Winter round 2: February

I suppose that's wrong -- February isn't round 2 of winter, it's round 3, right? December is round 1, January is round 2... But December is different. December is parties and decorations and special food and presents. Also, technically winter doesn't begin until December 21st and spring doesn't begin until March 19th. In many places, March is a spring month, but not Colorado, not really.

So, OK, that's settled. January is round 1 of REAL winter, and here comes round 2, February. A blessedly short month, full of pink and chocolate and (for me) Barbara Pym, the world's most comforting author. 

I managed to get Christmas all put away by February 1st (the goal each year is Feb. 2nd), so that was an achievement. About a week before, there was a knock at the door one evening and I answered, suspiciously, to find the father of a (former) friend of the twins, out collecting signatures for something Democratic. So I invited him inside (since it was dark and cold on the porch), and it was at that moment that I realized that we still had our Christmas tree up (and lit), not to mention the stockings, cards, etc. It looked very cozy and... Christmassy. In late January. So I got busy and got it all put away over the next week, and on February 1st, Thursday, I actually carried all the bins down to the basement and put them on their shelves, disturbing numerous spiders in the process.

So, February. It usually snows more in February than in January, and sure enough, yesterday it snowed. This was from the first atmospheric river that hit California (all my relatives are dealing with the second one right now). At first they said it would only be an inch or less, mostly rain, and then they upped it to 2-5 inches, and then the snow started coming down really hard and they upped it to 4-10 inches. 

I saw one preliminary report that said south Boulder got 9 inches, but all I know is that it was heavy and wet, and this morning when I went out it had all frozen into very solid ice. It was extremely difficult to walk on and almost impossible to shovel! But eventually (around 1 pm) I got the kids to go out with me and we worked and worked and worked for an hour. That is, Teen A and I did. Teen B complained that it was too hard, he was cold, his gloves were wet, he didn't like this, etc., etc., and he kept throwing snow at Teen A, who was actually WORKING, and finally I suggested he go inside, which he was happy to do.

While we were shoveling, our Girl Scout cookies arrived, so that was convenient (convenient that we were outside and could take them from her, rather than the Girl Scout having to navigate our icy, horrible driveway to get to the front porch).

Then Teen B and I went to Starbucks, and later I went out again and shoveled for another half an hour. Teen A actually did a very good job on the walks and the driveways, but I went out to work on the gutters, which as usual are flooded and blocked with ice. Snow is lovely, but icy, melting snow is just a nightmare.

***

I thought I should do a review of January, since it is now in the past. How am I doing on my resolutions, particularly the "every month I will..." type?

1. Read at least 52 books, i.e., 1 per week. I read 12 books in January, so I'm off to a good start. I started a presidential biography (of Woodrow Wilson), but I suspect I'll be reading it throughout February, maybe even into March. I'm not loving it and I'm not loving him. Maybe it will get better. I'm interested to read about the whole League of Nations thing, if I could ever get there (he's just been elected governor of New Jersey, so we have a ways to go).

2. See at least 24 movies, i.e., 2 per month. I saw 2 movies, one in a theater with the kids and one at home (it was a season of a TV show on DVD, but that counts).

3. Go to at least 12 special things, i.e., 1 per month. I did not go to a concert or anything else -- will have to catch up later in the year. I tried to watch a CU Faculty Tuesday concert online one night, but kept getting interrupted by certain teenagers who wanted help with their homework. Priorities, sigh.

4. Take a walk every day and do a stretch video every morning. I only took 10 walks (we had that very cold spell, plus ice and snow, which chased me indoors), but I did stretch videos on 17 mornings, which is impressive since I didn't start them until January 11th -- around the time I stopped taking walks due to the weather. This is shaping up (ha ha) to be a new habit. I enjoy them -- Meg Stickl of AIM Fitness is my new best friend.

5. Take a hike every month. I almost didn't do this. Not until the afternoon of January 31st -- the LATE afternoon of January 31st -- did I find myself on a trail. And it was the Bobolink trail (actually the South Boulder Creek trail, but we call it the Bobolink trail because the section we walk is near the Bobolink trailhead). 

Oh, not the Bobolink trail, I groaned, as I drove toward it. I wanted to try the Dry Creek trail, further east on Baseline, where I've never been. But Dry Creek's small parking lot was full and more people were arriving, with their dogs (apparently it's hugely popular with dog owners, almost like a dog park). I didn't want to wait around for a parking place and deny a dog a good walk. So I drove to the East Boulder recreation center, parked, and walked over to the stupid Bobolink trail.

And it turned out to be a nice hike! January is definitely the right month to hike this flat, dry trail. Anywhere else would be muddy or icy. I saw a big hawk land in a tree, interacted with a chickadee in another tree, looked at big black cows in the field. And was annoyed by other people. Too many other people on the trail, another thing that's wrong with the Bobolink trail. 

At the end I was being followed by a group of loud, older women (even older than me), one of whom had two hiking poles -- hiking poles, on the Bobolink trail, give me a break. I should have just stopped and let them pass me, but I kept trying to outpace them. A mistake. It kind of ruined the end of the hike. But otherwise it was a good experience. I wonder where I will hike in February...

6. Take a load of stuff to either Goodwill or Charm every month. Again, almost didn't do this, but on January 31st (this was before my hike) I packed up a box of clothes and took it to Goodwill's new location. And now I know how to do it, and it will be easier next month.

7. Do something to improve my wardrobe every month. Since I just added this resolution last week, I think it's OK that I didn't do much. I ordered two shirts from eBay and they arrived on Friday -- and I like them both. One is a little more dressy, so I will save it for when I need to be a little more dressed up. The other one I wore yesterday. I admit that I went back on eBay on Friday after the shirts came and ordered two more. And then I made myself stop! Still, I do like the things I have already gotten, and I realized that when I want something that isn't for sale in stores anymore, eBay is the solution. The shirts I bought were a Kohl's brand called EVRI, that they don't carry anymore. I also looked for Lands End "shaped fit" shirts -- all they carry now in my size are "relaxed," which oddly don't fit me very well.

After the shirts arrived, I sat down and did some more thinking about this resolution. I realized that my problem is not just that I don't have nice clothes, it's that I have too many clothes that I never wear -- mostly because they're too small. The best thing I could do would be to get rid of (give away, throw away) the too-small clothes. It's really time.

So I decided to work on a category each month, preferably associated with a drawer of my dresser, or a box in the closet, or a section of the closet. In February I am going to work on my underwear drawer, which is stuffed full of things I don't/can't wear. The goal is to buy some bras that fit, panties that aren't rags, and get rid of at least half of what's in the drawer right now.

8.-9.-10.-etc.-etc. I didn't complete any special resolutions in January (like get a shingles shot or take the waterpik out of the box or get the piano tuned). That's OK. I did do plenty of generic stuff, like housecleaning and blogging and driving with the kids and making dinner and helping with homework. It was January. I survived.