Weekend, with Hibernation

[aldersprig]

So… I like winter. I actually do. The layers of clothing, the cozy feeling in front of the fire, hot cocoa and marshmallows. I like it. Yes, there’s also shoveling, brushing off the car, taking twice as long to get to work, hauling the firewood. But there’s always things like that.

What I like most about winter is the feeling of hibernation. You can spend an entire weekend or two just not leaving the house, and it seems perfectly reasonable. (Winters that I don’t get this, I get a little cranky, actually — long warm winters, winters without enough snow…)

(In my case, “enough snow” is gauged on a chart involving feet of snow, not inches, because I grew up on Lake Ontario, where the snow comes not in snowfalls but in giant snow dumps.)

This weekend, last weekend, I don’t have that much to blog about — because we hibernated. The weekend before this most recent one, we didn’t leave the house at all. This weekend, we got take-out (Nobody delivers to where we live) and went grocery shopping.

Exciting, right?

Very restful.

We fixed our stand mixer - it needed a new worm follower gear (I used to play White Wolf/World of Darkness a lot; the urge to think of that as a Wyrm Follower is strong), so we cleaned it out, replaced the gear, and packed grease into it.

We vacuumed the stairs and the hearth - we have three cats and heat with wood, making both of those weekly chores.

I made a bit loaf of bread and we ate Chinese take-out leftovers all weekend.

The house looks a little cleaner, my wordcount looks amazing, and all in all, I feel refreshed and recharged - never mind Daylight Savings Time, grumble grumble.

And that’s why I like hibernation. I get some quiet time, I get some stuff done, and there is very little that has to be done.

Spring is coming soon, and that will change the whole equation, but until then, I’ll enjoy my time trapped inside by the cold and the snow.

Stay warm, everyone. We’ve got a little more hibernation left.

Comments

[inventrix]

Ah! So hibernation is when you give yourself permission to actually take a break.

That's what a vacation is supposed to feel like!

[aldersprig]

As opposed to accidentally taking breaks that go on too long due to depression, yeah <.<

[inventrix]

Yeah, that's definitely not a vacation. >.> I meant the whole, fewer responsibilities = feeling recharged thing, that's the point of a vacation.

[aldersprig]

Yeah… and THAT’s why I have issues with breaks. Because depression looks like a break until it’s not.

We’ll see what the drugs do to that...

[inventrix]

Interesting. Depression for me is usually like... an ennervated "I don't want to do anything", as opposed to an uplifting "I don't HAVE to do anything". I can usually tell the difference pretty easily, if by no other reason than I actually get things done in the latter mood.

[aldersprig]

...Hrrrm

*considers that*

Oh

Justification.

I’m really good at telling myself why I don’t have to do anything any particular day. My depression is good at lies.

[inventrix]

*wrinkles nose* I think my prior comment failed to convey what I was trying to.

Like. You wrote a billion words and got some house cleaning done. You didn't have to do anything, but you didn't not want to do anything, right? You did things even though you didn't have to. That's the main difference; it's between "I don't want to do anything that I don't have to do, and I don't have to do anything, so I won't do anything", and "I don't have to do anything but I CAN do things and it's like a free bonus and it's awesome!"

**edit: So like depression-breaks are "I don't have to do anything, I'm going to binge watch Leverage again" and vacation breaks are "I don't have to do anything but I feel pretty good and I'm not doing anything else right now so maybe I'll do this one thing and feel extra pleased with myself." And you can take your time with it because there's no pressure and stop whenever you get bored of it or whatever.

[kelkyag]

<warm fuzzies>

[siliconshaman]

Ever read the Moomintroll series as a kid? Moontroll midwinter was always a favourite of mine, because it really conveys the sense of what you've just described. [well, the first half did, the bit after he wakes up during hibernation... that's pure adventure.]

Alas... no snow again this year. No reprieve from daily life.

[aldersprig]

I have not. Looks like something to go read.

[siliconshaman]

I can honestly recommend the entire series, although some I like better than others. Just keep in mind these are kids books. [early teen or pre-teen I think.]

But they're kind of like; a hot cup of chocolate, while snuggled in a warm fuzzy blanket and reading at the fireside, type of books.

[mortalcity]

I miss winter so much, all the time. It's been a few years since I moved away from anywhere that has seasons, and it is killing me, because I know exactly the feeling you're talking about and it is wonderful. Glad you're enjoying it, even though I can't!

[clare_dragonfly]

Mmm... hibernation is lovely, when I can get it. A weekend never feels like enough, but sometimes a three-day weekend is.

[sauergeek]

I am rather enjoying the Nor'easter we're getting today. Work announced closure yesterday afternoon, and today I've mostly spent snuggled under blankets. When the power went off at work, I had a fairly solid 40 minutes of remotely shutting things down before the machine room UPS battery died (almost finished, too!), but other than that, it's been a lovely relaxing day.

Well, except for the power flickers at home. So far, a few UPS beeps and light flickers, but with the wind, snow, and possible ice, the threat of power loss is firmly there.

[aldersprig]

We had one very short brownout but are otherwise doing fine. There’s… um… a LOT of snow out my window right now.

Snooooooow out my kitchen window as of 5:00pm … So now pic.twitter.com/vfTlcdBLQ3

— Lyn Thorne-Alder (@lynthornealder) March 14, 2017