By Charlie

Staying Warm

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Boots” today, I ended up with a couple of little bunnies in red boots, bundled up to stay warm from the cold. The temperature has dropped where I live, so the coming cold was on my mind today. Last night, when Philippe and I went out to walk the dog, I didn’t have a coat on and ended up shivering the entire time. When it comes to winter apparel, however, I mostly just stack on lots of layers and wear a scarf. I’m not a fan of hats, but Philippe will insist I wear one when it gets really cold outside. As for boots, I only own one pair that I bought once when I was working on a movie set in Montréal. They were of the brown leather variety with fluffy fake lambswool at the top. I thought they looked cute, which as it turns out, is not the way one should shop for winter boots. A few hours into the evening after wearing them, my toes felt like they had actually turned to ice.

Thankfully, I only have to go on short little walks in the winter, so I just stick to my sneakers. Weirdly, when it gets super cold, it doesn’t feel as cold as days like we’ve been having lately. These are the days when the temperature drops just enough to blast us with a strong chill in the air. Maybe I just get used to it all as the winter moves forward, but I always feel the cold more until the temperatures drop below freezing. Then it’s rather difficult to feel much of anything at all. So, for me, the best part of winter is snuggling up indoors instead. While I usually never wish for snow, since we’re stuck at home now all of the time, I wouldn’t mind an early snow at all. My inner child always loves to see the snow falling, but my adult brain reminds that little tyke that we have to drive in the stuff, which isn’t quite as fun. Now, that there’s no need to drive anywhere, Little Charlie is free to enjoy any snow that arrives.

I’m rather excited for the coming holidays, though this year has been so crazy that I haven’t even thought about Christmas shopping yet. I normally start now as some things I get for Philippe ship from overseas so they can’t be purchased at the very last minute. Which, of course, is my usual style for most things. This year, however, he surprised me by having a full wish list already put together. That’s truly a first! My own list currently consists of a couple of books, so I guess I should focus on making my own proper list soon as well. There’s really not much that I want this year that one can wrap. I just want to be wrapped in the love of my little family as the days get shorter and colder. A bit of mulled wine wouldn’t hurt either. But mostly, I want to enjoy each fabulous little moment together, while staying warm.

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 Two Rabbits Touching Noses Wearing Scarves Winter Boots Watercolor Illustration Painting Sketchbook Detail

Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world!

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35 thoughts on “Staying Warm”

  1. I don’t usually enjoy snow either because hubby drives to work. We need it here in Oregon though, to thoroughly put out the forest fires so they don’t start back up in the Spring. I wish California could get some snow as well – they need it even more than we do. Unfortunately, I don’t think Santa will give it to them. Still, one can hope!

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  2. Char – lieeee wear your hat and get some real boots. And yes dress in layers . Listen to this Canadian who lives in the hot spot and still gets cold days nonetheless. Fake fur and leather will freeze your feeties. Yikes already. Get some Merrells or Nikes. You could check your weather on http://www.theweathernetwork.com and insert your city and country and get the daily temps. There is even an icon where you can choose F or C values.

    Guess what? I finally got a pizza from my store, that does not have meat on it. Or that awful pineapple.

    Take care and keep warm.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Linda! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, boots are only needed here for a few days of the year. It’s mostly ice underneath and so Philippe has spikes he adds to his shoes! And yay for a veggie, fruit-free pizza! That’s my favorite kind!

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  3. Amen..my hubby keeps asking me about Christmas and I have not been able to wrap my mind around it yet..Your painting is adorable and colorful and although they seem to be in the cold there is a warmth that is projected through the images..thanks for your imaginative sketches!!

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  6. One of my first dates with Joe was in the winter and I took him to a winter festival in Eagle River Wisconsin which is way up north. We went to the dog sled races. Instead of wearing my warm but ugly winter boots, I wore the cute ones which meant my toes were falling off in about 10 minutes. So bad that we had to leave early. So much for looking cute on a date. Never again!! Lesson learned!

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  7. Aww, Charlie, what a sweet painting. So lovely. 💖💕💝 Yeah, I am, by no means, a cold weather expert, but you need to wear a hat or covering of some kind. You lose 85% of your body heat through your head. Okay, don’t laugh, but since I go out to my backyard at night and, if it’s cold, I stay warm with a hoodie on. It works. Now, as for shoes/boots, I think Writerleenda has the info for you. 😋 I think it would be so lovely to be snuggly warm inside, watching snow fall. We don’t get cold weather very often, but it was rough when I was warm inside the house and had to take my Gordo outside. He looked so cute, running out into the yard, with his Beagle ears flapping in the wind. 💜 Such a lovely painting, Charlie. So cute. Cute boots, too.

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    1. haha haha I just remembered that Seinfeld episode when George Costanza wears a huge fur hat. He is so warm that he doesn’t need to wear a coat. Of course, the hat is gigantic. haha haha Philippe may not get on board with a ginormous hat like that. No one else would either. 😂😂😂

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      1. I just lost my whole text-maybe-sorry if it pops up again somewhere🤷‍♀️ I was asking Charlie to please paint the hat Philippe makes you wear on one of your animals!🤗
        You can check out my Plankton hat on Instagram (NellieNellie78) and I was commenting on those splendid red boots on the happy rabbits, I do adore a nice rain boot, but mine are more like Christopher Robin’s 😀 😄

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        1. Thanks so much, Nellie! 😃💕 This is the first comment that I’ve seen from you on this one. Glad you liked the boots and rabbits. And my winter hat is so boring… just a knit cap without the fun little ball at the end! lol

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    2. Thanks so much, Marisela! 😃💕 Yeah, you’re right on being indoors and just watching the snow fall… hehe… that’s the best place to be in the end! Yeah, we have to walk Phineas no matter how cold it gets and some days are horribly cold in the winter. Thankfully it doesn’t last as Phineas goes on “poop strike” and will just hold it in if it’s too cool out! lol

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  10. Lovely litle couple. I had to pull out my winter coat the other day. It still fits, so that’s good! I keep waiting for our East Fall winds, but they really haven’t arrived. We are supposed to get a West wind storm this weekend, but those really never amount too much for us. We’ll see.

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  12. Me again. I saw a rubber stamp that reminded me of you. It says: Artists are just children who refuse to put their crayon down. You know, like Little Charlie. 😋

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    1. Hello Marisela,

      Hope you’re doing very well. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing that quote.. it’s so sweet and true, am gonna write it down. Thanks again and like I told Charlie, it’s Diwali here… our Festival of Lights. Wish you a very Happy, Dazzling, Delicious, Safe & Prosperous Diwali too and I pray that your life is always filled with light.

      Love,
      Mugdha

      Reply

  13. Hello Charlie,

    The bunnies look so comfy and snug in their boots. 🙂 I was quite shocked to see that you don’t like snow but you went on and said Little Charlie does, so am feeling happy again. I can’t imagine someone not liking snow – unless it’s someone who has to shovel through miles of it or someone who has a particularly bad memory or experience with it. And I really adore and admire you for being an emotional person and wearing your heart on your sleeve. It really is wonderful to see someone being so comfortable with who they really are. So I hope that you get all that your heart desires – specially the ever growing love of your little family. Its Diwali in India, so wishing you, your family and everyone here a very Happy, Dazzling, Delious, Safe & Prosperous Diwali!

    Lots of love,
    Mugdha

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Mugdha! 😃💕 Hehe… I don’t like to drive in snow… otherwise, I adore it! Thankfully we live in a condo and the snow removal is taken care of for us… I don’t like shoveling snow either. I just want to play in it and watch it fall like when I was a little kid! Wishing you and yours are Happy Diwali as well! Much love!! ❤️

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      1. Hi, Mugdha! 💜 Thanks for such a sweet message! Great to hear from you. You are always so sweet. I wish you many wonderful and beautiful blessings, too! I don’t know if you know this, but San Antonio is famous for our River Walk. It’s a major tourist attraction, other than The Alamo. It’s so beautiful! Anyway, for the past few years, our Indian community has celebrated Diwali on the San Antonio River, down along the River Walk. It looks so beautiful. You may be able to find it on YouTube or online. The River Walk looks so lovely lit up like that. 💜 Have a wonderful evening, Mugdha. I hope you and your family are well and safe especially with covid running amuck. It’s always great to hear from you. 🌻🌸🐼😀💕

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  14. Hello again Charlie,

    I meant wishing you a very Happy, Dazzling, Delicious, Safe & Prosperous Diwali. 🙂 Am typing from my phone and it slipped so the word delicious got spelled wrong. 🙁

    Love,
    Mugdha

    Reply

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