7am and it’s still dark, doesn’t help when instead of driving to work you feel like you should be driving home from a long day. It’s cold, dreary, and slushy. What a horrible combination. Some people enjoy this time of the year, after Christmas it’s all downhill for me. Because spring seems so far away, these are defensive strategies I’ve but into place to combat the winter blues, also known as the Four P’s:

Potted Plants

I snagged up a few potted tulips and orchids on sale after the Hallmark holiday known to women around the world as Valentine’s Day.  After repotting them in cute pots from IKEA, they breath a little bit of life in me every time I drag myself in from the cold.

I also have this mystery flower I planted that my mother-in-law gave me.  Momma Lee picked it from an aunt, who picked it straight from the house of General Vang Pao’s second or third wife (or was it fifth?).  I’m very excited to see this one bloom–it’s beautiful and very fragrant.  It also can grow as high as the ceiling! Trying to name this mystery flower has also been entertaining–I’ve been searching online for about a month and a half now with no success.  Nothing I love more than a challenge!  Momma Lee says Hmong ladies call it something along the lines of “Lucky White Flower For Men” because when it blooms, the scent seduces them…and they are lucky.  Try googling that.  ;)  As a last resort, or if spring happens to come along first, I plan to take it in to a florist or a greenhouse to ID it.

Planning a Spring Garden

After years of serious gardening with my parents and grandparents and absolutely hating it (I’m not made for hard labor–my threshold for pain is very low) you’ll be surprised to hear I want to start gardening for myself.  Whaaaaaaaat?  Yes, yes, I know.

As mentioned before, one of our only three sources of of natural light happens to be a patio door in the living room. Unfortunately, that patio does not walk out to anything but air.  There is no balcony–just a railing to block the window as a safety precaution.  I found some deck rail planters that I can use to start a miniature outdoor garden for some herbs and flowers. That’s actually Plan B.  Plan A is to start a community garden at our complex.  We’ve got a really great shared patio area with a huge backyard.  Since we are advertised as a “green building” I’m hoping the community garden idea won’t be too hard to sell. Corn, tomatoes, eggplants, spicy hot Thai peppers–here I come!

Picking up a New Hobby/Past Time that Takes Place Outside…in the Cold

I always said I was going to pick up snowboarding because it’ll keep things interesting in the winter time.  If you love doing an activity in the blistering cold, you’ll learn to love this gawd awful season right?  Considering I find it hard to walk on my own two feet, my natural instincts in the form of procrastination has thankfully kept me from trying to slide down a hill with both feet strapped on to a board.  Instead I’ve picked up something at a much slower and safer pace:  ice fishing.  Bruce and I have been going out every weekend with our newly invested gear:  ice house–check, heater–check, gas auger–check, fish finder–check, a vehicle that’s 4WD….the next investment.  We’ve quickly learned that it’s easy to drive onto the ice with a stick-shift 2 wheel drive sports car, but driving off is a wholenother story entirely.  After an hour and a half of shoveling and pushing our way back to shore, we’ve decided to walk to the deep holes in the future.

Partaking in a Book Club

For nerds like me, there’s nothing better than curling up with a good book–especially if I’m warm and comfortable–inside.  And being able to discuss it with others is the topping on this sundae. We started a virtual book club earlier this month with the first pick being Three Cups of Tea.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll work out being that each participant’s located in different geographic areas…around the globe.

Well, that’s my battle plan.  If you don’t love this cold (especially with the record feet of snow we’ve been getting!!!) what’s yours? Please do share!