The forecast calls for continued light snow, tapering off as the day progresses and a high in the high twenties. It’s a typical forecast for a February day. And the forecast in New York City is about the same as it is here in Rapid City. Well, if you don’t figure in the forecast for increasing winds throughout the day. We’re going to see the snow that has been falling blowing around quite a bit before the day is over.

Out here in Countryside, we’re adjusting to being part of the City. After being annexed in December, our snow plowing was transferred to the City. Whereas our previous plowing was done by the County and we were plowed every time there was any snow accumulation, we are not a plowing priority for the city. We get plowed only when there are 6” or more of snow and then only after the arterials and school routes are plowed. In other words our neighborhood was high on the county’s snow plowing priority list, and we now are in the lowest rank for city plowing. We’re trying to be good citizens and not complain. It isn’t as if we are stuck in our homes, though whoever decided that we are an area with level streets when the city made its snowplow route hasn’t driven up our road. They probably haven’t operated a snowplow on our hill, either.

The city has good advice for us on their web site:

• Brush up on your winter driving skills.
• Keep your vehicles in top condition.
• Allow more time for travel during winter months.

I’m pretty sure that we’d get ignored if we lived in New York City, too.

But in New York it is fashion week! I’m sure that people all over the country are checking out my blog with baited breath for my comments on the nation’s latest fashion trends. Let’s see. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I think I’ll go for black boots and black slacks, a black shirt and a black jacket. Oh, yes, it’s not going to be all that warm. With a projected high of 34 degrees and me participating in an outdoor service at noon, I’ll likely wear my top coat as well. It is black.

As you might have suspected, I’ll be in Rapid City. They haven’t asked me to walk the runway in New York City.

That’s good. I can’t imagine wearing some of the things that they are trying to pass off as clothing in the Big Apple. Maybe the fashion designers haven’t looked outside. At least we know they aren’t from he Northwest Territories in Canada. That much exposed skin would be fatal in Yellowknife.

There was a piece in the Sunday Times about layering being in fashion. It is a wonder I caught the article. I have less, not more, time for reading newspapers on Sunday. Even though there is no paper involved, the Sunday editions of the online newspapers are bigger than the dailies. Still it is good to know that I’m ahead of the curve on that particular fashion trend.

I’ve been known to put on my long johns and a long-sleeved t-shirt covered by a par of jeans and a worksheet with a pair of insulated bib overalls and a parka over all of that. I have an insulated sweatshirt that could be worn between the parka and my bibs, if necessary. I don’t think it’s ever gotten that cold around here. Most of the time my parka is too heavy for any serious work and I wear the sweatshirt instead. Still I do wear layers.
And they are all coordinated in variations of denim blue and Carhartt tan. Now that they’ve expanded the Runnings Farm Store to include clothing, I don’t really have a reason to go to the mall any more. I guess I still have to go to Penneys for dress clothes from time to time, but they are located at the end of the mall so I don’t actually have to walk down the mall itself. I’ve never figured out why people who are perfectly happy to park way across a huge parking lot and then walk a couple of city blocks inside of the mall will complain about downtown parking. Sometimes I have to walk a half of a block when I go some place down town. Heck I’ll park a block away to avoid a parking meter.

So, what I am saying is that fashion week isn’t having a big impact on my life. I’m not tempted to purchase an airline ticket and head for the city to watch the models go by. I’m pretty sure that you have to have tickets to go to the fashion shows anyway and even though the Tommy Hilfiger company constructed their catwalk in the form of a football field, it just isn’t the kind of event that is likely to sell me tickets.

Back at home it is Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, another holiday that doesn’t receive much attention in our home. We observe Lent and we take time to give special attention to our spiritual disciplines and faith practices during this season, but the change isn’t a really radical one. We don’t have all that much fat in our usual diet, so going through the house to clean out the luxury foods doesn’t yield much of a feast. Our freezer and pantry are full of the staples that we eat every day and our tastes don’t range towards the luxury items to begin with. I haven’t checked, but I’m pretty sure that most of the chocolate in our house has been consumed already.

It won’t be fashion and it won’t be food that signal the change from Epiphany to Lent in our home. Lent, for me, is about making permanent changes - about orienting my life toward God and God’s call to serve others. I’ll leave the temporary changes to someone else.

And fashion week seems to get along just fine without me.

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