How Do You Beat the Winter Blahs?

Readers tell us how they stay cheery during the cold, dreary months.

On a dreary, cold winter day, I head to the Denver Botanic Garden's tropical room or butterfly pavilion. As I step through the door, my glasses fog up and my spirits lift. The flowers, greenery, moist smells, butterflies, and birds take me away from the Rocky Mountain region for half a day. I come out renewed and ready to plow through a little more winter.
Ruth Pendergrast
Fort Collins, Colorado
 
 

On cold, dark afternoons, my 4-year-old daughter, Tara, and I plant a range of bulbs in colorful containers. Once the tiny, green spears appear, we bring out the pots to brighten and perfume various areas of our home. We also present them to friends―a gift of hope and beauty from our home to theirs.
Hema Nair
Ewing, New Jersey

Pedicures aren't meant just for the summer months; I indulge in them during winter, too. There's nothing more cheerful on a cold, dreary day than to pull off heavy wool socks and see pretty, polished toes.
Jennifer Stiger
Sacramento, California

I refuse to wear black. No dark browns, midnight blues, or grays, either. I wear pretty twin-sets in bright red, lime green, or lavender. Bright colors work well with winter-white jeans in the cold weather.
Kathy Kindly
Marblehead, Massachusetts

I go through all my photos from the summer months and frame the best, warmest, and brightest ones. Then we have something to remind us of what will come after the cold goes away.
Tara McLain
Salem, Oregon

Last year I started planning my spring plantings while in the middle of a typical Ohio winter. I ordered plants and seeds and laid out my garden designs. When spring eventually came around, I had all I needed to start my work.
Elizabeth Hardesty
Columbus, Ohio

We spend weekends at our family cottage ice-skating, making snowmen, and roasting marshmallows over an open fire in the snow. Being out in the fresh, crisp air invigorates us, and making snow angels with our boys gives us that carefree feeling we had in childhood.
Amy Kelly
Canton, Michigan

I load my camera with black-and-white film and head for the woods or a park. There's something about the lines of a tree and the shadows on a hillside in winter that is particularly suited to photography. And when the sun peeks out after a fresh snowfall, nothing is more beautiful.
Lora Kerns
Missoula, Montana