10 Things I Like About Winter

So it is the first of June, which means that it’s Officially Winter. We finally put the doona back on the bed two nights ago, so for me that is when it started. I’m actually surprised it took us this long seeing how cold our house has been lately; I busted out the heater in the office at least a week ago. So, in celebration of the new season beginning, I decided to remind myself of things I like about Winter before I get sick and decide that the weather needs to be warmer again. Here we go, in no particular order:

10. Soup

(photo credit to Dear Belly)Colder weather means I can eat soup without overheating, which is a good thing because I love soup. I’m too lazy to make it in general, but with a plethora of Vietnamese restaurants and a well-stocked supermarket nearby, I can always get my fill of soup.

9. Breath Clouds

(photo credit to Billijis Loc)I have memories of when I was younger and my brother and I walked to school in the cold weather, our breaths steaming out in front of us. I used to pretend I was a dragon, blowing smoke, instead of a boring person. Recently I was waiting for a train and did the same thing again. I’ll probably be pretending to be a dragon when I’m old and wrinkly; I hope I will be, at least.

8. Kitten Cuddles

Scout has taken to lying between me and Ben of a night time, so when I wake up in the middle of the night I have a cat purring right next to me (or, sometimes, partially on top of me). It is so cute when she walks up and flops on top of me. The extra warmth is an added perk, too.

7. Winter Clothes

Scarves, coats, boots, tights, layers upon layers upon layers. That is one of the first things I think about when I think of Winter. I love that I can work all these different aspects into outfits and not end up sweating like a pig. I get cold really easily, so sometimes I overcompensate on the layers front, but it doesn’t matter as much in Winter.

6. Hot Drinks

I am a pretty big tea drinker, and there’s something lovely about holding a cup of tea and feeling the warmth spread through your hands and slowly up your arms that I can’t get over. I think when I drank coffee I liked the warmth of the drink more than the taste or the caffeine. Maybe that’s why I don’t really drink it much these days.

5. Snuggles

This one seems pretty obvious, really. I’m always cold, while Ben is always hot, so snuggling on the lounge or before going to sleep is nice. In Summer it’s frustrating, because we both like to cuddle but it’s normally too hot to even think about it. In Winter it’s great, because the colder weather is a perfect excuse to spend most of the day on a weekend in bed cuddling.

4. Rain

This will probably come back to haunt me, but I really do like it when it rains. Everything looks so clean and shiny when it rains, and when I am wearing appropriate clothes it’s nice to walk around in the wet weather, earphones in and pretending I’m in a movie. Of course after a while everything goes soggy and miserable when the rains hangs around, but before then it’s nice and peaceful.

3. My Birthday

(photo credit to RebeccaVC1)Oh yes, a good thing about Winter is that my birthday occurs during this season. I’m always saying that I don’t like to make a big deal out of it, and am too nervous to do anything for it in case no one shows up, but I do like it. I guess it’s just a day that I can claim for myself; even if I have to work it’s still a day for me.

2.Roast Dinners

(photo credit to Mr San)They don’t happen very often, but I feel like roast dinners are really a Winter thing. Maybe because the oven heats up the house and you sit as a family and have roast meat and roast vegetables and it’s hearty. Makes me think of Winter. Roast pork with crackling and apple sauce and roast potatoes are amazing, if it wasn’t so much effort I would eat them all the time. I have tried to do this in late Spring and Summer, but the house just gets so hot from the oven, and then you’re eating hot food and it feels like too much effort. In Winter there is something to look forward to at the end.

1. The Sunshine

When a lot of Winter is grey and dreary, the nice sunny days feel more special. You try to make the most of it before the clouds roll back over and you need to retreat back inside. Also, Winter sun seems thinner than Summer sun; I don’t feel like I’m going to get sunburnt as soon as I step outside so I am more likely to sit outside and soak it up. The Cancer Council wouldn’t approve, but sometimes you just have to recharge your batteries with some sunshine.

So there are 10 of the things I like about Winter. There seems to be a bit of a theme in that I like things that warm me up and keep me warm, but I know that when it comes to Summer all I want is to be cold; it’s a fine line for me, it seems. This was a nice exercise to think about these kind of things, hopefully I remember them when the season is in full swing.