'TOG' socks great for cold feet

I am not, nor have I ever been, a snow bunny. I didn’t see snow until I was an adult, and even then it was a single occasion about 30 years ago. It was the base of the slopes at Thredbo, and it was icy and unpleasant. Needless to say, snow hasn’t factored large on my life list.

The adventure of having Bountiful in our lives has changed my feelings about snow, completely. This is our second winter of being here, and the benefit of being 1000m above sea level is that in both years we have been blessed with snowfall. The dumping we have received overnight is already many times what I first saw last year, and to get out into it and enjoy it despite the bite in the breeze was a must. And that brings me to my current object of affection – my ‘TOG’ socks.

I have lived a lifetime with cold feet, though I must admit that menopause is giving me something of a respite from it. But I know from experience that trying to stay warm when your feet are cold is no fun. My daughter was planning a bonfire for her 21^st birthday, and the weather was predicted to be extremely cold and windy, so my thoughts turned to the need for a good pair of socks to wear under my boots to keep myself warm. The search introduced me to my object of affection – what I call my ‘TOG’ socks.

These socks have something I wasn’t familiar with – a TOG rating. What is TOG? TOG stands for Thermal Overall Grade, and if you google it, you may find as I did that the bulk of the listings that will present are related to bedding, and more particularly, bedding for babies. And oh my goodness, my babies may now be adults, but I well remember the struggles we had to ensure they were warm enough in bed – not too hot, not too cold. So many disagreements with hubby over that one, with him being a walking heater, and me being the proverbial cold frog, so we struggled to agree on what was best for our bubs! I remember the joy of discovering sleeping bags for babies, where there was room to move but they couldn’t kick the covers off in cold weather. (My son in particular was a real Houdini when it came to wraps and swaddles). If I was a new mum today, it looks as though I’d be well versed in the TOG rating for my baby’s sleeping bag, as this measure now rates how much warmth the fabric provides. That’s a good thing, given that overheating has been identified as a risk factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in bubs. If you’d like more information on good TOG for babies, head over to the website for Red Nose – Saving Little Lives. 

So, when it comes to socks, serious warmth appears to come with a TOG rating. 

We had bought a pair of socks at Target, but they were just thick men’s work socks. My Dad was visiting, and suggested Lowes Menswear, and once hubby saw their TOG rated socks, he wanted me to have those, despite the price tag of $14.95 a pair. I’ve never spent that on a pair of socks in my life! But I took hubby’s advice, loving the fact that he wanted these cold old feet of mine (that he knows only too well), to be warm and cosy. We returned the Target ones, and I felt ready to brave the blustery bonfire celebrations of my baby girl’s big birthday.

And I am SO grateful.

These socks are brilliant. No more cold toes for me! They aren’t a tight fit, so even sitting inside on a cold night with shoes kicked off and just socks on, my feet feel snuggly comfy. 

And today they passed the ultimate test. We were thrilled to wake up to a snowy wonderland this morning at Bountiful, and hubby and I were soon outside exploring. I grabbed my ‘TOG socks’ and gumboots, and as we combed Bountiful over the next couple of hours, I didn’t feel as much as a tinge of chill in my feet. 

I rarely buy full priced clothing and I love a bargain - such as the short little gumboots I'm wearing, a purchase from an Op Shop a few years ago. 

Yet sometimes, you have to pay for quality and performance. I can’t argue with that when it comes to the protection from the cold that my socks gave me. My ‘TOG’ socks are one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

Warm feet when you’re walking through the snow? A simple pleasure to be sure.

It wasn't difficult to think of song to describe this day - it had to be Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

I went looking for a Michael Buble version but there was no clip as such, just a static picture, but I've included it for the song. However, when I was searching I came across another Michael Buble gem, this time it's Something Stupid where he blesses an audience member. I put it in, it's so cute. Enjoy!

Tracey ⛄

With thanks to the YouTube channel of lucyloo431 for Something Stupid 
and Winter Wonderland was from Michael Buble's official YouTube Channel.

☆Zane 4/8/03 - 7/12/03☆