Inconsistancies and Annoyances: Politics, Practical Apparel Fashion, and the Weather

As a habitual listener to MPR, I've noticed the political term "flip-flop" being thrown around quite frequently, particularly in terms of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. I won't go into details about this, as the Republican Campaign has been annoyingly covered in the news for the past few months, but I did find this silly little website that someone put together providing some examples:
Mitt Romney Flip-Flops.

It seems that Republican's policies and opinions aren't the only things that have been inconsistent lately. As I mentioned in my last post, the weather this winter has been very bizarre. Last March it seemed as if we were going to have an early spring, but the warm weather was followed by a snowstorm and persistent cold temperatures until early April-- the typical "early spring" false hope Minnesotans are used to experiencing. This March, however, has been the opposite. It appears as if the snow is gone and Spring is here to stay. We've had record high temps., and the most abrupt transition from winter snowstorms to spring thaw that I can remember experiencing in all my years growing up in Minnesota. We jumped from 30-50m degree sunny weather to 0 degrees with light snow. The next week our area experienced a snowstorm followed by record high temperatures a few days later. In fact, if I could sum up this winter in one word it would probably be "bi-polar". Or to tie a metaphor into my "flip-flop" paragraph, this winter has been "typically Republican".

I've provided photos from the past few weeks that represent the odd weather we've been having.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago in late February, just a week or so prior to the big snowstorms that hit our area. They're of the hoar frost covering the trees near our swamp one morning.




This photo is of me a week ago when we were getting 70-80 degree weather. Calvin had just returned from a walk with the dogs and he thought my wardrobe was rather funny ("You look like a dumb girl out of a magazine").
It was a baffling experience going outside because there was snow on the ground but it felt like summer. I did a mix and match of summer and winter apparel to fit my surroundings. Anyway, I thought this was a good representation of the weather lately.


Unfortunately, this is the type of photo that gives mukluks a bad wrap. I assure you it was only a joke, and I wouldn't be caught dead walking around like this in public. It does however bring up an interesting social phenomenon that I've noticed as of late.
I lived in Juneau for a year and I noticed that Extra Tuffs were not only practical footwear worn by the fisherman, but also a fashion statement worn by gals with their skirts and guys with their fitted blue jeans. Mukluks seem to have adopted the same sort of trend here in Minnesota. Uggs and faux moccasins were sort of the rage here for a while, but it seems like the practical (and for all intensive purposes, aesthetically unpleasing) Ely born Mukluks have taken over where Uggs left off. It's unfortunate, as I've had my Mukluks (pictured) since grade school and was constantly made fun of for wearing them (Pocahontas was among the many names I remember being called) . Flannels, Carhart pants, and Fur hats are among other practical clothing that has met the sad fate of fashion trend. I wonder, what will the next sacrifice to the Fashion Gods be?