Winter Lamentations

I've appreciated the beauty of the freshly fallen snow.

Our boys have spent hours playing outdoors in the white stuff.

We've had several sledding adventures, even Remy got in on it!

 I have loved sledding!

Somehow, though, I manage to head straight for the prickers every. time.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed going to a hockey game.

I've taken advantage of many cold afternoons by wrapping my hands around a hot cup of coffee.

And even though the sunsets come early these days, 

they're breathtaking.

It sounds lovely, doesn't it? Despite trying to embrace winter, however, I've got a few qualms. May I?

Let's start with the cold. We have had weeks that never reach above freezing; there have been days where the high temperature is 5 degrees, that's uninhabitable! It becomes painful to go outside. We've spent a small fortune on oil despite the fact that we try to keep the heat fairly low; fur lined slippers have become my go-to footwear. I've managed to find a little bit of humor in the frigid temperatures though; when I look at the thermometer and it says: 1°,  I laugh and say out loud, "HA! One degree!". For some reason that's funny to me.

We used up our summer crop of vegetables by November, so all the fruits and veggies we are eating have traveled many miles and passed many hands to reach us. There's a lack of vitamin D in our lives. Also, our skin is dry and pasty, our lips are chapped, our hands are cracked, the inside of our house hasn't seen fresh air since October.

Since running outdoors is not a viable option, I've tried to exercise by following videos I've rented through Amazon and no joke, the only one I've done more than a handful of times is a Jane Fonda yoga video. Between Miss Fonda, the other ladies in the video, and myself, I'm the youngest by at least 25 years. I'm not feeling like a spring chick though- my knee is sore, my lower back aches, and my joints are stiff.

Remy is like, "I feel your pain, sista".

BUT, There is a light ahead, as spring is inevitable. It may not get here as soon as I would like, but it's coming. And I should say that now when I see that it's going to be at least 30 degrees I get  excited, that's kind of warm to me (perspective). I plan to take full advantage of the truly warm weather when it comes . Yes, you can bet your bottom dollar that when the sun does comes out tomorrow, I'll be smiling. Until then, I'm going to keep *trying* to embrace this old man winter business. I'm hoping to get some ice skates again, maybe take up snow shoeing. And I'll take advantage of my time indoors by organizing our home, reading books, cooking savory dishes or soul warming soups, and tackling lots of craft projects.

And who knows, maybe if I get reallllly ambitious, I'll even blog about it ;).

P.S. I didn't even mention my fear of driving in the snow, let's not go there.

P.P.S. Thanks for reading. Anytime someone tells me they've read a post, my heart skips a beat.