I dunno how it is where you live. Over here it has been grey and dark the last few weeks even though winter hasn’t even started yet officially…
It’s cold, just that one or two degrees above zero that prevents the rain from falling as snow.
In the houses and streets, the Christmas decoration is put up, in many cities are Christmas markets and people are busy with preparing for the festive days.
The summer holidays seem so far away like they were in another life, it has been stressful at work and there’s a certain weariness and tiredness in me…
oy…
So – how is it where you are?
Do you feel the winter blues as well?
What are you doing as a cure?
Long walks?
Sports?
Reading?
Lighting candles?
Visiting friends?
Baking Christmas cookies? I’ve been baking quite some already with my daughter… Been reading as well two good books those last days, cuddled up in a blanket in my armchair… first “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and now “Inkheart” by Cornelia Funke which is about a man who can read people out of books and into them… sounds like fun but can be also kind of dangerous depending on what book you’re reading… smiles
but yeah.. it helps a bit fighting the chill…
Looking forward to hear about your recipes against the cold&grey….
–Claudia
dVerse 
ha sorry… almost an hour late… have scheduled the post for the wrong time… ha — but never mind… i made it and looking forward to be hearing from you… smiles
I read Inkheart and loved it. If it’s cold and grey I’m like you, I read, wrapped in a quilt. I force myself out for a short walk, then back to the book.
sounds like the thing to do… smiles
and inkheart is really very cool… cannot wait to read on and see how the story develops…
Inkheart (and its sequels) is one of those pieces of literature that both my sons and I can enjoy equally and see different things in it at different stages of life. Enjoy! A great antidote to the fog, cloud and misery!
Reading is always a great way to overcome the winter blues, so am doing that myself right now. Currently reading book 2 of Kevin J Anderson’s “Saga of Seven Suns” sci-fi series. It’s an old series, but new to me 🙂 Looking forward to things “winding-down” a bit too. The kids’ activities have either come to an end or are coming to an end soon until the New Year, so that will be a welcome break for a while! Merry Christmas to all!!
sage of seven suns….that def. sounds like a good book to cope with the winter cold.. i’m looking forward to things winding down as well… breathing a bit…
Totally have the winter blues! Having a party on Friday to bring in the cheer…wish everyone from the pub could make it!!
oh i would love to join that party…. how awesome is that…. have fun!!!!
Our weather in KC was been grey and cold. We are visiting in DC right now and was gifted with the sun for a few hours yesterday before it tucked itself in for the day. Now it is cold and grey again and Winter Blues pretty much sums up my feelings.
I have been lucky enough to write poetry today which usually helps but I can still feel those blues just beneath the surface.
So glad I have my mates at D’pub.
Cheers,
Delaina
smiles… yes… hanging around in the pub a bit helps me as well… and what kind of poem did you write..?
One heavy one concerning the uprising going on in my state and many other in the US concerning the overzealousness of some police officers and what seems like a certain demographic.
A the second was lighter about watching children discover the world and how much we adults forget to see.
It’s gray here, too. Snow at elevations just a little above us but oh so dreary here. Like the little bird I held today, I migrate south. He stunned himself on our window, where shadows of bare trees were reflected. I put him in a safe spot and checked on him later. He’s gone. Hopefully continued his journey…I haven’t seen hawks of late. I also put on Christmas music and lights to offset the gloom.
oh i do hope that the little bird was able to continue his journey… christmas music and lights..yeah…that sounds like a good recipe as well…
Certainly an issue of season and a real issue OF HUMAN SUFFERING per SAD Seasonal affective disorder for me.. even IN North Florida throughout my school.. work.. and illness history per 5 years as then i could tolerate ALMOST NO LIGHT AT ALL.
Yes.. SADly enough.. shorter seasonal hours of daylight per clouds and length of days.. exacerbates the FORCED SHUT-IN NATURE of school and work…
And NOW THAT i am totally free in health and retirement to enjoy all the SUN i want … as it is almost guaranteed in North Florida MOST OF time.. AT LEAST a few times a week.. when one HAS ALL THE TIME FREE TO PARTAKE OF IT AS IS… THINGS HAVE DEFINITELY CHANGED FOR ME.. AS NO SAD NO MORE….
Hmm.. I think that may likely be part of why i have been officially characterized BY diagnosing professionals as CONSTANTLY HYPOMANIC now since I GOT WELL.. AFTER FIVE LONG YEARS OF LITERAL DARKNESS… and hmm.. THAT might not come as any big surprise in POETRY LAND.. ANYWAY.. smiles..:)
AND PERHAPS.. my human being during that time of darkness developed another way of GENERATING THE POSITIVE HUMAN INNATE NEUROCHEMCALS OTHER THAN OUR TRUE GIVER OF LIGHT AND LIFE… and now I’m supercharged with LIGHT.. OF SUN.. SMILES 🙂 AND HAHA!
And yes now.. per measure of Sunshine during the year and even blog posts there is empirical measure of how many posts I make.. and even how long my posts go in photographs and words as there is A LITERAL EXPLOSION FOR ME IN creativity when the SUN REALLY COMES OUT..:)
AND LAST week we had a full week of Sunshine in a December Indian Summer where one of my posts.. that NO i will not link (;) here.. included over 12 thousand words.. including the comments I created to complement the main post.. And of course ‘several’ photos too..
And Saturday i spent hours generating a post with almost 300 photos of a day long adventure at a Casino and other stuff.. including a compilation of 120 photos showing all the selfies I generated with all the ‘wild ones’ at my RAVE dance club.. since the end of March…
The clouds are out for me once again with cooling December temps today in North Florida and as compared to earlier in life I need the rest from the SUN as Ironic as that may be now.. 🙂
The SUN drives the creative spirit in me.. to untold heights at times. NOW.. in words and other things..too.. like the dance of 2700 miles is real life in the last 15 months everywhere I go… outside of this bedroom and computer view..:)
And without the dance that balances me inside with the energy explosion manifested outside of my body.. i might be FULL blown IN MANIA.. BUT close to 8 miles average of dance walking per day.. keeps my insides calm.. cool… and collected in balance.. THANK GOD..:)
But anyway.. i wish Sunnier days for you.. as i know over 4 decades of this real problem of SAD related experience too ALL TO WELL IN SAD…:)
AND IF it was dark all the time here.. I would BE going to clubs and dancing much more than I do now.. as connecting to other humans in this way.. is an incredible source of positive neurochemicals that kept our ancestors warm inside in Winter Dark Months..:) And yes CREATIVITY TOO.. IN EXPLOSION LIKE WAY.. BOTH IN DANCE AND WORDS OF HUMAN AND other NATURE connections…. for me now.. as WELL.
oh yes – you’re living in the sunshine state – is this how you call it? i dunno if i could cope with summer all year… may would miss snow and boarding and stuff…but def. the sun is good for the soul… and a bit of partying as well… smiles
Yes.. the state motto is the sunshine state…
Snow here is rare and never over 2 or 3 inches…
The last measurable amounts like that i can remember is in three years of 73, 77, and 93…
Part of my bucket list is even getting to see REAL SNOW.. as it was always so exciting to see when it happened in REAL LIFE…here.. the little it did.. and yes it’s a little a chilly again… with temps moving back down toward the 40’s at night..:) after a full week with temps approaching 80 in the day….:)
I suffer from SAD as well, so I know what you mean about escaping to the sun. Although there is nothing better than sunshine on snow and skiing down a piste – I do love my winter sports too. But not all the grey, cold, miserable days associated with it.
Thanks Marina.. and i think i am starting to develop a case of Snow Affective Disorder as all this talk about snow is making me feel nostalgic about missing it for the few times I have experienced it or can reasonably expect it here.
I suppose one day I will travel to see the REAL THING IN FULL SHOW OF SNOW..;)
when I lived in Cleveland, it was grey all the time, but in Chicago there are about 10% more sunny days and it makes a big difference. It gets cold here, but cold is ok compared to grey skies.
yes – i prefer cold to grey as well… wouldn’t have thought that there’s so much sunshine in chicago…cool
sunny compared to Cleveland where from September to March it is clouds and grey )
Yes, my big old bear of little brain has gone into hibernation. I am in a state of suspension. My comfort: fleecy blankets, watching movies. I read Wild – the part where her boot goes over the cliff, oh my!!!!! I put that into a poem once, the image was so spectacular. Keep warm, Claudia.
very cool… yes wild is a great book – i read through it almost in one go… was so grabbed by the story… cool on weaving that scene into a poem… and movies…yeah… a very good cure as well…
It was foggy last night…kind of mysterious. Today is gray but having grand daughters here keeps me happily hopping 🙂 I do know winter “blahs” with the short days…but soon will be the shortest and then days get longer again. Candles, Christmas music and cookies all help my mood…I made a batch of ginger crackles, one of my favorite winter cookies (with molasses and rolled in sugar). Thanks for hosting the conversation, Claudia. I’ll put a plate of cookies on the bar for y’all to sample…
oh nice… would love to try those cookies… smiles… and i love a good fog every once and a while… smiles
I agree that the dark and gray days can feel oppressive and ever so long. I like the Swedish custom of lighting lots of candles in winter.
“Wild” is on my reading list and I hope to get a copy from the library soon.
oh i think you will like it… after i saw the movie trailer i checked on amazon for the book and downloaded it on my iphone for 3,90 Euro so i could read it on my train ride to munich…
Gray days here, too. Reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. About to drink my Peppermint tea.
oh nice… need to check out that book – and peppermint tea sounds wonderful…
Start with the first book in the series…The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There are 3 in the series. All great reads.
Last night I almost ordered Wild for my kindle before I fell asleep. I’ll order it today.
I’m so happy to be living where I am. It was barely chilly today, sunny and beautiful. I forgot about winter blues. Maybe after the New Year we’ll get cold enough to slump into a little down time.
Hope nothing gets too low for you – the weather, work, mood.
Spring will come again, promise.
i’m looking forward to spring… though i’m looking forward to some snow and winter fun as well as soon as the sky gets blue again… sigh.. you will like Wild i think… it’s an honest book and really well written
Catching up on reading and movies (Words and Paintings)…I’ve made friends with the shorter days as know soon they will get longer and longer and I can use the time to go slow and avoid any stress of the holidays by decorating less.
oh i need to paint more as well again… breaking out my acrylics maybe…
Your post resonates with me, Claudia. My household is under lots of stress this year. One of the reasons is the illness of my dear dog, for whom I am cooking now and hoping that the meds and good care will reverse her liver disease. So I take great pleasure in days like today, when she ate well and wanted to walk with me to the park. I let her off-lease in the school soccer field and she ran to me! It lifted my spirits so much.
But there is much else to cope with as well, and my husband is in a depression right along with me. I found a piece in the local paper yesterday, announcing that a progressive church in our capitol city will be hosting a Blue Christmas service this Friday night. The info says, “Blue Christmas, a service of hope for the holidays..A non-traditional holiday service for those who are stressed, lonely, or hurting.” That church is a block away from my husband’s office so I will meet him after work and we will go to see what this is all about. It sure cannot hurt, and possibly can help the holidays smooth out for us and those others in attendance.
oh that blue christmas service sounds wonderful.. you have to tell us if you liked it… tough with your dog…i can imagine how hard it is to see her suffer… hope he is better soon…
Thanks, Claudia. She is being very brave, and I must follow her lead on this! Yes, I will let you know how that Blue Christmas service is after Friday night. 🙂
It is summer in Australia. Bright blue skies, warm days, balmy nights and we never get winter as severe as the northern hemisphere anyway. Having lived in such climes however, I do know that snow looks better from a distance, in a photo and the novelty wears off in a few days. Rug up and enjoy the season whatever it is.
nice… i can only dream of balmy nights at the moment… sigh… i kinda like snow though as i love going snowboarding… they even promised some for today… we’ll see…
Claudia, your reading material sounds interesting. I’ve heard of “Wild” but not “Inkheart,” so will take a look at that. I am hoping to finish “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace” (non-fiction) by Jeff Hobbs in the next couple days. After that I will read “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. Claudia, do check out the second one….involves a French girl in Paris & an orphan in Germany in World War II time….how their lives are interwoven. I am reading more at the moment than I have for the past several years. But, alas, the weather is dark and ‘dank’ here & not very pleasant at all right now. I guess if we want sun we have to find it inside ourselves right now. It will be nice when we pass the longest night of the year and start on the upswing once again! Thanks for starting the interesting discussion, Claudia.
oh that novel with the french girl sounds very cool…def. need to check it out… inkheart actually is a children’s book but really interesting for adults as well…esp. for adults who love books..smiles
Winter is my favourtie season 🙂 So I am probably the odd one out. But we don’t really get severe winters in my part of the country in India. We are luck if we hit 7 degrees (celsius). This is the time for me to go out running, come back to a hot sumptous breakfast and then make a dash for work. Nights are spent cuddled near the window in my comforter, sipping hot chocolate and reading blogs/books. Presently, I am re-reading A Song of Ice and Fire (yes! I am obsessed) and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I am now intrigued by the sound of Inkheart 🙂
smiles… 7 C sound bearable…and hot chocolate as well… and heck.. that is surely some interesting literature that you mention here…
Here there is really no winter yet.. But the darkness is almost overwhelming. Sunrise is 8:30 and it sets before 3pm.. So a lot of candles are required… No hope for snow either.. I expect we will have a grey Christmas so books and movies are required.
We’ve had lots of fog, cloud and damp here over the past 2-3 weeks and it was really getting me down (and causing me migraines). But yesterday we had a glimpse of sunshine and last night’s rain made the mountaintops turn white – so now we have sunshine on white peaks. The effect (on the landscape and on my spirits) is magic!
So, when in doubt, sprinkle with snow. Especially if it’s December rather than May…
Its a dreary morning here, icy fog hanging. My Winter project is building a writer’s retreat in the woods behind my house. A small 12’x16′ cabin, powered by battery. The windows and door are in place. Soon as it warms up out there a bit, I have caulking to do. Inside paneling is next. Occasionally I write something.
The strokes of her brush
Turn the canvas of her life
Into reality.