I really hate winter. Especially this one. We’ve been under the siege of single-digit and sub-zero temperatures and weekly snowstorms for almost 3 months now. I apologize for using my blog as a vehicle for venting, but… How much more can we possibly take?! 

We’re almost out of firewood, so we’re relying less on the wood stove and running the furnace more. The sound of it makes me cringe every time it comes on.

I’m spending way too much time indoors. I haven’t been venturing out for my daily walks because I’m afraid to go outside if I don’t have to. Last week, I slipped and fell on the ice twice, slamming my tailbone into the steps and twisting my left arm in the first fall, and severely bruising my right, um, “buttockular region” in the second.

When I spend so much time indoors, I tend to slip into Crazy Compulsive Cleaning Mode. Dusting. Scrubbing. Rearranging. Not all of this is a bad thing. The results are gratifying, if short-lived.

Unfortunately, another product of my stir-craziness is that I find myself thinking things like, “I’ll just mix up a Cosmo. That will help me relax.” Or, “A nice hot toddy will help me sleep.” It turns out that the line between drinking enough to relax and drinking to the point of passing out is a very fine one for me. Not good.

Winter shows us the darker side of living that idyllic, “simple life” in the country. It’s a hard way to go, and it isn’t for everyone. But, in some respects, I guess it’s like childbirth. Once it’s over, we forget the pain and throw ourselves into the joys of the gentler seasons that always follow.

~~THINK SPRING!~~