It’s only the 8th day of January, and already it feels like it will never end. Running slo-mo through molasses. A nightmare where I’m trying to wake up.
Covid numbers, hospital overflows. Stricter shutdowns, rules, higher fines. My curling ice bookings are cancelled, again. Swim times no longer permitted. Of course, you say. Those 1 or 2 hours a week were the highlights of my calendar the past few months. Now even browsing the drugstore aisles is depressing – eyeshadow and lipstick plastic-wrapped away from creating any bit of nonessential cheeriness. As if lipstick were even possible anymore anyway. Oh, and the TV news, how wonderful it is to follow all the politics on all the channels, all the time. Need I say more?
So I’m writing this post to give myself ideas about how to get through the next month. I need new ways to spend my daylight hours, hours that don’t include too much TV news time. Thank goodness it’s January in Quebec and daylight hours are limited.
Here’s my list so far of what to do to avoid watching the news :
- Blog my whining. If you’re reading this far, I guess you figured that out.
- Find new exercise videos. The ones that excited me earlier in the pandemic have lost their zing. Or maybe it’s me that needs more zing?
- Dig out my coldest-weather snow pants, boots, furry ear-flapped hat, and heavy leather mitts for all the outdoor activities. Like walking the river. Pledge to do it every day, during daylight, no matter what the weather. Just getting ready takes up more time than you’d think.
- Follow the weather channel, (even more than I usually do?) Wind speed and direction dictate walking routes.
- Phone my kids more often that they appreciate. Again, more than I usually do? Phone my father more. And my brothers. Well, maybe text them.
- Grocery shopping: Ensure I get whatever I want, no matter the cost. I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that I now include pine nuts on my salads. And I’ve snacked on macadamia nuts and beef jerky recently. Fine chocolate for tea time. Even shrimp rings. And meals? Take-out, like the exercise videos, are losing their zing for me. I will buy fancy ingredients like spaghetti squash and swiss chard and bison burger or elk meat or fresh (expensive) salmon to whip up a daily treat supper. My worry is that when life returns to normal, I won’t be able to afford this gourmet eating style, but that’s not a worry for today, in dark, cold, pandemic January.
- TV time : back to looking for a great series or two to follow.
- Reading time : always, maybe increase the one hour to two.
- More music. Life can always use more music. On my cable subscription, I can get about a thousand (maybe I exaggerate) different music stations, with about a thousand different genres of music. I can waste an hour just picking out a station to listen to while I do housework! Oh, and then there’s no time for the housework, thank goodness. It’ll be time to make lunch by then.
And that’s about it for my plans for January 2021. How about you?
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Stevie Szabad, Author 
Hi Stevie, with the beautiful, magnificent part of Canada that you live in, here are the things I would do to keep myself entertained:
– sit, stand, or walk by the river, listening for the ice cracking. That is a harbinger of Spring or nature’s whispers that either the water is flowing a bit faster deep beneath the ice cover or you are being blessed with a bit of winter respite.
– brush the snow away from the ground, dig under the leaves and marvel at the life that flourishes there. Witness nature doing its winter chores, creating natural fertilizer to encourage the greening of the grasses.
– take a drive, walk, or hike beyond the city and watch how the animals interact with the snow, cold, winter. Which ones huddle together, how do they find grasses within that frozen tundra, which ones prance and play in the white stuff. Watch their breaths snort in steamy clouds.
– breath on your window panes and watch the ice crystals paint their art. What ideas do you see within them for future blogs?
– stop and chat with people you meet along the way. Ask them what they love about winter, how they find joy and happiness interacting with Jack Frost.
– go outside in just your house clothes (but wear boots). Play in the snow, throw snowballs or slide on the icy sidewalks until you feel the chill settling into your skin. Then, rush inside and huddle in front of the fireplace, heating vent, heater, woodstove, whatever you have and rejoice in the warmth chasing the chill from your body. Cuddle with hubby or grandkids if they have joined you.
– spend some time contemplating what you have and where you are in your life. Think about those who live in other parts of the world who never get to experience these things, the variety of weather and conditions us Canadians take for granted and too often dread. Remember, winter is a season and there are three others.
– think about those who you have touches through your writing all over the world. Without your words, they would have missed out on the experiences you have shared.
All too soon, life will be over and I am confident you won’t want to have missed any of what it has thrown at you. Even the less pleasant experiences have made you who you are today. I think life has done well in that regard.
Terry
Yup and yup. Thanks, Terry, hope to make it to BC someday soon, 2021? All the best to us all!
Well good on you it is not easy . I love how you are eating special food . Keep it up . Use all your best glasses and plates . Use good linen . Surround yourself with nice things . I started tracing the family tree on my heritage . It takes up so much time … if I let it .. it is fun .. I have learnt heaps and had contact with lovely people . Just a thought for you . Take care . This pandemic will go eventually x