting to buy some! I imagine wool ones are the warmest?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 17, 2021 at 7:25 am

      Barbara – I had some polar fleece gloves that I wore for years when I took the bus to downtown Detroit. I’d wear them while waiting for the bus, but had gloves in my tote bag to switch to before I got on the bus as I had to grip handles, show or swipe my bus pass, then I always read on the bus trip to/from the City. Mittens are warmer as your fingers are all together, thus keeping your fingers warmer, but not good for dexterity. Yes, wool are the warmest … the polar fleece were just plain awkward. I use mittens when shoveling snow.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Ron Walker says:
    February 17, 2021 at 8:04 am

    The last time I had call for gloves, was 1996 while I rode the large Harley Davidson Police Motors during some cold weather. I can’t handle that cold like I used to.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 17, 2021 at 8:45 pm

      I can’t do it anymore either Ron. When I used to wait for the bus for decades while going to work downtown, my feet got the coldest and I’d be shifting back and forth while waiting on the bus. My mom suggested getting a pair of polar fleece mittens that were not too heavy, and she sewed the thumb down and I wore them inside my Winter boots. That worked well. We got 8 inches of snow on Monday, (a foot in some spots from drifting snow) and this morning while I was outside running the car and shoveling, there was a guy and gal pushing a huge motorcycle up the middle of the street. The streets weren’t plowed or salted yet and I’m hoping it was because they intended to use it on the main drag at the end of the street.

      Liked by 1 person

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  4. bekitschig says:
    February 17, 2021 at 8:18 am

    The snow fun dwindles … ready for spring!

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Tofino Photography says:
    February 17, 2021 at 3:31 pm

    when I go out in my boat during the winter I wear thick wool gloves inside a huge glove!
    The glove even has nose wiping artificial fur!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 17, 2021 at 9:02 pm

      I like that idea of nose-wiping artificial fur. Up til the problem with my glasses fogging up, despite the special spray, the mask covered the nose running which was nice. Two gloves is a good idea – I do that with the photographer’s gloves I had ordered from Amazon. The gloves were not warm at all, so I bought Naturalizer very thin spandex gloves for underneath and then only flip up the fingers when I am taking photos – otherwise your fingers freeze and get number and you’re miserable. (I am anyway, but stay and grumble about it.) Mittens work well for the trek there and back (two miles roundtrip) and if I’m not taking photos, otherwise I have to switch at the Park .

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 17, 2021 at 9:18 pm

        The wool mitten or glove can be worn inside the thick wool exterior glove. Works really well for me! I sometimes use a charcoal hand heater too!
        https://www.homehardware.ca/en/portable-hand-warmer/p/7610150
        This unit is cheap and really pumps out the heat!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 18, 2021 at 9:46 pm

        That’s a good idea with the two-part hand coverings and this charcoal stick Wayne. I wish my flip-top gloves were warmer. One set flips back mitten tops to expose half-fingers and are polar fleece and the other has flip-top fingers only for the thumb, but they are more awkward to use. I used to keep the foil packet-type hand warmers and foot warmers in my tote bag when I took the bus in case we got stranded somewhere and it took a while for another bus to come.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 18, 2021 at 9:54 pm

        I can see you hanging your suet creations all over the place! Just hang them away from where people walk. Your hidden spots!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 19, 2021 at 7:17 pm

        Well that might be a possibility – it was likely the blue plastic dish people wanted, but they also took the chain I secured it with as well. I still have a wooden platform tray feeder but won’t take it down there as someone for sure will steal it. I left suet on the picnic tables last year (no picnic tables this year) but the squirrels didn’t eat it … I didn’t make it though, just got it at Meijer but it froze solid. I left two of them several times, but I had to take a stick and chop it up for them. I wonder if this is a softer suet?

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 19, 2021 at 8:46 pm

        I think suet is traditional used for birds Linda. Soft suet indoors turns rock hard in subzero conditions. You could make them in ice cub trays so your furry friends could grab one and go eat it in their nest? Or take your store bought suet and cut it into small cubes?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 20, 2021 at 8:47 pm

        I will try that next year Wayne when hopefully they put the picnic tables back on the pavilion – for some reason I thought the birds didn’t like the suet, but I think it was the squirrels who tried to eat it, it was frozen and they couldn’t, so they threw it on the floor. I finally quit buying it, even when they had it on sale $1.00 a pan, or 11 for $10.00.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 20, 2021 at 9:30 pm

        oh I would of snapped that up! Great price! You can’t make it that cheap. Of course It all depends on the quality of seeds used?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 20, 2021 at 10:10 pm

        Well I am not sure of the seeds used … I always get the berry flavored seed suet and peanut suet. I don’t see the woodpecker(s) around enough to buy the woodpecker suet (besides the squirrels would probably eat it and it’s more expensive). It is “no melt” so you can use it year around. I never get it for the warmer months as I figure the birds can forage then and the squirrels see me on a regular basis too.

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  6. Tofino Photography says:
    February 17, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    I looked and looked but couldn’t find my Arctic gloves anywhere? These are close however,except the upper section is not green but dark blue.
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/160786189469

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 17, 2021 at 9:08 pm

      I just looked at this link – I never thought to look on at military outdoor gear. We have a military surplus store about 10 miles from here. They look like they would keep your fingers warm. I tried mittens this time as my regular gloves, though made for cold weather, are not all that warm. I have some NASA socks and gloves which have metallic threads in them that are supposed to keep your feet and hands warm too. I used to use them for work and waiting on the bus.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 17, 2021 at 9:22 pm

        The snowshoes I use are military. Magnesium frames with steel cord! I use lamp wick for a harness.
        If you need to start a fire you can whittle shavings off of the shoe tail! Magnesium lights beautifully as it has it’s oxygen!
        I’ve seen some tails shortened by inches!
        The lamp wick I found is best! A harness will break sooner or later and most times it’ll break far from home!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 18, 2021 at 9:47 pm

        You are quite the outdoorsman Wayne. Do you carry a lot of supplies in a backpack if you are out on snowshoes in the wild?

        Like

      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 18, 2021 at 9:55 pm

        yes,I always assume I’ll have to stay the night. So that means more gear than normal. People die from hypothermia everyday!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 19, 2021 at 7:19 pm

        You are smart to do that. When I took the bus for decades every day to work, I always had extra socks, gloves, hand/feet warmers in the foil packages, granola bars in case we took forever to get home. That is because we had a blizzard one time and it took me until almost midnight to get home and left downtown at 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. – can’t remember now, but they let us out early due to extremely bad weather.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 19, 2021 at 8:46 pm

        That was smart of you Linda! Your prepared!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 20, 2021 at 8:49 pm

        Yes, even that long bus trip home. Often when the weather was bad, there would be buses that didn’t show up. I do not miss that part of the job at all. When I first started working downtown, there were many buses in the morning and evening rush hours, then they started cutting back on them. When you had less buses in bad weather, it spelled disaster.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        February 20, 2021 at 9:31 pm

        I remember using buses! So happy I do not do that silliness anymore!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 20, 2021 at 10:11 pm

        Yes, there are some days it was not the best mode for transportation; the extreme heat as well, when more buses broke down or had no A/C.

        Like

  7. incahootswithmuddyboots says:
    February 17, 2021 at 6:54 pm

    Michigan should adopt the Mitten Man! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. indianeskitchen says:
    February 17, 2021 at 10:51 pm

    Love the mittens as much as I love all the Bernie jokes. What a good sport he is!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. singlikewildflowers says:
    February 17, 2021 at 11:45 pm

    My gloves from NYC days are gathering dust and now they are used as dress up props for my kids. I never wore mittens and stuck with gloves. But they sure look cozy!
    Nice picture of the mitten state. Had no idea.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Laurie says:
    February 18, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    Ha! Love it!!! You Michiganders (is that a word?) should love mittens. You are the mitten state! We have cardboard cutouts of Bernie sitting all over our town. I see them when I am running.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 18, 2021 at 9:55 pm

      I really liked those Bernie memes Laurie and I am sorry their appearances have now dwindled, but not before they racked up $1.8 million for charity the last I heard. How cool that you have the cardboard cutouts all over your town. I figured this was a great excuse to use Bernie and the nickname for Michigan in one spot. More residents say “Michiganders” but our former Governor (Snyder) wanted everyone to use “Michiganians” to avoid sounding like Michigan residents were a bunch of geese. 🙂

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  12. Ally Bean says:
    February 19, 2021 at 9:01 am

    This is wonderfully charming. I know that ye olde Michiganders live in a mitten, but I’ve not seen such a clear illustration of it. Plus those real mittens are a trip down memory lane for me. As a child that’s what mittens looked like, multi-colored and heavy.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 19, 2021 at 7:48 pm

      Glad you liked it Ally. I looked around for a colorful image of our “Mitten State” and the image I used was about as colorful as the mittens which are upcycled materials, stitched together and felted and, like snowflakes – no two are alike. Mittens are great for Winter – but as to dexterity, not so great and I always have to have a pair of gloves handy.

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. ruthsoaper says:
    February 19, 2021 at 5:53 pm

    Those mittens look toasty warm. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    February 19, 2021 at 6:09 pm

    I wear thick gloves… and still my fingers have been getting ice-cold-frozen.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 19, 2021 at 8:07 pm

      I thought I’d switch to mittens for walking, though I still have gloves for anything else at the Park like doling out treats and have some flip-top finger gloves for taking photos, but I have to admit they are not warm at all, despite being polar fleece. I don’t mind going out walking in the Winter, but not when my fingers and toes are frozen … I had too many years of waiting on the bus and dealing with that problem.

      Liked by 1 person

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  15. Joni says:
    February 20, 2021 at 12:27 am

    Very inventive Linda! I can smell the wet wool from here…..just like back in our grade school days….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 20, 2021 at 9:01 pm

      Glad you liked this post Joni. I know I have referred to being “The Mitten State” so I thought it was time to show why. 🙂 Ha ha – yes, I remember those days as well Joni. Mittens on the radiator at school, usually drying out from recess and playing outside.
      And who can forget those brown over-the-shoe-galoshes?

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      • Joni says:
        February 20, 2021 at 11:27 pm

        Oh God, those things were so ugly. My mother made me wear a furry white hat with ties under the chin, the thing was so ugly I finally refused to put it on.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 21, 2021 at 4:02 pm

        I remember those hats .. I had one two and the at the end of the ties with furry pompoms if I remember correctly. Here in the U.S. they called those hats “fuzz bombs”. I think we called them hats. Those brown boots with the buckles – hated them, but hated “puddlers” (those vinyl rain boots that went over the shoes) even more.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 21, 2021 at 11:32 pm

        Yes, it had pompoms on the end! I looked like a white rabbit!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 22, 2021 at 9:08 pm

        Same here! What were our moms thinking Joni?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 22, 2021 at 10:22 pm

        I don’t know? Our mothers wore stylish hats in the 60’s but I guess they thought they were keeping us warm and style didn’t count for kids!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 23, 2021 at 10:00 pm

        Yes, they only were thinking of our welfare. No wet feet and to play outside in the Wintertime meant a scarf across the mouth and nose, so only our eyes were visible.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 20, 2021 at 11:29 pm

        PS. I walk wearing my wool lined with fleece mittens – a red and black print with red cardinals on the front – I should post them too!. I bought them at a craft sale for $20 a few years ago and they are toasty warm.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 21, 2021 at 4:08 pm

        Mine have fleece too and I always have gloves on me as well if going to the Park, but they are never warm enough. I have an idea for you for a post with the mittens. Here in Michigan they have teeshirts, mugs, etc. with the logo of Michigan with its mitten shape and the words “Smitten with the Mitten” … in fact, if you Google this saying, you’ll come up with some of the products. You could do a Wordless Wednesday post with the title “I’m smitten with my mittens.” I almost used that but went with the Bernie theme instead. You should take a photo of the mittens near your red and white lighthouse bird feeder you have on your deck since the mittens have cardinals on them. Today I am catching up on comments, then going to Reader until the last episode of “ACG&S” comes on.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 21, 2021 at 11:38 pm

        That’s a good idea! And my mittens are the only cardinals I’ve seen all winter! ACG&S was better today – figures now that it’s getting interesting it’s over.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 22, 2021 at 9:28 pm

        Thanks! Wish it my own rhyming, but you could certainly use it and say “I’m smitten with my mittens.” I’d used it but had too much for the title already. It’s nice being ahead in your posts – I was during last Summer, at one time three or four weeks ahead. I am not ahead now except for having done this week’s Wordless Wednesday which will be the last in my seagull shenanigans series. Yes, I did enjoy ACG&S more last night too. I wish I could have seen Hugh’s face when he found out Helen wasn’t marrying him. I get the newsletter which I signed up for after you told me about this PBS show back in late December. So today’s newsletter talks about the sequel to the series which airs next year – not filmed yet due in part to COVID. I think you had told me there would be a sequel.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 22, 2021 at 10:27 pm

        I wonder what’ they’re going to do about the fact that Tristan failed and he threw the paper in the fire? And they never really explained much about the housekeeper’s son either. It will probably be two years before we see season two, as they always release it 6 months earlier in England. I may have to skip a post this week, as even doing a Wordless one means going through over a hundred photos…..Oh well, no one will notice is I miss a week.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 23, 2021 at 10:21 pm

        I thought it was odd that Siegfried was okay with the “fail” … I didn’t notice it the first time, not until he was ready to put it into the fire. They didn’t make it clear if Tristan sat for the exam somewhere. He was sitting at the table drawing one time when he was taking the exam, but would he not sit for boards? Not sure I’d want him treating my precious pet or farm animal without proper credentials. I heard the housekeeper telling Siegfried something when they walked home from Midnight Mass after she had been crying while singing. I could not get what she said – something about her son stole from her employer? So she quit and never told Siegfried and he laughed – they both laughed. The accents a few times made their words sail right over my head. I got here very late tonight and will miss Reader once again … so much for being two days behind – now four days behind. I had my Medicare follow-up consult to pick a plan tonight and was on the phone 2 1/2 hours … he was very thorough!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        February 24, 2021 at 12:06 am

        Yes she said her son stole from her previous employer, so she turned him in and he had to go to jail? not sure about that but someplace for 6 months, so he was mad at her, and she then resigned from her job and never told Siegfield when he hired her. The previous episodes he never answered her mailed packages, but in that one he was maybe going to try and be there for Xmas?? I guess they are trying to condense things from the books? Agree, how could you practice veterinary medicine even in the 30’s without a license? Maybe he’ll just be a vet assistant or go to art school or do something else. I never read the books. I finally got caught up on Reader last night and am going to try to stay that way. It took me 3 or 4 nights to do over a week’s worth of postings. I did two short WW tonight for tomorrow, as I don’t have anything else ready, just some ideas, mostly baking.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        February 24, 2021 at 9:18 pm

        I heard her mentioning that to Siegfried and that was the first they had elaborated on that part of the story. I did read the books, although not all of them, I think I still have one paperback to go that’s been here for eons. But even reading them, I was no further ahead on the story, only remembering the story the first night about saving the cow with the ruptured or twisted intestine. I remember that from the book. I am not going to make it to Reader tonight either. Last night I had an excuse, the Medicare, but tonight I did a quick unexpected post … having done that will put me more behind in Reader. It took me most of Sunday to be caught up to two days out. The baking is fun to see, especially on these cold Winter days.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com says:
    February 22, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    I haven’t worn mittens since I was little but I love yours! I enjoyed the Bernie memes (and made a few of my own for friends) and greatly appreciate that he not only joined in the laughter but raised money for charity off it. I always enjoyed it, when you asked where a Michigander lived, they’d hold up their hand and point.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      February 22, 2021 at 10:59 pm

      I enjoyed the Bernie memes too Janis and the last I heard they raised $1.8 million for charity off them. People do get a kick out of Michiganders doing that and when the weatherman gives the weather, he’ll often say “the weather in the Thumb” … I figured that graphic of the Mitten was as colorful as my mittens.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  17. Pam Lazos says:
    February 23, 2021 at 11:22 am

    LOVE those MITTENS, Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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