Thanks Lisa, sorry if I have been monopolizing this thread, but there is so much to learn! I will post some pictures, maybe when I visit my daughter in Boston, since she is the only one that I can ever get to photograph me. So, where am I going. First I am going to Wash DC. Here I will be mostly indoors at meetings in a hotel. I will only need an outer layer to perhaps walk one evening to a restaurant, and perhaps I'll metro it there from the airport, but if its nasty out I can get take taxis (I am kind of cheap, you wouldn't know it by my recent purchases, but I get a per diem so if I don't use taxis I get to keep more $, so they sort of pay for taxis, but reward you if you don't take them if that makes any sense). Then I will fly to Boston to visit my kids for the weekend. There we will be car free, so will be walking around a lot, and perhaps waiting in the cold for buses. My daughter has snow boots ready to give me just in case, otherwise I will plan to wear leather ankle boots. I also have leather gloves and a nice wool thingie (?cowl) I got 20 years ago that is sort of a scarf/hat combo, a knitted tube that I can use to cover my neck, face and head as much or as little as necessary.

I think my new purchases will work great for the inner and mid-layers. I bought one charcoal grey wool suit, as separates, with a second pair of matching pants, and two pairs of black wool pants at a really good after xmass sale at ann taylor loft (these pieces cost nothing compared to my ibex!). To get variety, I can either wear the suit jacket, my shak, or if I like it and keep it (which now I am hoping I will) the organic sweater, with my base layers, and if that isn't enough I have lots of nice mid-weight cotton sweaters to fit in between. I may wear my old terry cycling tights with the very thin chamois as a lower body base if I feel the need. The chamois is so thin its not noticeable and the pants fit fine over it.