Walkin' in my YakTrax

It gets treacherously icy here. The moisture in the air from being on the river, combined with below-freezing temperatures, make for a life with a bit more caution. Since most of our water pipes are exposed beneath the houseboats, we have to leave water dripping from the faucet at night -- and if one is forgetful like me, a sign posted at the kitchen sink as a reminder. I'm told that the former owner forgot once and her water pipes froze and burst.

During the day, for the most part, the iciness is gone. But in the mornings and after dark the walkways are coated with a film of ice that makes for difficult walking. Shortly after I moved here in November 2011, there was a cold spell and a neighbor advised me to get YakTrax, which are like snow tire chains for your shoes. By the time I bought them (REI sells them; about $18/pair) there wasn't a problem.

This year, though, it started to get icy in mid-December and my YakTrax have been put to good use since then. I also discovered, since I walk with a cane, that I had to put a woolen sock over it lest it skid on the ice. So below is my rigging. One neighbor walks in felt slippers, another neighbors swears by putting women's nylon stockings over your shoes, and I have a pair of fat wool socks I keep in the car in case I'm ever stuck up in the parking lot without the YakTrax.

We used to have a neighbor who went up to the parking lot every morning and brought back The Oregonian newspaper for three of us from the bins up there where the delivery person leaves them. He moved away in December -- oh, how I miss him! -- and I tend to be the one of three of us now who share the task to trudge up there early morning. I throw a long raincoat over my pjs, a scarf around my neck, a big hat on my head and my YakTrax on my knee-high boots. One of my neighbors keeps telling me I look like a Russian cossack. I get the coffee started before I walk up and never appreciated so much sitting there eating breakfast and reading the newspaper after my brisk YakTrax stroll.