Dark. And Cold.

And I persist in living in Minnesota. It's not even 5:30 and it's totally dark. Here in St. Cloud we are on the border of the accumulating snow to the west and the wintery mix to the east. Should make for fun driving/walking/opening the door/existing over the next few days.

But I do have rather a long Netflix queue. And some popcorn kernels. It's nice to have an excuse to stay home. Not that I need an excuse, but this way no one will expect anything more.

I recently got a new winter coat. It's not wool or down, and it covers to about md-tush. But being born and bred in this area, I feel totally prepared for whatever the weather can throw at me. I saw two deer drinking from the semi-frozen "pond" in the backyard today. If they can live through this, so can I. Bring it on, winter!

Just Outside of Your Front Door

So lately I've been unexplainably tired and generally down. Not sad necessarily, but certainly not happy. And I was thinking about how it was about a year ago that I briefly went back on antidepressants. And how I generally lose it at my review, which occurs in January or February. Generally I tend to lose it pretty easily, especially around now.

And then it occurred to me: I live in Minnesota. Outside time right now occurs to brief spurts between my car and a building, and when I absolutely must take the garbage out. General malaise probably at least somewhat attributable to lack of sunshine and fresh air and overall outsideness. I wouldn't describe myself as outdoorsy, but during the summer I generally walk and bike and read and hang out outside. Minnesota is great in the summer.

So tonight I made it a point to come home before dark, put on my boots and my hat, and go for a walk. My regular aerobics class got cancelled, and it turns out that walkin through snow is great exercise. It's a small step, but an important one. And one I will make it a point to repeat as the weather allows.