Cabin Fever

I know. I'm one to talk, right? Of all the people who should be getting antsy after months of winter it certainly shouldn't be the girl who spent two and a half weeks in Florida.

But there it is.

I can't be terribly low on vitamin D, having gotten a respectable tan during my southern jaunt. Nor did my sojourn make me dislike Minnesota, or even snow. My brothers and I were able to go cross-country skiing for the first time, a week or two ago, and I enjoyed myself immensely.

 

The man who rented us our gear looked like he had stepped straight from the Yukon... ski-sweater, beard, polite explanations. There was a fresh layer of snow on everything. We figured out how to clamp boots into skis (my skis were blue with pink highlights ;) and eventually how to move along in a relatively smooth manner. It was gorgeous weather and we were soon warm. For a while the ski trail ran along beside the frozen, snowy river. And then coming out of the woods after ski-climbing a bit of a hill I found myself overlooking some of my favorite landscape ever. The ground fell away gently to my right into a snow-filled valley surrounded by tree-covered slopes. More snow fell softly around me. The air was still.

"This is why I love Minnesota." I said. "Can we build a cabin here?"

The U.S. also beat Russia at Hockey that morning, so it was an exciting day for winteriness. (Yes, we went on to lose royally elsewhere, but oh well. I'm glad Canada got the gold if the U.S. couldn't....)

So anyway, winter is fun but it does get long... and whether I can blame it all on cabin fever or not, these days I've been feeling a bit like hibernating till June.

In case any of you feel the same, I thought I'd share some of the things I've been doing to keep busy:

 

Making pretty things--especially out of neatly folded paper--can be highly soothing and entertaining at the same time. These are paper cranes of course.

~ 'purple burst of paper birds' ~

(Owl City)

And I also made this fun poster of some of my favorite Doctor Who quotes. ;p 

Disclaimer: may contain*Spoilers!* 

 

Color is important during the dreary winter weather... so new English-looking mugs for 35¢ are a must. Also good British tins, and strong tea. (biscuits and scones go without saying). 

Pretty things and yellow things are extra specially needed. Making yourself pretty can also be important. Having a great hair day is really quite worth the bit of prep the night before; the same goes for sparkly fingernails. Of course it all depends on what gladdens your heart and brightens your days. For instance, I occasionally find great enjoyment in dressing all in black and pretending to be a ninja... you never know. Whatever floats your boat... or allows your spirit to glide serenely over mountainous drifts of snow. Either one....

 

I also rifle through hand-me-down travel magazines and rip out pictures of Venice... read children's fantasy novels... clean my room... go to basketball games and cheer my heart out... listen to John Mayer... or books on tape... or sermons online... brainstorm story ideas... make lists of what I want to grow in next year's garden...

How about you?