These Winter Blues

I'm not typically a whiner about winter.  I live in New England, I expect snow and cold.  But this winter can turn even the cheeriest person into a gripe.  Polar vortex dropping temps into the negatives, huge snowstorms, surprise snow totals, freezing rain, freezing pipes, permafrost, cracked sidewalks, icy roads, cracked skin, etc etc etc.  Kids out of school due to storms.....MOTHER NATURE WE GET IT YOU ARE ALL POWERFUL.  Now, please think some warm thoughts like spring breezes and crocuses.  No one likes Easter egg hunting in a winter jacket.

So how does one beat these winter blues?  Well, I like to knit.  I know, when DON'T I like to knit.  And in defiance to Mother Nature, I cast on a cotton summer dress for my niece.  It's using up several skeins of purple worsted cotton in my stash and should be ready to wear when the weather warms up.  I don't care if the pattern says that it could be worn over a long-sleeve t-shirt, I'm choosing to ignore that!   I'd like to say that going to knitting meetup on Wednesday nights is helping, but two of them have been cancelled recently due to weather.  (Mother Nature, you're killin' me.)

Getting out of the house helps, too.  Brian and I had tickets to see Alton Brown's "The Inevitable Edible" tour last weekend.  Despite getting some more of the white stuff, we got there.  If you've ever read my food blog you know that A.B.  is my husband's idol.  When I heard that he was coming to town I just KNEW that we had to get tickets.  What I didn't know was how funny and sincere he is, and how hard I would laugh during his show.  If you ever get a chance to see him live, you should.

Let's see, what else helps?  Oh I know.... planning our first garden for this house!   I didn't get to have a garden last year due to the move and I was seriously bummed.  This year Brian and I have all sorts of plans, starting with deck boxes of fresh herbs.  We're also going to build a raised bed and grow carrots, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini.  That's the plan anyway.

So there you have it....my plan to keep Mother Nature from getting the best for me.  And besides, she's got to crave sunshine and warm weather sometime.