Dealing with the winter funk...

Spring might be on its way in Kansas, but winter might be heading your way so I thought I'd divulge how we've dealing (or not dealing) with the winter funk...

1) What's the word? Escapism! Thanks to Netflix we've made our way through Breaking Bad, tried to watch Jessica Jones, we enjoyed all 7 seasons of Star Trek Deep Space 9 interrupted by the latest Doctor Who season... and are now making our way through Star Trek Voyager. We might be nerds, but we're distracted nerds.

2) Tea! But not just any tea: my parents sent us some T2 tea and we've been enjoying the chai in the evenings. There's something about a cup of spicy tea when the north wind is howling and it's too cold to even think about going outside (even if the bin is overflowing...).

3) Wearing all of our clothes. Ok, so we don't actually wear togs swimwear over underwear followed by thermals, two pairs of pants, five pairs of socks, five tops, three jumpers sweaters, and two hats, but it sometimes feels that way... Especially when doing the laundry... But! we're warm and have managed to go the whole winter with the thermostat set at something close to 17 degrees C (it reads "65" and is in Fahrenheit.).*

4) Go outside and soak up some rays... Well... We do, even if the sun is rather weak and we're still pasty after a sunny week... It helps, it really does, even if it's -6 C and only our noses are exposed (if you can believe it).

5) Doing things we enjoy. Be it running around the living room trying to wrangle Jimmy into PJ's, learning a new skill (using a pipet, in Jimmy's case) or reading the very last of the late Terry Pratchett's works, or knitting (what? Did you think I'd leave that out?), we're trying to keep things fun and light.

It's been a tough winter, even though it was milder than last years - because why is it so cold when there's no snow? Seriously, what's with the daytime highs of sub-zero without snow? What's the point?

The cold here is either fresh and brisk or it seeps into the bones and there is no remedy other than a warm drink or shower. I brought some greenery into the place, but it's not the same... And the lack of snow has made for a dull, cold few months. I'm glad to see the end of them. Unless there's snow, then it can be cold.

Other ways of dealing with winter funk:
- Red lipstick anyone?
- A small wardrobe addition and change from wool base layers.
- Knitting with coloured wool (only!)

Here's to the coming spring :)


*The last week or two have turned warm, warm enough to wear sandals and leave a window open until 10pm.