Flowers in January?

by Jill Kemerer

Where I live in northern Ohio, winter is drab and colorless. Spring flowers don't poke through the ground until late March or early April. I'm always amazed when I see pictures on Facebook of daffodils and tulips popping up in January from other parts of the country.


I find ways to bring flowers and plants into my January life. We have a little tree in our formal dining room. Just looking at the delicate branches and pretty leaves brings hope that the grays, browns and whites of winter will soon pass.

Our church was disposing of unclaimed poinsettia plants a few weeks ago. I brought one home. It had some crispy edges, but it's doing nicely in our front living room. The crimson blossoms and deep green leaves are a welcome jolt of color in our home.

My poinsettia--so far, so good!

Sometimes I'll shop the clearance floral section at our local supermarket. A discounted bouquet brightens any day. They are good for my soul.

Other ways I find color in winter?

- Hiking the trails in our metroparks. Evergreen trees, holly berries, purple branches, yellow grass--all contrast with an overcast white sky.

- Borrowing a Birds & Blooms magazine from our library. Nothing like paging through pictures of beautiful gardens to fight the winter blahs.

- Using neon sticky notes when working and bright colored pens to write in my day planner.

- Buying colorful fruits and vegetables. Oranges seem more vibrant on a January day. Romaine is greener. Strawberries and blueberries add flavor and color to a smoothie.

- Watching a television show or movie set on a beach. HGTV has plenty of options.

Winter seems long and drab for northern states, but I make the best of it.

When do spring flowers appear where you live?

Have a terrific day!

Oh, those winter blues...

Barbara Phinney here. Recently, I noticed that some people were a little crabby. It was on a loop, and they were quite testy. Last week, a woman rammed my grocery cart and yelled at me because I was in her way. Last night, I learned that my pastor's mother was feeling a little blue, and another woman felt her mother was also.

It's a tough time of year. Regardless of the fact that most of us have enjoyed a nice winter so far, the lack of sunlight, and mounting debts can bring to a grinding halt even the most bubbly of personalities. And with flu season here, and children generously spreading their germs around us, we can succumb in more ways than one.

What can we do?  We all don't have access to light therapy, or a chance to fly off to sunnier and warmer places. Here are some tips I have gathered to help us all out.

Keep moving. Get up and exercise. Yup, I hate it too. And if you're already doing that, good for you!  But why not encourage someone else? Break out the Wii and challenge someone to bowling or golf. Did you know that Wii will kick you off a golf course if you get a high enough score? Learned that the hard way.

Host a dinner/movie/fun night. Or attend one. Bring popcorn and tissues if necessary. Plan a dinner for a few friends. We did that the other day and played that game Apples to Apples. Everyone had a blast.

Get outside. Check out the sun on your face. Take your vitamins, Eat porridge and lentils and spinach and avocado. Maybe not all at once, though. But these food help mood.

Volunteer. Anywhere, but have fun. Spend time doing something fun, smiling all the time, and just relax. And when it's all done, get plenty of sleep.

Do you have any hints on how to get through this season?

Barbara writes inspirational romantic suspense. Check out her books here.
http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Phinney/e/B001HPFZ16/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
or
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/barbara-phinney

Post-Justin Bieber Letdown

Missy, here. And my daughter is a huge Justin Bieber fan. So much so that when she heard about a pre-release showing of his new movie, Never Say Never, she begged me to get online the day the tickets went on sale to buy them. So right at 10 a.m. on a weekday a few months ago, I purchased us tickets to go see the movie 2 days before it officially released. In our package, we got special purple 3-D glasses and a badge to wear around our necks. Oh, and glow sticks. (Yes, picture me waving my glow stick as he sang!) :)

My daughter was thrilled when I got those tickets. We talked about it for the next two months or so. And on February 9th, we went to see the movie. Went waaay early to get good seats. Stood in line. Then finally went in to get ready for the show. And then after all that waiting...the movie started.

Oh. My. Gosh. The screaming girls nearly made my eardrums bleed. :) Especially the first time Justin reached out his hand, and in 3-D it looked as if he was reaching out to each one of them. It was a totally thrilling experience for my daughter. But on the way home, she gave a big sigh and said, "It's depressing when something you've looked so forward to is over."

I told her it's like that in life. I get in a bit of a funk after a big conference or retreat. Or after an event I've been really looking forward to. And as we're thinking a little this month on the blog about February being the month of love, and post Valentine's Day, I realized that some of us may be experiencing a bit of a holiday let down. (Some may have this worse after Christmas or a birthday.)

It's just something we have to deal with. And I'm wondering what each of you does to handle the letdown after a mountaintop experience.

P.S. The movie was really good!

Winter blahs

I've got the winter blahs. I always get them. Every year. The only time I really like winter is when there is snow and lots of sunshine to make the snow sparkle like diamonds.

Oh, I do like those occasional abnormally warm days that let you escape the house in just a sweatshirt. Today it was up to 50, but it was cloudy and foggy. Some film maker could have shot a werewolf movie in my back yard. Ugh! Blah, blah, blah.

This has been a very gray, very cold year and I'm just fed up. I want sunshine. I need sunshine. Many people suffer from SAD, seasonal affective disorder, but most, like me, just get the winter blahs.

What do you do to ward off cabin fever?

Or are you one of those hardy people who like winter?