Whatever Gets You Through The Month

Although it is the shortest calendar month of the year, February is often the longest month of the year. It is the blue month, the month when people can battle depression as they hibernate while waiting for spring or change. Here in eastern Canada we can feel trapped by dirty snow banks that are as tall as we are. They obscure our view, make driving and sometimes walking difficult.

In Nova Scotia alone, this February has given us three snow storms. In Newfoundland, they have received so much more snow, enough snow to bury over one and a half Big Birds. Thanks goes to the CBC Radio comedy The Debaters for that little tidbit of information.

I have learned that February is the month that I can fall into the blue well so I make sure I stay busy, very busy, to keep my head above water. For the past few years busy meant learning and practicing the piano, but not this year.

The piano is pretty lonely these days thanks to some wrist and thumb issues that make playing rather painful. It is a bit sad because I really love the piano, even though I was always a work in progress and can’t play very well. I also really, really don’t know when to stop and rest when I do such things so it is likely that I have brought this on myself. 

This year, a new plan was required. I needed to come up with things to keep me busy and sane. And surprisingly I did.

1. Household Projects: 

These actually started in the fall with a new roman shade that I made for our kitchen. I could have kept going but decided to wait until the new year when the projects would perform two functions. The most important one being keeping me busy in February. The fact that the fabric was on sale in January didn’t hurt the cause either. At the beginning of the month, I painted the trim on my dining room windows, only to discover that I no longer like household painting, but what can I say other than don’t look too close because the job is not the best. Then I made new faux-blind window treatments for these windows, because buying such things can be rather expensive. It is a skill I have but no longer enjoy doing either.

In the past I have made every thing from winter coats to twenty-five foot advertising inflatables. I made wedding and bridesmaid dresses for unappreciative parties, and a whole bunch of other things that I have no desire to make again. My equipment is old. My body is older. I don’t want to crawl around the floor working with fabric, so please don’t ask me. The answer is NO! No floor crawling was required in this year’s projects.

2. Puzzles:

I have done several puzzles since the New Year but Jackson Pollock’s Convergence has pretty well taken most of February and will coast into March unfinished.

I do love a challenging puzzle.  According to the box:  In 1964 when Convergence was issued as a 340 piece puzzle, it was touted as the world’s most difficult puzzle. My version is a 1000 pieces that they say triples the challenge. It may not be the world’s most difficult puzzle any more, but it is certainly one of the most difficult that I have ever done.

3. Television:

What would we do without some form of home entertainment. Thank heavens for TV. February means spring training for baseball. The games are televised on Sports Net in the afternoon so I get to tune in to my favourite team.

The Toronto Blue Jays were the American League Champions last year and made it to Game 7 of the World Series. It was great baseball to watch so I sometimes put my feet up and check in with the Grapefruit League in anticipation for this year’s regular season. 

There have also been several shows that we have enjoyed this winter. I won’t bore you with everything we watched, but I will mention my favourite show. 

Riot Women is about a group of mature women, who feel invisible and decide to form a rock band. It is so well done and so relatable to women my age. They all have great backstories and the music is fun. The only down side is that there were only six episodes this first season and now I have to wait until season two. You can watch it on BritBox. I highly recommend it. 

4. Books:

I am a person who always has a book on the go. I delve into any deals on ebooks, sent directly to my inbox daily to find something that I will like. My current read is Stone Garden by Molly Moynahan.

Published in 2003. Here is the Goodreads scoop: Alice McGuire is certain of her world and her future — until the summer her best friend and soul mate, Matthew Swan, vanishes on a trip to Mexico. Stunned, Alice and the rest of the close-knit town that adored Matthew search for answers. For Alice, the journey of heartbreak leads from everything that is familiar to forbidden places and forgotten people who will teach her about kindness and lessons that will open her to new possibilities and unexpected hope. Vividly wrought, deeply resonant, and told in a remarkable voice that sparkles with wit and wisdom, Stone Garden is a splendid triumph from an accomplished writer.

I can’t say it any better than that, but I can tell you that it is a very good book.

5. Walking:

It has not been an easy month for walking but when we can we do. There is nothing better for my sanity than fresh air and movement. If we get two or three days in a row of blue skies and clear asphalt we are new people. That is my current state because I have had a couple of days in a row and am looking forward to another one tomorrow.

Thank you for reading.

Photos: Jenn Stone unless otherwise noted

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