The winter of ’09-’10 will be one to remember. Snow has covered the ground in Des Moines since early December. If, like me, you just can’t get motivated to go out in these single-digit temps, cabin fever can get pretty serious. Keeping my mind occupied makes the days go by just a little more comfortably. This winter, I’ve found several things that have helped.
Clean something. Pick one room in the house and clean it. Start with a dust mop. Go around the ceiling and get rid of cobwebs. Get on a step ladder and clean those ceiling fan blades. Take all the nick-nacks off shelves. Dust the shelves and the nick-nacks. Rearrange a little if you want. Take cushions off the furniture and vacuum inside and out. Vacuum the floor, moving any furniture you can to get the rug clean underneath, too. It’s really not that much work, and when you’re done you’ll have a small accomplishment to celebrate.
Read something. Make a cup of tea of coffee. Pick up that favorite book, you know, the one that pulls you inside the pages. Settle into your favorite chair with a blanket on your lap. If you have a cat, he’ll probably join you. This is good.
Create something. Color a picture or begin an oil painting. Write a poem or start a novel. Or do one of the many things that might fall in between.
Watch something. Close the curtains and forget about all that snow. Put on a favorite tropical-theme movie, perhaps a romantic comedy.
Cook something. (The best part is that “eat something” is guaranteed to follow.) This one has saved me several times this winter. I love cooking, and in winter my favorite room is the kitchen. I love to pull out cook books, rewrite recipes (even on the first try, I always seem to find something I want to change), roll up my sleeves, and spend an entire afternoon in the kitchen. By the time dinner is ready the windows have steamed over. The kitchen smells heavenly. Bon Appetit.
Last night I made Penne Pasta with Vodka Garlic Tomato Sauce, and oh, my goodness. I wish my blog had taste-o-vision. Seriously; I can’t tell you how yummy this sauce is. If you want to make it yourself, find the recipe here:
I’m sorry I didn’t photograph last nights’ dinner prep but you won’t need it; the recipe is super-easy. I had enough sauce left over that we’ll have it again tomorrow night, maybe this time with chicken or shrimp. Tasty!
Clean something. Read something. Create something. Watch something. Cook something. Now that I’ve doled out advice for warding off the winter blues (and made myself hungry in the process), I suppose I’d better follow some of it myself. First, the living room. After that? I have a blank canvas and a pile of images waiting for me.
Stay warm.
Recent Comments