Delayed

[topaz119]

I mentioned this briefly in my last post, but in my eternal quest not to fall into my usual winter blues, I’m trying to immerse myself in seasonally appropriate things that make me happy. I sort of got the idea from a study I saw somewhere online about why/how there is less depression in Scandinavia than researchers expected, due in part, they theorize, by how the population frames the long winter months as a chance to burrow in and be cozy/enjoy winter activities, etc. We’ll see how well it works in the depths of February, (I do have that Russian/Polish background working, where their method of dealing with the winter has more to do with vodka than enjoying coziness) but I started the plan with autumn and Halloween.

I haven’t baked a pumpkin pie yet (saving that for Thanksgiving), but I did coordinate my viewing / listening with the season.

On the viewing side of things, I hauled out the old favorites of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Rocky Horror, which were all very comforting in their familiarity. Plus, I stumbled across Only Lovers Left Alive, which fit the theme well enough, even if it’d also fit in with Valentine’s Day. I’m always fascinated by Tilda Swinton’s characters, but this one was surprisingly… sweet, for lack of a better word. And Hiddleston was sort of adorable for a depressed, lonely blood-drinker. So, that was fun.

I already had Dead Beat going as an audiobook, which is set at Halloween and features the King of the Wild Hunt and assorted zombies, which kept my workouts and commutes on theme for most of the month. And then, I found that I’d downloaded an audio version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow narrated by Tom Mison, which was rather perfect for messing around in the kitchen making vampire cupcakes.

So that, plus a big fire in the fireplace on Halloween night (viewable from the street through our leaded glass front doors) were my early autumn efforts toward making the most of the season.

Comments

Longer nights and cooler days....

[jenna_thorn]

Himself has been sprinkling a bit of pumpkin pie spice (the Islands pre-mix that someone else bought and left at my house, which means it probably dates to when we were doing dinner parties) in our coffee in the mornings. It's subtle but seasonal.

S'funny, I have Hallowe'en favorites / comfort movies that bleed through to Christmas (Nightmare Before Christmas is our annual tradition - we watch Addams family up to Hallowe'en, but Jack and Sally after) but other than the feast (must include turkey and football) I can't think of specifically T-Day traditions. Putting up Christmas, I suppose, but that feels like a cop out.

Re: Longer nights and cooler days....

[topaz119]

I think the only Thanksgiving tradition I've got is Miracle on 34th Street, which is also a bit of a cop out. At least it starts on T-giving Day?

I'm generally okay until the holiday rush is over and then there's that slog w/o the promise of sparkly lights and parties until spring. I turn into a raving bitch and I'm tired of it.

[sperrywink]

Good luck avoiding the winter blues. Sounds like you are off to a good start.

[topaz119]

We'll see how it goes... I have my Happy Light, too, which I think helped a little last year.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

Polish background working, where their method of dealing with the winter has more to do with vodka than

Mine manifests as making 200 pierogies for christmas, which then last some way through January.

But, very little SAD here in the desert (Tucson).

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do that, too! (The pierogi, I mean.) My dad is Russian-Polish and making them during the holidays gave me something to do that I enjoyed, while also keeping me out of the general family "togetherness" (which generally leads to yelling and annoyance.) Plus, pierogi! What do you fill yours with? I usually do potatoes and cheese, sauerkraut, and a completely non-traditional sautéed apples and cinnamon.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the winter blues!! I truly suffered each year when I lived in OH- but I never tried to look at it optimistically either. So maybe it works. Now I live in sunny So Cal and have gotten sick of the sun for the first time ever. But not at all depressed so it's better.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

I still have family in Ohio and WV and western PA, and I don't know how I'd get through winters there now. It's bad enough in the South, where I can generally count on daffodils by late February.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Ohio is terrible!!! We would go months without seeing the sun. *shudder*

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

We got words for what you speak of in the Scandinavian languages: mysigt, hyggelig and koselig; making a shelter from the world with lights, good company, blankets and the like. It does indeed make the winter months easier to deal with. And I guess we are good at doing seasonal things. Have fun keeping the winter blues away. Doing things that makes you happy is always a good thing. Enjoy yourself.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Okay, yay, it's good to hear that the article I read wasn't completely unrealistic! We'll see how well I pull all this seasonal entertainment off, but at the very least, wrapping up in a quilt and drinking tea and reading is high on the list. I should be able to manage that no matter how glum I get.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

I live in Minnesota and we get a lot of winter. I agree, one good way to deal with it is to enjoy seasonal activities. 85 degrees is too hot for me, but it's fun if you go swimming. In spring everything is effortlessly happy, in fall there are apples and cider and all things Halloween and thanksgiving (which I love), in winter the Christians kindly put lights all over everything and there is bustle and excitement. I start getting tired of winter in February, but by then it's almost time to start hoping for spring anyway :)

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

I usually crash in January, after all the holiday craziness, and then by February, I'm annoyed by everyone and everything, one tiny irritation away from exploding, which is exhausting (and not good for relationships.) A couple of years ago, we got enough snow in early January to completely shut down the city for a week (it doesn't take much, but the snow removal plan around here is Wait Until It Melts, which is usually the next day, but occasionally NOT) and it was the best winter in remembrance. Everyone else I knew was going stir-crazy by the 2nd day, but I spent the entire week working from home in fuzzy pjs and cooking. It was glorious and I haven't quite figured out how to make that happen w/o weather involvement, but I might have enough vacation to fake it this year.