Ten Twenty Things To Do To Make Winter Bearable.
- Knit something warm and wooly to wear the next time you go out.
- Knit something for summer. It will come...eventually.
- Toss and sort the stash. You will find inspiration.
- Read an engrossing book, be it a mystery novel, a romance novel, a historical suspense romance novel, whatever. The main thing is that it be totally engrossing.
- Cook up a pot of soup and bake some bread -- yeast or quick or muffins or scones -- to go with it. The house will smell amazing for hours.
- Cook up something in the slow cooker. The house will smell amazing for hours.
- Eat spicy food to warm up your life.
- Build a fire in the fireplace to enjoy while doing any of the above.
- Fill squirt bottles with water tinted with food coloring. Use them to draw pictures in the snow.
- Blow soap bubbles outside when the temp is below freezing -- the further below, the better.
- Invite the neighbors over to enjoy any of the above, as appropriate.
- Go for a walk in a park or the woods or along a county lane after (or during) a snowfall. Dress a bit more warmly than absolutely necessary; you can shed your hat or your gloves or unzip your jacket if necessary, but if you are cold it won't be any fun. Take your camera along, keep it inside your jacket to stay warm until you need it. Outdoors is beautiful after a snowfall.
- Dig out your ice skates and re-learn how to skate backwards.
- Rent some skis, cross-country or downhill, and explore a golf course or park in winter.
- Take your sweetie (and kids, if you want) for a weekend getaway. Go somewhere with an indoor pool.
- Take a MOOC (massive online open course). Learn about something new.
- Volunteer to listen to early readers read aloud at a local school. Early readers need all the encouragement they can get.
- Do a[n anonymous] random act of kindness. Stand back and watch the results. Feel warm inside.
- Read seed catalogs. Plan a garden. Plant some seeds now in a pot on a sunny windowsill -- basils and mints grow quickly.
- Treat yourself to some lovely scented bath salts and/or lotions. Pamper yourself for an evening (or a day or a weekend -- whatever).
