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Friday Favorite: Stabilicers

March 21st, 2014

This winter there has been a ton of ice and even though we’re getting down to the last of it, I’m still using my Stabilicers.  These things are handy, I can head back from the chicken coop on the icy path without worry of falling and throwing a dozen eggs into the air.
stabilicers 2
I especially like these because you can slip them on and off easily as needed. It’s nice to be able to wear them out if needed, but take them off quickly if you go to someone’s house.
stabilicers 1
As much as I like these, it’s about time to retire them. I was wearing them yesterday and they got sucked off by the mud in front of the garage, the ice is finally giving way to mud.

Do you have any great winter products you find invaluable for dealing with the weather?

10 Comments to “Friday Favorite: Stabilicers”
  1. Kathi cook on March 21, 2014 at 6:38 am

    I won’t go hiking in the winter without my Kahtoola microspikes! I also love hot hands and hot toes for the start of very cold hikes. Time for your mud boots soon.

    Reply to Kathi cook's comment

  2. kristin @ going country on March 21, 2014 at 6:41 am

    Long underwear, top and bottom, indoors and out.

    Of course, that’s indoors at our house. If I go indoors anywhere else, I melt. But I bet all these people that complain about the cold so much wouldn’t if they were wearing long underwear. Of COURSE you’re going to be cold if you go outside in only jeans and a synthetic-fabric sweater. Even with a coat over it. Gotta have the underlayer too. I prefer the silk kind.

    Oh, and wool. Sweaters and socks. Real 100% wool can’t be beat. My best wool sweaters came from the thrift store, probably because most people can’t wear them in their centrally heated houses. Not a problem I have.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

    • Susy on March 21, 2014 at 7:20 am

      I’m with you on the wool – we own a good deal of wool clothing – it can’t be beat – and it lasts forever!!!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. Erika Keller on March 21, 2014 at 8:24 am

    Love my ice crampons and would not have been able to survive on our icy hills without them this winter. Also my new ice sled has been invaluable, I only wish I had bought it sooner. I can haul 2 bales of hay or 3-80 pound bags of feed or a nice pile of firewood.
    And I live in silk long underwear once the cold settles in.

    Reply to Erika Keller's comment

  4. Sara on March 21, 2014 at 8:27 am

    I think I have to agree with the long-johns and layers. And my boots and snowshoes, things that making being outside comfortable and warm. (That said, I was SO HAPPY to go a day without boots on this week, ha), We turned our thermostat down a lot this winter and I do think it helps you stay acclimated. Same thing with AC in the summer–I HATE when you get a blast of freezing cold air when you go indoors, of course people thing the heat is unbearable after getting used to that!

    Reply to Sara's comment

  5. Nebraska Dave on March 21, 2014 at 9:00 am

    Susy, my best winter product for Winter is the electric mattress cover. It’s similar to an electric blanket but it’s under the mattress sheet. It warms from the bottom instead of the top. It keeps my aching bones nice and toasty while sleeping with less blankets. Then of course the long under wear is a must in my house. My bedroom is always middle 50s during the Winter and upper 60s for the rest of the house. My daughter is always complaining about being cold but then as with most city people she wants to live in shorts and a t-shirt in the winter. So she drags a blanket around the house instead of just putting on more clothes. Kids. Will they ever get it?

    Have a great Maine day of thawing. Happy Spring.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Susy on March 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      We have an electric mattress pad too Dave – we turn it on a hour or so before we go to bed and turn it off when it’s time to go to bed.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Joan on March 21, 2014 at 9:18 am

    My lined jeans from LL Bean go on in the fall and don’t come off until spring. The only time I wear long underwear is if I’m going for a long ski or snowshoe – I like the ease of the lined jeans. I think it’s time for a few new pairs though – most of mine now are wearing through at the knees. Watching for spring sales!

    Reply to Joan's comment

    • Susy on March 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      I love flannel lined jeans!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. Jennifer Fisk on March 22, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    I use the same grippers. If I hadn’t, I could not have negotiated my yard or the kennel play yards.

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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