I laugh not-so-secretly at all the people who cry out in horror at 32 degree temps. There’s a reason not to complain about those temps: it always gets colder. This weekend was that time. It was colder. So cold, in fact, that Carole asked for a list of Top 10 Things to do Inside when it is TOO COLD to go Outside.
1. Read. It isn’t good just for cold days, but with a cup of tea, a blanket, and a dog serving as a hot water bottle, an interesting book helps to wile away the time.
2. Weave. My studio, which houses my loom among other things, is in the back of the house. It’s sort of chilly back here, but the movement of weaving helps keep me warm.
3. Paint. If you’re Neal, you re-paint the entire living room and hallway because you just don’t love the color you put up in October.
4. Try new recipes. This may necessitate a trip to the grocery store. If it’s cold, though, you’ll want to gather supplies for the entire weekend so you do not have to leave the cocoon again.
5. Sketch. Stacie made me some amazing books for an art project (wait until you see them!). Whether you prefer pencil, watercolors, collage…any bit of visual creation is satisfying.
6. Build a fire. Or enjoy the fire that someone else has built.
7. Clean the dark and scary places. Even the not-so-dark-and-scary places probably need attention. I worked on the coat closet (and now have a big bag of old coats to donate!), the book shelves (at least three bags of books to donate to the library and to my school’s honors program), and my office (oh, hey! that’s a desk under there!).
8. Work out. Pushups, squats, lunges, jumping jacks: they keep me from feeling loggy when I’m being a baby about getting outside. I like to ride our bike trainer, too, as it makes me feel I’m working toward my century-ride goal.
9. Watch movies. Actually for me it was tv. On Cauchy’s recommendation, I watched the U.K. Being Human. A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost, all with charming U.K. accents, are flatmates. Hilarity and drama ensue.
10. Knit and crochet. Oh, c’mon! Did you think I was going to leave them off?!
Looking back on my list, I guess it’s not that different than what I do even when I can get outside, but the pace of the weekend was slower, and more than once we commented how nice it was to not feel obliged to be outside working on anything or running errands.
How about you? What do you do to keep busy when it is too cold (or too hot) to go outside?
You are so right – it’s the feeling that you shouldn’t go outside that makes it special! Dale almost always has a project going in the garage but this weekend he stayed in the house with me all day Sunday and it was so nice to have the excuse to not go out.
I definitely enjoy an excuse to turn down invites and do things on my own schedule and timing. I’m surprised at how many of us have had some form of organizing or cleaning on the list! That wasn’t like knitting/crocheting that expected to be on everyone’s list.
I love your title – “stuck inside” sounds like so much fun – and you’re right, not feeling “obligated to go out” is freeing! especially when you have a list like yours. sounds like a very fun time!
Well, knit knit knit. Curl up with a cat. Read and comment on other peoples knit blogs! Maybe have some champagne….a birchwood fire in the fireplace….sit on the radiators…