Beating the winter doldrums

[MauEvig]

So what do you guys do to keep busy during the winter season? I know it's cold and there really isn't much to do, Christmas is over so the hype and excitement die down after that.
I honestly think that's why I feel more let down after Christmas than after Halloween, there's no big holiday follow up afterwards (unless you count Valintine's day) and it's just a big wait to see how long winter will prevail. Sometimes it feels like we skip over spring and go straight to summer afterwards. Haha!

So anyway, some people go out skiing, snowboarding, sledding and ice skating, some people do more baking, eat hot soups or watch movies. My boyfriend and I did go to the zoo sometimes during the warmer months of spring, summer and fall, but now they're closed for the season so we decided to go bowling when we have the same day off since it's not only fun, but it's a nice indoor activity. What do you guys like to do during the winter after Christmas?

[vrb8919]

This is a total dead time of year, and January is probably my least favorite month. There's the holiday hangover, not much going on, COLD, and it's too far away for me to feel like warmer weather is coming soon. To me, we can't through the first two months of the year (especially January) quick enough.

[MauEvig]

I hear ya on the "holiday hangover". I'm at least trying to find things to do while the winter doldrums go on by.

If you're into gaming, this is a good time of the year to rock out on MMOs, MMORPGs or first person shooters. I recently got Guild Wars II for Christmas which is an MMO, where you create your own character, pick your class and it generates a story from there that you follow, eventually leading up where you participate with other characters and races. You can also play with your friends, both IRL and online through the internet. It's good fun, plus the best part is unlike other MMOs like WoW, there's no monthly fee.
I may write up a little more about it in the games section of the forum (especially since they do little holiday events, such as Meatoberfest for the Charr, and a game wide Halloween celebration with quests that revolve around it), but I mentioned it because games are a good way to pass the time during the more boring months of the year.

[Boogeyman]

i just got into Borderlands 2. So far even better than the first, which seemed almost impossible. As for winter doldrums, I don't know what you mean. I enjoy winter because I absolutely detest the heat because I was born with a cleft lip and palate. It makes it harder to breathe when it is warm. And my allergies will kick in mid-March. Which sucks since I can't blow my nose.

[MauEvig]

I can't stand the heat either, but I also can't stand the cold. I really can't stand extreme temperatures, I prefer it in the 70's where it's just right, typically around the beginning of summer, toward the end of spring and the first few weeks of fall. Unfortunately, my ideal temperature doesn't last long, so I have to deal with it.

I have allergies as well, so they start to kick up in the Spring, but on the other hand, my allergies to dust and mold spores will act up in the cold months due to the fact that I spend more time indoors during the winter. Plus in the winter, my hands get dried and cracked and sometimes bleed due to the cold dry weather and the fact that I wash my hands a lot.
So it's really a lose-lose situation for me no matter what, but at least there's more to do it seems in the summer, and I like having longer days. I prefer it to still be light out by 7:00, not sundown at 5, especially when I work the 10 to 6 shift at work.

[ancient whitelighter]

Holy Icicle, Batman! It's sooo cold out there right now! I feel like I live next door to Santa!

Mau, I really do seem to bake a bit more and try cooking more savory dishes when it's cold outside. It's fun to try making something new.

I like the "powdered sugar", not too frigid, sunny kinda winter weather, though! Bundling up under a warm cover on the sofa with a hot cup of cocoa and watching movies (especially a good scary one) is something I love to do in the wintertime.

Hope you're all safe & warm with this crazy-cold weather.

[Andybev01]

Its pretty brutal out there alright.

I almost had to use my car seat heater this morning!

[MauEvig]

It was brutal the other day. The windchill was horrendous, we had below zero weather, though I'm not sure exactly how cold it got. It was so bad that the cat's water dishes froze that morning, and these are indoor only cats mind you. I felt so bad when my male cat looked up at me wanting to take a drink of his water and it was frozen. I went to rinse out his dish and then the water was all murky, so I ended up getting a clean cat dish out and filling that with some of my bottled water. I gave them bottled water yesterday as well, but today I switched back to the faucet, the water seems to be OK now. At least the pipes didn't freeze.

20-30 degrees actually feels like a heat wave right about now.

[Pumpkin_Man]

The only thing I am looking forward to right now is my St. Patrick's Day party in March. For Jan and Feb, which have allways been the worst two months of the year for me, I am going to be involved in several projects. My main project is to continue revamping my stereo system. I already retubbed my preamp. I have a 2ndary power amp which needs an attenuator and new tubes, and that will be project number 2. I also have a lot of work to do around the house. Cleaning out my basement, some painting and minor indoor repairs and the like.

Other then that, I will be marking the days on the calender until January and February are over. The good news is that Feb is only 28 days.

Mike

[MauEvig]

Sounds like you're keeping yourself busy. I'll probably start looking forward to St Patty's after Valentine's is over. I'll probably just keep it simple, a reuben sandwich and maybe a shamrock shake if I get over to Mcdonalds when they have them.

We plan on doing some work around our house as well, but it's been so cold, we closed off the game room (which is pretty much a spare bedroom) where we have our air hockey table.

[Pumpkin_Man]

For me, Valentines Day is just an excuse to watch the Charlie Brown valentines day specials that use to air on tv every Feb. That's pretty much what I will do for Valentines Day, besides some indoor maintenance which needs to be done. The good news is that the 14th marks the end of the first half of Feb. It starts going uphill from that point.

Mike

[Kolchak]

I have allergies too but I just stop breathing until the weather clears up.

Books. Reading. Silent meditation. T'ai chi chu'an. Hwa Rang Do. Spend quiet quality time with someone special. Listen to what they say. Really listen.

I also clean all my firearms and sharpen all my knives. Make sure my bunker is A1 Ready. My wife knew who she was marrying so she's used to it.

[MauEvig]

Now how do you survive if you stop breathing? Don't you need oxygen to live? lol

I may have seen the Charlie Brown Valintine's day special when I was a kid, but I can't remember exactly how it goes. Looking it up on google and wiki, it appears he just has the worst streak of bad luck that any kid could possibly have.

[Pumpkin_Man]

That's pretty much how it allways was for Charlie Brown. He has the worst luck, whether he's playing baseball, or hoping to get valentines, or trying to strike up a conversation with that elusive red haired girl. There is more then one Charlie Brown Valentines day special, and I screen them all, but the very first one is my personal fav. In fact, there's a Charlie Brown for just about every season. In fall, it's the Charlie Brown Halloween (my fav) Thanksgiving and Christmas special. Then in Winter time, it's the Valentines day special, then for Spring/Summer there's an Easter special and a couple of Charlie Brown baseball programs.

Mike

[Andybev01]

Snoopy come home & A Boy Named Charlie Brown are two of my favorites.