What In the World Do I Wear?

I think this will have to be the last "Frozen Tales" post for the season because, honestly, I am ready for SPRING! 

The temperatures have stretched up a little higher than zero Celsius. The days are getting longer. Plus temperatures and a little bit of sunshine are all we need around here to get excited about spring's soon arrival!

However, to answer one question we are frequently asked as we travel around visiting churches on furlough is, "How do you dress for such cold temperatures?" So, I asked my daughter to take a quick photo of me before I went out one day for a quick trek to the store to buy some fresh bread (we do this daily since the bread only keeps for about three days).

So, here I am all bundled up and ready to go! 

Under the coat is also several layers of shirts, tights, thermals, a skirt and  as many pairs of socks as I can fit into my boots to keep me warm.

Those strange looking boots on my feet are called "Valenky". These boots are made out of a thick felt. I am sure you would agree that they are completely UN-fashionable! I only wear them out in the village when I must walk to the store. Normally, ladies wear fur boots that are very stylish with high- heels and all! I have those too. But, when the temperatures are 30 degrees below zero and I am just walking around in the village thinking about keeping my toes warm enough until I get home, that's when I break out the "valenky."

The beautiful thing about "valenky" is that you can wear your thickest, warmest socks with them and still have plenty of room. The standard rule when buying "valenky" is to be sure the size is large enough so you can kick them off and send them flying! So they easily allow for extra layers of socks! Nowadays, "valenky" are actually considered to be in style since designers began sewing felt flowers, designs, and everything imaginable on the sides of them to make them more feminine and (supposedly) pretty. Oh, and this also allows them to charge three times the price for them as well! If I really feel the need I am sure I could make mine more pretty too by adding some embellishments but for now I wear the longest skirt I have with them to make them less noticeable.

Supposedly, the warmest boots you can find here look like these:

These boots are called "Unty" and are often made with reindeer fur. They come with various designs and colors. I haven't been willing to pay for a pair of these yet! The fur makes them cost a bit more than the plain  "valenky".

Hats of all shapes and furs can easily be purchased in the outdoor markets. My dear hubby bought me a nice mink fur hat when we first arrived in Russia but it made me so warm when I wore it that I had to stop wearing it! Now, I just wear a simple wool hat and use my hood like in the above photo if it is really cold and windy.

Well, from head to toe that gives you an idea of how we dress around here for the cold winter days. 

I think I will go put away some of these things to make myself feel like spring is even closer!

Winter Fun

Obviously, with our long winters, people here have to find many different ways to beat the winter blues and enjoy some outdoor recreation. We have a ski resort, Bobrovy Log, for down hill skiing and snowboarding.

Photo Source

Snowmobile tracks can be seen all over the sides of the roads and up the hillsides. 

Photo Source

Cross-country skiing is also a very popular sport. Our kids love it!  I love it when I can go out with them. It is definitely a good activity for our boys to help them expend their "extra" energy after long school days!

Ice Skating is also a great way to enjoy the winter weather.

An even better way to enjoy the winter weather is to go sledding down ice slides that people make by building elevated steps up to a wooden ramp. Hot water is poured onto the boards again and again to build up layers of ice.

Eventually the ice runs all the way down a street or path. Some can be made completely out of snow and ice. This particular ice slide was made by a man who lives in our village. He built the slide right beside his house so he could stand out on a balcony and watch the children as they slide down the street.

Beka enjoying the slide.

The kids loved to pile up with my husband and slide down with five or six children hanging on to a large piece of cardboard or whatever they could find to give them the quickest and farthest run!

For those who enjoy a bit more extreme fun, we found a new way to make the best of winter weather here in Siberia.

 This is something a little more ingenuitive, creative, and masculine.

Recently as my hubby was driving our daughter to piano lessons (in our village), he spotted something we had never seen here before.

Ready?

A snowcycle??


We've actually seen this beast in action. It's quite funny watching a guy drive this around.  We need to catch it being driven around and video it to post on here!

Just goes to prove the old saying, "Boys will be boys," no matter where they are in the world!