Face it, our floors here in the Midwest get freezing cold in the wintertime. So cold that you really can’t just ignore them. “I’ll just mosey into the kitchen in my bare feet and get me a cup of coffee and make myself a sandwich. It’s only minus 15 degrees on my tile floor.” Nope, there is something about bare feet suddenly hitting a biting-cold surface. You get a lightning strike to your senses, the old preservation instinct kicks in, and most of us beat feet to safer climates for our toes.

All of us have ways of dealing with our cold surfaces. We may carpet it or heat it, or wear shoes 24/7....